The Original Cobra Owners Club of America - COCOA

[Hov]

Thanks John, but no drool for the XKE when there is USRRC Cobra in the same photo. Ernie also ran this car at Kent as I have a photo of him spinning the car. Yes, that is Merle Brennan's XKE which won his division in the Western SCCA in 1964. He ran the same car in 1965 but was in the same BP grouping as the new GT350's and we all know what happened that year. When we were compiling photos of 5R002,5S003 (and 5R001) I mention to John Atzbach to track down the current owner of the Brennan XKE since whenever it seemed the XKE was photographed, so was 5R002. I don't think he ever followed through on this idea. They seemed to be very competitive when at the same race. One of the downfalls for the XKE was that they could not easily increase the width of their tires. Don Wester's Porsche dealership had a yellow 904 and later a yellow 906, which a friend of mine bought from him and continued its success in the Pacific Northwest, it is currently owned by a winery in Napa, California.         

[98SVT - was 06GT]

Thanks John, but no drool for the XKE when there is USRRC Cobra in the same photo. Ernie also ran this car at Kent as I have a photo of him spinning the car. Yes, that is Merle Brennan's XKE which won his division in the Western SCCA in 1964. He ran the same car in 1965 but was in the same BP grouping as the new GT350's and we all know what happened that year.

Rick Titus related to me that his dad said the Jag was one of his toughest competitors.

[JohnSlack]

Thanks John, but no drool for the XKE when there is USRRC Cobra in the same photo. Ernie also ran this car at Kent as I have a photo of him spinning the car. Yes, that is Merle Brennan's XKE which won his division in the Western SCCA in 1964. He ran the same car in 1965 but was in the same BP grouping as the new GT350's and we all know what happened that year. When we were compiling photos of 5R002,5S003 (and 5R001) I mention to John Atzbach to track down the current owner of the Brennan XKE since whenever it seemed the XKE was photographed, so was 5R002. I don't think he ever followed through on this idea. They seemed to be very competitive when at the same race. One of the downfalls for the XKE was that they could not easily increase the width of their tires. Don Wester's Porsche dealership had a yellow 904 and later a yellow 906, which a friend of mine bought from him and continued its success in the Pacific Northwest, it is currently owned by a winery in Napa, California.       

Yes, but adding the Merle Brennan XKE to your garage would be a hoot....unless you could come up with his M8-D.....you know because cost is not a concern.

[deathsled]

COCOA sticker still standing on my Hertz from prior ownership all those years ago.  I told Peter Klutt of Legendary back in 1994 to keep the sticker intact during the restoration.  The car still yearns for California, being so far from home.

[98SVT - was 06GT]

COCOA sticker still standing on my Hertz from prior ownership all those years ago.  I told Peter Klutt of Legendary back in 1994 to keep the sticker intact during the restoration.  The car still yearns for California, being so far from home.

You got those when you joined. There were 2 of those and 1 like this on the sheet. Dave Pelsu (spelling?) designed them. He also did this SAAC design and a couple others.
You can see the decal on 843 at one of the Concours de Nice shows while it was in primer.

[SunDude]

...The secretary Jay Smith is probably Dr George "Jay" Smith who did drive racecars. This picture was sold on Wellpoint from his collection. It says Laguna Seca but the background isn't right. https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/vintage-1960s-photograph-california-4873479400

I'm sure Kranky would know exactly where/when those Cobra race photos were taken, but my best guess would be the SCCA Nationals at the Port of Stockton in June 1965. Can anyone confirm?

[deathsled]

COCOA sticker still standing on my Hertz from prior ownership all those years ago.  I told Peter Klutt of Legendary back in 1994 to keep the sticker intact during the restoration.  The car still yearns for California, being so far from home.

You got those when you joined. There were 2 of those and 1 like this on the sheet. Dave Pelsu (spelling?) designed them. He also did this SAAC design and a couple others.
You can see the decal on 843 at one of the Concours de Nice shows while it was in primer.

It looked super cool on the car so it stayed. A holdover of its past. Thanks for the supplemental info!

[kranky]

Sundude is correct on the venue (Stockton) and the month (June 1965)....Don Wester recovered from an early spin in the Porsche 904 and slowly clawed his way back to win the race overall by a minute.  Kesling in the Cobra and Adams in the Tiger stayed together for the whole race with Adams in the Tiger taking second with a last second inside pass on the last turn to the final straight with fading brakes (seemed to be an issue with most of the cars this weekend).  Merle Brennan in the Jaguar also had issues with fading brakes and ended up fourth overall and 2nd in Bp. Jerry Titus in the GT350 had throttle issues throughout the race and had to run down the escape road when it stuck wide open....with the problem fixed, Titus continued on in the race but finishing well on down the leader board at the end.