SCCA Continental Championship for Formula B/C Race

Road Atlanta, 8 Jul 1972

All cars are 1.6-litre FB unless noted.

Notes on the cars:

1. Merlyn Mk 21 [320/FB/71] (Gordon Smiley): New to Gordon Smiley (Shawnee Mission, Kansas) for Formula B in 1971, via Bill Ippolito's Race America (Dallas, TX). Smiley led before retiring at his first SCCA National, at Bonneville Raceway Park , and then dominated his next race at Mid-America Raceway two weeks later. He also won the SCCA National at Dallas International Motor Speedway in October. Retained by Smiley for 1972, when he won the Ponca City SCCA National and the Continental Championship at Road Atlanta. He retired at the Runoffs, as he had in 1971. When Smiley moved into F5000 in 1973, the Merlyn was acquired by chief mechanic Charlie Williams and run by him for David Loring (Concord, Mass) in 1974. Loring won the Stuttgart SCCA National in April 1974 and then raced it in the Players Formula Atlantic championship. Then sold to Mike Winn (Little Rock, AR) who raced it in FB in late 1974 and Formula Atlantic in 1975, using a Ford twin cam engine. He maintained its record by winning the Lake Afton SCCA National in 1975. To Barry Findley (North Little Rock, AR) who won a SCCA National at Chennault Field early in 1976 before upgrading to a March 74B. It was next seen in the early 1990s when bought from a racing car dealer called Norm in Colorado by David Clubine (Brantford, Ontario, Canada). The car was then complete but apart, and lacking an engine and gearbox. He did not do anything with it, and in about 2005 sold it to Bill Tebbutt (Mississauga, Ontario). Tebbutt sold it in 2009 but cannot remember the buyer's name.
2. March 722 (Chuck Sarich): Chuck Sarich (McLean, VA) raced a midnight blue/white #57 March 722 in SCCA Nationals and Pro Formula B in 1972, entered by Quicksilver Racing Enterprises, Inc of Rockville, Maryland. Chuck finished second in the Southeast Division FB championship and qualified for the Runoffs, which he won. Sarich and his team moved into Formula 5000 for 1973, and his March 722 was evidently sold to Steve Jizmagian (San Francisco, CA), who raced a March 722 in west coast SCCA Nationals and Regionals in 1973. He retained the car for 1974, using it mainly in SCCA Nationals and qualifying for the Runoffs. He retained the 722 for a third season in 1975, still with its Ford twin cam engine despite the formula's move to BDA engines, and again qualified for the Runoffs. The 722 was entered throughout these three seasons by Jizmagian as #4. Its colour was variously reported as blue and as black in 1973, then as red in 1974 and 1975. He advertised the car in August 1976 as "March 72B, Quicksilver, three times ARRC", indicating it was Chuck Sarich's car in 1972, as Jizmagian had only qualified for the Runoffs in 1974 and 1975, and Chuck was the only one of the Sarich brothers to qualify in 1972. Jim Sarich's car had gone to Ted Roman. Subsequent history unknown.
3. March 71BM [4?] (James King): Robert Lazier (Vail, CO) raced a black March 71BM in the SCCA Pro Formula B series and in SCCA Nationals in 1971. The car was sold to James King ( East St Louis, IL) for 1972, when it was repainted green and yellow and entered as #22 in Pro FB and in Nationals. King qualified the car for the 1972 Runoffs, but retired. This may be the car he raced at Mid-America Raceway in May 1973, before his March 73B was delivered. Subsequent history unknown.
4. March 722 (Jim Sarich): Jim Sarich (McLean, VA) raced a midnight blue/white #67 or #56 March 722 in SCCA Nationals and Pro Formula B in 1972, entered by Quicksilver Racing Enterprises, Inc of Rockville, Maryland. Jim finished eighth in the Southeast Division FB championship. Sarich and his team moved into Formula 5000 for 1973, and in the summer of 1973 it was sold to an owner in Atlanta, GA. He had also bought a FSV Zeitler from Ted Roman (Pleasantville, NY), and for 1973 they ran as a team in SCCA Nationals, with Roman driving the March 722 and the car owner driving the Zeitler. The 722 was entered as #63, and Roman, who had moved to Atlanta, scored 12 points in SEDiv as a member of Atlanta Region. Don Becker recalls that the car was traded at the end of that season to Lola agent Carl Haas (Highland Park, IL) against two Lola T340s. The March was evidently then sold to Cliff L. Phillips (Palos Park, IL), who entered a blue March 722 in Central Division SCCA Nationals in 1974 but rarely appeared. He entered two races at Road America in 1974, apparantly without appearing at either, and was then a non-starter at Mid-Ohio on 1 September. He was entered again at Road America in June 1975. In January 1976, Phillips advertised his car, saying that it was metallic blue, had a new "banana" wing and 1975 nose, and was a "former Quicksilver championship car". As Steve Jizmagian's red 722 that was described more clearly as the Chuck Sarich car, it fits that Philips' car would have been the Jim Sarich car. Phillips raced a Lola T242 in 1973 so would already have been a customer of Haas. The history of the March after January 1976 is unknown.
5. March 722 (Tom Outcault): Tom Outcault (Middletown, OH) raced a green-and-yellow #3 March 722 in CenDiv and NEDiv Formula B and some Pro races in 1972, entered by Troco Racing of Cranford, NJ. Outcault upgraded to a March 73B, so the 722 may have been returned to Joe Grimaldi in trade. Subsequent history unknown.
6. Chevron B15b [FB-69-5?] (Frank Marrs): Just as many other SCCA FB drivers were acquiring Brabham BT29s, Hugh Kleinpeter invested in a Chevron B15b to replace the Beach T11 with which he'd won the SEDiv FB title. He retained his title in 1969 and retained the Chevron for 1970, winning his third successive title. After the 1970 season, the car was sold to Dave Yoder (Plantation, FL) and it was raced by Yoder and by Frank Marrs (Plantation, FL) in local SCCA events and occasional nearby Pro events over the next four seasons. Yoder scored nine points in Southeast Division FB in 1972, and ten points in 1974, qualifying for the Runoffs that year. It was then sold to Bill Anspach, who used it for spares for his Formula C Chevron B17. It was later sold to Barry Geng (Burlington, Iowa), to replace the B17b that Geng had wrecked at Road Atlanta. It ended up with someone who was going to break it up for a 3-wheeler project, but was rescued by Wayne LaFrenz (Iowa), who has owned it since the early 1980s. It arrived complete with a 1100cc HRE-built Ford twin cam engine and Hewland FT200 gearbox.
7. Chevron B18C (Carl Liebich): Carl Liebich (Plymouth, Wisconsin) raced a yellow Chevron B18 in SCCA Nationals in 1971, entered as #78. In 1972 he ran a yellow Chevron B18C, presumed to be the same car, entered as #79, and used in the Pro Formula B series, in the Players Canadian Formula B series, and in SCCA Nationals. Also raced by Liebich at Caracas in March 1973. Advertised by Opert as ex-Liebich, and blue-and-yellow in February 1973, and sold to Frank Sangiorgio (North Babylon, Long Island, NY) who raced it SCCA and EMRA racing around Bridgehampton from 1973 to 1975 at least. Sangiorgio was EMRA Formula B champion for 1973. He advertised the car in in September 1976. Subsequent history unknown.
8. Brabham BT35 [6] (Nick Cook): New to Nick Cook and used in the British Formula Atlantic series in 1971. Retained for early 1972, but Cook does not appear in the UK after the end of April and this is probably the car taken to the USA to use in the SCCA series in 1972. Used by Rob Turnbull in British hillclimbs in 1973, 1974, 1975 and 1976. Sold to Andrew Fraser (Newton Abbot, Devon), and shared by him and Tim Painter in Sprints in 1977. Retained by Fraser for 1978 and 1979, and appeared at Wiscombe Park events in 1980 and 1982. Then via David McLaughlin to Keith Norman about 1984 and used by him in HSCC events in the 1980s and 1990s. To Rob Haze (Netherlands) between 1992 and 1995, and then back to Norman again for Historic F2 in 1999. To John Dunham (Basingstoke, Hampshire) April 2001, then to Ben Tyler 2003, then Peter Shaw 2004, then Dr John Monson 2007.
9. Chevron B15b (Steve Mandy): Dr Steve Mandy drove a yellow-and-red #21 Chevron B15b in SCCA Formula B in 1971, 1972, 1973 and 1974. He was a member of Florida Region at this time, but working at a USAF base at Biloxi, Mississippi. Subsequent history unknown.
10. March 722 [33] (Dick Doherty): New to Dick Doherty (Hollywood, CA) and raced in Pro FB in 1972, as well as Cal Club SCCA events. Retained for Cal Club events in 1973, 1974 and 1975. Rebuilt by Wilbur Bunce to 75B specification for 1976, and run by him in Californian SCCA races for Dennis Firestone to drive, and later in Pro Formula Atlantic races in California for Ron Dykes, Rocky Moran, and Bob Lazier. It was red, and wore #10, #70 and #87 during the season. Sold to Ted Titmas (Van Nuys, CA) in early 1977, and run by him as a hire car in 1977, but Titmas had two cars in 1977, one red and one orange, and it is unclear which was which. Subsequent history unknown.
11. March 712M [71BM-2?] (Frank Del Vecchio): New for Bill Gubelmann (Oyster Bay, NY) and used in British Formula Atlantic at the start of the season, winning at Oulton Park 21 March, and then in the SCCA Pro Formula B series. The car was often described as a 712M but it seems more likely that he used the same 712BM all season. Also raced with a BDA in the Formula A race at Lime Rock in Sep and in one round of the Canadian series. Sold via Joe Grimaldi's The Race Shop to Frank Del Vecchio (Trumbull, CT) and used in NEDiv FB and in a couple of rounds of the Pro series. Sold back via Joe Grimaldi at the end of 1972; Frank thinks it went to a Canadian, and it is very likely to have been the car driven by Ken Huband, Norm Joy and David Westgate in 1973 and 1974. Sold to Mauro Lanaro (Montréal, Quebec) to replace the 71BM he lost in a transporter fire in 1974. Significantly modified in 1976 as the Lanaro Special with triangular sidepods, a different nose, and with its Cosworth BDA engine laid on its side. This car went through many evolutions, and was still being raced by Lanaro right up to 1995 when it was used in a vintage event. Lanaro eventually rebuilt to original 71BM specification about 1999. In late 2018, it was part of a package of cars bought from Lanaro by David Clubine (Brantford, ON), and was sold to a collector in Ontario.
12. Chevron B20 [71-1] (Jim Grob): The prototype Chevron B20 was completed in Formula B specification delivered to Jim Grob (Ft Lauderdale, FL) in time for the 1971 Run-Offs. Grob then raced the orange car at the Bogotá races in early 1972 and then in Southeast Div and Pro FB in 1972. He retained the car for 1973 and 1974, racing it in a total of four Run-Offs, before selling it to Peter Symonds (Rowley, MA) for the 1975 season. Symonds only raced it four times: two SCCA Regionals in 1975 and another two in 1976. Symonds advertised it in 1977. Its next owner was Jack Van Dell who raced it in Regionals in 1985. It was sold to Pierre Haverland (Belgium) in 1988 and then to Nelson Todd (Belfast, Northern Ireland) in 2000. To Laurent Fort (Arles, Provence, France) in 2006, then to Michael Henderson (Donaghadee, County Down, Northern Ireland) in 2007.
13. Lola T242 [HU16] (Tom Fraser): Shown in Lola records as a red Lola T242 invoiced in May 1972 so probably the red #60 Lola T242 bought by Tom Fraser (Atlanta, GA), sponsored by his 't.edwards' stores. Fraser only raced it once, in the Road Atlanta Pro race in July 1972, but found it difficult to drive and spun in corner one during the race. Fraser had been entered by Bobby Rinzler Racing when he raced a Lola T212 in 1971 and his T242 was advertised by Bobby Rinzler Racing as "new car with race on it" in January 1973. Subsequent history unknown.
14. March 712M (Peter W Nye): Raced by Geoff Freeman (Yellow Springs, OH) in SCCA events in Central Division in 1971 but this 71BM did not appear in Pro events until bought by Peter Nye (Fostoria, OH) for the 1972 season. It may be the "ex-works 712 FB" advertised by 'Forward March' of Yellow Springs in February 1972. Nye crashed the car early in the season but rebuilt it on a new tub supplied by March and raced through 1972 and 1973 in Pro events and in SCCA. After relocating to Texas, Nye scored points in Southwest Division in 1974 and won his class in the Texas Region National in September 1975. Nye also loaned the car to Galen Lyons (Austin, TX) and he raced it in one or two SCCA Nationals before it was sold to the Northwest US where its new owners planned to rebuild it as a sports car.
15. March 722 (Bob Lazier): Bob Lazier (Vail, CO) raced a black #6 March 722 in the Pro Formula B series in 1972, winning at Bryar Motorsports Park in May. The car was sold to Byron Hatten (Altadena, CA) for 1973, and he entered it for John Angus (formerly of Hartland, WI, but living in Marina Del Rey, CA at this time) for 1974. According to a later advert, this was the "76B" driven by Hatten at the IMSA Formula Atlantic race at Ontario in 1976, and it was then sold to George Seydel (Pasadena, CA), who raced a Formula B March in SCCA Regionals at Riverside in 1978. According to this car's SCCA logbook, it was raced by Seydel until 1979. The SCCA Logbook records its "Manufacturers Identification No." as 722-16, but this was the chassis number reported in Europe to be Xavier Perrot's F2 car, so this identity remains unconfirmed.
16. Lola T240 [HU4] (Syd Demovsky): New to Syd Demovsky (Chicago, IL) and his red #11 Demovsky Racing Lola T240 in the 1971 Pro FB series. Retained for 1972 and again did a full season, still red and still using #11. In June 1973 it was sold together with HU5 by Charlie Hayes to Eric Steele of Formula Cars Inc (Mansfield, Ohio). It is believed that the two cars were intended for the Mid-Ohio Racing School. Subsequent history unknown. A car with this chassis number raced by Bob Juggins in 1996/97.
17. March 722 [71BM-15] (Mike Rand): New to US dealer Joe Grimaldi and supplied in red bodywork. New to Mike Rand (Greenwich, CT) in time for the SCCA Runoffs, where he crashed in practice. Raced in Pro FB and SCCA Nationals in 1972. Sold to Charlie Gibson (Poughkeepsie, NY) for 1973, and again raced in Pro FB and in SCCA Nationals. Retained again for 1974, when it was run in the Canadian series in 73B specification. Also raced more rarely in 1975, before Gibson advertised it in early 1976. According to current owner Simon Perkins, it was sold for 1976 to "Eric Schneider who only did a few events and then neglected the car when he went off to college". In 1989, Charlie Gibson reacquired the car and resold it to Chris Smith, who had it refurbished by Derek Matthews at Ark Racing in 1989/1990. After racing it occasionally, Smith sold it to Perkins (North Newington, Oxfordshire) who did a few US Vintage races in 2002 and 2003 before bringing the car back to the UK in 2004. He has since raced it in HSCC and European F2 races.
18. March 722 (Hugh "Wink" Bancroft): Hugh "Wink" Bancroft (Newport Beach, CA) raced a blue-and-white #82 March 722 in Formula B in 1972, under his own Bancroft Motorsport banner. He retained the car for 1973, when it ran as #12 and was fitted with Falconer bodywork. Later that season, the car was rented to Rocky Moran for a few races. Bancroft appeared in a few SCCA races at Riverside in the car during 1974, when it was still wearing Falconer bodywork. Subsequent history unresolved, but Richard Paul recalls buying this car for the 1975 season, when BDA engines were allowed in Pro races but not in SCCA races, fitting 732 bodywork and using it as a spare car.
19. Lola T240 (Joe Shepherd): Joe Shepherd (Indianapolis, IN) raced a black #51 Lola T240 in CenDiv FB and in the Road Atlanta and Road America Pro FB races in 1972. As his car was black with red wings and wore #51, it may have been the black-and-red #5 Lola T240 that Chris Gleason had used briefly earlier that season. Shepherd also scored two points in SCCA Central Division FB, so must have raced it elsewhere. Just after Christmas 1972, George Herscher (Charleston, WV) bought a black Lola T240 in Indianapolis and raced it as #51, so this must be the same car. Herscher raced it Virginia International Raceway at in 1973 and 1974. He was on the entry list for the 8 April 1973 event, but was not in the results. He then raced at VIR in October 1973 and April 1974, and scored points in CenDiv FB in 1974. George's son John Herscher remembers picking it up in Indianapolis, and as Joe Shepherd lived in Indianapolis and had a Lola T240, and both Shepherd and Herscher entered their cars as #51, it is very likely to be the same car. John recalls that it was traded to Carl Haas for a new Lola T340 Formula Ford. Subsequent history unknown.
20. Lola T240 (Bill Middleton): Bill Middleton (Newport Beach, CA) bought a yellow #31 Lola T240 late in the 1971 Southern Pacific FB season to replace an elderly Brabham BT21C. He won enough points in this car to clinch second place in the division. Retained for 1972 and used in both Pro and SPDiv events, winning the division by a considerable margin. Last seen in late July 1972, after which Middleton acquired a Brabham BT38B. Advertised by Fred Opert in October 1972 and again in February 1973, implying it had gone to Opert in part-exchange when Middleton bought the Brabham. Subsequent history unknown.
21. March 722 [20] (Paul Keeler): Paul Keeler (Greenwich, CT) raced a #38 white-and-green March 722 in NEDiv SCCA Nationals and some Pro FB races in 1972. He was sponsored by Analube, and entered by Gracie Racing Enterprise Ltd of Greenwich, CT. Retained for 1973, when Keeler drove the Analube March at Lime Rock in July. In 1974 it was raced by Gerald Lieberg (Milford, CT) at a few SCCA races, and at the Watkins Glen Pro race. He continued to race the car in New England in 1975, 1976 and 1977. For 1978, it was bought from Lieberg by Jimmy Santos (Sunnyvale, CA), and rebuilt by Newman-Dreager to 76B specification. He raced it until 1982, and then sold it in April 1983 to Richard Lempe (aka Rick Sutherland). Lempe sold it in December 1984 to John Hafkenschiel (Palo Alto, CA), who kept it until January 1996 when it was sold to Keith Lively. Sold to a further owner in June 2001.
22. Brabham BT29 (Dave Ober): William L. Marsh (Muncie, IN) was heir to the Marsh Supermarket fortune and raced formula cars and sports racing cars in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He bought a Brabham BT29 for the 1970 Formula B season but only raced it four times, the first three being an early-season Blackhawk Regional, the opening National at Grattan in May and a later Regional at IRP, finishing second at each race. He also raced it at Mid-Ohio in late July. Marsh advertised the car from July to early October, noting that it was red with yellow wings and had a Vegantune engine. It was sold to Dave Ober (Suncook, NH) who replaced the Vegantune engine with an HRE twin cam and raced it in Northeast Division SCCA Nationals in 1971, ending the season with four points. He retained the car for 1972, keeping Marsh's red bodywork with yellow wings. Joe Grimaldi's Race Shop in New Jersey prepared the car for Ober to use in the Pro FB series in 1972. He raced it in the Pro FB race at Bryar in May, but crashed heavily in practice for the next round at Lime Rock in July, overturning the car and bending the chassis. He then sold it to Carl Whitney, who built a car out of three BT29s that he acquired. He parted out the engine, transmission and bent chassis. The fate of the chassis is unknown.
23. March 705 (Mario Pistritto): Ronald Stanwicks (Newington, CT) acquired a brand new March 705 but within a day or so of taking delivery, he was taken unwell with a heart condition, and he decided not to race again. The unused March was sold over the winter to Seb Barone (Portland, CT) who used it in SCCA Northeast Division Formula B in 1971, scoring four points. Sold at the end of 1971 to Mario Pistritto (Hartford, CT), who raced a red #55 March 705 in Northeast Division SCCA Formula B in 1972 and 1973. In July 1974 he advertised the car in the New England Region 'Pit Talk' newsletter as a "F/B March" with new engine and fuel injection. Nothing more is known of this car. Pistritto died in Syracuse, Sicily, in 2012.
24. Brabham BT38B (Nick Craw): Nick Craw (Washington, DC) raced a yellow-and-blue #71 Brabham BT38 in the 1972 SCCA Pro Formula B series but is only known to have started two races. The car was entered by Fred Opert Racing, and is likely to have been a brand new BT38B. In October 1972 and again in February 1973, the "ex-Craw" car was advertised by Opert as "4 races from new". Photographs from the FB event at Autodromo de San Carlo, Caracas in March 1973 suggest that this was the car raced by Andrea de Adamich to win that event. Subsequent history unknown.
25. Chevron B20 [72-3] (Bobby Brown): Sold via Fred Opert to Bobby Brown (Hicksville, NY) for SCCA Formula B, and finished third and first in the two Bogotá races early in 1972. Brown then used it in the SCCA Continental Championship for Formula B, winning the round at Lime Rock in July from pole position. The car was advertised by Fred Opert in October 1972, noting that it had F2 fuel tanks and ventilated discs, differing from the ex-Brian Robertson car that was also in stock. It is then unknown through the 1973 season, and was next seen when entered by Freeman Racing Enterprises, the Chevron agent, for Price Cobb (Dallas, TX) in the Pro Formula Atlantic races in 1974. It was advertised by Cobb in early 1975, then advertised by Richard Jackson (Dallas, TX) in August 1975 as "ex-Brown" but still wearing the #2 that Cobb had used in 1974 and with updated bodywork, and advert that was repeated in February 1976. It was advertised by Cobb from Dallas again in December 1976, when it was available with new body and and with or without a BDA for $4500 or $3000, and again in April and June 1977. Next seen when sold by a dealer, Paul Lindell (Houston, TX), to James Sawyer in January 1978. Offered for sale on race-cars.com in February 2003, when it still had the same nose seen in the 1975 adverts, and was still in Texas. From Sawyer to Jeff McKay (Tacoma, WA) then on to Walt Pawluczkowycz (Evergreen, CO). Sold by Pawluczkowycz to Steve Marschman (Idaho Falls, Idaho) in May 2004.
26. Chevron B18 (Aubrey O'Connor): Aubrey O'Connor (Memphis, TN) raced a Chevron B18 as part of the Fred Opert team in Formula B in 1972, entered as either #78 or #88, and at least once in SCCA Nationals where he was entered as #24 and gave his home town as New York, NY. O’Connor also raced a Triumph Spitfire in SCCA F Production in 1971 and 1972, and then moved to USAC stock car racing with a Pontiac in 1973. He was born in Craighead County, Arkansas on 30 December 1938 and died in Memphis, TN in November 2011. Nothing more is known of the Chevron.

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.

1970 US FB results were compiled from Autoweek reports by Jim Thurman; 1971 results were transcribed from Autoweek by Allen Brown and 1972 results were compiled by Chris Townsend from an SCCA results publication.

The US Formula B series did not continue in 1973 but a race was organised in Caracas in March 1973 that fits here probably better than anywhere else, as do the occasional SCCA F/Atlantic and FB races in 1974 and 1975.

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.