RETRO: Michael Keyser recalls 1976 Sebring win

To sound trite, I could start this story by saying that the 12 Hours of Sebring of 1976 seems as if it was held only yesterday. But it’s not that way. It was 40 years ago, and my memories of the race I won with Al Holbert stream back to me through the misty veil of time.

At the 24 Hours of Daytona held earlier that year, I’d driven with George Dyer in his 3-liter Porsche RSR. We were only five laps into the race when our engine blew. If it’s going to blow, that’s the right time. Not the next morning when both you and the car are worn out.

Al Holbert came home second at Daytona, driving with the Frenchman Claude Ballot-Lena in Al’s RSR. In the month following the race, one thing led to another, as they say. For some reason Al and I were having a phone conversation when he asked if I’d drive with him at Sebring. I had my own Toad Hall RSR I was thinking of entering, but it had just undergone an extensive rebuild in preparation for its sale. I’d decided to move to a Chevy Monza, as had Al. Why wear my own car out on the rough 5.2 mile Sebring circuit when Al had asked me to do that to his? Besides, I’d be racing with him rather than against him. It was a no-brainer, so I said “Yes.”

I set out to find sponsors for our effort, and managed to land two – the department store Jordan Marsh, and their line of Benrus wristwatches, and Penthouse magazine. Doc Bundy, who’d go on to become a talented driver in his own right, was working for Al at the time as a combination Jack-of-All-Trades and PR man. As part of the sponsorship deal, Jordan Marsh wanted to display the Porsche at one of their stores in the Ft. Lauderdale area a few days before the race.

Doc drove the car down to Florida in the team transporter, a small truck back then, and I flew down to meet him. While the car was on display at the Jordan Marsh store during the two days we were there, Doc and I spent our time either at the beach chasing women or hanging out at one of the many bars in the area doing the same thing.

In the race, the main competition came from a gaggle of other RSRs, two BMW CSLs driven by Peter Gregg/Hurley Haywood, and David Hobbs/Benny Parsons, and the Corvette of John Greenwood, who was the promoter of the race that year, partnered by Mike Brockman. We had a few minor problems in practice, nothing serious, and Al qualified the car in third behind Greenwood and Gregg.

After final practice on Friday, I glanced out on the runway behind the pits and noticed the Goodyear blimp tethered to the ground. The possibility of a unique photograph immediately materialized in my mind. Al agreed to let me borrow the car for a few minutes, so I asked long-time photographer Hal Crocker, who was standing nearby, to ride out to the blimp with me. I positioned the RSR in front of the airship, stood alongside and Hal snapped the photo. It’s one of the more memorable of my brief racing career.

For the first 15 laps of the race, John Greenwood led in his Corvette before pitting with problems, at which point the Hobbs/Parsons BMW went in front followed by Al in our RSR. When he handed the car over to me, we were running in second, but shortly after taking the wheel, the leading BMW faltered and suddenly I found myself in the lead. The car was running like a train and I was thoroughly enjoying flinging it around the rough circuit. Al had set the car up perfectly. It was neutral and you could induce understeer or oversteer at will. No one was passing me and I was passing everyone. The true Sebring dream.

Then, a car I was following nose-to-tail out of the hairpin missed a shift and I had to hit my brakes in a hurry. The car following behind wasn’t as quick and it smacked me a good one in the rear. As a result both exhaust pipes were badly bent. A long pit stop for repairs dropped us three laps behind the new leaders, Jim Busby and Carl Shaffer in another RSR.

When the Busby/Shaffer car lost a wheel on course, yet another RSR, this one driven by Bob Hagestad and Jerry Jolly, went in front. They led for two hours and then electrical problems put them into the pits. Since my incident in the hairpin, our car had been running like a scalded cat, and as the sun set we were back in the lead, although not without some concern. We thought the blow to the exhaust pipes had cracked a head as the engine note had changed and we were down on revs a bit on the long straights.

For the remainder of the race Al and I drove as if our lives depended on it, and it was hard enough to give us a victory by two laps over five other RSRs and the Gregg/Haywood BMW. As luck would have it for me, I was in the car for the last stint, and had the emotional satisfaction of taking the checkered flag. I may have had tears in my eyes on the cool down lap, but I can’t really recall. Remember, this is through the mists of time.

When I pulled onto the ramp in Victory Lane I was greeted by Al and a happy crew, including Doc Bundy and Al’s father, Bob, Camel Race Queen, Pattie Huffman, later Kyle Petty’s wife, and our Penthouse Pet, Anika de Lorenzo.

Winning the 12 Hours is obviously a highlight in anyone’s career, and it was no different in my case. From time to time I dream I’m racing again, and it’s probably no accident that it’s always on the old Sebring circuit.

Originally on IMSA.com