Preston Henn
Preston Henn (born January 20, 1931 in Murphy , Cherokee County , North Carolina , † April 30, 2017 in Hillsboro Beach , Broward County , Florida ) was an American racing driver and entrepreneur .
Career
Preston Henn founded the Fort Lauderdale Swap Shop in Fort Lauderdale in 1963 , a drive-in theater that over the years has grown to be one of the top tourist attractions in Fort Lauderdale and the surrounding area. Over the years Henn had the cinema expanded again and again through sales shops and was able to finance his private passion, motorsport, with the income.
In 2005, long after his racing career ended, he ran into financial difficulties with the company. When one of the believers tried to evict, there was a physical dispute, as a result of which the police had to intervene to calm the parties to the dispute.
In motorsport - here especially in sports car racing - Henn was active both as a driver and as a team boss. In 1983 he won as a driver along with AJ Foyt , bob wollek and Claude Ballot-Léna the 24 Hours of Daytona . He also competed four times in the Le Mans 24-hour race . His greatest success in this endurance race was tenth overall in 1983.
As team manager, he celebrated overall victory in the Sebring 12-hour race in 1985 . AJ Foyt and Bob Wollek sat at the wheel of the Porsche 962 . A year before that , Jean Paul junior and Jean Rondeau drove a Preston-Henn- Porsche 956 at Le Mans, finishing second in the overall standings.
statistics
Le Mans results
year | team | vehicle | Teammate | Teammate | placement | Failure reason |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1979 | North American Racing Team | Ferrari 512 BB | Jean-Pierre Delaunay | Cyril Grandet | failure | accident |
1981 | Preston Henn Racing | Porsche 935K3 | Michael Chandler | Marcel Mignot | failure | Ignition damage |
1982 | North American Racing Team | Ferrari 512 BB | Denis Morin | Randy Lanier | failure | no petrol |
1983 | Preston Henn T-Bird Swap Shop | Porsche 956 | Claude Ballot-Léna | Jean-Louis Schlesser | Rank 10 | |
1984 | Henn's T-Bird Swap Shop | Porsche 962 | Edgar Dören | Michel Ferté | failure | ignition |
Sebring results
year | team | vehicle | Teammate | Teammate | Teammate | Teammate | placement | Failure reason |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1977 | Spirit Racing | Porsche 914/6 | Hal Sahlman | Steve Cook | failure | malfunction | ||
1979 | Thunderbird Swap Shop | Porsche 935 / 77A | Hurley Haywood | Peter Gregg | failure | Engine failure | ||
1980 | Thunderbird Swap Shop | Porsche 935K3 | John Paul Sr. | Al Holbert | Rank 4 | |||
1981 | T-Bird Swap Shop | Porsche 935K3 | John Gunn | Gary Belcher | failure | malfunction | ||
1982 | T-Bird Swap Shop | Porsche 935K3 | Dale Whittington | Randy Lanier | failure | Oil system | ||
1983 | T-Bird Swap Shop | Porsche 935K4 | Bob Wollek | Al Holbert | John Graham | Hugo Gralia | Rank 6 | |
1985 | T-Bird Swap Shop | Porsche 935KL | Bob Wollek | Don Whittington | failure | malfunction |
Web links
- Preston Henn at Racing Sports Cars (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Brittany Wallman, Ben Crandell: Swap Shop entrepreneur Preston Henn dies at 86. In: sun-sentinel.com. May 2, 2017, accessed May 5, 2017 .
personal data | |
---|---|
SURNAME | Henn, Preston |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American racing car driver and entrepreneur |
DATE OF BIRTH | January 20, 1931 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Murphy , Cherokee County , North Carolina , United States |
DATE OF DEATH | April 30, 2017 |
Place of death | Hillsboro Beach , Broward County , Florida , United States |