2010 - Rocky Mountain Vintage Racing

ROCKY MOUNTAIN
VINTAGE RACING
Pueblo Trans-Am
Invitational
Pueblo Motorsports Park, CO
June 12-13, 2010
Thanks to the following major sponsors:
Obialero Concrete Inc. • 3R Automotive • AAI Speed Equipment
Autosport Collision • Industrial Chemicals Corp.
Mile High Crankshafts, Inc. • Rallye Coach Works
Coors Brewing Company
John Morton in the BRE Lotus-Ford A-car at Elkhart
Lake July 1972. It was a big deal stepping up from 1800cc
sedans to Formula A 5-liters and the L&M Continental
5000 series. Wilkinson photo.
Shelby American in route from Watkins Glen (NY) to
Kent (WA) stopped off at Lake Garnett (KS) in early
July 1963 to run a National SCCA race. The cars swiftly
and efficiently defeated a field of corvettes and left a lasting
impression. Chuck Brandt photo.
John Morton, Peter Brock, and Mike Downs with one of the
Brock Racing Enterprises Datsun 510s. In 1972, BRE campaigned three 510s. The first two were driven by Morton and
Downs and the third was a guest car. Wilkinson photo.
Cover: John Morton finished 2nd in the 2.5 liter Trans-Am Championship race at Laguna Seca 1971 after a vicious battle with
Horst Kweck who never stopped for fuel and was disqualified for running an oversized fuel tank. Morton photo.
Pueblo Motorsports Park and the Trans-Am Invitational presented by
Rocky Mountain Vintage Racing, Ltd (RMVR)
Welcome to Pueblo Motorsports Park and the Trans-Am Invitational presented by Rocky Mountain Vintage Racing, Ltd.
(RMVR). This event is a celebration of the Trans-American Sedan Racing series that was held at race tracks in the US and
Canada, including a former 2.6-mile road course in Castle Rock, Colorado called Continental Divide Raceways (CDR). The
Trans-Am was organized by the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) and became a manufacturer’s competition that pitted
two liter Alfas against Porsches, BMWs, Datsuns, and Cortinas and the larger O2 (over two liter) Chevrolet Camaros against
American Motors Javelins, Ford Mustangs, Plymouth Barracudas, and Dodge Darts and Challengers. It was (and is) one of the
most exciting motor racing series to watch because everyday sedans that the public owned were raced by professional drivers
on American and Canadian road racing circuits.
In 1971, SCCA gave the under 2 liter (U2) sedans their own 10 race series and called it the 2.5 Challenge. They ran separately
on the same program as the 5-liter cars at some venues and ran with other series like Formula A at others. By this time, the
Trans-Am series was no longer coming to Colorado and instead went to Limerock, Bryar, Mid-Ohio, Edmonton, Donnybrooke,
Road America, Olath NAS KS, Mont-Tremblant, Watkins Glen, Michigan International, Riverside, and Laguna Seca. The
competition was top shelf with Alfa GTVs driven by Kwech, Everett, and Midgely and others, BMWs driven by Pike, Zieries,
and Norburn and others, and the Datsun 510s driven by Morton, Sharp, and Downs and a host of other drivers and cars.
Brock Racing Enterprises (BRE) out of Southern California out shined, out financed, and out drove the competition in 1971
and 1972, fielding up to three team cars driven by John Morton and Mike Downs and a guest driver. In 1972, guest drivers
included Sam Posey, Bobby Allison, Jim Fitzgerald, and Peter Gregg. The BRE team won the 1971 and 1972 Trans-Am 2.5
Challenge and put the Datsun 510 into the history books.
We are honored to have SCCA Trans-Am champion John Morton joining us this weekend. John has a long list of championship wins and podiums beyond Trans-Am that include SCCA C Production Championships, and a score of IMSA and FIA
wins including Lemans and Sebring. John has brought his helmet and gloves and will be driving one or two club member
cars, so watch your mirrors ladies and gentlemen!
In this program you will find historical photographs from Colorado’s former Continental Divide Raceways (CDR) and other
memorabilia associated with Colorado’s racing past. Included is information on how to drive the Pueblo racing circuit, pictures
from previous year’s events, RMVR club information, and Trans-Am history.
We wish to thank the many sponsors of this event with a special thanks to John Obialero, Inc., AAI Speed Equipment, 3R
Automotive, Coors Brewing Company and host of other long time supporters of vintage Trans-Am racing in Colorado. We
ask that you support all of the advertisers at this event who share our enthusiasm for the Trans-Am, Colorado’s racing history,
and vintage motor racing.
Keith Davidson,
Chairman, RMVR Trans-Am Invitational
Sam Posey in the Autodynamics Dodge Challenger at Willow Springs in 1970.
Sam later drove a Datsun 510 guest car for BRE at the Glen and Elkhart Lake
in 1972. Friedman photo.
2010 RMVR Pueblo Trans-Am Invitiational
Horst Kwech Alfa GTA and John Morton Datsun 510 and the field of 2.5
Challenge cars on the pace lap at Elkhart Lake July 1972. Wilkinson photo.
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ROCKY MOUNTAIN VINTAGE RACING LTD.
RMVR is a non-profit club of more than 400 members who are vintage racing enthusiasts. Our club’s primary focus is the organization, production, and
sanctioning of vintage car races in the Rocky Mountain region. We have over
350 eligible cars that are a minimum of 20 years old. Names such as Lotus,
Corvette, McLaren, and Lola, along with lesser-known marques such as Abath,
Morgan, Siata, and Zink participate in our events. The range of engines includes
less than 1000 cc to more than seven liters of “ground-pounding” force. As
Charter Members of the national group, Vintage Motorsports Council, we are
pledged to promote the preservation of these cars in a racing format which
emphasizes driver safety and “etiquette”. To achieve this goal, we have developed our own team of race officials including Event Chairs, Race Stewards,
Registrars, Pit and Grid, Corner Marshalls, Starters, Tech Inspectors, and Timing
and Scoring.
The Benefits Of RMVR Membership:
•The Apex
•Free Admission To All Track Events
•Invitation to All Speed Events and More
•Free Classified Ads in the Monthly Newsletter
You need not own a vintage car to become a member and
participant in Rocky Mountain Vintage Racing.
RMVR • 32034 Snowshoe Rd. • Evergreen, CO 80439 • 303-319-3062
Greg Moore speaking to the crowd at last year’s Trans-Am dinner.
Greg worked in the engine room with his brother Daryl building racing engines for Bud Moore’s Trans-Am and NASCAR
race cars. He moved up to helping manage the Bud Moore
Engineering race team. Rodgers photo.
2010 Schedule of Events
DATE
March 20-21
EVENT
Fire and Rescue School
LOCATION
Denver, CO
April 16-18
Spring Driver’s School
High Plains Raceway, CO
May 15-16
Spring Race
High Plains Raceway, CO
June 11-13
Trans-Am Invitational
Pueblo Motorsports Park, CO
June 21-27
Pikes Peak International Hill Climb
Pikes Peak, CO
July 10-11
Summer Race
Pikes Peak Int’l Raceway, CO
Sept. 3-5
The Showboat Grand Prix
Hastings, NE
Oct. 2-3
HPR Enduro
High Plains Raceway, CO
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2010 RMVR Pueblo Trans-Am Invitiational
2010 RMVR Pueblo Trans-Am Invitiational
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John Morton at Atlanta 1971 at the ARRC championships. Morton and the BRE Datsun 240Z took the C-Production Championship for the second year in a
row. From the BRE Collection. www.bre2.net <http://www.bre2.net/>
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2010 RMVR Pueblo Trans-Am Invitiational
The BRE team on the podium at the ARRC Championship at Road Altanta. John
McComb, Miss Bird Cage, Bob Sharp, unknown beauty, and John Morton. This
picture is from the 1970 runoffs where they took the DP and CP championships
with the Datsun 2000 Roadster and 240Z respectively. photographer unknown.
2010 RMVR Pueblo Trans-Am Invitiational
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Driver Line up for
Michael Cox, Brighton, CO, Age 46, 1970 Mustang
Aircraft Mechanic started vintage racing with RMVR in 1998 with previously experience
with the NORCAL Shelby club at Laguna Seca, Thunderhill and Sears Point. Driving
a newly prepared 1970 Mustang fastback this weekend. His first race was at Stapleton in
1998. He has five Trans-Am finishes and a podium or two. “My biggest thrill in racing
was running at Steamboat Spring vintage races followed by the 2006 Denver Grand Prix”.
Michael Curley, Lyons, CO, Age 50, Red Camaro #108
Manages rental property. He started in RMVR around 1985, helping his dad keep the
Bocar running and got his chance to race when Gaylon had back surgey. “We never finished
races back then because the Bocar would overheat or break”. In 1994, he decided to put
together a Camaro in one year. It took 2 years of hard work and all his spare time and he
finally finished a race in 1996. He holds a record with six Trans-Am finishes and a couple
of wins. “My biggest thrill in racing was running in the Trans-Am here in Pueblo”.
Eric Heczko, Longmont, CO, Age 68, Datsun 510 #14
Retired test engineer from disc drive industry. Started racing on motorcycles at age of 16,
running motocross, then as a passenger on a road racing sidecar and then racing GP motorcycles in the AMA pro series. He started racing a Lotus FF based DSR in 1989. (which is
for sale). He presently races the Datsun in SCCA Regional and National races and with
RMVR. “My biggest thrill was to win the SCCA RMD Championship several times in
both the ITC and GP classes, not by being the fastest but by always finishing.”
John McComb, Hutchinson, Kansas, Age 31, Mustang #41
Public relations executive and had an old '57 MGA, which he fixed up to take racing. He
led his first race, at Green Valley, Texas., for awhile. Then others started passing him. "So
that day I ordered an MGB and went to driver school in the spring." McComb wound up
Midwest Division A-sedan champ with two wins, a third and fourth place finish. He raced
a Datsun 2000 for BRE and won a DP championship. My biggest thrill was playing
football at Kansas State.
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2010 RMVR Pueblo Trans-Am Invitiational
Tr a n s - A m I n v i t a t i o n a l
John Morton, El Segundo, CA, Age 60, Datsun 510 #25
Airplane pilot, fabricator, racecar driver. First raced a Lotus Super 7 and Lotus 23B in
SCCA club racing on the west coast. Raced Cobras for Shelby and drove Datsun 2000s,
240Zs and 510s for BRE. Drove a few seasons in F5000, Can-Am and did some stunt
driving for the movie industry. Drove Porsches for Jim Busby and Jaguars w/ Bob Tullius’s
Group 44, and Nissans in IMSA with wins at Sebring and Le Mans. Most fun was racing
in the Baja 1000 in a Datsun 510 with Pete Brock [not].
Brian Nelson, Boulder, CO, Age 44, BMW 2002 #466
Manager of Information Systems. He cut his teeth at Second Creek Raceway, CO and has
a first place finish at Nostalgia’s Can-Am Weekend, Miller Motorsports Park, 2007. He
holds four RMVR Trans-Am finishes with a podium in 2008. “My biggest racing thrill
was racing in the Denver Grand Prix with RMVR in 2006.”
Kyle Popejoy, Evergreen, CO, Age 53, 1972 BMW TII #143
An application administrator for a building materials supplier. He drives a BMW and a
1967 Ford Mustang #267. His first big race was RMVR’s Steamboat Springs vintage
race in 1997 and since has four Trans-Am finishes under his belt. He has been actively
participating in the development of the new High Plains Raceway track. His biggest racing
thrill was racing in the 2006 Denver Grand Prix in the Mustang.
Scott Stekr, Westminster, CO, Age 24, Green BMW 1600-2 #160
Structural Engineer who designs tall structures for TV, radio and cellular applications. He
designed and supplied the small tower for HPR that holds the PA and communication
systems. He has four RMVR Trans-Am finishes with U-2 wins in 2007 & 2009. “My
biggest racing thrill was coming in second OA in the 2009 Trans-Am ahead of many O-2
cars.”
2010 RMVR Pueblo Trans-Am Invitiational
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IF YOU NEED CONCRETE,
Residential & Commercial Foundations
RACE TO JOHN & RICK OBIALERO’S
!
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J O H N
O B I A L E R O ,
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11130 West 44th Avenue • Wheat Ridge, Colorado 80033 303-423-8960
John Morton and Oregon Datsun dealer Jack Scoville at Sears Point in 1969 in
factory lightweight Datsun 2000s. Scoville later won the DP title at Daytona when
the BRE cars ran lean and bad things happened to pistons. http://www.datsun.
org/fairlady/ photo.
Nash Jimenez after winning the trophie dash in his flathead 1932 Ford coupe at
Carpenteria Raceway in Southern California 1955. Father of RMVR member
Robert Jimenez, he also ran at Santa Maria, Ventura, and Ascot Raceway Park in
the jalopy races. Jimenez photo.
AUTO WIZARDS
IMPORT & DOMESTIC SERVICE & REPAIR
RACE CAR PREPARATION & SERVICE
Fred Hodgson
5890 Washington St.
Unit 8
Denver, Colorado 80216
8
(303) 296-0979
2010 RMVR Pueblo Trans-Am Invitiational
John Morton’s
First Sebring 12 Hour
felt mushy, and loose. It felt more like a ‘forty nine Buick than
a race car and I couldn’t help wondering if all racing cobras felt
like this or was it because it was driven into tree 2 days ago? I
saw right away why Ken was so tired.
The steering was very heavy and the car didn’t let me feel like I
“In 1964 I was 22 and working at Shelby American as a fabricator. was driving it, more like I was herding it. I was going easy not
We were getting Cobras ready for Sebring and I really wanted to knowing what this turd was going to do but when I got to one
go, so three of us set out with $25 each for gas money and we of the runway turns that I’d never seen before, I ran off the track.
drove nonstop to Florida. When we got there I saw Ken Miles Driving back on the track and into the next turn, I spun. It was
and Lew Spenser. Miles looked at me and said, “have you got a wide turn with nothing to hit so I just slowly looped around.
an FIA license?” I said ”no” and he said “get one”. I had a SCCA My first thought wasn’t “will I crash” but “did anybody see me”?
They didn’t. I was far enough from the pits so I was by myself.
license and with a recommendation, they sold me a license.
After about three laps I began feeling more at
ease. It was still a terrible-feeling car, but driving it was beginning to feel fun. On my fifth lap
as I approached the 180 degree turn behind the
pits at about 150, the brake pedal went right to
the floor, dead brake pedal. I slowed back down
through the gears with that awkward super
long gearshift lever that Miles has installed. I
made it through the turn, coming into the pits.
I got out of the car and asked Miles to try it
and possibly diagnose the trouble. He went
out and, returning immediately and said “The
brakes don’t work”. The mechanic rechecked
and found that the pivot pin had fallen out of
the pedal. They fixed it and I returned to the
track.
The car still felt heavy and awkward but now I
was feeling at ease and starting to try to learn
how to drive it faster. I suddenly became aware
Bill Stowe photo
of a bad vibration. It had to be fairly severe to
The car was the prototype of the 427 Cobra, almost stock with notice because everything on the car vibrated anyway. The
a huge engine. Miles crashed it in practice. It was bashed back shaking was getting so bad that I couldn’t see out the rear view
into shape with large hammers, bars, and jacks. I was hauling mirror. There were a lot of very fast race cars in the race and
tires in the pits after the race got underway and when it came the rearview mirror was very important to me. Now the clutch
time for a driver change, somebody came and told me Shelby started slipping badly and I pitted. I was told to go out and
wanted to talk to me. He said “John do you know this track”. circulate slowly using only four thousand rpm. This I did for a
I said “yea, I’ve been here several times before, I know it real while. The car felt like a huge reducing machine, only instead
well”. I couldn’t believe I said that. I had been there three times of reducing me, it was reducing itself to junk. The car slowed
as a spectator. Some of the turns I had never even seen on foot. to a crawl at about five to ten miles an hour and I returned to
the pits. The mechanics made some makeshift repairs and sent
“Well, if Miles wants relief, I want you to go out”.
me
back out to circulate at a very reduced rate. Miles was perMiles came in and he was ready to get out of the car. He looked
fectly
happy to let me do the driving now because the car was so
tired. He was thin anyway and beside the big cobra, he looked
destroyed
and far behind it wasn’t fun to drive and it’s meaningsmall, his face sunken around his hook nose. He was a funny
less
to
him
now. I was still enjoying it though. It was getting
looking guy; they called him the Hawk.
close
to
dark
and I wanted to try night driving. Shortly before
I get in the car. I’d never driven anything like this. I had no idea
time
to
pit
and
have the tape removed from the headlights, the
how it would feel but I thought it better not be too bad or I’m
engine
suddenly
stopped. The car had stopped shaking and
really going to look like an ass in front of a lot of people. I was
with
this
piece
of
shit it was an ominous sign. I thought the coil
shaking when I bucked myself in. Here I was going to drive the
wire
had
fallen
off
and then I looked in the mirror, I saw a huge
Sebring 12 hour in a factory car that was the fastest car I’d ever
cloud
of
smoke
and
knew the engine had blown. As the silent
driven, on a track I’d never seen, on a team with Dan Gurney
slug
had
coasted
into
the esses, it nearly spun it it’s own oil that
and Ken Miles. My mind couldn’t handle all of that. I rememwas
splattering
all
over
the track. When I got it safely off the
ber depressing the clutch and thinking it was heavy looking
track
and
in
the
grass,
I
lifted the hood and saw a hole in the
and seeing my clutch leg was trembling, so badly it was making
block
big
enough
to
stick
my hand in. That was it; the slug has
my whole body vibrate. When I left the pits and accelerated
finally
died.
onto the track, the Cobra right away felt big and clumsy. As it
accelerated through the gears it felt very fast but it also felt like Source: The Stainless Steel Carrot by Silvia Wilkinson
a piece of junk, a scary kind of combination. The suspension
2010 RMVR Pueblo Trans-Am Invitiational
9
Don Adams of Nathrop, CO on Pikes Peak in his 1972 Camaro. Don has
12 class wins in the prestigious Baja 1000 and the Mint 400 off road races
plus over a decade of domination in long desert, short track, and hill climb racing.
Adams photo.
The 2009 under 2-liter Trans-Am podium: Mike Reis, Scott Stekr, and Robert
Toscano finishing out the weekend with miles of smiles. Scott took home the
gorilla trophie. We are gunning for you this year Scott! Scrappy Cox photo.
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2010 RMVR Pueblo Trans-Am Invitiational
303-526-2807
2010 RMVR Pueblo Trans-Am Invitiational
11
Welcome John Morton
BMW CSL Driver Extraordinaire!
Arthur W. Porter
Scott Stekr on the pace lap leading a field of sedans comprising BMW2002s, Porsche
911s, Mustangs, Datsun 510s, Alfa GTV, an AMC Javelin and a Lotus Cortina at
last year’s Trans-Am Invitational. Scrappy Cox photo
Tom Blank’s 1966 Super Sport Chevelle at Woody Creek Raceway, CO 1976. A
SCCA Alfa Romeo Trans-Am driver and hot shoe, he terrorized the Aspen crowd with
this American Iron. Blank photo.
Arthur W. Porter
Professional Corporation
312 South Weber Street, Suite B
Colorado Springs, CO 80903
[email protected]
o 719.577.4447
f 719.227.7255
60,000 race fans were wowed at 1963 SCCA Nationals Lake Garnett, KS.
Bob Johnson, Dave McDonald and Ken Miles ran away from the Corvettes of
Dick Thompson, Grady Davis & Don Yenko. Miles won the modified championship race contested by Harry Heuer (Chaparral) Jack Hinkle (Cooper Monaco)
and Dick Thompson (Corvette Grand Sport). R&T photo.
Rocky Mountain Vintage Racing, LTD.
Application for Membership:
To join RMVR go to http://rmvr.com/forms/membership.pdf
to down-load an application for membership.
For additional information call us at
303-319-3062 and lets go racing!
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2010 RMVR Pueblo Trans-Am Invitiational
John Morton drove the Nissan 300ZX
turbo for Cunningham Racing USA at
the Sebring 12 hour in March 1994 with
co drivers Johnny O’Connell and Steve
Millen. They took 1st place. In June,
with Clayton and Cunningham backing
and some big sponsors, they took 1st in
IMSA GTS at the 24 hours of Lemans
and 5th OA. Kooyman photo.
Peter Brock and John Morton flew
their famous #46 red, white, and blue pattern
on another classic Japanese roadster, the Mazda
MX-5 Miata at Road Atlanta's Walter Mitty
challenge in April 2010 as a celebration of
BRE's racing achievements. BRE photo.