MidWest Division SCCA Formula B 1971
Somewhat out of the blue, Formula B exploded in the Midwest Division in 1971 with the the number of point scorers doubling from seven to 14 and the number of points scored more than tripling from 52 in 1970 to 174 in 1971. There had also been an almost complete turnover in competitors, only two of the 1970 drivers still in Formula B in 1971.
Leading this new charge were Bob Lazier in a brand new March 71BM and Gordon Smiley with a new Merlyn Mk 21. Other new cars of note were the Chevron B18 of Warren Flickinger and the LeGrand Mk 14 of Gene Forsthofel but Bob Criss, who would die just a couple of years later testing an Indy car, also had a March.
Final standings
| 1. | Bob Lazier | March [71BM] | Colorado | 33 pts |
| 2. | Gordon Smiley | Merlyn [Mk 21] | Kansas City | 27 pts |
| 3. | Bob Schutt | Brabham [BT18?] | St Louis | 17 pts |
| 4. | Gene Forsthofel | LeGrand [MK 14] | Kansas City | 17 pts |
| 5. | Warren Flickinger | Chevron [B18] | Colorado | 16 pts |
| 6. | Ken Keifer | Lotus [61M] | Kansas City | 13 pts |
| 7. | Keith Saunders | Winkelmann | Colorado | 11 pts |
| 8. | James King | Royale [RP3] | S. Illinois | 10 pts |
| 9. | Van Durrett Jr | Brabham [BT18] | NEOkla | 9 pts |
| 10. | Jim Pyle | Titan | Oklahoma | 9 pts |
| 11. | Bob Criss | March | Colorado | 4 pts |
| 12. | Jim Ellingson | Brabham [BT18] | Colorado | 3 pts |
| 13. | Jerry Wilson | Brabham [BT15] | Kansas | 3 pts |
| 14. | Howard Erlanger | Merlyn | St Louis | 2 pts |
Midwest Division SCCA Nationals in 1971
| 18 Apr 1971 | Stuttgart Airport | Arkansas Region |
| 02 May 1971 | Mid-America Raceway | Southern Illinois Region |
| 13 Jun 1971 | Mid-America Raceway | Nebraska & St Louis Regions |
| 04 Jul 1971 | Ponca City | Oklahoma Region |
| 25 Jul 1971 | Olathe Airfield | Kansas City Region |
| 08 Aug 1971 | Hutchinson Naval Air Station | Wichita Region |
| 22 Aug 1971 | Lake Afton | Wichita Region |
| 19 Sep 1971 | Mid-America Raceway | St Louis Region |
| 03 Oct 1971 | Continental Divide | Colorado Region |
| 10 Oct 1971 | Fort Sumner | Rio Grande Region |
Midwest Division sources
Race results for Midwest Division Nationals from 1970 to 1978 have been kindly provided by veteran MiDiv historian Rocky Entriken. We also have some background information from Competition Press up to about 1973, when its interest in such events waned considerably, but we know little of the goings-on away from these events and are are keen to acquire or borrow 1960s, 1970s and 1980s copies of SCCA regional publications from this Division. The key ones are:
- Checkpoint (Kansas City Region)
- Course Record (Arkansas Region)
- The Echo (Southern Illinois Region)
- Exhaust Notes (Nebraska) - full archive available at nrsccahistory.com.
- Gasket Gazette (Oklahoma Region)
- Neokla Observer (NE Oklahoma Region), renamed Sports Car Observer in 1980
- The Offside Undo (Kansas Region)
- Redline (Colorado Region)
- Steerin’ Column (Mid-South Region)
- Wheelspin (St. Louis Region)
- Witches Wail (Wichita Region)
We are also keen to get scans of entry lists from SCCA Nationals for this division.