T540 HU44 is owned by Steve Beeler who lives in the USA. Below he tells the history of the car:
HU44 was delivered to F.L. Mayer of Denver, Colorado in orange gel coat with a Titan engine and a Hewland Mk9 gearbox (H9-3089). On February 24, 1980, the car’s initial SCCA logbook (08-386) was issued by the Colorado Region. HU44’s first race was at La Junta that April.
During 1980, Mayer also raced the car at Ponca City, Pueblo, Lake Afton, and Hallet. In 1981, Mayer raced five times including once at Colorado Divide. In 1982, HU44 was only raced twice. HU44 was raced at five events in 1983 before Mayer sold the car to a Denver entity “Meadow Creek Tire” on August 5, 1984.
“Meadow Creek Tire” raced the car only occasionally: one race each 1984, 1985, and 1986. HU44 was not raced for five years until John Braun purchased the car on July 11, 1991. Braun then undertook the car’s first rebuild which included a blue and white paint scheme. In 1992, Braun raced three times and then six times in 1993 including long tows from Colorado to Road America and Brainerd.
Jim Smith Benton of Green Bay, Wisconsin saw Braun race HU44 at Road America and a deal was struck on August 18, 1993. For the next few years, Benton campaigned HU44 regularly at Road America and Blackhawk Farms: 1994 (8 races), 1995 (5 races), 1996 (4 races), 1997 (3 races). During this time, Benton acquired a very strong engine from Andresen Engine Development.
I purchased the car from Benton on May 5, 1998. After an 18-year hiatus from racing to raise three fine young ladies, I took a year to reconstitute my race shop, trailer, checklists, and so forth and also to perform a disassembly / reassembly to learn the car. After one driver’s school in April of 1999 to reclaim my license, I resumed racing in HU44. Here are my results:
SPORTS CAR CLUB OF AMERICA (1999 – 2009)
I competed in 35 SCCA events from 1999 through 2009. I was de facto commissioner of FF/CFF East vs West Challenge (EWC) and co-organizer of the Formula Ford 40th Anniversary (FF40th) at Road America. New tracks for HU44 included Waterford Hills, Grattan, GingerMan, Mid-Ohio, and Indianapolis Raceway Park. Between the 2008 and 2009 seasons, I did a major frame-up including the current red, white, and blue paint design. Modifications during this rebuild included shear plates to locate the lower front a-arms and blisters on both sides the airbox to accommodate a K&N air filter.
Top Finishes
1st - 9
2nd - 8
3rd - 6
4th - 2
5th - 2
6th - 1
Pole Positions - 7
Fastest Laps - 5
VINTAGE SPORTS CAR DRIVER’S ASSOCIATION (2014 – 2018)
After another brief hiatus, I resumed racing HU44 on the “senior tour” with the VSCDA in 2014. I have successfully completed a refresher driver’s school and 16 race weekends. During this time, the engine has been reunited with Ivey Engines (it’s original builder years and years ago) for a rebuild. I am de facto chairman of the Formula Ford 50th Anniversary (FF50th) at Road America September 2019.
SPORTSCAR VINTAGE RACING ASSOCIATION (2017)
I drove HU44 at SVRA’s “Open Wheel World Challenge” at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
