On June 7–8, 1958, the Texas Region of the SCCA hosted a weekend of sports car racing 10 miles north of Fort Worth. The organizers laid out a 3-mile course at the National Guard Air Base near Eagle Mountain Lake, where 112 entries showed up to contest 10 scheduled “Sunburn” races. The weekend was a great success. For a 34-year-old spectator by the name of Alan Benton Connell Jr., the owner of a 50,000-acre Fort Worth ranch, it was an especially memorable day. Connell [pronounced ConNELL] had just witnessed the first race of his life, and he took an instant liking to the sport.
The Eagle Mountain feature race went to Frank Davis in a potent Devin/Chevy nicknamed the Mangham-Davis Special, chased by Ray Jones in A. D. Logan’s Monza-engined Ferrari 500TR. A young Jim Hall captured 3rd overall aboard a red 1957 Maserati 250S, chassis 2430. Essentially a long-nose 200SI with its 4-cylinder engine enlarged to 2.5-liters, Hall’s Maserati had proven to be very competitive on Texas and Louisiana tracks earlier that year. It did not take long for the impulsive Alan Connell to make up his mind. He wanted to go racing himself and this was the car he planned to do it in. Hall ran the Maserati distributorship for the Southwest and used the 250S to promote his business as well. Days after the Eagle Mountain races, Alan Connell became the proud owner of the $11,000 Maserati, while spending an additional $10,000 on spare parts.
Money was no object when Connell wanted something. His hand–eye coordination and reflexes were first rate, too. Growing up on a ranch near Odessa, West Texas, he trained racing and jumping horses, and became an expert bronco rider. During the war, he served as a bomber pilot. Now a wealthy man, thanks to extensive oil, cattle, and banking interests, Connell focused on becoming a top-notch racecar driver. Since he was not very technically inclined, his friend Bernie Russell maintained the 195 BHP thoroughbred.
The SCCA reps frowned upon Alan’s first attempt to enter his new purchase in a local race. The 250S was considered too powerful for a driver without any competition background. Polite suggestions were made that he first gain some experience with smaller-engined production cars. Nevertheless, the organizers were eager to have the red Maserati on the grid with a more seasoned driver. The 6-ft-1 Connell stood his ground, claiming it was all or nothing. It was the weekend of July 5–6, 1958, and in the end, the organizers of the Premiere Sports Car Races at Plains, southwest of Lubbock, relented and allowed him to run. Connell won the novice race on Saturday, although the next three finishers—a Mercedes 300SL, Corvette, and Ferrari 250GT—were hardly in the league of the 250S. During Sunday’s opener, Alan handled himself well enough to finish 4th overall, first in DM [2- to 3-liter class], behind Davis’s all-conquering Mangham Special, Paul Hill’s Chevarri [a Ferrari/Chevy], and Don Berlin’s Porsche RS. He followed this with 3rd overall in the main event, behind Davis and Berlin.
Little is known about Connell’s second-race performance, at Mansfield, Louisiana, on August 30–31. Neither the SCCA nor the national race media covered the event, an unfortunate bias against races in the Southwest. Judging from photos, Alan qualified the 250S on the 3rd row among the big iron. The race went to Ray Jones in Logan’s Ferrari 410S, followed by Ebb Rose’s Maserati 300S and Dick McGuire’s Ferrari Monza, while Connell’s result went unreported.
The Texan’s next appearance came at the Galveston Golden Days Races on September 20–21, although the event did not live up to its name. It rained 6 inches in 2 days and plagued by carburetor problems, Connell pulled out early. Aquaplaning across the finish line, Rose’s Maserati 300S went on to beat Bobby Aylward’s 250S version by inches.
The October 12 Texas Fall Roundup Races, at Eagle Mountain, followed. Alan qualified his 250S, now painted black, at the back of a field of big modified cars. The rookie’s performance on raceday, whatever it was, went unreported by the media. Even the Fort Worth Star-Telegram newspaper did not mention Connell’s name in its Monday-morning write-up, which focused instead on how Ebb Rose’s Maserati 450S beat Jim Hall’s Lister/Chevy.
On November 1–2, Connell entered his 250S in the Oklahoma Petite Prix, a Regional in Oklahoma City, where he faced two similar Maserati entries: Jack Hinkle’s 200SI and Bobby Aylward’s 250S. Davis’s Mangham Special dominated both modified races. In Race 4, Connell had to let Jones’s 500TR/Monza and Aylward’s 250S go ahead as well, finishing 4th. In the feature—Race 6—he took the checkered for 6th overall, trailing 2nd-place Hinkle, Bobby Burns’s Porsche RS, Jones and Aylward. Clearly, Alan was still very much in a learning phase. To his credit, he was never tempted by the red mist and kept his car in one piece.
During the Nassau Speed Week in December, Connell showed remarkable improvement in the face of strong competition. Finishing 6th in the over-2-liter sprint race and 7th in the Governor’s Trophy, he had high hopes for a good result in the feature event, the Nassau Trophy. After dicing with Ricardo Rodriguez’s Porsche RS, the Maserati broke its ring-and-pinion and Alan was out. Nevertheless, the entire U.S. contingent at Nassau had reason to celebrate at the end of the day; Lance Reventlow and Chuck Daigh captured the feature in Lance’s Scarab/Chevy, beating all Italian cars.
With his 250S laid up, waiting for parts and no new Maserati available from the factory—which was still in Chapter 11—Connell was forced to look elsewhere in preparation for the 1959 season. Via Ferrari importer Luigi Chinetti in New York, he bought a $15,000, pontoon-fendered, 3-liter Ferrari 250TR built in 1957 and originally owned by Piero Drogo of Venezuela. Connell planned a full schedule of 15 SCCA Nationals for 1959. Since most of these were held on the East Coast, it meant that his car had to be reliable; homebase Fort Worth would be far away if any major repairs were needed. The newly acquired Testa Rossa, chassis 0714, turned out to be an excellent choice. During the season, it ran like a train and finished generally in the top five. Although Connell never took it to any overall victories in Nationals, he scored many class wins in DM. Like the 250S, the 250TR was repainted black.
First time out with the 250TR came at Eagle Mountain, for the Frostbite Races on February 14–15, 1959. Connell finished 3rd overall, but ironically it was his repaired 250S Maserati—loaned out to his friend and fellow oilman Gary Laughlin only minutes before the start—that won the race. Another trial run was the March 1 Carrera del Norte, held at El Paso’s Ascarate Park. With stiff competition from the Ferraris entered by Johnny von Neumann and Dick Morgensen, and the Stan Sugarman–owned Devin/Chevy driven by Jim Connor, Alan finished a distant 3rd behind Morgensen and Connor.
Connell scored his first overall win on March 8, in a Regional at Mansfield, Louisiana. In a spirited duel with three Chevy-engined cars, Mason O’Keiff’s C-type Jaguar, Jimmy Younger’s Lister, and Bob Schroeder’s Ferrari Monza, the black Testa Rossa showed the way at DeSoto Parish Airport.
Connell spent the next few months in dogged pursuit of National points in DM, with appearances at Pensacola, Marlboro, VIR, Cumberland, Bridgehampton, and the Road America June Sprints. In most cases, Alan and his 250TR captured the maximum available 10 points. In between, as if his race schedule were not hectic enough, Connell showed up south of the border on April 26 with his Maserati 250S. At Avandaro, a track 80 miles north of Mexico City, the Texan was part of a U.S. contingent that included three von Neumann Ferraris and Ken Miles’ Porsche RS. The Rodriguez brothers were present to defend Mexico’s honor. Hauling his own fuel from Texas—he feared the low-grade local brands—Alan arrived too late for practice and started last. Von Neumann, Richie Ginther, and Pedro Rodriguez ran into trouble with their Ferraris, and Miles won the event. Ricardo Rodriguez’s Porsche finished 2nd, followed by Connell’s Maserati.
By the end of June, the National Championship was not half over, yet Connell found time to appear in a Regional in his home state. On June 27–28, Galveston hosted the Spring Championship Races at Scholes Field. In addition to Connell’s Testa Rossa, top contenders were Jim Hall and Jimmy Younger, each in a Lister/Chevy, Bill Fuller in a Chevy-powered D Jag, and Hap Sharp aboard a Maserati 200SI. Race 3 went to Hall, chased by Connell, Fuller, and Sharp. The feature—Race 6—saw a great battle between Hall and Connell, with the Testa Rossa passing the Lister in the corners, only to lose out on the straights. By lap 18 [of 20], Connell had finally established a permanent lead when his gearbox jammed. Chassis 0714 suffered its first retirement and Hall went on to win, followed by Sharp and Gary Laughlin in a Porsche RS.
Waiting for Ferrari gearbox parts, Connell shipped his Maserati out East for the Lime Rock National on July 3–4. He qualified well, in the middle of the front row between Constantine’s Aston Martin and Briggs Cunningham’s Lister/Jag. On the opening lap, Alan was 3rd, chasing Constantine and Hansgen [Costin Lister/Jag] while hanging out the 250S’s tail. In his effort to stay with the more powerful cars, Connell “got carried away,” as he later admitted. When the Maserati drifted out of the last corner, its tail hit a dirt bank. The car somersaulted end-over-end through the air, with Gus Andrey and Roger Penske actually passing underneath while it was airborne. They never expected its driver to survive. Fortunately, the 250S landed right side up and a dazed Connell escaped with only minor kidney bruises. It was the only accident he suffered as a driver. The race went to Constantine’s DBR2.
Not discouraged one bit and with his Testa Rossa gearbox now repaired, the Fort Worth Flyer joined the July 11–12 National at Buckley Field near Aurora, Colorado. In DM class, the competition consisted of Danny Collins in a newer 250TR and Aylward’s 250S. For overall position, Hap Sharp’s 200SI Maserati might be a threat, but after two days of competition, Jim Jeffords was the uncrowned king. Driving his purple Nickey Scarab/Chevy and Corvette in five races, Jeffords won each time, including the feature for the Governor’s Trophy. Collins came in 2nd and won DM, followed by Jay Chamberlain [2-liter Lotus 15] and Connell, who beat Aylward and Sharp to the finish.
The championship next turned West, to Riverside, California, where the weekend of July 18–19 featured two events. On Saturday, the SCCA held its National, followed the next day by the USAC-sanctioned Kiwanis Grand Prix for professionals. Demonstrating that stamina was not a problem for him, Connell ran his 250TR on both days. Later in his career he commented that Riverside Raceway, along with Bridgehampton and Continental Divide, was his favorite track, but that day, he was still learning its features. The National went to Sammy Weiss aboard a Porsche RSK, followed by Dick Morgensen’s Testa Rossa and Bob Holbert’s RSK. However, the battle of the day was for 4th place, between Connell and Jack Flaherty in Kjell Qvale’s Lister/Jag. The lead changed hands numerous times until Flaherty overdid it 6 laps from the finish, parking the Lister on top of the guardrail.
With 4th overall in his pocket, Alan looked forward to facing the professionals on Sunday, but this time the competition was much stiffer. The race was also more than twice as long as the SCCA National and temperatures reached a blistering 100 degrees. Starting far back on the grid with a qualifying time of 2:22.47—22nd fastest out of 34 starters—Connell moved up gradually, with dogged perseverance. He was helped by the fact that half the field retired that day. Richie Ginther [Ferrari 412MI] won, followed by four RSK Porsches: Weiss, Miles, Holbert, and Ricardo Rodriguez. Connell felt frustrated by his car’s lack of top speed on the long Riverside straight and finished a distant 8th overall.
In search of more horsepower, Connell consulted Luigi Chinetti in New York. Chinetti had just what the Texan needed: a new 4.1-liter Ferrari 335S, chassis 0764, which had been featured in the New York Car Show earlier that year. Soon, Alan owned his third and fastest competition car so far, plus the services of Ferrari mechanic Emile Erbacher, to maintain the beast. The aging Testa Rossa was sold to Charlie Hayes.
While waiting for the 335S to be delivered, Alan ran his 2.5-liter Maserati, repainted light blue after its Lime Rock crash. In the August 8–9 Montgomery National in New York, he faced stiff East Coast competition. At the finish, it was Constantine [Aston Martin], Hansgen [Lister] by 6 seconds, the Porsches of Holbert, Sesslar, and Denise McCluggage, and Connell, first in DM for 10 points. Witnesses recall how Alan drove the wheels off his 250S, but on a wet track, he had to let the Porsches go ahead.
In the September 6–7 National at Thompson, Connecticut, Connell’s Maserati added another 10 points by finishing 5th behind Constantine, Holbert, Forno [Porsche RS], and Hansgen. Now, he had accumulated 72 points, an insurmountable lead over the nearest DM drivers Pabst, Collins, Johnston, and Morgensen. With the DM Championship in the bag, Alan decided to run the final four Nationals in CM [3- to 5-liter], aboard his new gunmetal-colored 335S. CM class was still hotly contested between Hansgen and Constantine. Even if Alan scored perfect 10s in the remaining races, third place was the best he could hope for.
The 4.1-liter Ferrari saw its first action the following Sunday, in the September 12–13 Road America 500 miles, where Skip Hudson was Connell’s co-driver. Constantine shared his Aston Martin with Paul O’Shea, Dick Thompson the Sting Ray with Anatole Lapine, Fred Windridge the Kelso Lister with Holbert and E. D. Martin his 315S with Bill Kimberly. However, it was Eddie Crawford who dominated the early goings in one of Cunningham’s Knobbly Lister/Jags. After his teammate Hansgen retired the Costin Lister around midrace, Walt took over the leading car. The Connell/Hudson 335S followed in 2nd place and the car was described as “sounding like a ripping bedsheet at full song.” In the final stages, the 3rd-place DBR2 made a challenge for the lead, but O’Shea lost his brakes. Although crippled on its final lap, the Crawford/Hansgen Lister/Jag won the race, with Connell and Hudson excellent 2nds. Alan’s 335S proved it had both speed and stamina. It could have won if its fuel stop had been shorter: 6 minutes, 6 seconds, versus 4 minutes, 20 seconds for the Lister.
Going into the September 25–26 Watkins Glen National, Constantine led Hansgen in CM with 52 versus 50 points. Connell showed only 8 points after his Road America finish. The Glen added just 6 points to his score, for 3rd in CM and 5th overall. On the unfamiliar course, the Texan crossed the finish line trailing Hansgen and Constantine, as well as the Porsches of Belgian-American Harry Blanchard and Sesslar. Based on Hansgen’s comments on Alan’s 335S, it wasn’t lacking for speed: “The acceleration of this car was breathtaking, certainly the most powerful car in the race.”
Competition resumed two weeks later, at a Regional in Midland, Texas, on October 11. The Midland Airpark Races provided Connell with the second overall win of his career. In Race 6, he took the 335S to 1st, beating Hap Sharp’s Maserati 200SI, now propelled by a Ferrari Monza engine. Next came Gary Laughlin’s 250TR and Delmo Johnson’s Chevy-powered Jaguar XK-SS. The feature—Race 9—saw a repeat performance by Alan.
Part of an exhaustive schedule, two SCCA Nationals still remained. Both Constantine and the Cunningham team skipped the Carrera del Norte, held in El Paso on October 30–November 1. Few big iron modifieds showed up for this National and even Connell fell back on his aging 250S Maserati. Forced to run in CM because of insufficient entries in EM or DM, his class competition consisted of Pat Pigott in a 2-liter Lotus 15 and Bill Dennison’s hybrid. The latter was ahead of Carroll Shelby by three years in putting an American V-8 into an AC, although Dennison’s combination happened to be an AC/Chevy. Connell retired with steering problems after hitting a haybale deposited in the middle of the road, courtesy of an errant Porsche, while Pigott won the feature.
The Grand Finale in the SCCA Championship came on November 15, at Daytona International Speedway. With Hansgen and Constantine still tied for points, the Cunningham team arrived with three Lister/Jags. Walt was in his usual Costin model, the 1958 versions assigned to Crawford and Windridge. Based on the results of the qualifier, they occupied the front row. Constantine’s DBR2 and Martin, who had replaced his 315S Ferrari with a new Birdcage Maserati, were in row 2, followed by Sesslar’s RSK, Connell’s 335S, and Ed Rahal’s D-type Jaguar.
The early laps were marred by the crash of Martin’s Birdcage, which took Sesslar’s Porsche out as well. The race was blackflagged and it took 45 minutes to clean up the debris. The field then lined up in single file based on previous positions: Constantine, Hansgen, Crawford, Connell, Windridge, and Dave Lane’s 250TR. Soon after the restart, Connell passed Hansgen and began to pursue Constantine while setting the fastest lap. Because of the earlier delay, and with darkness approaching, the organizers decided to cut the feature from 40 to 35 laps. This proved too lengthy for the Aston Martin. Pressed by the 335S, the DBR2 threw a tread and spun, allowing Connell to take the lead. Now it was Hansgen who turned up the heat. Soon the Lister and the Ferrari ran nose-to-tail on the road-course section, although Connell had the better acceleration on the banking. On the final lap, Hansgen tried to pass in the infield, but the Texan held his ground, taking the checkered flag some 200 yards ahead. Afterward, Connell explained it had been a hard contest and showed his blistered hands to prove it. He lost his clutch early in the race and had to shift gears by ear and feel.
With his Daytona finish, Hansgen captured the 1959 CM title with 68 points over Constantine’s total of 64. Connell was 3rd in the final count, with 24 points. Sports Car magazine raved about his performance: “Alan Connell, in winning the final National race of the 1959 season, has shown himself to be the man to watch in 1960.”
Constantine may have lost the CM title, but he got his sweet $11,000 revenge in the final event of the year, the Nassau Trophy on December 6. It could have been anybody’s win. In addition to two DBR2 Aston Martins, there were three 450S Maseratis, three new Birdcage Maseratis, Ginther’s Kiwanis GP winning 412M Ferrari, Phil Hill’s Times GP winning 250TR, Bill Mitchell’s Sting Ray, the Meister Brauser Scarab, two Listers, Jack Brabham’s Cooper Monaco, and half-a-dozen additional Ferraris, including Connell’s 335S. Only the Cunningham team stayed home.
Photo: Bob Tronolone
In Sunday’s feature, Connell made a good Le Mans start, running a strong 9th after 20 laps. A pit stop for fuel in midrace dropped him in the standings, while Constantine went nonstop, gambling that his Aston’s fuel tank would last the distance. It did, thanks to the fact that the race was shortened by 6 laps because of darkness. Connell finished 10th, one lap behind the winner and the second Ferrari to finish, after Phil Hill’s runner-up position.
What a year it had been. Racing close to 30 weekends, Alan finally came of age at Daytona, beating the top drivers of the SCCA. Sports Illustrated magazine honored him with the “Most Improved Driver of 1959” award.
The following year provided a more relaxed schedule. George Reed invited Connell to share his alloy-bodied Ferrari California in the Sebring 12 Hours on March 26, 1960. Unfortunately, the car was forced to run as a sports racer because it did not have the homologated steel body. Overall victory and 2nd place went to two RS-60 Porsches, but thanks to attrition among the competition, the open GT car did very well. It entered the top 10 after 4 hours and began a rapid climb. At 10 hours, it featured as high as 3rd overall, leading a pack of three SWB 250GTs. In the final two hours, the Augie Pabst/Ed Hugus 250GT, as well as the Jack Nethercutt/Pete Lovely Testa Rossa, managed to get past, but 5th overall was still a remarkable finish for the California and its drivers. Luigi Chinetti took notice and invited Connell to drive one of his Ferraris at Le Mans in June.
One week later, Alan entered his 335S in the USAC-sanctioned Examiner GP for professionals at Riverside. It was the perfect track for a 4.1-liter Ferrari, but the race was a disappointment. The 335S overheated in the torrid conditions, running some 10 seconds off the pace. The Texan qualified in 2:16.42, 6 seconds faster than he had been with the 250TR in the 1959 Kiwanis GP at Riverside. However, progress was such that this proved good enough only for the same 22nd start position. On raceday, the poorly running 335S never featured in the top 10. An exhausted Connell finished 11th overall and had to be lifted from his car by the crew. Carroll Shelby won the race aboard a Birdcage Maserati.
On May 1, 1960, in a one-off entry in the SCCA National circuit that spring, Alan and the 335S appeared at VIR. They ran 3rd in the opening laps, behind the Porsches of Bob Holbert and Roger Penske. On lap 3, Connell lost a position when Dick Thompson’s Sting Ray, which had stalled on the grid, came charging through. A few laps later, the Ferrari headed for the pits to retire with a broken oil line. Holbert won over Thompson, who lost the lead after running out of brakes.
Photo: Connell collection
It was the last race for the aging 335S. Soon, chassis 0764 was sold to Gordon Tatum. After his long-distance success at Sebring, Connell accepted Chinetti’s invitation to go to Le Mans. For the 24-hour grind, he shared a SWB Ferrari 250GT with George Arents, one of the founders of the North American Racing Team. This time, the entry ran in GT class. Arents started and drove a conservative race for 2 hours. When Connell took over they were 19th, but the next few hours witnessed a steady climb. At 1 a.m., the Texan got word to speed up. After losing a position to them at Sebring, Alan took revenge by hauling in the Pabst/Hugus 250GT in the next 2 hours. He entered the top 10 by midrace. During his final stint, with one hour to go, Connell passed the Pierre Noblet/Leon Dernier 250GT, for another excellent 5th overall and 2nd in GT. Only two Testa Rossas, an Aston Martin DBR1, and a French 250GT had covered more distance.
After Le Mans, the Fort Worth Flyer did not return to the tracks for a month for lack of a competitive car. He tried Formula Junior, racing a Cooper/DKW at Meadowdale [July 24] and Road America [September 10], but did not like the underpowered cars. The sports racer to beat in 1960 was the Birdcage Maserati Tipo 61, but its entire production line was already taken for the rest of the year. In late August, Connell became aware that two of the long-tail Birdcages that CAMORADI ran at Le Mans were available. Deciding that a second-hand Birdcage was better than none, he bought both of them: chassis 2461 [the 1960 Nürburgring winner] and 2464. Both started life with short Kamm tails, but were converted to long tails for Le Mans. Before shipment to Texas, they underwent rebuilds at the factory. Chassis 2461 was shipped in September, whereas chassis 2464 took longer to deliver, having been converted back to Kamm configuration at Connell’s request. He planned to race the bobtail version on short, medium-speed tracks, keeping the streamlined long-tail for the faster courses.
Still without his own car for the Road America 500 on September 11, Alan shared George Reed’s Ferrari 290MM, but it retired early. His first appearance with the new purchase came at the October 16 Times GP at Riverside where he entered the refurbished long-tail Birdcage, still in CAMORADI colors. Connell’s favorite track brought him no luck; in practice, the Maserati did not run as well as expected. The Texan recorded a qualifying time of 2:10.49, 6 seconds faster than the 335S earlier in 1960, but now, good for only 23rd spot on the grid. Connell had to make the field via one of the consolation races. He made it by winning the second qualifier, during which he brought down his time to 2:08. Raceday was discouraging. Starting from the back of the field, the Texan battled for 10th place in tight formation with Bob Bondurant’s Arciero Ferrari/Maserati and Jo Bonnier’s Porsche RSK. Then, an engine seal broke, spraying oil on the headers. On lap 21 the badly smoking Tipo 61 was blackflagged, while Bill Krause took another Birdcage to a popular win.
One week later, at Laguna Seca’s Pacific GP, things were no better. Qualifying chassis 2461 at the back of the grid with 1:22, Alan moved up to 8th place in the first heat, chasing Moss [Lotus 19], Krause [Birdcage], Hall [Birdcage], Holbert [RSK], Constantine [Kelso Lister/Chevy], Shelby [Birdcage], and Miles [RSK], when he pitted with a slipping clutch. He finished the heat in 15th, 5 laps down, and retired after 19 laps in the second heat. Moss’s victory, the first for a Lotus 19 in the United States, was about to start the rear-engined trend in sports car racing’s top echelons.
If Connell had any hopes of successfully defending his 1959 Daytona victory, the November 12–13 National there brought only more woes. During Saturday’s qualifier, the long-tail Birdcage lost a rear wheel after its de Dion tube broke, just as Alan was coming off the banking. His reduced speed prevented further damage, but no spare tube was available. In a great gesture of sportsmanship, Dave Causey, whose Tipo 61 lost its gearbox on Saturday, loaned Connell his complete rear axle. Both crews worked many hours on the transplant and the long-tail made it to the start. Suspension was compromised, however, and the Maserati was a handful in the corners. Lacking top speed as well, the car never became a threat. It finished 5th overall behind Pabst and Harry Heuer in Meister Brauser Scarabs, and the Porsches of Penske and Chuck Cassel.
Photo: Connell collection
The season-ending Nassau Trophy went to Dan Gurney’s Arciero Lotus 19. Connell retired the long-tail after 27 laps [of 54] when its exhaust system shook apart. So far his Birdcage had proven unreliable and not particularly fast either. Soon a new mechanic, John Miller, was hired to sort out both Tipo 61s.
Chinetti again invited Alan to join the NART effort at Sebring on March 25, 1961. With Ed Hugus as his co-driver, the Texan got the assignment of a Dino 246S, a Testa Rossa look-alike with a 2.5-liter, 6-cylinder engine. Hugus took the start and for the first 5 hours the combination ran well, settling into 6th overall. According to Alan, they were saving the car by keeping the revs at 7,000, but it was all in vain. After 6 hours, the Dino broke one of its u-joints and retired. Chinetti can’t have been too dismayed: Testa Rossas filled out the top-4 positions at the finish.
Two weeks later, the Carrera del Alamo was held at Hondo, Texas. This April 9 Divisional saw the first appearance of Connell’s metallic-blue bobtailed Birdcage, chassis 2464. The car retired from the feature after 5 laps when its exhaust fell off. Jim Hall’s Birdcage slugged it out with Hap Sharp [2.3-liter Maserati-powered Cooper Monaco] and prevailed, with Bob Schroeder [Birdcage] finishing 3rd.
On May 6–7, the Mansfield Divisionals in Louisiana attracted the same players, except Hall. Connell won the sprint race on Saturday with the bobtail Tipo 61, but dropped out of the feature with brake failure. Leader Schroeder retired next, leaving victory to Sharp’s Cooper/Maserati, followed by the Chevy-powered Jags of Delmo Johnson and Bill Fuller.
Curiously, at the fast Bridgehampton track for the May 28 National, Connell also relied on his bobtail version. Although less streamlined, the Birdcage performed well. However, Hansgen’s Tipo 61 was also present. Having won every big-bore feature since its opening, Walt was nicknamed “King of the Bridge.” At the start, Connell pulled ahead, leading the first 3 laps. Then Hansgen made his move, and Connell had to settle for 2nd overall.
The reason Alan did not use his more-streamlined, long-tail Tipo 61 became apparent on July 2 at Continental Divide Raceways. To amazed spectators, the Maserati presented itself with a large hood bulge, displaying 6 downdraft Webers underneath. They fed a 3-liter V-12 Testa Rossa engine, number 0764, acquired via Chinetti. Connell expected the V-12 to provide more horsepower and less vibration. Before mechanic John Miller completed the conversion, however, Connell made sure he received Chinetti’s approval. It seemed only prudent, since future replacement parts had to come from Luigi’s shop in New York.
The 2-heat CDR event was the second round for the professional USAC Championship. Only weeks earlier the SCCA prohibited its amateur members from participating, and the entry list suffered as a result. Yet Connell, the 1959 SCCA DM-Champion, ignored the ban. He was his own man and CDR was another one of his favorite tracks. Unfortunately, the Maserati/Ferrari—now painted duo-tone blue—came largely unsorted and overheated profusely. Alan was unable to qualify, starting at the back of the field. On the opening lap, he moved up to 7th and ran 4th by lap 6, gaining on the leaders. The car was fast, but recurring overheating, plus an exploding battery, led to its retirement on lap 14. The race became a Porsche sweep for Ken Miles, Bob Donner, and Scooter Patrick.
Next on the schedule was the Wisconsin GP, an SCCA National staged at Meadowdale on July 22–23. Its rough, high-banked Monza Wall section was a certified chassis breaker, but the entries were top notch. Connell, one of the drivers ousted by the SCCA after CDR, was allowed by the organizers to run as a guest, without the possibility of earning points. Not bothered, he brought the long-tail Birdcage with the V-12 Testa Rossa engine, only to park it with a slipping clutch after 7 laps while in 6th place. Roger Penske’s Birdcage beat Peter Ryan’s Sadler in a terrific battle that lasted the entire race.
Banned from amateur competition, Connell stayed put for the rest of the summer. After a cooling-off period he reappeared on September 3–4, at Mansfield, Louisiana. His main competitor in this Divisional was Jim Hall’s new Chaparral 1. Alan led all the way and when the Chaparral retired from the chase, the Maserati/Ferrari went on to take its first victory.
Alan’s next appearance came on October 1–2, at the Green Valley Divisional on the northern outskirts of Fort Worth. Aboard the short-tail Tipo 61, he won the Fall Roundup qualifier on Saturday, over Harry Washburn’s Porsche RSK and Dick Macon’s Cooper Monaco. In spite of deteriorating brakes on the Birdcage, the top two positions remained unchanged in the feature.
Two weeks later Alan entered the USAC-sanctioned Times GP at Riverside on October 15, with the long-tail Maserati/Ferrari. Qualifying in 2:07.7, he wasn’t much faster than the laps recorded in the consolation race in 1960. At least he had moved up on the grid, 13th fastest now, positioned on the outside of the 5th row. Ahead of him were two Cooper Monacos, three Lotus 19s, the Chaparral, two Scarabs, three Tipo 61 Birdcages, and Ol’ Yeller III. Raceday was a disaster. The Birdcage handled differently every lap, while the V-12 engine gave power on only one bank. Then a caliper broke off one of the rear brakes, forcing Connell to retire within 10 laps. Afterwards he discovered that one of the rear springs had completely reversed itself. Plans to run the Pacific GP at Laguna Seca the following weekend were shelved. With the exception of a win at Mansfield, the hybrid sports racer had been a failure so far, with ongoing DNFs.
Fortunately, things looked up from here. On October 28–29, Alan took the Ferrari-engined Birdcage to victory in the Oklahoma GP at Muskogee. Chased by Sharp’s new, Climax-engined, Cooper Monaco and Schroeder’s Birdcage, he led from the start. But the real test for the Maserati/Ferrari came in December during Nassau Speed Week. Connell used the Governor’s Trophy only for practice, pulling out as soon as he was satisfied with the setup of the car. The Nassau Trophy race, 250 miles of pounding on an abrasive surface, attracted a stellar field, even better than the Times GP. At the Le Mans start, the V-12 was slow firing up, but after just 10 laps Connell was running 9th. Twenty laps later he had moved up to 6th overall, behind Gurney’s Lotus 19, Hall’s Chaparral, Penske’s Cooper Monaco, and the Testa Rossas of Pedro Rodriguez and Graham Hill. Gurney took the checkered flag after 55 laps, followed by Penske and Rodriguez. Connell scored an excellent 4th overall, ahead of the Hill and Constantine Testa Rossas. Reliability at last, with speed to boot!
Perhaps in celebration of its newly found staying power, Connell gave the hybrid a different paint job. During 1962, the car ran in what was described as either brilliant lime-green, electric chartreuse, or saturn-yellow, coming across on period color photos as bright yellow. Painted on the side of its body were the words “Ol’ Blue.” On January 28, 1962, Ol’ Blue took the start in the first National of the season, at Daytona. Harry Heuer’s new Chaparral 1 and Art Huttinger’s Lister/Chevy formed the front row, but Connell passed them on lap 2. This started an amazing battle between the Texan and Heuer. Officially—as measured at the start/finish line—the lead changed on 7 of the 30 laps, but out on the track, 23 passes were recorded. The dog fight ended when Heuer, trying to outbrake the Birdcage, overdid it three laps from the finish. He was forced to take the escape road, while Connell went on to win.
The National marked the beginning of the Daytona Speed Weeks, which lasted almost a month. On February 11, Bill France hosted the inaugural 3-hour Daytona Continental, won by Gurney’s Lotus 19 in the famous “starter motor” finish. Ol’ Blue took the start as well, but upon entering the first turn on lap 5, Connell nudged Huttinger’s early-braking Lister. Alan went into a spectacular spin, ended up with the car pointing in the right direction and continued. However, stress from the off-course excursion broke an oil line, and two laps later the Maserati/Ferrari retired.
One week later, Connell came back strong in the February 17–18, Fort Worth Polar Prix, a Regional at Green Valley Raceway. In both the preliminary and the feature race, the hybrid Birdcage left Sharp’s older Cooper Monaco/Maserati behind, but on March 4 at Mansfield’s Spring Sports Car Races, their roles reversed. Although the Maserati/Ferrari captured the 8-lapper, in the feature Sharp pressed Connell so hard that Ol’ Blue went into a spin. Despite a spirited catch-up race, Alan was unable to make up the deficit.
Before the Sebring 12 Hours on March 24, 1962, Chinetti phoned Alan twice, urging him to attend. On raceday the Texan was teamed with Bob Grossman in a front-engined Dino 246S. Unfortunately, that decision wasn’t made until the night before the race. Alan took the start in a car he had never sat in, needing to get acquainted with the Dino during the opening laps. Two hours into the race, running 4th, Alan handed over to Grossman. Both drivers suffered from raw left hands after their stints, so Constantine was called upon for relief. After 6 hours, the Ferrari ran 3rd overall. Then Chinetti put the Rodriguez brothers behind the wheel and the Dino’s clutch soon expired under the strain.
The USAC Road Racing Championship started on April 1, with the Pipeline 200 at Bossier City’s Hilltop Raceway in Louisiana. It was run as a two-heat Formula Libre event. Sharp owned a suitable 2.5-liter, low-line Cooper/Climax T53 Intercontinental, chassis F1/15/61. However, he preferred to attend a Tucson, Arizona, Regional the same weekend. Connell purchased Sharp’s Cooper and entered his first “real” open-wheel race. The Climax engine smoked badly in practice. Running 3rd behind Gurney [Lotus 18] and Penske [Cooper T53], Alan retired after blowing a gasket. Gurney won both heats, while Sharp’s decision proved a wise one: He won at Tucson with his Cooper/Maserati, beating Jack Hinkle’s Tipo 61.
The Grand Prairie GP at Stuttgart, Arkansas, provided a classic Connell-Sharp battle again. Intrigued by the location’s name, Porsche reps in Stuttgart, Germany, provided trophies for any winning Porsche drivers in this May 26–27 National. Sharp had his Cooper Monaco/Climax on pole, with Ol’ Blue next and Enus Wilson in the ex-Penske Tipo 61 on the outside. Connell took an early lead but spun out under pressure from Sharp. Running 2nd, the Maserati/Ferrari dropped out 8 laps from the finish with a lost drain plug. Sharp won, followed by Donner’s RS-61, which collected the factory silverware from Germany.
Sharp must have convinced his friend that the days of the front-engined sports racers were over, because in the next National—at Bridgehampton on June 2–3—Connell showed up in a brand-new Cooper Monaco with 2.5-liter Climax unit. The car—chassis CM/3/62—was painted metallic blue. Problems developed during practice, forcing it to start from the back of the grid. Connell sliced through the field, but the Climax did not have the horsepower to catch two Monacos entered by Cunningham. Hansgen won in a Buick-engined version, with Dick Thompson next in a Maserati-engined Monaco. Alan finished 3rd overall.
The Lake Garnett GP, a National held 70 miles south of Kansas City on July 7–8, seemed to justify Connell’s new purchase. He led the feature from start to finish, chased in vain by the Chaparrals of Heuer [2nd] and Hall [3rd]. Alan was full of confidence for the Wisconsin GP, held at Meadowdale on August 4–5. Starting again from the pole, he ran away from his pursuers by 3 seconds a lap. Alas, with 4 laps to go, the Monaco’s gearbox broke, handing victory to Heuer’s Chaparral with Bill Wuesthoff’s RS-60 next. Three weeks later, Connell wasn’t any luckier in the July 29 Hoosier Grand Prix sanctioned by USAC; his Cooper Intercontinental retired after 2 laps with ring-and-pinion failure.
Four professional races dominated the calendar in September and October, the first one at Bridgehampton, only a week after the September 9 Road America 500. Alan reserved his Cooper Monaco for the moneymaking events and entered Ol’ Blue in the 500, with Allan Ross as his co-driver. The effort lasted only 4 laps, when—in 4th—the V-12 lost its oil pressure. It was the last appearance for the Maserati/Ferrari. Connell’s fellow Texans, Hall and Sharp, went on to score a well-deserved win in their Chaparral.
Connell’s Monaco qualified 2nd in the September 16 Bridgehampton 400 km, a second behind Pedro Rodriguez in the Le Mans-winning Ferrari 330TR/LM. On lap 16, while chasing Rodriguez, the Cooper suffered more gearbox woes and had to be retired. On September 30, Connell took the start of the Northwest GP at Pacific Raceways near Seattle. His Cooper shared the front row with Masten Gregory’s Lotus 19, but again it dropped out, with valve trouble after only 7 laps. Gurney’s Lotus 19 won the event, with Gregory 2nd. Would the October 14 Times GP finally bring reliability for the Monaco and its exasperated owner? Trying every possible angle, Connell decorated his helmet with images of cloverleaves and horseshoes.
On a revised Riverside course, Alan qualified in 1:15.2, 8th fastest, beating Graham Hill in a similar car. But his 2.5-liter Climax engine refused to cooperate on raceday. It leaked oil on the Cooper’s rear tires, and then a screw fell out of the distributor. Connell made on-track repairs—he had come a long way from his early nontechnical days—and finally finished 17th, 24 laps behind Penske’s winning Zerex Special.
One week later at Laguna Seca, the Texan qualified in 1:15.2 for 9th position on the grid of the Pacific GP. More ill fortune lay in store when, on lap 8, the Cooper hit a dislodged hay bale in turn 2, which bent its steering. After temporary repairs, the car started the second heat, but the steering seized completely after another 9 laps. Thanks to 2nd-place heat results, Penske’s Zerex was declared the overall winner.
A large contingent of Americans, mostly with older equipment, joined the field of the inaugural Mexican GP for Formula One cars on November 4, 1962. The event did not yet have World Championship status, so Ferrari, BRM, and Porsche were no-shows. The Fort Worth Flyer brought his 1961-vintage Cooper/Climax T53. Qualifying the obsolete Intercontinental car, equipped with a puny 1.5-liter, 4-cylinder Climax, in 2:16.6 on the next-to-last row, Connell was 16 seconds off the pace set by Jimmy Clark’s Lotus 25. During a dragged-out official start procedure, the Cooper overheated and refused to run. Connell finally left the grid a minute after the field had departed. His efforts lasted 7 laps, and then the Climax expired. Clark won after taking over the Lotus of teammate Trevor Taylor.
It was the last time Alan Connell participated in a race event. He never made any statements and the motoring press never published any reasons for, or even acknowledged the fact of, his sudden absence from the circuits. Perhaps it was caused by the frustration of a fiercely competitive driver facing constant mechanical breakdowns. Although Alan’s wife and daughters were always supportive of his racing, perhaps the death of the talented Ricardo Rodriguez during practice for the Mexican GP changed his mind. Or racing may have changed too much by 1962, not accommodating his favored style of manhandling front-engined cars in opposite lock and steering them by the throttle. The December 8, 1962, issue of Competition Press contained ads for his three cars. Ol’ Blue was offered for $8,500, the Cooper Monaco for $14,500, the Cooper Intercontinental for $4,000 minus its 2.5-liter engine numbered 1242 and 5-speed gearbox, which were priced separately at $6,000 and $3,000. In years to come, Alan would concentrate on new challenges, such as ocean sailing, running marathons, and the occasional polo match with Hap Sharp.
Connell died on August 18, 1999, from an infection associated with the replacement of his pacemaker. He was two weeks shy of 76 years. Again, the motoring press failed to give the former race driver his due and the loss went unnoticed. Fortunately, today there are still many racing enthusiasts of a certain age who fondly remember the Fort Worth Flyer with the aggressive driving style. He was a charger, using all available torque to pull himself out of his spectacular powerslides. He had lots of bad luck, but was always a crowd favorite. It was over much too soon.
