Cars that did not start

Peter Gregg and Hurley Haywood

The race was to revive the year long rivalry between Dave Heinz Chevrolet Corvette and Peter Gregg's Porsche 911S. Dave Heinz had won the previous year's race but things were getting tough in 1972. The race was to feature a fifty one car entry list, with a very eclectic mix of cars. It would be mainly a Porsche versus Corvette battle. That could be very exciting. The GM squadron was to feature, alongside Dave Heinz-Dana English car, the Bobby Rinzler car, which was driven by Charlie Kemp-Wilbur Pickett. Those cars were classified in GTO class, as opposed to the Porsche 911s, which were GTU cars, thanks to their displacement. The both of them had won the previous race, which was held at Daytona. They were serious contenders. Another valuable entry was Phil Currin's '64 Sting Ray. Fast Phil was always amongst the best, even with an older car. Denny Long also ran an ex-Greenwood Corvette, while Charlie Cook was less renowned, and slower too. Willie Schuldt and Andrew Bach had a beautiful Sting Ray, a black beauty. The Porsche troops was consistent, with the Brumos car, driven by Peter Gregg and Hurley Haywood, which was the favorite. The car was immaculate, and beautifully prepped. Another car was quite as good, the Toad Hall Racing car driven by Michael Keyser and Bob Beasley. They were the major opposition for the Brumos car. Both cars used the new 2,5L engine, which was much more powerful than the 2,0L one. Bruce Jennings, another Porsche legend, fielded his own 2,0L car, which he would drive solo. George Stone would drive the Silverstone car. Andrew Carduner and Harry Theodoracopoulos would share the Lash Racing Porsche 911S. Sam McLaughlin and Pete Harrison drove yet another Porsche 911S. Harry and Klaus Bytzek, two Porsche specialists, had switched from their 914/6 to a 911 too. Richard Schuck and Bert Everett, Dave Helmick and John O'steen, Mike Tillson and Dieter Oest were all Porsche regulars. The German make already had its strong contingent of drivers, from the beginning of the series. A strong Porsche 914/6 was also entered : it was the Mexican car, which was driven by Daniel Muniz and Fred van Beuren. A very potent AMC Javelin was fielded by Robert Hennig. The car was backed by Thiokol Chemical, and Russ Norburn would co-drive him. A bunch of Chevrolet Camaros was also entered. They were mostly Trans Am lookalike cars, but they were somewhat outdated. Jon Krogsund and Bill Davis drove the HRH Racing car. Jerry Daca and Don Haines, as well as Eddie Johnson, were honest drivers, but not potential winners. Richard Sterbins had probably the most effective car. Those cars were entered in the TO class, for Touring Over 2,0L. Lou Statzer and Tom Dutton had another car, which was also an old chassis. The only competition for the Camaros would be, apart from the Javelin, a single Ford Mustang. It was not a very strong car, though. Mike Yarbrough and Sam Miller had a '67 model. The GTU class featured a host of various cars, including two Alfa Romeo Spiders. Paul Spruell had one car, as well as Richard Heller. One MGB GT, driven by James McQuaig, would face a Lotus Elan driven by James McNeill, a Triumph TR4 driven by Howard Smith and Triumph Spitfire driven by Alec Gillespie. The most consistent class, however, was undoubtedly the TU class, with no less than twenty one cars. It would be dominated by the Libra International Racing entered Ford Escort BDA. John Buffum and Steve Behr had no real opponent as to their speed, but matters were different regarding to reliability. Three BMW 2002s were entered, and the best looking car was Phil Dermer's Gemini Racing car. It was the fastest one, too. The two other cars were less developed. Byron Morris and Clint Abernethy's car, as the Earl Fellin and Daniel Torpy's, were essentially Production cars, which had been slightly updated. A bunch of six Ford Pintos was entered. The cars were less competitive, but somewhat reliable. Carson Baird and Joe Amato had the fastest car. Roger Mandeville and H W Alexander, Carl White and Charles Alexander, Rick La Croix and Rick Schiesz , Jerry Walsh, a well known specialist, as well as Tom Wilson and Ed Pratt could do well in their class. Ford not only had Pintos, but also counted on Cortina Lotuses, which were interesting cars. Oliver Weikert and Fred Alexander, as well as Henry Mills and Webb Sullivan or Stan Glick could do well with those English racers. A lonely Ford Capri driven by Jim Stark and Toby Milne seemed to be lacking the necessary power to be a threat in this class. A well-driven Opel Manta would try to emerge from those furious racers with Amos Johnson and Steve Coleman at the wheel. A Fiat 124SC, entered and driven by Steven Shepherd, was a welcome addition to the ranks of this class. The other cars were less potent. Razey Feezell fielded a beautiful Alfa Romeo GTV. Ronnie Smith and Bill Cotton had an Opel Kadett and George Alderman was entering the sole Datsun 510. To complete the roster, a duo of Mini Coopers was swarming. Harold Oaks and Michael Booth, William Holden and David James would try to compensate the lack of power with a great aggressiveness in driving.