Fabcar GTP

Cars

Fabcar prototypes had been involved in Lights Racing competition from 1985 on. The car, power by a Porsche engine and driven by Elliot Forbes Robinson, won its first race. Then, the cars proved reliable, if not fast. In 1988, however, it looked like Dave Klym wanted to go with the big boys. Less restrictions to the weight, more power and the addition of a Chevrolet engine should do well. With the help of nothing but American components, things were to be tough, however. Tim McAdam, the Owner of the car, also wanted to make it big, and he hired no less than Junior Johnson as the engine builder. An extensive research and development program was set up, and the car was successfully tested at Charlotte, then at Miami.[...]

Dyson Racing

Teams

Team patriarch Rob Dyson started his racing career in the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) in 1974 with a Datsun 510 sedan soon after he graduated with an M.B.A. from Cornell University. The car was half built and he purchased the parts from the competition department. He was then a successful entrepreneur in the radio broadcasting business. In 1974, he won his first SCCA race, a regional at Watkins Glen. He was soon joined by Pat Smith, an auto mechanics teacher, and started running nationals in 1977. He told his wife that it would last one year, but one championship led to another one, and he would be here many years later.[...]

Jack Miller Aston Martin Nimrod

Cars

Robin Hamilton was an Aston Martin enthusiast, and he entered his first one at the Le Mans 24 Hour race in 1977. Willing to tackle the WSC Championship, he became aware of the fact that those cars were overweight and underpowered. In 1983, he crossed the ocean and entered his cars in the 24 Hours of Daytona. The race was to be a great disappointment, and both ended up in lowly positions. At Miami, things did not go better, and the race was shortened due to the poor weather conditions. At Sebring, it looked like things would improve, but the cars carried a "For sale" panel before the race. Drake Olson, Lyn St James and Reggie Smith ended up in fifth place overall, however. But the car was to undergo a lot of minor repairs during the race. [...]

Old war horse : Bob Garretson's Porsche 935

Cars

This car was very special : it was run for as much as nine years and seventy thousand miles. It also appeared under many disguises, from the original 935 body to the K3, 934, again 935K3 and 930S. It was a car which destiny was bound to earn many race success, until 1986. Dick Barbour purchased one of the 935/78 that the Porsche factory offered for sale. Dick Barbour, Brian Redman and John Paul Sr drove this new car at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. He also entered a 935/77, which Bob Garretson, Steve Earle and Bob Akin would drive, and this car would be badly damaged when Bob Garretson had an horrifying accident on the Mulsanne straight. Trying to avoid a much slower car, the car was completely destroyed, but Bob Garretson emerged unhurt. [...]

Red Lobster BMW M1

Cars

David Cowart and Kenper Miller were long time racers. Having run from the beginning of the series or so, they were familiar faces in the Camel GT circuit. Kenper, with brother Paul, campaigned various cars, such as a Camaro, a Corvette, Pantera and BMW CSL, while David was a Porsche contender, driving a 911 and a Carrera. In 1978, both men would fight for the GTO title, with David Cowart taking the crown over Kenper Miller in his ageing CSL. He was now searching for another racer, in order to tackle another GTO Championship. For the 1979 season, both men would team up and use each other's car in various races. They decided they needed a new car for the upcoming 1980-1981 seasons, and with the new rules in mind, set their choice on the new Procar BMW M1.[...]

Joe Chamberlain Chevrolet Camaro

Teams

Joe Chamberlain was an accomplished SCCA racer, who used to run a 1965 Ford Mustang until 1968. For the 1969 season, he knew that he had to switch to a more competitive car, so he purchased a new Camaro. Joe and his crew prepared the car racing, and would use some special parts, provided by one of his friends who worked in the Chevrolet parts business. Included was a special crossram manifold, which Joe was to test, as it was an experimental one. American Racing Wheels provided sponsorship as well as Firestone. Joe experienced many failures in 1969 with the ball joints, and in 1970, he would switch to the standard cowl induction. Even though he was amongst the fastest from the private entrants, he was still slower than the factory cars, and it was disappointing. [...]

Full Time Racing Dodge Daytona

Cars

Front drive versus rear drive. Which way to go? For a long time, rear drive had been the only viable solution in race car driving, but things might have changed, as one team, back in 1988, built and used two different cars with the two setups. The Full Time racing team, owned by driver Kal Showket, was one of the few teams who definitely could showcase such a comparison. The cars were GTU Dodge Daytonas, which were entered in the Camel GT series in 1988. Those cars were nearly identical, with same engine, same body and suspension setup, so it was easy to compare such racers. Those were state of the art GTU cars, with 2,4L engine versions of Chrysler powerplant. Those cars were built with the same professionalism and differed only by their transmission.[...]

Rebel Chevrolet Corvette

Cars

The RED # 4 car was originally built from a crashed 1968 silver/black convertible. It was acquired as an insurance job at auction in Miami. The team put a new frame under the car and replaced the front end with a one-piece Eckler unit. The car was built specifically for LeMans at (Toye) English Chevrolet in a period of about two months. The team's first car (# 57 Rebel) was deemed to be a bit long in the tooth and, on top of that, the Le Mans regulations would require significant changes to bring it back to near-street condition. It was just as easy to start fresh. The car did eventually make it to Le Mans for the 1972 race, but not without some interesting stories. Most of the stories weren't so interesting at the time but, as the restoration began, they really did help put the car in context.[...]

Tom Walkinshaw

People

He was born on August 14 1946 to a farming family in Midlothian. After a garage owner who raced a Mini sparked his interest in motorsport, Walkinshaw started racing in Formula Ford single-seaters, winning the 1969 Scottish championship. A year later he signed for the Formula 3 team, March, but his season was wrecked as he struggled with an uncompetitive car and broke both ankles in an accident at Brands Hatch. He was most successful in touring cars, winning a class in the British Saloon Car Championship in 1974. But while he continued to enjoy success on the track, winning the Silverstone six-hour race and the European touring car championship, it was his founding in 1976 of Tom Walkinshaw Racing (TWR) at Kidlington, near Oxford, that most marked his career.[...]

Al Holbert

Drivers

Al Holbert began his professional career in 1973, driving a Porsche Carrera. Holbert studied mechanical engineering at Lehigh University and after graduation he went to work in the family business, selling cars. He worked for Roger Penske and started designing components for racing cars. His career was launched as Mark Donohue really influenced him about driving race cars. With such a background, he was very good at working on race cars, as well as driving them. His first one was a Porsche 914/6 he used in C Production. He drove Porsche Carreras from 1973, in Trans Am and from 1974 to 1976 in IMSA. He switched to a Chevrolet Monza in 1976 and 1977. He had joined forces with Dekon Engineering, who provided the car, and Holbert Racing built it.[...]