Bruce Jennings (racing driver)

Porsche 356 Speedster as driven by Bruce Jennings

Bruce Richard Jennings (born 1927 in Baltimore ; † January 28, 1997 ) was an American racing car driver .

Racing career

Bruce Jennings grew up in Homeland , a neighborhood in Baltimore. After school education at the local high school had finished, he served in the last months of World War II in the United States Army Air Corps . After the end of the war he worked in the insurance agency founded by his father in 1922.

His driving career began in May 1957 and ended in March 1981 after his last start in the Sebring 12-hour race . In between there were 259 sports car races, of which he was able to finish 208. 33 race and 39 class victories made him one of the most successful US racing drivers of his generation. His success in Porsche 356 Speedsters , of which he owned four, gave him the nationally known nickname King Carrera . His red and white painted Porsche models with the starting number 77 were legendary .

In 1961 and 1964 he won the production car class of the SCCA Sportscar Championship . He competed 18 times in the Sebring 12-hour race, where his best place was third overall in his debut in 1962 . His only start in the 24 Hours of Le Mans ended in 1967 with a failure due to a defective battery at the factory - Chaparral 2F . He had his worst accident in 1960 during a race at Watkins Glen , where his Porsche 356 overturned several times. Despite a few fractured vertebrae, he was back in the racing car a few weeks later.

statistics

Le Mans results

year	team	vehicle	Teammate	placement	Failure reason
1967	Chaparral Cars	Chaparral 2F	Bob Johnson	failure	battery

Sebring results

year	team	vehicle	Teammate	Teammate	placement	Failure reason
1962	Porsche imports	Porsche 718 RS 60	Bill Wuesthoff	Frank Rand	3rd place and class win
1964	Porsche System Engineering	Porsche 356B 2000 GS GT	Don Webster		Rank 18
1965	Chaparral Cars	Chaparral 2A	Ronnie Hissom		Rank 22
1966	Scuderia Bear	Ford GT40	Richard Holquist		Rank 13
1967	Chaparral Cars	Chaparral 2D	Bob Johnson		failure	Ignition damage
1968	Squadra Course Verona	Mercury Cougar	Charlie Rainville		not classified
1969	PART	Porsche 911	Jim Netterstrom	Mike Downs	Rank 16
1970	Bruce Jennings	Porsche 911T	Bob Tullius		failure	Engine failure
1971	Toad Hall Racing	Porsche 911S	Michael Keyser		failure	Cylinder damage
1972	Bruce Jennings	Porsche 911S	Bob Beasley		Rank 11
1973	Bruce Jennings	Porsche 911S	Bob Beasley		Rank 13
1975	Bob Beasley	Porsche 911 Carrera	Bob Beasley		failure	malfunction
1976	Bruce Jennings	Porsche 911	Bob Beasley		failure	Engine failure
1977	Bruce Jennings	Porsche 911S	Bill Bean		failure	malfunction
1978	Bob Beasley	Porsche Carrera RSR	Bob Beasley		failure	mechanics
1979	Bruce Jennings	Porsche 911	Bob Beasley		failure	Engine failure
1980	Bruce Jennings	Porsche 911	Bill Bean	Tom Ashby	failure	Engine failure
1981	Bruce Jennings	Porsche 911	Bill Bean	Tom Ashby	Rank 19

Individual results in the sports car world championship

season	team	race car	1	2	3	4th	5	6th	7th	8th	9	10	11	12	13	14th	15th	16	17th	18th	19th	20th	21st	22nd
1962	Porsche Imports Bruce Jennings	Porsche 718 Porsche 356	DAY	SEB	SEB	MAY	TAR	BER	ONLY	LEM	TAV	CCA	RTT	ONLY	BRI	BRI	PAR
				3											2
1963	Bruce Jennings	Porsche 356	DAY	SEB	SEB	TAR	SPA	MAY	ONLY	CON	ROS	LEM	MON	WIS	TAV	FRE	CCE	RTT	OVI	ONLY	MON	MON	TDF	BRI
			11																					9
1964	Porsche team	Porsche 356	DAY	SEB	TAR	MON	SPA	CON	ONLY	ROS	LEM	REI	FRE	CCE	RTT	SIM	ONLY	MON	TDF	BRI	BRI	PAR
				18th
1965	Chaparral Cars Bruce Jennings Ridge Racing	Chaparral 2A Porsche 356 Jaguar E-Type	DAY	SEB	BOL	MON	MON	RTT	TAR	SPA	ONLY	MUG	ROS	LEM	REI	BOZ	FRE	CCE	OVI	ONLY	BRI	BRI
				22nd																	DNF	9
1966	Jon Fulp Scuderia Bear	Ferrari 330P Ford GT40	DAY	SEB	MON	TAR	SPA	ONLY	LEM	MUG	CCE	HOK	SIM	ONLY	ZEL
			DNF	13
1967	Chaparral Cars	Chaparral 2D Chaparral 2F	DAY	SEB	MON	SPA	TAR	ONLY	LEM	HOK	MUG	BRH	CCE	ZEL	OVI	ONLY
			DNF	DNF					DNF
1968	Bob Holbert Squadra Verona	Porsche 911 Mercury Cougar	DAY	SEB	BRH	MON	TAR	ONLY	SPA	WAT	ZEL	LEM
			DNF	DNF
1969	PART	Porsche 911	DAY	SEB	BRH	MON	TAR	SPA	ONLY	LEM	WAT	ZEL
			4th	16							11
1970	Hall Racing Bruce Jennings	Porsche 911	DAY	SEB	BRH	MON	TAR	SPA	ONLY	LEM	WAT	ZEL
			DNF	DNF							13
1971	Hall Racing	Porsche 911	BUA	DAY	SEB	BRH	MON	SPA	TAR	ONLY	LEM	ZEL	WAT
				DNF	DNF								DNF
1972	Silverstone Racing Bruce Jennings	Porsche 911	BUA	DAY	SEB	BRH	MON	SPA	TAR	ONLY	LEM	ZEL	WAT
				DNF	11
1975	Bruce Jennings	Porsche 911	DAY	MUG	DIJ	MON	SPA	BY	ONLY	ZEL	WAT
											10
1976	Bruce Jennings	Porsche 911	MUG	VAL	ONLY	MON	SIL	IMO	ONLY	ZEL	BY	WAT	MOS	DIJ	DIJ	SAL
												14th
1977	Bruce Jennings	Porsche 911	DAY	MUG	DIJ	MON	SIL	ONLY	VAL	BY	WAT	EST	LEC	MOS	IMO	SAL	BRH	HOK	VAL
											16
1978	Bob Beasley Bruce Jennings	Porsche Carrera RSR Porsche 911	DAY	SEB	MUG	VALLEY	DIJ	SIL	ONLY	LEM	MIS	DAY	WAT	VAL	ROD
				DNF									13
1979	Bruce Jennings	Porsche 911	DAY	SEB	MUG	VALLEY	DIJ	RIV	SIL	ONLY	LEM	BY	DAY	WAT	SPA	BRH	ROA	VAL	ELS
				DNF										17th
1980	Bruce Jennings	Porsche 911	DAY	BRH	SEB	MUG	MON	RIV	SIL	ONLY	LEM	DAY	WAT	SPA	MOS	ROA	VAL	DIJ
					DNF
1981	Bruce Jennings	Porsche 911	DAY	SEB	MUG	MON	RIV	SIL	ONLY	LEM	BY	DAY	WAT	SPA	MOS	ROA	BRH
				19th

literature

• Ken Breslauer: Sebring. The official History of America's Great Sports Car Race. David Bull, Cambridge MA 1995, ISBN 0-9649722-0-4 .
• Peter Higham: The Guinness Guide to International Motor Racing. A complete Reference from Formula 1 to Touring Car. Guinness Publishing Ltd., London 1995, ISBN 0-85112-642-1 .

Web links

• Bruce Jennings at Racing Sports Cars
• About Bruce Jennings