1970 SCCA runoffs artilcle with pictures

[Mike B]

I just came across this Hemmings Sport and Exotic Car article about the 1970 SCCA runoffs. It's pretty brief, but has some interesting pictures with captions. I'm attaching the text and pictures in case the link goes away at some point.

http://www.hemmings.com/hsx/stories/2009/02/01/hmn_feature11.html

Hemmings Sports & Exotic Car - FEBRUARY 1, 2009 - BY JIM DONNELLY

The SCCA Runoffs rolled to Dixie in 1970

Like a Super Bowl for amateur and semipro road racers--which it is--the Sports Car Club of America's Runoffs have been fought for blood at various famous locales during its 45 years. If you've never experienced it, the Runoffs pit aspiring stars against one another in scores of classes, a huge blowout that marks each season's end. Only recently, fields of combat for the SCCA's best have included Mid-Ohio and Heartland Park Topeka; the Runoffs will move north to Wisconsin's historic Elkhart Lake in 2009.

From any venue, you can get to almost any goal in Runoffs racing, as a historic rundown of participants makes plain. In 1970, the Runoffs pulled into a new venue, the gleaming, just-opened Road Atlanta circuit with its 2.54 miles of fresh, unrubbered blacktop. It was literally brand new, having just opened its gates that September with a Can-Am date that Tony Dean won in a Porsche 908. The track is actually located about 50 miles north of its namesake city, and has a mailing address of Braselton. In the estimation of Roswell, Georgia, resident Hal Crocker, who was at the 1970 SCCA Runoffs that inaugurated Road Atlanta and captured these images, the nearest place of consequence to the track is actually a little burg called Chestnut Mountain, not far from Lake Lanier.

Nice hill country in the South, but that wasn't the prime rationale for moving the Runoffs to Georgia, he mapped out. "There were a number of things going on. First, Road Atlanta was a new track," Crocker told it. "The operators put together a very enticing proposition for the SCCA. Until then, the Runoffs used to alternate between Riverside and the road course at Daytona. A lot of people didn't like racing on the banking, because it gave a definite advantage to a car with long legs."

In close to 40 years henceforth, Road Atlanta remains a premier, justly well-known American racing venue, even though the Runoffs have long since moved on. It also earned, despite a roster with worldly credentials, a strong intimidation factor. Most people really liked it," Crocker said. "But Road Atlanta was a very fast track, a potentially dangerous track, especially for drivers who were somewhat lacking in that kind of experience."

PHOTO 1

"Early on in the E Production race, Logan Blackburn leads the way through Turn Three in his MGB. Chasing him in the number 9, a 1969 Triumph GT6+, is Don Devendorf, a really good driver who later co-founded Electramotive Engineering and went on to run the Nissan GTP program, along with Kas Kastner. Devendorf was at the very peak of his driving ability when I took this photo. The guy back in third place, by the way, driving the Morgan Plus Four, is none other than Anatoly Arutunoff, a real sports car guy for years and years. His grandfather invented the submersible oil pump and made a fortune in Oklahoma. Toly is still a real character."

PHOTO 2

"Early in the C Production national championship race, John Morton is ahead of Bob Tullius as they head under the bridge at Road Atlanta under heavy power. Morton went on to win this race, a historic accomplishment, since 1970 was the first year for the Datsun 240Z, and this was its first really major event that had drawn attention from around the world. Tullius, in the Triumph TR6, was a DNF, completing 11 out of the 19 laps that made up the race. Morton is driving one of Peter Brock's cars, which made up the West Coast team backed by Datsun, later Nissan. This win by the 240Z was a very, very big deal. There was a lot of politicking that was going on behind the scenes in the time leading up to this race, believe me. Bob Sharp was on the SCCA Competition Board when people were complaining that the Z-car should be racing in B Production, not in C Production. The Datsun was extremely fast right out of the box, especially in Morton's hands. As I recall, Brock did a banzai effort to get the cars prepared, and to get Morton enough SCCA national points so he'd be eligible to drive in the Runoffs. I was there when Brock had Morton run the Z in a race at the Roebling Road course, outside Savannah, to make sure he had the points before going to Road Atlanta."

PHOTO 3

"Running hard in the D Production championship race is the late Jim Fitzgerald, from the days before he teamed up with Bob Sharp. This Datsun 2000 roadster was his own car. Right here, he's leading one of the Group 44 cars entered by Tullius, the Triumph GT6 of Carl Swanson, who was from Hawthorne, California. Fitzy came from Clemmons, North Carolina, which is right outside Winston-Salem. Jim was an electrical engineer, a very good race driver and a really neat guy. He was killed driving a Trans-Am car during one of the street races at St. Pete. He won this race, and Swanson came in second, which probably represented a high point in Swanson's driving career."

PHOTO 4

"The D Production field comes snarling up the hill with Jim Fitzgerald in third place. I say so because the first car you see here in this photo is not the leader. Dan Parkinson is out in front in a Datsun 2000 roadster and had already built himself up a lead, but it didn't do much good because he DNF after seven laps. In front of Fitzy in this image is Brian Fuerstenau, in the Triumph GT6 of Group 44, who, as it turned out, also DNF. Brian was a tall, lanky guy, and a hell of a shoe. As we've already established, Fitzy won the race. Behind him is Carl Swanson in the number 6, the GT6+, and next is Jim McComb in one of the BRE Datsun 2000s, who also DNF. That car way behind him, starting to come up the hill, is the Lotus Seven of Chris Graham."

PHOTO 5

"One of the contestants in the A Production national title race in 1970 was **** Barbour, a guy who was so good that he went from club racing to win Le Mans, driving this Porsche 904 against all the big-block Cobras and Corvettes that made up so much of that class. ****'s from San Diego, and he cut a real traditional race-driver figure: old-school open-face helmet, old-school goggles, putting a lot of body English into driving the 904. I can't explain the presence of the Fuchs wheels on this 904, which is unusual, other than to wonder if he may have gotten them through Porsche via a parts or accessories sponsorship. This race, by the way, was won by John Greenwood, driving--you guessed it--a big-block Corvette."

PHOTO 6

"At the Road Atlanta Runoffs, one of the drivers on hand was John Kelly, who was running this Triumph Spitfire 1500 in F Production for Group 44, the Bob Tullius team, famously sponsored by Quaker State. The earlier Spitfires with the 1,200cc engines raced separately in G Production. Kelly was a guy with a real job in life, who drove for Tullius for a number of years, and won this particular race. Kelly was from Falls Church, Virginia, and is now deceased."

PHOTO 7

"Good race. Jeff Kline, who still lives in California today, is leading it. This national championship round was for C Sedan, and Jeff was here driving his Alfa Romeo GTV Junior. He was quite a little racer. At the height of his career, he raced in the IMSA GTP Light series, in one of the Brumos cars, and I think he may have even had a couple of starts in the full GTP cars. Damn good driver, although right here, he became a DNF after 16 laps were run, I think after the Alfa's timing chain or belt broke. You can look back through the field and see for yourself that it was a pretty eclectic mix, with a bunch of Minis, the Alfas and at least two small Lancias. One of the Minis, driven by Ed Spreen of Hackensack, New Jersey, won the race."

PHOTO 8

"This is the pace lap for the same C Production championship in 1970, with Morton on the pole. As the cars bend to the right here, they're going under the bridge, which isn't a foot bridge, but rather a concrete bridge for vehicles that allows access to Road Atlanta's infield. It looks as if that's Bob Sharp behind Morton, in his own 240Z, part of the East Coast team backed by Datsun, which he ran. I strongly suspect that the Porsche 914-6 in the second row, right behind Tullius, is Elliott Forbes-Robinson. If you don't know it, EFR has been married for a long time to a woman from Hawaii, so he had a Hawaiian design on his helmet for his entire career. The 914-6 behind him was driven by Alan Johnson, a Porsche-Audi dealer from the West Coast, outside San Diego."

This article originally appeared in the FEBRUARY 1, 2009 issue of Hemmings Sports & Exotic Car.

[26th-Z]

Thanks for the pictures! Wow!

They call this race event the runoffs. The real name is the American Road Race of Champions (ARRC).

Edited June 21, 2010 by 26th-Z

[Ron Carter]

It was something to see these two cars together again, 40 years later...

[gira]

Really cool stuff Ron. Nowadays the still have the ARRC and the Runoffs. The ARRC has never left Road Atlanta as far as I know.

Greg Ira

[Ron Carter]

Hi Greg,

I saw a posting on GRM regarding the ARRC sponsored by GRM at RA this year. Wish I could come back for that.

I will be out at the 2010 Zcon, and at the track day, are you going to go? It was a pleasure to meet you and see you drive at RA!

Ron

[240260280]

Here is a very early Red 240z at the Nov 26, 1969 ARRC in Daytona. It is most likely HLS30-00007. BIG THANKS TO KATS! FOR THE FOLLOWING:

Only 3 HLS30 240z's were on the Nissan books as exported into NA in 1969. These may be the 3 show cars that were manufactured in Oct 1969 and brought into the USA in Oct. 1969. They were:

HLS30-00006 (Green)
HLS30-00007 (Red)
HLS30-00008 (Silver)

Two test cars manufactured in Sept 1969 were temporarily imported into North America from Oct 10 to Dec 29 1969. They were:

HLS30-00004 (Silver Manual)
HLS30-00005 (Silver Automatic)

240z at '69 ARRC. From video: "Drive the Ragged Edge" 1969 ARRC Races. (Click here to watch the commercial). (note: no OK sticker in quarter window)

 

Same 240z at '69 ARRC. From Datsun.org (Jack Scoville's winning car with mechanic Vern Colvin).

1969 ARRC program cover and 1969 Datsun advertisement proclaiming ARRC '69 win.

HLS30-00007.mp4

Edited January 3, 2017 by 240260280

[ZCCOR#109]

Great read. I was THERE. I was home on mid-tour leave from Korea. Came down from Ohio with my Brother who was a D Prod TR4A racer not qualified (wrecked at MO). :-(  Wife and I saw the beautiful BRE Z cars, came home in May 71, put $100 down at the Bel Air MD dealer. Top of the list in Oct..no cars...Dock strike...Dec they shipped cars from Vancouver BC. Got the pick of five Z's. Unheard of as then you got whatever came in next to the dealer. The blue and white Z has 89,000 miles and took 2nd at ZCON in Toronto last summer . Lots of Autocross trophies in Baltimore/Washington Council of Sports Car Clubs.

Joe Ruffing and I did three evens in three states one Sunday. He had a 2000 that he ran the stuff out of. Fast. Miss him. 

[ZCCOR#109]

When the championship was at R Atlanta, the local Region came up with the  ARRC term. When they moved the Championship to MO, SCCA National Office didn't own the term. Now the ARRC title is used for a Regional Class Cars National Championship put on by the local region at R Atlanta.