Cars that did not start

Race story

The race was to take place on the very fast Charlotte Raceway. Thirty one cars were entered, but it was over before the race for Don Devendorf's Nissan ZX Tc GTP, who had a rear suspension piece break. GTP cars were running with Lights and GTO cars, while the GTU cars had a race of their own. The result was a big slam into the wall, and the car was written off. The race was to be somewhat well balanced, with Porsche-Jaguar-Hawk-Ford and Chevrolet all willing to win. It would be a matter of minutes for the Ford crew when water was found in the oil, forcing the team to an engine change. The car would be ready just in time. The practice sessions was dominated by Al Holbert, who set up a new record at 1m04s920. He was followed by John Paul Jr, whose Hawk Buick was fast, as per usual, in a 1m05s292. Klaus Ludwig was third in the Ford Mustang Probe, with 1m06s319, followed by John Morton's BFG Porsche 962 and the two Group 44 Jaguar XJR5s. When the green flag was waved, Klaus Ludwig jumped right into the lead, from second row. Bill Adam, who started from row one, had a bad start and then spun in turn four, getting back to the race dead last. Pete Halsmer was in third place, followed by teammate Jim Busby. While the leaders were running flawlessly, some of the racers were having trouble. Ken Madren, who drove the second Hawk Buick, pitted, while John Kalagian would hit the wall heavily. Then Jimmy Leeward lost control of his March 82G Chevrolet on the banking, without hitting the wall. His car was stalled on the track, however, triggering a full race caution. Bill Adam was running hard and had climbed up to fifth place, but he had pitted for fuel before the caution period and lost one lap to the leaders. John Paul Jr had taken over, but he burnt his tires while passing Al Holbert, so he had to stop for rubber. The race was exciting ahead, with Brian Redman taking the lead from Al Holbert. Doc Bundy, who was now at the wheel of the Ford Mustang Probe, would do the same two laps later. Then John Paul Jr made a mistake when attempting to pass a GTO car. He would hit that car and he was propelled into a set of cars, including Bob Akin's Porsche 962. Both cars were out of the race, but the drivers were left unhurt. Doc Bundy was running well and would overtake Brian Redman on lap 73, taking the lead. Chip Robinson was now in third place, followed by Al Holbert, who was fighting with a sticking throttle. Then Doc Bundy would radio his team that he was having fuel pressure problems. He lost pressure in the infield and went back to his pit. The car then failed to start, leaving a trail of gasoline. Suddenly, it ignited, and the car went aflame. Her race was over on lap 81. Brian Redman was now in the lead, followed by Derek Bell, Chip Robinson and Rick Knoop. John Morton had slowed with engine problems, leading to a dnf. Ludwig Heimrath Jr was fifth, but retired with a broken gearbox shortly afterwards. Brian Redman, leading the race, suddenly slid into the wall. He was able to recover and went back to his pit. The race was not lost, however, until the driver change was hampered by a seat-belt. Chip Robinson and Bob Tullius, who were running great, lost third gear in the end. Jim Busby and Rick Knoop would overtake them and finish third. Al Holbert and Derek Bell made it two in a row, and won the race, with Derek Bell taking the Norelco driver award. Jim Downing and John Maffucci ended up in fifth place, taking the Lights class win with their Argo JM16 Mazda over Charles Morgan and Bill Alsup, who drove a Royale RP40 Buick. Gene Felton and Tommy Riggins ended up in ninth place overall, winning the GTO class in a Pontiac Firebird. GTP racing was really entertaining.