Bob Lazebnik Chevrolet Monza

Amongst the many Chevrolet Monza racers that were built, this was probably one of the most unknown cars. However, it was to be built by Ron Fournier, who was responsible for cars entered by Roger Penske or FoMoCo. He was contracted by BMW driver Bob Lazebnik to build a GT racer from scratch. The latter chose another way from most racers who went the Dekon way. The result was as attractive as possible. He also hired no less than John Morton to be the lead driver this car. The car would be built within four months and was debuted at the 1975 Daytona Finale. There, it would face no less than six lookalike Monzas. Bob Lazebnik was a very good BMW 2,0L racer, with which he entered the TransAm under 2,0L Championship and earned some fine results. The yellow Monza, which was backed by Airmaster Fan Co. in Jackson, Michigan, was having its first stint at IMSA Racing and needed to be developed. Handling was the major concern, but it was also Weber carbureted, which meant that it was slightly underpowered. It lacked the power to get on top of the field, but John Morton would run into the 1m57s range, which was kind of very good. Rear axle problems were to be settled by Bob Lazebnik's crew and the car got ready for the qualifying session. After one lap, however, a puff of abruptly ended up the session. The engine had blown and no spare one had been brought. Disappointment was trinkling from the team. The car had been assembled in just four months, with the tubular chassis being mounted. The team had started with a body in white, and stripped it from anything useless. Weight has always been the enemy in auto Racing. Floor panels were this removed and the body and chassis had become one unique piece of work. A Franklin full floating rear end was to be used and many parts would be virtually hand made. The suspension would be designed from scratch. A Corvette radiator, which was properly sealed, was used to cool the engine. The narrow body was kept, in order to keep the top speed as high as possible instead of cornering. The entier front body structure had been designed to be easily removed in one piece, for better servicing. Four quick pins had to be released for maintenance. Engine was mounted behind the front axle, for a better weight distribution. Bob Lazebnik was looping for a major sponsor, in order to run the entire 1976 season, which he finally did not. The costs of GT racing were high and he would enter a couple of races before dropping from the series. He was not the first one to do so. Later, the car would be sold to Tuck Thomas, who would have some fine results in the Trans Am series in 1978 and 1979.

Bob Lazebnik drove this Chevrolet Monza in 1976.