Cars that did not start

Al Holbert outlasted the field

1976 - Sebring, Florida...Al Holbert and Michael Keyser drove their Porsche Carrera to victory in the 24th running of the '12 Hours of Sebring' Sports Car race. Pole sitter John Greenwood lost the lead after finding a GTU car in his path going into turn 1 just before the one hour mark. The resulting collision and off-track excursion would eventually retire the Greenwood/Mike Brockman Corvette when dirt from the off caused clutch failure. Peter Gregg dropped from contention after stalling on course, apparently from water in his fuel, returning 20 laps down. The David Hobbs/Benny Parsons BMW then led past the 3 hour mark until NASCAR star Parsons went off on the first lap of his stint, the damage wrapping the brake ducting around the stub axle, brakes and suspension. Holbert/Keyser then moved out front. Hobbs moved back to 3rd before trouble again struck during Parsons turn. This time a broken throttle linkage stranded Benny on the course until Hobbs went out, restarted the car and drove it back to the pits only to retire with a cracked manifold. Keyser was rear-ended when braking to avoid a slower car, giving the Jim Busby/Carl Shafer Porsche the lead. Shafer lost a wheel on the back part of the circuit and had to walk back for a spare, giving the Bob Hagestad/Jerry Jolly Porsche the lead until they had to pit to change the battery after the headlights dimmed severely. This moved the Holbert/Keyser Porsche back in front and they cruised to a 2 lap victory. The race nearly didn't take place at all as original promoters Rock N' Road lost interest following the denial of a permit to hold a Joe Cocker concert in conjunction with the race. Greenwood bought out their contract and the race was held, despite threats of an injunction.