OldRacingCars.com

Southern Pacific SCCA Formula B 1977

Kevin Cogan won his class at Riverside in February in his Ralt RT1, and then won outright at Holtville in early March, and at Willow Springs in April, but then headed off the the Pro series. His closest challenger in the early months of the season was Jeff Wood, winner at Phoenix in February, class winner at Riverside in May, and overall winner at Portland's Rose Cup Races in June, but he then also changed his focus to the Pro series. This gave Sam Nicolosi the chance to chip away at their points lead, including a trip out of Division to win the Colorado Region National at Pueblo in July, and then an impressive win against new NorPac champion Ken Briggs at Phoenix in September. He ended the season on 39 points, just pipping Cogan to the title, with Wood close behind in third.

Pete Halsmer also had a good season in his ancient Brabham BT38B, finishing third at Willow Springs in April and then winning both the Laguna Seca June Sprints and at Riverside a week later to end the season on 22 points.

Veteran Ron Dykes and newcomer John Sexton scored points in one of Ted Titmas's cars, this one apparently the ex-Wilbur Bunce March "75B" now in 76B bodywork. The other mystery March car is Wally Farrell's, which looked 75B-ish but was probably much older.

Final standings

1. Sam NicolosiLola [T460]Cal Club39 pts 
2. Kevin CoganRalt [RT1]Cal Club33 pts 
3. Jeff WoodMarch [77B]Cal Club31 pts 
4. Pete HalsmerBrabham [BT38B]Cal Club22 pts 
5. Steve "Gas" SaleenMarch [76B]Cal Club12 pts 
6. Frank MoniseMarch [722/75B]Cal Club12 pts 
7. Wally Farrell"Ford" [March]Cal Club7 pts 
8. Butch OwsleyChevron [B34]Cal Club7 pts 
9. Dennis FirestoneLola [T460]Cal Club6 pts 
10. Alan HollyMarch [75B]Cal Club4 pts 
11. Ron DykesMarch ["76B"]Cal Club3 pts 
12. Fred GreenfieldTui [BH2]Cal Club3 pts 
13. Hugh "Wink" BancroftMarch [76B]Cal Club2 pts 
14. Cliff HansenMarch [76B]Cal Club1 pt   
15. Michael MorrisChevron [B27]Cal Club1 pt   
16. John SextonMarch ["76B"]Las Vegas1 pt   
17. Jim van HornMarch [71BM]Cal Club1 pt   

Formula C

Dick Moody was taking Formula C quite seriously, and upgraded from his old ex-Ron Southern Brabham BT18/21 to the ex-John Fowler BT41. His closest opposition came from Jules Williams, whose "PBS" was a GRD fitted with PBS's interesting new Fiat engine.

Final standings

1. Dick MoodyBrabham [BT18 & BT41]Cal Club25 pts 
2. Jules Williams"PBS" [GRD - Fiat]Cal Club15 pts 
3. Les HillTecnoSan Diego15 pts 
4. Edward J MacGrottyLotus [41 - BDA]Cal Club9 pts 

Southern Pacific Division SCCA Nationals in 1977

13 Feb 1977RiversideCal Club Region
27 Feb 1977Phoenix International RacewayArizona Region
20 Mar 1977Holtville AerodromeSan Diego Region
10 Apr 1977Willow SpringsCal Club Region
29 May 1977RiversideCal Club Region
03 Jul 1977RiversideCal Club Region
11 Sep 1977Phoenix International RacewayArizona Region

Southern Pacific Division SCCA Regionals in 1977

23 Jan 1977Holtville AerodromeSan Diego Region
26 Feb 1977Phoenix International RacewayArizona Region
13 Mar 1977RiversideCal Club Region
17 Apr 1977Holtville AerodromeSan Diego Region
24 Apr 1977Phoenix International RacewayArizona Region
01 May 1977RiversideCal Club Region
22 May 1977Phoenix International RacewayArizona Region
30 May 1977RiversideCal Club Region
05 Jun 1977Bonneville Raceway Park Utah Region
03 Jul 1977RiversideCal Club Region
07 Aug 1977Bonneville Raceway Park Utah Region
21 Aug 1977RiversideCal Club Region
11 Sep 1977Phoenix International RacewayArizona Region
18 Sep 1977RiversideCal Club Region
25 Sep 1977Phoenix International RacewayArizona Region
02 Oct 1977Willow SpringsCal Club Region
09 Oct 1977Holtville AerodromeSan Diego Region
16 Oct 1977Phoenix International RacewayArizona Region
30 Oct 1977Holtville AerodromeSan Diego Region
06 Nov 1977RiversideCal Club Region
27 Nov 1977Holtville AerodromeSan Diego Region
04 Dec 1977Willow SpringsCal Club Region
11 Dec 1977Phoenix International RacewayArizona Region

Southern Pacific Division sources

Although Los Angeles was one of the homes of American motor racing, we have few sources of information for southern Californian FB racing in this period. Competition Press & Autoweek had some regional coverage up to 1973 and Formula magazine then took over for a period in the mid-1970s. However, we are keen to acquire or borrow 1960s, 1970s and 1980s copies of SCCA regional publications from this Division. The key ones are:

  • California Sportscar [1960s] (California Sports Car Club)
  • Post Grid [1969-1970] (California Sports Car Club Region)
  • Finish Line [from 1971] (California Sports Car Club Region)
  • Gridlines (San Diego Region)

We are also keen to get scans of entry lists from SCCA Nationals for this division.