USAC Brands Hatch

Rick Mears had a lucky win with the Penske-Cosworth Gold Charge (top left) in the second of the two British USAC rounds, this one held over 100 laps of the Brands Hatch Club Circuit in hot, October sunshine. Lucky because Danny Ongais had built up a seemingly unassailable lead from flag fall, only to have the Interscope Racing Parnelli-Cosworth expire on the pits straight (where he had been timed at 172 m.p.h.) with just 17 laps to go. At 27, Mears is the youngest USAC driver — the average age is 36! Penske team mate Tom Sneva in the Norton Spirit car finished second. Above, Mike Wilds in the special Capri pace car leads Al Unser, Ongais, Johncock and Sneva towards the rolling start. New Group 1 Historic Champion Roddie McPherson pictured in his Cooper-Bristol during the Historic Race, left. Best race of the day was the Formula Three dice between Brett Riley’s Unipart March Dolomite 783 and Derek Warwick’s Raft Toyota RT1, below. Warwick snatched the lead on the last lap.