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Northern Pacific SCCA Formula B 1974

After not taking any of the top three places in 1973, San Francisco Region swept the board in 1974. Champion Bill Cooper started his points haul with second place at Holtville in February in Bunny Ribbs' March 722, then reverted to his Brabham BT35 for a good run of results including first in class at Portland in August, and second in class at the Laguna Seca June Sprints. Don Breidenbach had traded his ancient Lotus 44 for a new March, but focused on the Pro series.

Breidenbach apart, there were few other new cars in Northern Pacific, most runners relying on 1972 Marchs or older Brabhams. Pat Walter's rare 1973 Elden Mk 15 and Archie Snider's 1973 GRD B73 provided the variety.

Final standings

1. Bill CooperBrabham [BT35]San Francisco33 pts 
2. Don BreidenbachMarch [74B]San Francisco22 pts 
3. Pat WalterElden [Mk15]San Francisco18 pts 
4. Steve JizmagianMarch [722]San Francisco17 pts 
5. Robert HallMarch [722]San Francisco15 pts 
6. Larry WaltersBrabham [BT29]Northwest9 pts 
7. Bob TracyMarch [722]Oregon8 pts 
8. Gordon StromBrabham [BT35]San Francisco6 pts 
9. Walt MaasWinkelmannSan Francisco4 pts 
10. Tom FosterBrabham [BT38]San Francisco4 pts 
11. Ron SouthernBrabham [BT40]San Francisco4 pts 
12. Archie SniderGRD [B73]San Francisco3 pts 
13. Courtney R RoodBrabham [BT29]San Francisco2 pts 
14. Tom CrowtherMarch [722]San Francisco2 pts 

Northern Pacific Division SCCA Nationals in 1974

21 Apr 1974Sears PointSan Francisco Region
16 Jun 1974Portland International RacewaysOregon Region
30 Jun 1974Laguna SecaSan Francisco Region
28 Jul 1974SeattleNorthwest Region
11 Aug 1974SeattleNorthwest Region
25 Aug 1974Portland International RacewaysOregon Region
08 Sep 1974Sears PointSan Francisco Region

Northern Pacific Division sources

Most of our knowledge of NorPac racing comes from the SCCA's Sports Car magazine, from Competition Press & Autoweek and from an extensive collection of San Francisco Region's The Wheel newsletter from 1971 onwards. We are very keen to acquire or borrow 1960s, 1970s and 1980s copies of all three of the main SCCA regional publications in this division:

  • The Wheel (San Francisco Region)
  • Northwest Sports Car News (Northwest Region)
  • Loud Pedal (Oregon Region)

We are also keen to get scans of entry lists from SCCA Nationals, notably the Laguna Seca Sprints and the Rose Cup Races.