Lola T192 car-by-car histories
Brett Lunger in the ex-Penske Lola T192 at Edmonton in August 1971. Copyright owned by the Northern Alberta Sports Car Club. Used with permission.
Lola developed their T190 design into the T192 for 1971. After the disappointment of the T190, only twelve were sold and the car achieved limited success
During 1970, Frank Gardner had been Lola's main development driver on the T190, and after his lengthened T190 won back-to-back races in August, it was the basis of a revised T192 design. In September 1970 the production T192 was delivered to Roger Penske in the US for Marc Donohue to drive, and it won first time out at Mosport. A second car appeared a week later for Mike Hailwood in the UK, and this was followed by a car for Gardner to drive in the 1971 Tasman series, but this does not appear in invoice records and is almost certainly an extra car.
In 1971, the main competition to the T192 came from the McLaren M18 and Surtees TS8, both new designs that did not quite live up to level set by their respective predecessors. Through the main 1971 championships, the T192 won one Tasman race, three UK races and one US race. The TS8 won four in Europe and one in the US and the M18 just won two races in the US. It was the old McLaren M10B that beat all the new designs, winning six Tasman rounds, six US rounds and three UK rounds. With competition between the three constructors so even, it was the brand new Lola T300, appearing at the very end of the year, that would take advantage.
Thanks to Wolfgang Klopfer, Chris Townsend, Chuck Haines, Ted Walker, Tom Schultz, Bryan Miller, Michael Ferner, David McKinney and others for getting these histories this far. All and any help would be gratefully received. Please email Allen at allen@oldracingcars.com if you can add anything.
Kieran Patel's Lola T192 at the Baskerville Historics in October 2015. Licenced by 'Peter' under Creative Commons licence Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 Generic. Original image has been cropped.
Roger Penske for Mark Donohue US 1970 (3 races: debut R11 Mosport 13 Sep 1970 - won; R12 Mid-Ohio - 3rd; R13 Sebring - won); Questor GP Mar 1971 (qualified 7th) - Competition Research & Development (Pomona, CA) for Brett Lunger US 1971 (all eight races: debut Riverside 25 Apr) - Larry McNeil US 1972 (4 races: debut R5 Brainerd 29 Jul); US 1973 (1 race R6 Elkhart Lake only); SCCA Nationals 1974 but involved in a crash with BJ Swanson at the Runoffs in November. Stored unrepaired during 1975 but rebuilt by Al Marvin in the spring of 1976 and run again by McNeil in SCCA Nationals 1976, 1977 and 1978 until crashed at the 1978 June Sprints when the suspension broke. SCCA log book then shows changes of ownership to Alan Marvin 21 July 1978 and then Gordon Close (Hinsdale, IL) 28 Feb 1979. Close used it for 1979 SCCA drivers school and Regionals.
Then sold to former racer Don O'Sullivan (Perth, Western Australia) in 1983 but not run by him and sold to Bob Harborow (Camberwell, Victoria, Australia) in July 1989. Restored and used in historic racing in Australia. Raced by Harborow in the Formula 5000 Tasman Cup Revival race at Phillip Island March 2008, at the Australian GP meeting 28 Mar 2009, at the same meeting in March 2010. Raced by Harborow at the Phillip Island Classic Mar 2013. Reappeared in October 2015, when run by Kieran Patel (Victoria, Australia) at the Baskerville Historics. Out again at the Baskerville Historics in August 2016.
Driven by: Mark Donohue, Brett Lunger and Larry McNeil. First race: Mosport Park (US R11), 13 Sep 1970. Total of 33 recorded races.
Invoice date 06/01/1971 (colour: "natural", sold to Haas). Presumably Hailwood's 1970 late-season UK 1970 car, the invoice date merely showing when it was sold second-hand by Lola. Richard Negley (with John Barker) US 1971 (seven races plus 1 DNS: debut Riverside 25 Apr). Advertised 17 Jun 1972. Subsequent history unknown.
Driven by: Mike Hailwood and Richard Negley. First race: Oulton Park (UK R19), 19 Sep 1970. Total of 9 recorded races.
Invoice date 28/01/1971 (colour: "red", sold to Hayes). Surely the Jim Matuska car raced by Bondurant at Questor, and by Eric Haga later in the season.
Frank Gardner in the Lola T192 during the 1971 Tasman series. Copyright Ted Walker 2014. Used with permission.
Said to be the fourth T192 but does not appear in Lola records. New (?) for Frank Gardner Tasman 1971 wearing chassis plate "190/F1/6" (won at Warwick Farm) - Colin Hyams Australian Gold Star 1971; Tasman 1972 (Australian races only); US 1972 (last seen US R6 Road Atlanta - 20 August 1972: only completed 2 laps in second heat - crashed?) ... Carl Haas (presumably part-exchanged for Hyams' new T330) - Dan Furey (Columbus, OH) May 1973: US 1973 (DNP at R4 Mid-Ohio, did not qualify from heats at R6 Elkhart Lake); US 1974 (2 races: R1 Mid Ohio and R2 Mosport Park only) - Randall Dana (Columbus, OH) Nov 1975 - Phil Niles (Vallejo, CA) Nov 1976 - Bob Danzi (Rohnert Park, CA) Jan 1978: and converted for use in Single-Seat Can-Am. Sold to Dana Seymour Apr 1981 - Brian Blaine Oct 1984, then to Bob Young who took it to the Palm Springs Vintage GP 20-22 Nov 1987). Then to Hans J. Glaser (US) Sep 1992 when it still had Can-Am bodywork. Glaser raced as a Can-Am locally for several years then restored to F5000. He still had the car in 2006, but by 2010, it had been acquired by Nick Shrigley-Feigl (Ramsey, Isle of Man). Sold by Shrigley-Feigl to Roland David (Vienna, Austria) in 2016.
Driven by: Frank Gardner, Colin Hyams, Dan Furey and Bob Danzi. First race: Pukekohe (Tasman R2), 9 Jan 1971. Total of 27 recorded races.
Jim Dittemore in his #11 Lola T192 at Road America in 1971. Copyright Richard A Reeves 2013. Used with permission.
Invoice date 17/02/1971 (colour: "white",sold to Haas). Kastner-Brophy Racing (Gardena, CA) for Al Unser at Questor GP Mar 1971; for Jim Dittemore US 1971 (six races: debut Riverside 25 Apr; plus Seafair "200" 7 Aug). Then the 'Lola KB1' run for Dittemore at R1 Laguna Seca 1972. Advertised 22 Jul 1972 and Kastner recalls that the car was sold to "a guy in San Diego".
BritishRacecar.com has a detailed early history of this car.
Next seen in an SCCA Regional at Willow Springs in October 1973, where Eddie O'Brien was racing his "ex-Kastner-Brophy Lola T192".
Subsequent history unknown but believed to be the blue car bought by Chuck Haines (St Louis, MO) from John L Winter (Deerfield, IL) 1987. This was then sold to Keith Young (Young Chevrolet, Dallas, TX) and is believed to have spent 'quite a bit of time' on display at the dealership. It was advertised by Dave Davis of Young Chevrolet in 1990 but its history is then unknown again until it was advertised by Bud Bennett of RM Motorsports (Wixom, MI) in 2001 and sold to Mead Korwin (Shelby Township, Michigan). The Formula 5000 Registry lists Mike Yanchek as a previous owner of the car. Retained by Korwin in 2010 and raced extensively that season. Raced by Korwin at SVRA Watkins Glen June 2011. Raced at the Monterey Pre-Reunion in August 2015. Still with Mead Korwin in May 2023.
Driven by: Al Unser, Jim Dittemore and Eddy O'Brien. First race: Ontario Motor Speedway, 28 Mar 1971. Total of 12 recorded races.
Jerry Hansen in the Autocomp Lola T192 at the SCCA Runoffs in 1971. Copyright Jeffrey Jordan 2020. Used with permission.
Jerry Hansen gets into the Lola T192 'sprint car' at Minnesota State Fair in 1973. Copyright Bill Peters 2004. Used with permission.
Invoice date 24/02/1971 (Sold to Autocomp). Autocomp: for Lou Sell Questor GP Mar 1971; for Sell US 1971 (debut Riverside 25 Apr, crashed Heat 1). Sold to Jerry Hansen US 1971 (mostly SCCA Nationals but also raced at Elkhart Lake 18 Jul and Brainerd 15 Aug; won the ARRC 27 Nov). History in 1972 unclear but believed to have been sold to Daniel Kampo (Neenah, Wisconsin) for SCCA racing and then "borrowed back" by Hansen to use in SCCA Nationals 1973.
At this point the chassis was reskinned with .060" aluminium and fitted with a full roll cage to meet USAC rules and used in USAC sprint racing. Hansen won a USAC Sprint Car race at the Minnesota State Fair on 26 Aug, two 15-mile IMCA races on 31 Aug and a 100-mile IMCA race on 1 Sep. His speed advantage over standard sprint cars was remarkable: he broke the USAC track record on 26 Aug 26 (18.82s) and the IMCA track record five days later (19.09s); he was also on pole on 1 Sep (19.21s). Rear-engined cars were banned from Sprint racing from the end of that season.
Hansen raced this car in early 1974 SCCA races before taking delivery of an ex-Haas/Hall T330. It was raced by Kampo in SCCA Nationals in 1975 and 1976. Last seen when raced by Kampo at the 1977 Road America June Sprints, still with its full roll cage. Gordon Close (Willow Springs, IL) advertised an ex-Hansen Lola T192 in Road Racers Magazine May 1979 p55 and in Autoweek in June 1979. (Close also had the ex-Donohue T192.)
The monocoque of this car has been identified by a chassis plate as one of six stripped T190s and T192s monocoques bought from Bud Bennett (Wixom, Michigan) by Eric Haga (Renton, WA) in Nov 2010. All six had come from Mac McClendon (Yorba Linda, CA) who had been buying up T190s and T192s around 1979 to contribute parts to a run of new Lola T70s he was creating. It is quite likely that HU23 went straight from Close to McClendon in 1979. Retained by Haga 2011.
Driven by: Lou Sell, Jerry Hansen, Ozzie Pohl and Daniel Kampo. First race: Ontario Motor Speedway, 28 Mar 1971. Total of 24 recorded races.
Invoice date 03/03/1971 (colour: "canary yellow", sold to Am.Rac.Ass.). American Racing Associates for Tony Adamowicz at Questor GP Mar 1971. Then entered for Roy Woods in the US 1971 series but crashed heavily in practice at the opening round at Riverside 25 Apr 1971 and did not appear again.
Woods later advertised an unraced T192 19 Feb 1972 which could mean HU24 but is now thought to have been a brand new car bought after the Riverside crash, HU30.
Driven by: Tony Adamowicz and Roy Woods. First race: Ontario Motor Speedway, 28 Mar 1971. Only one recorded race.
Invoice date 10/03/1971 (Sold to Hardwick). Doug Hardwick for Mike Walker UK 1971. Not seen in UK 1972. Subsequent history unknown but Chuck Haines (St Louis, MO) bought a disassembled T192 from Bob Smith (Houston, TX). This had been the BJ Swanson car, last seen at the 1974 Runoffs. Haines can't be certain, but he believes this is one of the cars he sold to H.H. 'Mac' McClendon (Yorba Linda, CA) in 1979 (190/F1/12 and 192 #26). On that bill of sale, the T192 is given as HU26. Subsequent history unknown.
Driven by: Mike Walker. First race: Mallory Park (UK R1), 28 Mar 1971. Total of 15 recorded races.
Pete Sherman in his #52 red Lola T192 at Road America in 1971. Copyright Richard A Reeves 2013. Used with permission.
Invoice date 30/03/1971 (Sold to Haas). Pete Sherman (Ashland, MD) and used in both Pro F5000 races in the US in 1971 (starting from R4 Mid-Ohio 5 Jul 1971) and in SCCA Nationals 1971. Raced by Sherman again in a National at Road Atlanta in May 1972 but then sold to Randy Johnston (Suitland, MD) who raced in in a few Pro races later in 1972. Subsequent history unknown.
Driven by: Pete Sherman and Randy Johnston. First race: Summit Point, 18 Apr 1971. Total of 12 recorded races.
Frank Gardner UK 1971 but referred to as "HU27" in UK magazine reports. After Gardner took over the T300 in August 1971, the T192 was sold via Carl Haas (invoice date 17/09/1971) to Nappi Racing (Rockford, IL) for Kurt Reinold at the ARRC (SCCA Runoffs) in November 1971. Reinold crashed heavily during practice, and was serious injured. The car was completely rebuilt by the following March, when Reinold planned to return to racing. However, he was not seen in the Pro series. The car was advertised in Autoweek 9 Sep 1972 as "Frank Gardner's European Championship car". The last that was heard of Reinold and the car was when it was announced as appearing at the Rockford Competition Auto Show in March 1973. Subsequent history unknown. Such a car was advertised by "Brian" in California (Blane?) in 1987 ('restored 1985'). A similarly described car was advertised on vwh.net in 1997.
A complete rolling chassis with this claimed history sold by Chuck Haines (St Louis, MO) to John Bladon (UK) in 2000. John later sold this to Nick Shrigley-Feigl (Andreas, Isle of Man) who used it as a pattern for a 2-seater F5000 project.
Note that Shrigley-Feigl had finished third in the FORCE race at Dijon in a T192 in 1999, suggesting he had another T192 earlier than this one. Still with Shrigley-Feigl in November 2017.
Driven by: Frank Gardner and Kurt Reinold. First race: Snetterton (UK R2), 9 Apr 1971. Total of 8 recorded races.
Jack Eiteljorg in his #12 Lola T192 at Road America in 1971. Copyright Richard A Reeves 2013. Used with permission.
Invoice date 17/04/1971 (colour: "white", sold to Haas). New Jack Eiteljorg (Englewood, CO) and used in the 1971 SCCA L&M Formula 5000 1971, racing in five rounds of the series as well as the USAC road racing event at Seattle in August and at least one SCCA National. Retained fr 1972 but only appeared at Laguna Seca in May and then Watkins Glen in June, where he was a non-starter. Advertised 14 Oct 1972 but then unknown until "chassis 29" was advertised complete with new spare tub by Buddy Hitchcock (Seattle, WA) in December 1978. Subsequent history unknown.
According to f5000registry.com, it was bought from Roger Pitts by Larry Castleman in 1992 and raced in historic events until sold to RM Motorsports in 1998. Castleman was from Detroit, and is known to have been badly injured when he crashed his Can-Am Lola in a SVRA race at Moroso in March 1993. The T192 was sold by RM Motorsports to Seb Coppola (Rochester Hills, Michigan) in 2002. Coppola, now President of the F5000 Drivers Association has raced the car extensively since then. Taken to New Zealand for the 2011/12 Tasman Revival series and raced by Coppola at Ruapuna Park Feb 2012. Raced by Coppola at Road America July 2013. Raced at the HAWK at Road America in July 2015 and at the Monterey Pre-Reunion a month later. Raced at the SVRA events at Indianapolis and Watkins Glen in 2016. Raced at Road America July 2017. Raced at VARAC Mosport Park 16-17 June 2018, and the WeatherTech International Challenge at Road America in July 2018. Raced again by Coppola at Mid-Ohio and Watkins Glen in 2021.
Driven by: Jack Eiteljorg. First race: Seattle (US R3), 23 May 1971. Total of 7 recorded races.
Invoice date 28/05/1971 (Sold to Haas). Believed to be a new car bought by Roy Woods after he crashed HU24 heavily in practice at Riverside 25 Apr 1971. Not seen again in 1971 but Woods advertised an unraced T192 in Autoweek 19 Feb 1972 and 8 Jul 1972, and it seems likely that this refers to HU30. Woods entered a Matich A50 and then a Lotus 70B for George Follmer in F5000 during 1972 and had also been running the AMC Javelin team in the SCCA Trans-Am championship in 1972 where Woods co-drove with Follmer. It would appear that the T192 was kept as a backup because at Riverside in September 1972, the final round of the 1972 Pro series, Roy Woods Racing entered a T192, presumably this one, for successful dune buggy racer Bob Ferro (Sherman Oaks, CA) alongside the usual Follmer car. Ferro, later know as "Baja Bob" due to his four wins in the off-road Baja 500, crashed at Turn 1 on the first lap of Heat 2 in an incident with Follmer and Merle Brennan.
HU30 reappeared in 1973 when entered by Justice Brothers for Marc Waco (Tarzana, CA) in four races. It was raced again in late 1974 still entered by Justice Brothers for Ron Dykes in the three Californian F5000 races at the end of the season. SCCA Nationals 1975 and then the three Californian 'Pro' F5000 events in September and October. It was entered for Dick Ferguson early in 1976 SCCA season. Retained by the Justice family until sold to Chuck Haines (St Louis, MO) in 1985. The car was then yellow and Edward R 'Ed' Justice told Haines that it had been "ex-Follmer for Roy Woods".
Advertised by Haines in 2004. Sold to Kurt Engelmann (Long Valley, NJ) 2007 and restored for US vintage racing events. Kurt has blogged extensively on the three-year rebuild which culminated in the car running at Roebling Roads in April 2010. Raced by Kurt Engelmann at Road America July 2013 and Lime Rock Sep 2013. Raced at the Monterey Pre-Reunion in August 2015, but retired when a half shaft failed, and off the road since then. Still with Engelmann in January 2017. Raced at VARAC Mosport Park 16-17 June 2018, and the WeatherTech International Challenge at Road America in July 2018.
Driven by: Bob Ferro, Mark Waco, Ron Dykes and Dick Ferguson. First race: Riverside (US R8), 24 Sep 1972. Total of 14 recorded races.
The unidentified cars
In the US in 1971, Lunger had HU19, Negley HU20, Dittemore HU22, Sell and Hansen HU23, Woods HU24, Sherman HU27 and Eiteljorg HU29. It seems very likely that Roy Woods had HU30. We also know HU21 and HU25 were sold to the US. The unidentified T192s in 1971 North American races are the cars owned by Bud Morley and Jim Matuska, and these are likely to have been HU21 and HU25. Spencer Stoddard's "T192", previously listed here, is likely to have been his 1970 T190 rebuilt.
New to Jim Matuska and entered by Competition Developments/Paul Newman for Bob Bondurant at Questor GP Mar 1971 (where it was listed as "T192/2". Raced in the US Pro series by Eric Haga (Seattle, WA), appearing at Riverside on 25 April and Laguna Seca on 2 May before crashing in the first heat at Seattle 23 May. Not seen again.
Advertised by Matuska 2 Jun 1973 "New for Bob Bondurant in Questor GP - only 3 races run - zero hours on complete chassis rebuild" which would match if it was the Haga car. Subsequent history unknown.
Driven by: Bob Bondurant and Eric Haga. First race: Ontario Motor Speedway, 28 Mar 1971. Total of 4 recorded races.
New to Bernard "Bud" Morley (Denver, CO), and entered in the 1971 US series by Thor International Racing, but was crashed in Heat 1 at the first race, Riverside 25 April, and Autoweek reported it as a write-off. Morley did not appear again until Mid-Ohio on 5 July when Autoweek described his car as "new". However, this is likely to have been rebuilt with a new monocoque than a whole new car.
After Mid-Ohio, Morley raced the car at Road America and at Edmonton on 1 August, but in Heat 2 of the latter race, had another accident leaving the tub "badly mangled". Morley, a Denver attorney, had previously raced in Can-Am and at Indy, and at 40 was one of the oldest drivers in the series. He did not race again after the Edmonton crash, and the Lola was presumably written off.
Driven by: Bud Morley. First race: Riverside (US R1), 25 Apr 1971. Total of 4 recorded races.
The 1972 mystery cars
Five new T192 combinations appear in 1972 for Colin Hyams ("HU14" over from Australia), Larry McNeil (HU19), Bob Ferro (believed to be HU24), Randy Johnston (HU27) and Gregg Peterson. Of those, only Peterson's car remains a mystery. Jim Moffat's "T192" appears in documentation of the first two 1972 races but there is no evidence the car actually appeared.
Of the other cars, Negley still had HU20 in June, HU22 was still with Kastner-Brophy in July, HU23 is a puzzle, 'HU28' (Gardner's "HU27") was with Nappi Racing until September, HU29 was with Eiteljorg until October, and the car we believe was HU30 remained with Roy Wood Racing until July at least. This leaves HU21 and HU25, likely to be the two 1971 mystery cars of Bud Morley and Jim Matuska. Morley's was wrecked (twice) but Matuska's was rebuilt and advertised after Haga's Seattle accident, so this is the most likely candidate to be Gregg Peterson's car. Another possibility is that Doug Hardwick's HU26 had crossed the Atlantic after the 1971 season.
Jim Moffat (Santa Monica, CA) US 1972 (DNA at R1 Laguna Seca 7 May; DNP at R2 Edmonton 4 Jun). Nothing more known.
First appearance: Edmonton (US R2), 4 Jun 1972.
Gregg Peterson (Sunnyvale, CA) and used in the US series in 1972. It first raced at R2 Edmonton 4 Jun, after which Peterson advertised it as having raced once on a new chassis. A spare tub was included in the advert. This suggests that it was one of the cars crashed in 1971. Peterson next raced it at R8 Riverside 24 Sep. Retained for the 1973 US series (1 race + 1 DNS). Heavily damaged at Sears Point SCCA National 15-16 Sep 1973. Not seen again and presumed destroyed.
If this was the ex-Hardwick HU26, then it went to Bay Racing for 1974. However, Rick Vendl recalls that the T192 bought by Bay Racing was already numbered #42 when they bought it; Peterson had used #86.
Driven by: Gregg Peterson. First race: Edmonton (US R2), 4 Jun 1972. Total of 5 recorded races.
The 1973 mystery cars
By 1973, McNeil continued to race HU19, Hansen was driving HU23 again, Dan Furey raced "HU14" and Petersen still had his car from 1972. As many as nine others (HU20, HU21, HU22, HU24, HU25, HU27, HU28, HU29 and HU30) have vanished into the mists of time. Of these, it would be reasonable to assume five or six were still intact.
Two new T192 drivers appeared in 1973: John Ransom and Bill Tempero.
Bill Tempero (Fort Collins, CO) US 1973 (2 races). Also won the SCCA Midwest Division in 1973. Sold to Dean Vetrock (Racine, WI) and raced in SCCA events from 1975, mainly at Blackhawk Farms. Raced at the 1975 Runoffs. Later at the Hoosier National 18-19 Sep 1976 (Formula Dec 1976 p42). Vetrock's T192 was fourth at the 1976 Runoffs (Formula Jan 1977 p37). Also at 1977 Road America June Sprints (Formula Aug 1977 p41) and at Nelson Ledges in May 1978.
Dean sold the car to four gentlemen from Chicago who ran it in CenDiv SCCA racing. Subsequent history unknown.
Driven by: Bill Tempero and Dean Vetrock. First race: Phoenix International Raceway, 25 Feb 1973. Total of 19 recorded races.
John F. Ransom, Jr (Portland, OR) ran a Lola T192 in two Pro F5000 races at the start of the 1973 season: at R1 Riverside on 29 Apr where he did not qualify from the heats, and at R2 Laguna Seca on 6 May where he did not start. He was also on the entry list for an SCCA National at Portland five weeks later. Ransom entered his car as #89 in Pro races or #99 in Nationals, and it may be relevant that Spence Stoddard's Lola "T192" in (relatively) nearby Seattle, WA wore #99 during 1972. Subsequent history unknown.
Driven by: John F Ransom. First race: Riverside (US R1), 29 Apr 1973. Only one recorded race.
The 1974 mystery cars
McNeil raced HU19 and Furey raced "HU14" in 1974, and two new T192 drivers appeared, BJ Swanson and Al Stanchfield.
Al Stanchfield in his Lola T192 at Phoenix in the late 1970s. Copyright Steve Smith 2023. Used with permission.
Al Stanchfield (Fresno, CA) raced a Lola T192 in SCCA Formula A events at Riverside and Phoenix from 1974 to 1978. Steve Smith, who crewed for Stanchfield and raced the car once in an ASRA event in Phoenix, recalls that Stanchfield sold the engine and later sold the car separately in the early 1980s. Nothing more known.
Driven by: Al Stanchfield. First race: Riverside, 9 Feb 1974. Total of 7 recorded races.
Robert D 'Bob' Bay of Bay Racing Enterprises (Elkhart, IN) bought a Lola T192 for 1974 which was initially raced in SCCA Nationals by Rick Vendl (South Bend, IN). After the Road America June Sprints, it appears that the drive was taken over by BJ Swanson (Bristol, IN), who qualified for the Runoffs but crashed the T192 at Road Atlanta. See HU26 above.
Driven by: BJ Swanson. First race: Indianapolis Raceway Park, 30 Jun 1974. Total of 5 recorded races.
1975-1976
All four T192 drivers from 1974, McNeil, Furey, Stanchfield and Swanson, disappear in 1975 although both McNeil and Stanchfield would reappear in 1976. Dean Vetrock was the only new T192 driver in 1975, using the ex-Tempero car. In 1976, this group were joined by Leland Sheldon, in an unidentified T192.
Leland Sheldon in his Lola T192 at Sears Point in 1978. Copyright Howard Macken 2012. Used with permission.
Leland Sheldon (Reno, NV) drove a T192 in SCCA South Pacific Division events. Leland recalls buying the car as a rolling chassis in Sacramento, CA, from a racing car dealer, trading a Lotus 20 Formula C and cash for the Lola. The Lola was blue with polished aluminum tub and wings. The rear wing had Sahara Tahoe written on it and the front wings had Daycoa Lighting. He fitted a 305 ci Chevrolet and raced it for two seasons in West Coast SCCA events until a race at Laguna Seca where a rear tyre blow, spinning the Lola into the rail and damaging the rear suspension. Somebody in the Midwest made him an offer for the car which he readily accepted. He cannot remember the buyer.
Driven by: Leland Sheldon. First race: Portland International Raceways, 29 Aug 1976. Total of 5 recorded races.
1977
In 1977, although F5000 had been discontinued at 'Pro' level, some T192s continued in SCCA events. McNeil continued to race HU19, Vetrock his ex-Tempero car and Leland Sheldon his unidentified car, and these three were joined by Daniel Kampo, presumably driving the ex-Hansen HU23.
More recent mystery cars
Craig Bennett's Lola T192 at HSR Historic Challenge in 1996. Copyright Norbert Vogel 2007. Used with permission.
A "ex-Donohue" Lola T192 has been within the orbit of Bud Bennett (Wixom, MI) and his company RM Motorsports Inc since 1992 or earlier. Joe Wally, who was co-owner of a Lola T163 with Bud Bennett, raced his "ex-Donohue" 1970 Lola T192 at the SVRA "Spring Fling" early in 1992, and at the Chicago Historic Races at Road America in July 1993 and July 1994. An 'ex-Donohue' 1971 Lola T192 was driven by Bud's son Craig Bennett at HSR Mid-Ohio Aug 1993 and by Bud Bennett at HSR Mid-Ohio July 1994. This car was reportedly restored by Bud in 1996, and raced by Craig Bennett at HSR Mid-Ohio in 1996. Joe Wally drove a '1970' T192 in HSR events in 2000. This car was sold by RM Auctions in August 2000, when it was described as being "reputed to be ex-Penske/Donohue, then Brett Lunger and Larry McNeil".
Jim Oppenheimer (Chicago, IL) won at Road America in May 2001 in a Lola T192 and ran a '70' T192 in the 2002 SVRA series. Photographs on Oppenheimer's website show a "ex Mark Donohue Lola T-192" that is almost identical to the car raced by Craig Bennett in 1996. Craig Bennett prepared Oppenheimer's cars so it is likely that this is the same car.
The same car, visually identical but now with a slightly neglected look, was on display at The Collings Foundation's Automotive Collection (Stow, MA) by October 2009. Still in The Collings Foundation in April 2016.
Ted Walker was in touch on 20 May 2003 to advise that John Harper had bought a T192 'complete and ready to go', Ted says it is the 'works Frank Gardner' car. As of 2005, Bob Barton had owned a T192 for a long time.
A note on chassis number identification
Not all sources for chassis numbers agree. The records above are constructed using Lola invoice records, the numbers quoted in Motoring News' Questor GP report and other direct period observations from Tom Erwin and David McKinney. For comparison, the numbers are shown below:
| First driver | Lola records | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Mark Donohue | T192 HU19 | Lola invoice dated 28 Aug 1970 and sold to Penske. Called "T192/1" at Questor GP and in some other reports. Tom Erwin's notebook mention that Larry McNeil's 1972 car was "ex-Lunger". |
| T192 HU20 | Number observed on Negley's car at Lime Rock 1971 by Tom Erwin. | |
| Gardner (Tasman) | not mentioned | David McKinney saw the "190/F1/6" plate on this car in New Zealand 1971. Tom Erwin saw the "T192 HU14" plate on it at Watkins Glen 1972. The T190 plate was presumably borrowed for carnet purposes. It still wears the "T192 HU14" chassis plate today. |
| T192 HU21 | Identification uncertain. | |
| Al Unser | T192 HU22 | 'T192/22' according to Motoring News's report on the 1971 Questor GP (1 Apr 1971) |
| Lou Sell | T192 HU23 | 'T192/23' according to Motoring News's report on the 1971 Questor GP (1 Apr 1971) |
| Tony Adamowicz | T192 HU24 | 'T192/24' according to Motoring News's report on the 1971 Questor GP (1 Apr 1971) |
| T192 HU25 | Identification uncertain. | |
| T192 HU26 | Invoice identifies this car as the Doug Hardwick car and this identity is also given in contemporary magazines. The identification of HU26 in the US later only comes from a bill of sale when Chuck Haines sold the car in 1979. | |
| T192 HU27 | Observed by Tom Erwin on Sherman's car at Lime Rock 1971 and ARRC 1971. This number also appears in magazine reports of Frank Gardner's UK car but it seems far more likely that this car was HU28; see below. | |
| T192 HU28 | Lola invoice records show this car being sold by Carl Haas late in 1971, implying that it was Gardner's works-assisted UK car first. An advert for the Team Nappi car 9 Sep 1972 calls it the "Frank Gardner's European Championship car" reinforcing the idea that Gardner's car was sold to the US late in 1971. | |
| T192 HU29 | Eiteljorg (Tom Erwin's notebook for Watkins Glen 1972). | |
| T192 HU30 | Identification uncertain. |
These histories last updated on .