SCCA National (Milwaukee Region)

Blackhawk Farms, 5 Aug 1973

All cars are 1.6-litre FB unless noted.

Notes on the cars:

1. Brabham BT38 [26?] (Tom Klausler): New for Motul Rondel Racing in May 1972, replacing BT38/11, and raced by Carlos Reutemann. Also raced by Gerry Birrell at Albi, when Reutemann was away racing in the Canadian GP. Reutemann left the Rondel team after the Hockenheim race at the beginning of October, following a disagreement over engines, and the car was raced by Ronnie Peterson in the Brazilian F2 series. Sold by Rondel to Tom Klausler (Palatine, IL) for Formula B in 1973, and won at Trois-Rivières in September. Then advertised by Roy Witz (Arlington Heights, IL) in mid-1974, then sold to John Kowalski (Berea, OH) for Formula Atlantic in 1975. Kowalski advertised it in December 1975 as "ex Klausler", still with its "big valve Hart" engine. Used by Kowalski in early 1976, but he then upgraded to a newer Lola T360. The Brabham is believed to have gone to Dr Mike Orgel (Ladue, MO), who raced a Brabham BT38 in Formula B and then Formula Atlantic in SCCA Midwest Division events from 1977 to 1980. After driving in Regionals in 1977, he won the MidDiv Regional title in 1978, and scored 10 points in Nationals that year. He did not appear in the points table for 1979, but scored one point in 1980 in a Brabham BT38. It would then be the "ex-Peterson" car acquired at some point from Orgel by Bob Willis (St Louis, MO), who also owned the Rondel sister car BT38/14.
2. Brabham BT38 [15?] (Bill O'Connor): New for Motul Rondel Racing at Hockenheim in mid-April 1972, and raced all season by Bob Wolleck. Raced once by Carlos Reutemann at Enna. Sold to Bill O'Connor (Highland Park, IL) for Formula B for 1973. To Chuck Dietrich (Sandusky, OH) for 1974, then fitted with a Cosworth BDA for 1975, 1976 and 1977. He continued to race it in 1978, but at the age of 53 was appearing less often. This was presumably the Brabham he drove in 1979, but by 1980 he had replaced it with a Lola T460. The subsequent history of the Brabham is unknown.
3. Brabham BT40 (Mike Hall): Mike Hall (Twin Lakes, WI) raced a brand new Brabham BT40 at the SCCA Run-Offs, known then as American Road Race of Champions, at Road Atlanta 25 Nov 1972, the first BT40 to race. Hall then raced this car in Formula B and Formula Atlantic in 1973 and 1974. He replaced it with a Lola T360 for 1975 and the Brabham was then raced by John Elder (Rosemount, Minnesota) in SCCA Nationals in 1975, winning his class at Brainerd in July. Hall had modified his car with a wide nose and a higher and fuller tail, and Elder's car showed the same modifications. The car was then advertised, as "ex-Mike Hall" by Richard Prather's Prather Racing (Wheeling, IL) in November 1976. There is a good chance this was the car raced by Peter Robinson (Madison, Wisc) in 1976 and 1977. Subsequent history unknown.
4. Brabham BT35 (Turner Woodard): Turner Woodard (Indianapolis, IN) raced a Brabham BT35 in SCCA Regionals and Nationals in 1972. He was entered at #76 by Motor Sport Associates, Cicero, Indiana. He was also entered by Motor Sport Associates for a few events in 1973, but it is not known whether he turned up for any. However, he scored 15 points in CenDiv Formula B in 1973, suggesting he ran the BT35 for most of that season at least. Subsequent history unknown.
5. Brabham BT40 [18] (Chuck Dietrich): New to Chuck Dietrich (Sandusky, OH) for 1973, and used in SCCA Formula B in 1973. Dietrich bought a third-hand ex-F2 Brabham BT38 for 1974, and whether the BT40 was used at all that season is not known. In 1975, the BT40 reappeared, raced by David Ralston (Elmhurst, IL) in Central Division SCCA Nationals. Its next owner was Ned Clark (Dayton, OH), who is believed to have raced it from 1976 until 1989. It was next seen in 2006, when bought from the Westerburg Collection in the USA by South Australian Tim Kuchel. By 2011, it had been acquired by Bryan Miller (Kiama, NSW).
6. Chevron B20 (Joe Shepherd): Dan Carmichael (Columbus, OH) raced a Chevron B20 at the Road America June Sprints and at the 1972 SCCA Runoffs. He finished the season with 25 points, indicating that he used the car at a minimum of three other SCCA Nationals during 1972. Carmichael acquired a new Brabham BT40 for 1973 and the Chevron was sold to Joe H. Shepherd (Indianapolis, IN), who raced it in Canadian and SCCA Pro Formula B in 1973, entered by Xanadu Racing, and also scored three points in SCCA Central Division FB. Retained by Shepherd for Players Canadian Formula Atlantic and SCCA Formula B in 1974, but he did not score any points in Central Division that season. He appeared again in 1975, but his only certain outing that season was in the Hoosier Grand Prix SCCA National at IRP in September. The car was advertised by Shepherd in January and February 1976, and his recollection is that it went to someone in the southeast US, perhaps on the coast.
7. Chevron B25 [25-73-14] (Chip Mead): Sold to Geoffrey Freeman (Yellow Springs, OH) of Freeman Racing Enterprises for SCCA Formula B. Run by Bill Kuntz' Fastrack Operations Inc (Dayton, OH), for Daytonian Chip Mead in FB in 1973, starting with the SCCA National at MIS in June 1973, and later including rounds of the Canadian series. Probably retained by Mead in 1974 and used by the Shierson team - who ran Mead in his own B27 - as a spare car. Mead's team-mate James King recalls that the third Shierson car, run only at Waterford Hills for Vince Muzzin, was a B25, though described by the press as a B27 'mule'. Given that the only other American B25 (chassis 73-15) is then in the hands of Paul Henry, this is the only candidate for the B25/27 with twin cam engine advertised by Dave Barringer (San Mateo, CA) in The Wheel in November 1981. A restored B25 rolling chassis with dark red bodywork was offered for sale by Kent Bain's Vintage Racing Services (Stratford, CT) between mid-2003 and 2007. In March 2007, it was advertised from Stratford on race-cars.com, still with dark red B27 bodywork and "B25/73/14" chassis plate. By mid-2008 it had been sold to the Franschhoek Motor Museum in South Africa to act as a source of parts for the restoration of the museum's B25 chassis 73-03 to running condition.
8. Brabham BT35 [41] (David Ralston): Unknown in 1971 and 1972. This car was logbooked by Chicago Region in March 1973, but the logbook number shows that this was not the car's first logbook, and it was originally logbooked before August 1972. Its first known race was at the St Louis Regional at Mid-America Raceway later in March 1973, but its first known results were when it was raced by David Ralston (Elmhurst, IL) in the latter part of 1973. To John Gloviak (Chicago, IL) for 1974 (raced at least three times by his brother Thomas Gloviak), and used in SCCA Nationals and some Pro events from 1974 to 1978. The Gloviaks continued to race the car up to 1982. They planned some suspension changes, but these were never made, and the car was sold to Gene Frings (Mayville, WI) who stored it for some years. Sold in 2002 to restorer David Irwin Evergreen, CO), at which time it had a BDD and FT200 gearbox. Sold to Lee Brahin (Philadelphia, PA) in 2004 or 2005, and raced in SVRA events.
9. McLaren M10A [300-07] (Jim Sechser): See full history: McLaren M10A 300-07.
10. Chevron B17 [B15] (Jim Temme): Jim Temme (Des Plaines, IL), a member of the SCCA's Chicago Region, raced a #15 Formula B Chevron "B17" in a handful of SCCA and Midwest Council races at Blackhawk Farms in the autumn of 1973. In January 1974, he advertised it as a B15 with fresh 1972 Hart engine by Traylor Engineering. Temme noted in his advert that this engine was identical to that used by Tom Klausler to take pole at the 1973 ARRC. As Klausler was in a team with Bill O'Connor, also a Chicago Region member, this Chevron is likely to be the Chevron B15b raced by O'Connor in 1972. Subsequent history unknown.
11. Brabham BT18 [F2-26-66] (Mikeal Bystrom Jr): New to Tony Palmer and used in British F3 in early 1967. History then unknown until 1973, when it was being raced by Mikeal Bystrom Jr (Minneapolis, MN) in SCCA Formula C, using a 1000cc Novamotor engine. According to its logbook, it was sold to Peter E. Portante Jr (Minneapolis, MN) in January 1974, then Ed Kasprowicz (Detroit, Michigan) in May 1977, then Denny Sideri in August 1978, who used it in SCCA drivers' school. The logbook continues with Wayne Boian in October 1981, and finally Chris Stove in January 1984. Its history is then unknown again until the late 1990s, when Gennaro Russo (New York state) was racing it in FC and FF. He sold it to an Austrian expat who took it to Graz, Austria, when he returned home.
12. Brabham BT29 (William Brown): Bill Brown (Memphis, TN) raced a Brabham BT29 in Midwest Division Formula B in 1973. After failing to start for his first three Nationals, he won the Lake Afton SCCA National in mid-August 1973, then scored two more for fifth place at Mid-America Raceway in September, qualifying for the 1973 Formula B Run-Offs. Memphis is on the border of three Divisions, Southeast, Southwest and Midwest, and Brown faced a long haul to any National. He attended the Run-offs where he finished 10th. Previously, Brown had raced a Temple in Formula Super Vee and qualified for the Run-Offs in 1972. Brown scored points in FB in a Brabham again in 1974 and 1975, and raced at Mid-America Raceway in May 1976. He moved to a FSV Lola for 1977. This is probably the Dr. William Russell Brown, a former SCCA racer, who died in 2004. Nothing more is known about the Brabham BT29.
13. McLaren M4B (Dick Drexler): Dick Drexler (Pewaukee, WI) had a red/grey McLaren M4A which he entered in local SCCA Formula B events from 1969 to 1972, usually as #5 or #51. A one-time Regional Executive of the SCCA Milwaukee Region, Richard W Drexler was president of Milwaukee-based oil refiner Lubricant, Inc. Records of him actually starting a race are rare but he was a regular entry at his local Road America and Blackhawk Farms circuits or even as far afield as Brainerd. He returned in 1973 with the car now fitted with a 997cc HRE engine for Formula C, qualifying for the Run-Offs that year. He then bought a 1066cc Cosworth SCA engine (bored out for SCC pistons) from Al Essig, who had used it in a Brabham BT15. Drexler is believed to have used that engine in the McLaren in 1974, 1975 and 1976. The car was acquired in 1987 by Dave Hammers (Sea Cliff, NY), restored, and put on display.
14. Chevron B17 (Guy Revesz): Guy Revesz (Des Plaines, IL) ran a 1098cc Chevron B17 in SCCA Formula C from 1973 to 1975, scoring just six points in a Chevron CenDiv FC in 1973, then finishing fifth in the Division in a Chevron B17 in 1974, and second in 1975. This cannot be 70-04 as its ownership by Bill Anspach and Sandy Brandt overlaps with Revesz' ownership and as 70-04 is the only B17 known to have gone to the US, it seems more likely that this was a former FB Chevron B17b. Photographs show the car had B17 bodywork but that does not eliminate the possibility of it being an updated B15b. It is worth noting that Jim Temme also lived in Des Plaines and had B17 bodywork on his B15, but Revesz and Temme once appeared in the same race, Temme in FB and Revesz in FC, so this cannot have been the same car. Revesz moved into Formula Super Vee for 1976, and his B17 may be the car raced by Barry Geng in FC from 1976 onwards.
15. Lola T240 [HU12] (Carmon Solomone): Identified as the #8 Lola T240 raced by Quin Calhoun (Chicago, IL) in CenDiv FB events in 1971, scoring 16 points in FB that season. Retained and raced again in CenDiv in 1972 but only scored 1 point. To Carmon Solomone (Woodridge, IL) for 1973 and raced in Pro and CenDiv events over the next two seasons. History then unknown until 1981, when it was bought from somebody in Chicago by Dan Walker (Oyster Bay, NY). He autocrossed it for a couple of years, advertising it in December 1983, then sold it to somebody in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Again its history is then unknown, but it is said to have been bought by an unknown owner c1991 and owned for 20 years before being advertised c2011. Mentioned by Kim Baker of vintageracecarsales.com as traded to him around July 2013. A car with this number advertised by Greg Jacobs of Ignite Performance in January 2014.
16. Brabham BT29 [43] (Roger Seacrist): Cliff Phillips (Palos Park, IL) acquired a red Brabham BT29 for 1970 but his first known appearance wasn't until Road America 18 Jul 1970 where he recorded 41st fastest time. The car appeared on several more entry lists later in the season but Phillips started to advertise the car from early September onwards. Still being advertised in July 1971. The car is then unknown until mid-1972 when it has been identified (with chassis number and AM number) as the car driven by Roger Seacrist (Chicago, IL). Retained by Seacrist for 1973 but then unknown until acquired by Gary Dausch (Indianapolis, IN) some time before Apr 1987. To Dave Vegher and raced once at Palm Springs then to Tony Podell (Rolling Hills, CA), then Randall Smith (Petaluna, CA) and retained 2012.
17. March 71BM Falconer (Thomas Sokoly): Geoff Freeman (Yellow Springs, OH) raced a March 71BM in the latter part of the 1971 SCCA season, first appearing in a National at Blackhawk Farms in August, and later winning a couple of Regionals. He also raced at Blackhawk Farms and Nelson Ledges in July 1972. It was sold by Freeman to brothers Tom and Ted Sokoly updated with Falconer bodywork, and was raced by Tom Sokoly (Racine, WI) in various incarnations from 1973 to 1976. Sokoly advertised it at the end of 1975 as a Falconer March 712/732 with Traylor BDD, and replaced it for 1976 with a 75B. Sold to Harry E. Greenwood (Fanwood, NJ, later Warren, NJ), who raced it in SCCA Formula B from 1976 to 1978. He entered it at Lime Rock in July 1976 as a March "732", advertised it as a "73B" in October 1976, and as a "1973 chassis with 1974 coachwork" in September 1978. A photograph of the car in July 1978 shows it still wearing 1973 Falconer bodywork, and with the Sokoly's very distinctive rollhoop. Subsequent history unknown.
18. Lotus 27 ["38"] (Roger Rusert): Roger Rusert (Winona, Minnesota) raced a Lotus 27 in Formula C in SCCA Nationals and Regionals in the early 1970s. The car was later sold by Tom Snelback (Chicago, IL) to Gil Nickel and restored to Formula Junior specification for historic racing. He raced it in the Count Lurani Trophy Formula Junior series in Europe in 1995. After Gil Nickel's death, the car was owned by Jeremy Nickel.

Sources

Note that the identification of individual cars in these results is based on the material presented elsewhere in this site and may in some cases contradict the organisers' published results.

All comments, clarifications, corrections and additions are most welcome. Please email Allen (allen@oldracingcars.com) if you can help in any way with our research.

Individual sources for this event

SCCA Sanction 73-N-41P. Official results acquired on Ebay. Also report in Competition Press & Autoweek 8 Sep 1973 p20.