18 replies to this topic

[bill moffat]

Have no idea what made me think of it, maybe a Wella hair care advert.

Whatever happened to Ted Wentz ?. I watched the start of his UK career. A bit handy in his FF Elden, did OK in Atlantic and had a few Lola F2 outings. What if anything after that ?

[David McKinney]

Until recently he was racing in US "vintage" events in an F5000 car

[JacnGille]

He has/had a vintage race engine building service the last time I saw his name.

[ian senior]

The amusing thing about Ted Wentz (who I seem to remember as a decent driver) was that he took part in the Wella sponsored Formula Ford championship, which many other front runners avoided for some reason. At the end of the season, when he won the title, he was presented by Wella with a brand new Atlantic car for the following seaon. This had not been announced at the start of the year and came as a complete surprise (especially to Ted, I guess). Suddenly, the Wella champonship was very popular the following year........

[bill moffat]

now this is entirely from memory, but wasn't the wonderfully-named Buzz Buzaglo his team mate ?

[Ralliart]

According to the John Player Motorsport Yearbook 1975:
Born 7 November 1946...When...Wentz won the suprise Wella March Atlantic car thanks to his victory in the Wella Formula Ford series, few people expected him to live up to such a prize. But despite his hairy reputation with an Elden in the previous season, Wentz was impressive in Formula Atlantic in 1974, won the occasional race and finished 12th in the John Player championship. He read philosophy at the University of Pennsylvania before turning to racing with an old Jaguar XK120 in 1971. Soon moved to Formula Ford and won his first race in November. Scored six wins with a Merlyn the following year and was runner-up in his divisional SCCA championship...he came to Britain for the 1973 season, whioch turned out to be the right decision. Wella will continue to back him in Formula Atlantic in 1975 but he will switch from a March to a Lola.
A year later...Won1975 Southern Organs Atlantic championship in a Wella Lola and was competitive with car converted to F2 specification in two British F2 races. Still tends to be a little hairy at times.

[ensign14]

Originally posted by Ralliart
Still tends to be a little hairy at times.

No wonder, if he was sponsored by Wella...

Oh shut up, that's what you were all thinking anyway.

[David M. Kane]

His mechanic in the Meryln days was Bob Sproule. When Ted moved to England
Bob became Tom Pumpelly's mechanic for the Formula Atlantic series for the
next two years. Later he became crew chief for Penske's Indy Team. He worked for several other Indy Teams.

Don't know whatever happened to him too.

[mickj]

Bill
I came across Buzz Buzaglo in the GP Rally in the lead up to the Australian GP approx 5 years ago, driving I think a Toyota "silly car" (Celica). I then saw his name in an advertisement for a Toyota dealer, I cannot remember if he was the dealer or the salesman. It a name that you dont forget.

[theunions]

Originally posted by David M. Kane
His mechanic in the Meryln days was Bob Sproule. When Ted moved to England
Bob became Tom Pumpelly's mechanic for the Formula Atlantic series for the
next two years. Later he became crew chief for Penske's Indy Team. He worked for several other Indy Teams.

Don't know whatever happened to him too.

Not Bob "Sprow," Mario's crew chief at Indy on the Essex Penske in '80? And maybe you're also thinking of contemporary writer Marc Sproule???

[David M. Kane]

Sorry about the spelling, yes it IS Bob Sprow. He was also from Philly like
Ted.

[fausto]

Originally posted by JacnGille
He has/had a vintage race engine building service the last time I saw his name.

In the late 280s his company Marcovicci-Wentz used to build Ferrari (3000cc-V8) engines for IMSA light class

[Alan Cox]

He hung around when UK Atlantic went "Indylantic" with the Swan Lager Lola - do you remember
there were three heats when pole-winner started from the back in one heat, from the middle in the next and from the front in the third? Never really caught on, did it?

I note that the American engine builders are spelt "Wenz" - presumably one and the same guy?

[WGD706]

Originally posted by David M. Kane
His mechanic in the Meryln days was Bob Sprow. When Ted moved to England
Bob became Tom Pumpelly's mechanic for the Formula Atlantic series for the
next two years. Later he became crew chief for Penske's Indy Team. He worked for several other Indy Teams.

Don't know whatever happened to him too.

In 2002, he was the general manager for the Blair Racing team and the spotter for Alex Barron.
" The entire team has good pit stops and we work great together. I can't say enough about our engineer, John Dick; he gives me an incredible car every weekend. Tom Gloy calls a great race and Bob Sprow is really solid as a spotter. "
http://www.alexbarro...ainlanding.html

Sprow’s impressive career spans more than 20 years in the automotive industry and motorsports. Since graduating from the Ford Motor Company Technical School in 1972, Sprow has worked as either team manager or crew chief for some of the sport’s most successful organizations, including Penske Racing, Newman-Haas Racing, Patrick Racing and the Arciero Racing Teams. With many championships already under his belt, and experience in setting up equipment for CART’s upper echelon drivers including Mario Andretti, Al Unser, Sr., Roberto Moreno, Andrian Fernandez and Max Papis, Sprow gives Blair Racing an
immediate head start. His diversity will also play an important role in the innovative approach the team is taking. Aside from his accomplishments in CART, Sprow managed the manufacturers’ and drivers’ championship-winning International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) GTP teams in 1990 and 1991, and the MTEG Manufacturers’ Championship winning teams in 1987, 1988 and 1989.
http://www.blairraci..._info/main.html

Warren

[brandspro]

He's building engines in Ronkonkoma (Long Island), New York.

http://www.race-cars.com/mwe.htm

As a point of interest (or not), Marcovicci-Wenz provided the engines that Bryan Herta used to finish eleventh in the '91 Formula Ford Festival.

[David M. Kane]

You are confusing Ted Wenz with Ted Wentz. Ted Wenz is the engine building F5000 driver.
He also has raced Historic Indy cars...

[Rob Ryder]

Hi David, and welcome back
I hope that everything is now back 'on track' after your Montreal shunt, and that you have made a full recovery.
Rob

[David M. Kane]

Thanks Rob! I have another test day at Putnam Park this Thursday in my wife's Lotus 22 and her Elfin Mallala.

I would love to find Ted Wentz. I thought he was an excellent driver.

www.shaironbeale.com

[WGD706]

Originally posted by David M. Kane
I would love to find Ted Wentz. I thought he was an excellent driver.

After some looking around, I found that Ted Wentz is now the president of Quadratec.a company in West Chester, PA. "Jeep and Truck enthusiasts founded Quadratec over a decade ago, mostly out of seeing the need for better product availability and customer service for the Jeep, Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) and Truck owners. Quadratec has been setup to be a one stop source for anything you need for your Jeep, SUV or Truck. They want to be able to provide any and all parts you're looking for, and are constantly researching the release of new products on the market. Their core principle is "to give you, our customers, the best quality, value and service."
The following is from 'Meet the Manufacturers' in America's 4x4 4U Video Magazine..."A comprehensive video shop tour and interview with President Ted Wentz will be linked up from this webpage, as well as being available online at 4x4TV.com."
http://www.4x44u.com...iles/Quadratec/

I went to Quadratec's web-site http://www.quadratec.com/
and e-mailed them the following question..."Is your company president, Ted Wentz, the same Ted Wentz who was impressive in Formula Atlantic in 1974, won the occasional race and finished 12th in the John Player championship and won the 1975 Southern Organs Atlantic championship in a Wella Lola and was competitive with the car converted to F2 specification in two British F2 races?"
I just received the following reply..."Yes, our company president is the same person you listed.
In case this email does not fully answer your question, or you would like to contact us for any reason, simply reply to this email. Thank you
Quadratec.com Online Customer Support"

Hope this helps!
Warren