Tag Archives: Johnson

Changing The Numbers Around Again – Chevrolet Camaro Z/28

In 1968 Roger Penske’s Trans Am team turned up at the Sebring 12 hours with two Trans Am spec Z/28 Camaro’s one a lightweight car that had been very successful in 1967, and the other a new car that had not had a weight saving acid bath.

Mark Donohue is reported as saying the Penske Team put the heavy #15 car through tech inspection first and then went back to their garage and swapped the #15 decals for #16 decals on the heavy car and put the car through tech inspection again.

Chevrolet Camaro Z/28, Concours on the Avenue, Carmel By The Sea

Having successfully pulled off this stunt for tech inspection Mark says the process was successfully repeated again during qualifying so that both the Penske driving crews qualified using the single lightweight car, which allegedly never went through tech inspection.

I believe Mark and Canadian Craig Fisher then drove the lightweight #15 Penske Godsall Camaro to a third place finish from 13th on the grid 6 laps behind two works prototype Porsche 907’s while the heavy #16 Penske Hilton Camaro driven by Joe Welch and Bob Johnson with Craig also taking a stint behind the wheel finished 4th from 17th on the grid 10 laps down.

Chevrolet Camaro Z/28, RMMR, Laguna Seca

Penske pulled off a remarkable feat and the SCCA deserved their comeuppance because as can be clearly seen from this linked period photo showing the Penske team cars bore different logo’s on the front wing panels Penske Hilton Racing for the #15 and Penske Godsall Racing for the #16 as seen in this photo.

It should also be noted that the acid dipped lightweight car can be distinguished by the absence of side marker lights which were mandated for US road vehicles in 1968 as described in paragraph six of this linked article.

Chevrolet Camaro Z/28, Concours on the Avenue, Carmel By The Sea

Evidence that the race numbers were swapped between the subtly different cars during the meeting is confirmed by this linked photograph from the Revs Institute showing the #15 running with Penske Godsall sponsorship on the front wing and without the side marker lights, and in this second linked photo from Car and Driver clearly showing a #16 during a pit stop with the ’68 side marker lights.

Today’s featured Camaro is believed by the owner to have been the 14th Z/28 to have been built, rolling off the assembly line on December 30th 1966 and into the Gorries Chevrolet-Olds, LTD dealership in Toronto where, the son of the GM-Euclid distributor for eastern Canada, Terry Godsall purchased it.

Chevrolet Camaro Z/28, Concours on the Avenue, Carmel By The Sea

The owner believes this car was raced for Terry Godsall by Craig Fisher and followed Craig to the Penske Team mid way through 1967, he also believes this is the lightweight car Craig and Mark Donohue drove to 3rd place overall and a well deserved class win at Sebring in 1968.

After Sebring the car returned to Godsall in Canada is believed to have appeared in Trans Am events up until 1972, the current owner identified the car as the much raced lightweight Camaro by an obviously acid dipped wing / fender, an unusual rear axle housing which turned out to be one of only 22 and a one off brake master cylinder that had been shipped by GM to Penske for the Penske Godsall Racing Camaro.

Chevrolet Camaro Z/28, Concours on the Avenue, Carmel By The Sea

My thanks to Geoffrey Horton for sharing his photo’s taken at Carmel by the Sea Concours on the Avenue and the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion a couple of years ago, note the engine shown is not in the same car as seen at Carmel by the Sea.

Thanks for joining me on this “Changing The Numbers Around Again” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow for FIAT Friday. Don’t forget to come back now !

PS I hope you will join me in wishing Geoffrey Best Wishes and a Happy Birthday today !

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Braving The Elements – Bristol 450

Bristol Cars introduction to motor racing came as a supplier of 2 litre 6 cylinder motors which were used by chassis manufacturers that included AFN who produced Fraser Nash cars, Cooper, Lister, Lotus and smaller operations like Warrior.

Bristol 450, Autumn Classic, Castle Combe

The first use of a Bristol 2 litre engine at Le Mans came in 1949 when Norman Culpan drove his Fraser Nash High Speed from Yorkshire to the La Sarthe circuit where he was joined by AFN director HJ Adlington and the pair recorded a third place finish 11 laps down on the winning Ferrari 166MM driven by Luigi Chinetti and Lord Selsdon, after the race Norman drove his car back to Yorkshire and AFN produced a run of 34 cars known as Le Mans Replica and Le Mans Mk II’s, these cars have also since been replicated by Crosthwaite & Gardiner, Werner Oswald and others.

Bristol 450, Autumn Classic, Castle Combe

In 1952 Percy Kemish and Stan Ivermee were responsible for setting up the Bristol’s Racing Department which included employees Ken Evans, Rupert Gildersleeve, and Stan Sparks.

Bristol 450, Autumn Classic, Castle Combe

The chassis for the first Bristol 450 Le Mans challengers were based heavily on the Bristol powered ERA G-Type, an open wheeler with an unusually wide chassis and offset driver which had been bought from ERA proprietor Leslie Johnson at the end of the 1952 season, while the aerodynamically tested coupé body appeared remarkably crude with lights that looked like they had been added as an after thought.

Bristol 450, Autumn Classic, Castle Combe

Two Bristol 450’s made the grid for the 1953 Le Mans race one retired when a connecting rod broke causing the car to skid off the Mulsanne Straight on the 30th lap and the second retired after a crankshaft balance weight sheered through the sump and exhaust causing a fire after completing 70 laps.

05 Bristol 450_4569sc

With the crankshaft balance weights removed Peter Wilson and Jack Fairman drove a 450 to a 2 litre class victory and 5th place overall in the Reims 12 hour race in July 1953.

Bristol 450, Autumn Classic, Castle Combe

For 1954 the 450’s received refined coupé bodies with faired in headlights and two pronounced tail fins, this time the team finished 1st, 2nd and 3rd in class at Le Mans as Peter Wilson with Jim Mayers, Tommy Wisdom with Jack Fairman and Mike Keen sharing with Tommy Line brought their cars in 7th, 8th and 9th places overall, at Reims the 450’s came home in 10th, 11th and 12th places overall, 2nd, 3rd and 4th in the 2 litre class.

Bristol 450, Autumn Classic, Castle Combe

For 1955 more speed was sought by taking the roofs off the cars and running them with a screen for the driver who now had to brave the elements and deck over the passenger seat as seen in these photos taken at last years Autumn Classic meeting at Castle Combe.

Running with the same driving squad as 1954, the now 150 mph cars achieved exactly same result at Le Mans as in 1954, this time with Mike Keen and Tommy Line pipping Tommy Wisdom and Jack Fairman for 8th place.

The teams prize monies for the 1955 race were donated to the fund set up to help the victims of the 1955 Le Mans disaster and the Racing Department was disbanded before the Bristol Cars Division was separated from the Bristol Aeroplane Company in Autumn 1955.

The teams cars were all broken up bar today’s featured car, which is said to have been built up from the best parts of the broken up cars but without one of the motors built for the 450 racing programme, for many years this 450 belonged to Bristol Cars proprietor Tony Crook.

Thanks for joining me on this “Braving The Elements” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at a 1990’s Mercedes Benz Le Mans Challenger. Don’t forget to come back now !

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’69 NASCAR Triple Crown – Ford Torino

In January 1969 Ford’s Atlanta Assembly plant in Georgia built a run of 500 special fast back Torino’s, featuring a slightly more aerodynamic nose said to have been developed by Holman Moody, known as the Torino Talladega named in honour of a new super speedway circuit that was to open located just down the road in Alabama.

The reason for building these cars all of which were thought to have lost Ford money in the show room was so that Ford would have a more competitive package for the 1969 NASCAR Grand National Season.

Junior Johnson ran a Ford Torino sponsored by Jim Robbins known as the Jim Robbins Special for LeeRoy Yarbrough who also drove for Robbins open wheel USAC team at Indy.

Ford Torino, Sonoma Historics

LeeRoy started the 1969 Daytona 500 from 19th place in his earlier Torino Cobra model but came through to beat Charlie Glotzbach driving a Dodge to win the richest race of the year and the US$38,950 prize money that went with it.

Mid season Junior Johnson’s cars were badged as Mercury Cyclone’s for six races and during that spell LeeRoy won The Rebel 400 at Darlington, and the longest race of the year The World 600 at Charlotte.

For the 1969 Medal of Honor Firecracker 400 at Daytona LeeRoy’s car was back to being badged a Ford Torino but with the more aerodynamic Talladega nose, starting ninth and leading 96 laps including the all important last one, LeeRoy won another US$22,175.

Ford Torino, Sonoma Historics

Starting the Dixie 500 at Atlanta from the outside of the front row LeeRoy led 142 laps to beat David Pearson Holman Moody Ford for his fifth victory of the season.

LeeRoy made it a clean sweep at Darlington by winning the oldest race of the circuit the Southern 500 and became the first driver to win NASCAR’s triple crown of the season’s richest, longest and oldest races on the schedule in a single season.

As at Atlanta and Darlington LeeRoy beat David Pearson again to win The American 500 at Rockingham and to claim his seventh win of the season which saw him finish only 16th in the end of season point’s standings thanks to only starting 30 of the scheduled 54 races, David Pearson won the 1969 Grand National Championship with 11 race victories.

Ford Torino, Sonoma Historics

Ironically the 44th race of the season saw Richard Petty lead fellow members of the Professional Drivers Association including LeeRoy to boycott the inaugural Talladega 500 due to a lack of grip on the steeply banked circuit.

The Talladega 500 went ahead without many of NASCAR’s star drivers and was won by Richard Brickhouse driving the debuting Dodge Charger Daytona model, Charger Daytona’s finished the race in the top four spots.

My thanks to Geoffrey Horton for sharing his photo’s of the #98 Ford Torino Talladega, taken at Sonoma Historics last year, which I believe was driven by Ron Myska.

Thanks for joining me on this “’69 NASCAR Triple Crown” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow for the last Ferrari Friday for the next couple of months. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Pape’s Progress – Austin A90

Richard “Ginger” Pape, born 1916 in Yorkshire, was a decorated war hero who had survived being shot down in a bomber and subsequent prisoner of war experiences that culminated in a daring compassionate prisoner exchange that involved identity theft and faked kidney disease with the aid of a prosthetic penis.

Immediately after the war Richard went to South Africa where he wrote “Boldness Be My Friend” about his wartime adventures.

Austin A90, Heritage Motor Centre, Gaydon,

After returning to the UK in 1953 to promote the book, Richard took on a new adventure to drive from North Cape, Norway in the Arctic Circle to Cape Town South Africa.

Richard drove an Austin A90 Six Westminster model which had been launched in 1954 powered by an 85hp 2.6 litre / 161 cui motor that gave a top speed of 86 mph.

Austin A90, Heritage Motor Centre, Gaydon,

Austin’s agent in Oslo supplied Richard with today’s featured car after Richards original A90 was lost down a ravine in a 60 mph incident which left his intended co driver sufficiently disinclined to start the adventure.

Starting on July 28th Norwegian Johan Brun joined Richard and they crossed Europe in eleven days, on reaching Gibraltar Johan fell ill and so Royal Air Force Sergeant Johnny Johnson was persuaded to go absent without leave and accompany Richard to Africa using Brun’s travel documents.

Austin A90, Heritage Motor Centre, Gaydon,

Richard and Johnny were perhaps unsurprisingly detained by the authorities in Morrocco and upon his release Richard attempted to cross the Sahara solo without official permission.

After damaging the Austin’s suspension in the middle of the Sahara Richard fell sick but managed to set out on foot to find help.

Austin A90, Heritage Motor Centre, Gaydon,

After being rescued by nomads Richard continued alone to Nigeria where he was rejoined by the recovered Johan Brun.

Mid rainy season the pair continued across Central Africa through swollen rivers, along washed out roads, among hostile natives and survived a crash in Congo.

Austin A90, Heritage Motor Centre, Gaydon,

On the 22nd of October Richard drove the Austin into Cape Town to finish his 17,500 mile adventure.

In 1956 Richard published an account of the journey called Cape Cold to Cape Hot in which he referred to the Austin as Pape’s Prigress.

Austin A90, Heritage Motor Centre, Gaydon,

After undertaking similar endurance drives in North America for the Rootes Group, more adventures in Antartica, where he fell in the sea at McMurdo Sound, Richard eventually settled down in Papua New Guinea on the advice of Group Captain Leonard Cheshire, V.C., D.S.O., D.F.C. who advised Richard do something useful with his life instead of trying to repeatedly kill himself.

Nine years after establishing a Leonard Cheshire Home for sick children and marrying for a second time Richard and his wife, a Lawyer with whom he fell on love when she arranged bail for him for dangerous driving, left Papua for Australia where he continued to write until he died in 1995.

Thanks for joining me on this “Pape’s Progress” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

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THINK ! W.H.M. ? – Ford Galaxie 500

Fred Lorenzen’s won his debut event, to see who would be the first to turn over a 1937 Plymouth, in Elmhurst, Illinois aged 15 in 1949.

He graduated to NASCAR by 1956, but it was not until after he had won the 1958 and 1959 USAC Championships in a Talarico Bros. built Chevrolet and run 10 races as an owner driver in the 1960 NASCAR series that he got an offer from Ralph Moody to join the Holman Moody team for the 1961 season.

Ford Galaxie 500, Goodwood Festival of Speed,

The new partnership made fifteen starts during the 1961 season and Fred won three of them at Martinsville, Darlington and Atlanta.

Prior to the Darlington win Ralph, a well respected former driver, coached Fred on how to beat one of the favourites Curtis Turner in the event of a showdown between the two of them.

Ford Galaxie 500, Goodwood Festival of Speed,

Sure enough as the laps wound down Fred found himself fighting Chris for the lead but could find no way past having forgotten Ralph’s instructions before the start of the race.

During a late pit stop a furious Ralph asked Fred in no uncertain terms “Think Boy ! What The Heck Is The Matter ?” Fred followed Ralph’s instruction’s to the letter going into the last lap and sold Chris a dummy to the outside which allowed his to go low and take the lead for the win in his open Ford Sunliner while Chris was busy acquiring a Darlington Stripe.

Ford Galaxie 500, Goodwood Festival of Speed,

During the second year of their partnership Fred crossed the line first twice more from 19 starts to finish a career best 3rd in points.

Fred crossed the line first 6 times from 29 starts in 1963 to become the first driver to win over $100,000 in a single season.

Ford Galaxie 500, Goodwood Festival of Speed,

In 1964 the partnership made only 16 starts from a possible 62, but astonishingly won 8 of them.

At the 1965 Daytona 500 Fred started 4th and came through to take the win in a vehicle similar to the one featured today and finished the season with 4 wins from 17 starts.

Ford Galaxie 500, Goodwood Festival of Speed,

Fred made a total of 15 more starts for Holman Moody in the 1966 and 1967 seasons winning three more races, he also made one start in Junior Johnson’s famous cut down yellow Galaxie known as the Yellow Banana, but crashed it after leading 24 laps.

Taking a break from the sport during the 1968 and 1969 seasons Fred came back for three more partial seasons with a variety of owners from 1970 to 1972 scoring 11 top five finishes from 29 starts leaving his career record at 28 wins from just 158 starts with 32 pole positions.

Last month Fred was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of fame, the car featured today is believed to be one of several replica’s of Fred’s 1965 Holman Moody Galaxy 500 originally built by Jack Sullivan with fellow wrenches Herb Nab and Freddy McCall.

Thanks for joining me on this “THINK ! W.H.M ? edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow for Ferrari Friday. Don’t forget to come back now !

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SUV Powered Prototype – Riley Mk XI #018

In 2003 the Grand American Road Racing Association replaced it’s sports racing class with a new Daytona Prototype class with the intention of reducing costs and keeping cars competitive for longer by keeping a tight grip on permitted technological development.

As we shall see today’s featured Riley Mk XI chassis #018 is a testament to the success of Grand Am’s Daytona Prototype vision, even though to my eye’s these cars have always looked a tad quirky due to their mandated dimensions.

Riley Mk XI, Goodwood Festival of Speed,

Chassis #018 was built with 5 litre / 302 cui Pontiac V8 motor for Pacific Coast Motorsports in 2005 and first raced by Ryan Dalziel and Alex Figge at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Mexico City where they finished 5th in the 250 mile race in November.

At Daytona in February 2006 Ryan and Alex were joined by Jon Fogarty and David Empringham for the 24 Hour race, they qualified 14th but retired the Playboy sponsored chassis #018 with an overheating motor.

Alex and Ryan continued racing #018 for the rest of the 2006 season scoring a best 2nd place finish in the 250 mile race at Phoenix, the car then appears to have gone into temporary retirement as was not seen again until 2010 when the new Action Express Racing team took it to the 2010 Daytona 24 Hours.

Riley Mk XI, Goodwood Festival of Speed,

In 2009 the Brumos team won the Daytona 24 hours with a similar Riley Mk XI powered by a 4 litre / 244 cui flat 6 developement of the Porsche 911 motor.

For 2010 new kids on the block (NKOTB) Action Express Racing, owned by former Brunos associate Bob Johnson, had replaced the Pontiac V8 motor fitted to #018 with a 5 litre / 302 cui Porsche V8 developed from the SUV Porsche Cayenne by Lozano Brothers Porting in Texas.

Riley Mk XI, Goodwood Festival of Speed,

The Action Express Racing international team of drivers João Barbosa from Portugal, Mike Rockenfeller from Germany, Terry Borcheller from the USA was and Britain’s Ryan Dalziel who had raced this same car in 2005/6 qualified 8th for the 2010 Daytona 24 hour race.

The debutant team then went on to win the race from the BMW powered Riley XI driven by Max Papis, Scott Pruett, Memo Rojas and Justin Wilson entered by Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates, the team that had dominated this event from 2006 to 2008.

Riley Mk XI, Goodwood Festival of Speed,

João and Terry continued to race #018, for the remainder of the 2010 season scoring a best 4th place finish at Lime Rock.

For the 2011 Daytona 24 Hours João and Terry were joined by J.C. France, Max Papis and Christian Fittipaldi, together they qualified #018 12th and came through to finish 3rd.

Riley Mk XI, Goodwood Festival of Speed,

#018 scored a second victory and final victory, in the Bosch Engineering 250 at Virginia International Raceway in May 2011 with J.C., João and Terry sharing the driving.

#018 was retired after the EMCO Gears Classic presented by Key Bank 2011 at Mid Ohio in September 2011 where J.C., João and Terry qualified 10th and finished 4th.

Riley Mk XI, Goodwood Festival of Speed,

Stock Porsche items used by the Lozano Brothers Porting developed 530 hp V8 include the engine block; cylinder heads, timing chain, hydraulic lifters, head bolts and gaskets.

The work on the SUV Porsche Cayenne V8 by Lozano Brothers Porting in Texas was not sanctioned by the Porsche factory and Porsche has never claimed victory for the 2010 Daytona 24 Hours.

Thanks for joining me on this “SUV Powered Prototype” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again for Ferrari Friday tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Superspeedway or Dirt – Chevrolet Impala SS

Robert Glenn Johnson, Jr hails from Wilkes County North Carolina where his father was a life long bootlegger who is said to have spent nearly twenty of his sixty three years in jail.

Chevrolet Impala SS, Robert Kauffman, Goodwood Festival of Speed

Junior Johnson also spent a year in jail in 1956 for being caught with an illegal still, but never for running moonshine twixt still and black market retailer. In 1986 Juniors right to vote was restored after President Regan granted Johnson a Presidential Pardon.

Chevrolet Impala SS, Goodwood Festival of Speed

In 1953 Junior made one NASCAR Grand National start at Darlington in an Oldsmobile which he crashed but still took home $110. By 1963 when today’s featured Chevrolet Impala SS was built Junior had won 27 top tier NASCAR Grand National races and his end of season ranking’s had already peaked with two sixth places in points in 1955 and 1961.

Chevrolet Impala SS, Goodwood Festival of Speed

Junior Drove the Ray Fox owned #3 Holly Farms Chevrolet Impala SS in 32 of the 55 Grand National races run in the 1963 season and won seven of them which included his Duel qualifying race at Daytona Superspeedway, Hillsboro, two wins at Hickory which was still a dirt track, Atlanta, and Charlotte. At the season ending race on the Riverside road course Junior showed his versatility by driving a Bill Stoppe entered Mercury to a fifth place finish from 19th on the grid.

Chevrolet Impala SS, Goodwood Festival of Speed

By the end of his career only one driver had more race wins than Junior, three time champion Lee Petty had 54 race wins, and Junior was level with two time champ Ned Jarrett on 50 race wins.

Chevrolet Impala SS, Goodwood Festival of Speed

Before hanging up his helmet for good at the end of 1966 Junior brought his own team to NASCAR’s top Grand National tier in 1965 entering 36 races of the 55 races and winning 13 of them to finish 12th in the final championship standings.

Chevrolet Impala SS, Robert Kauffman, Goodwood Festival of Speed

After a short seven race schedule in 1966 Junior focused on running his cars for other drivers which most notably included the three consecutive championship winning seasons with Cale Yarborough from 1975 to 1977 and then three more championship winning seasons with Darrell “Jaws” Waltrip in 1981, ’82 and ’85.

Junior retired from the sport in 1995 by which time his teams had clocked up 132 NASCAR race wins still only bettered by Hendrick Motorsports on 231 top tier NASCAR race victories and Petty Enterprises with 268 top tier NASCAR race victories.

In retirement Junior has kept busy running Junior Johnson Pork Skins Inc and Piedmont Distillers which produce batches of legal Midnight Moon described as “Smoother than vodka. Better than whiskey. Best shine ever.”

The #3 Holly Farms Chevrolet Impala SS owner Ray Fox got his break in after the second world war as a mechanic, he was named mechanic of the year in 1956 after cars he worked on recorded 22 race victories.

In 1960 Ray and Junior were on the John Masoni owned Chevrolet team when they won the Daytona 500.

In 1962 Ray founded his own team which ran for 12 years with 1963 being the most successful, his team recorded a total of 14 races from 200 starts before retiring, he served as a NASCAR official from 1990 to 1996. Ray passed away aged 98 earlier this year.

Thanks for joining me on this “Superspeedway Or Dirt” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again for Ferrari Friday tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

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