A new star is born

This very last race from the 1981 season would be run under very warm conditions. A clear blue sky was to welcome a great entry list. By mid week, every top contender would try any viable option in order to cope with the track's specificities to improve one's racer. Porsche was still the make to beat and was to be opposed one Lola T600, two Ford Mustang Tcs and a very spectacular Chevrolet Corvette Tc. Thanksgiving was to take place on the 26th november and no practice session had been scheduled for that very day. Things would really become serious the day after. Let's take a look at the entry list : John Fitzpatrick-Jim Busby would drive the John Fitzpatrick Racing Porsche 935K3. John Paul Sr and his son were at the wheel of their own version of the K3, dubbed JLP2. Both cars were already sporting new aerodynamical devices which would be allowed by the 1982 rules. Some kind of liberalization, sort of. Bob Akin had a classical K3, and Preston Henn brought his own one. He would be co-driven by his daughter. The other Porsche 935s were variations around the do it yourself theme. Gianpiero Moretti had a 935L, which was very fast on the straights. Mauricio de Narvaez drove the Momo former car, a B2 version. Bobby Rahal would drive the Garretson Enterprise car, which was an evolution of the K3. Ted Field brought his own car while the Whittington Bros car was to be driven by the younger brother, Dale. Josele Garza would try his hand at the second JLP car. Marty Hinze had also a 935, which was updated to K3 specs. A single Lola T600 was entered, but it was the Cooke-Woods entry, driven by Brian Redman. The latter had been crowned and was eager to win this event, but his task was to be tough. The speedway was a horsepower course. Two Ford Mustang Tcs were entered, driven by Klaus Ludwig-Rick Mears and Kevin Cogan-Peter Kuhn. Both cars were Zakspeed prepared. They would suffer from overheating, their engines not appreciating such long high revs periods. A very spectacular Chevrolet Corvette Tc was fielded by Larry Stephens, who was new to the track. The engine was giving more than 700 hp and could do well on such a track. An old Chevron B36 Buick, driven by Del Russo Taylor, added some exoticism to the race.

A colorful bunch of cars exiting the infield.

The GTO class was pretty exciting, with many cars able to win. Dave Cowart and Kenper Miller were the favorites and were the 1981 GTO champs. They could end up the season beautifully. Three other BMW M1s were entered, with Tony Garcia and Hiram Cruz driving the Montura car. Denny Wilson brought his own car, as well as Joe Crevier, who teamed up with Jeff Scott. Phil Currin was the best Chevrolet Corvette proponent, with his wild looking car. Kal Showket had a similar car, and John Carusso drove his Dynasales backed car. Another fine racer was Lloyd Frink, whose car was beautifully turned out. Many other cars were entered, mostly by privateers. Dale Kreider and Philip Keirn were amongst the lucky racers, while Al Levenson had an old Stingray. Oftedahl Racing was one of the most respected GTO team, and they had brought a pair of very fast Chevrolet Camaros, driven by Bob Raub and Dave Heinz. Both drivers could do very well, so could be told of Craig Carter, in the Peerless Racing car. Another string of private entries could be registered. Jack Refenning and Ren Tilton were at the wheel of the 901 Racing Porsche 934, a very potent car. Some Porsche Carrera RSRs were also to be entered, but they were now outpowered by the new GTOs. They could count on their reliability. Tico Almeida and Ernesto Soto drove the T & R car; Roger Schramm and Werner Frank drove the Framm Promotions car, while Al Bacon was to debut his long IMSA career in another Porsche Carrera RSR. Hoyt Overbagh, a GTO regular was to drive his familiar Chevrolet Monza, now sporting the Oberdorfer Research colors. Some single car entries would add some diversity, such as a Pontiac Firebird entered by Bill Nelson, a Mercury Capri driven by Ron Hunter and Terry Gimmell, another one for Lyn St James and Tom Gloy, a Ford Mustang for Bob Penrod and a Plymouth Barracuda, driven by Paul Metz. A very old, but welcome entry was the Shelby 350GT driven by longtime SCCA driver Don Cummings and Ed Justis. The GTU class would be another Mazda-Datsun battle, with the former overnumbering the latter. Kent Racing had Walt Bohren and Lee Mueller driving the fastest cars, BF Goodrich backing a pair of street shod cars for Roger Mandeville-Amos Johnson and Jim Downing-Irv Hoerr. Michael Zimicki would drive Jim Mullen's Loud Car entry. They would face some Z cars, with Logan Blackburn easily faster than everyone. Charles Morgan was also a good racer, but slightly slower than his opponents. John Morgan had an older Z car. An unusual BMW 320 was entered by Autopia, driven by Exay Borrero and Joe Varde. A tiny Datsun B210, driven by Dan Robson would look very underpowered in such a race. The pole position was set by John Paul Jr, who did it at the right moment. John Fitzpatrick bettered his lap time, but it happened the day after, so his 1m44s092 earned him the second place. The weather was fine when the 72 cars took place on the grid. The lineup was deprived from Gianpiero Moretti, who deemed the track to be too much dangerous. Paul Newman had destroyed his Datsun ZX Tc earlier in the week, so... Unfortunately, Larry Stephens would not be a part of this race, when his engine lost a transmission. When the green flag was waved, John Fitzpatrick would easily take the lead, followed by John Paul Jr, Brian Redman, Hurley Haywood, Klaus Ludwig, Mauricio de Narvaez and Bobby Rahal. Billy Hagan would be the first one to pit after brushing the wall in the first lap with his Chevrolet Camaro. John Fitzpatrick was not to be approached by the competition, and he pulled away from the rest of the field. John Paul Jr and Brian Redman would engage in a duel, which would last most of the race. The Lola T600 would spin, however and the Englishman would have to pit for fresh tires, losing some precious seconds in the process, and probably the race. He would close in on the Porsche 935 and stick to his tail, both of them a couple of tens of seconds in arrears from John Fitzpatrick, who was to be contested. Klaus Ludwig was soon to retire with an overheating engine. Still easily leading the race, John Fitzpatrick would pit for refueling on the 49th lap, and restart for what seemed to be like a parade. Alas, he would lose his turbos and the race. Unable to keep up with the leaders, he would drop from the lead. John Paul Jr and Brian Redman were now fighting for the win. The Lola T600 was better in the slow sections of the track while the Porsche 935 was faster on the banking. The fight was great and would last until the very last lap. Brian Redman managed to build up a two second margin and looked like the winner when entering the very last lap. However, a big puff of smoke by a backmarker forced him to slow down, in order to avoid any collision.

John Paul Jr at the wheel of his Porsche 935.

John Paul Jr was not to be impressed by such a moment, and he would sneak by the Lola. He would have to keep ahead of the Lola on the banking. Turning up the boost to 1.8 bar, he maintained his slight advantage until the chequered. What a race! Hurley Haywood was third, followed by Mauricio de Narvaez, Ted Field and Josele Garza. David Cowart won again the GTO class in his outstanding BMW M1, followed by Tony Garcia and Denny Wilson. Walt Bohren won the GTU class, but Logan Blackburn proved his mettle by finishing second in class. A great last 1981 race, with a great driver crowned, and a bright new star to come. Things looked exciting for the upcoming season.