The Lola T-600 HU5, part of Chuck Kendall Racing's
diverse collection of race cars.
Following HU5's seven years of IMSA competition--during which time the race car became the longest-campaigned Lola T-600 of them all--Kendall would only bring out the car for special occasions such as celebrity fundraising events. Kendall stored the HU5 alongside his RSR, Porsche 935, M-1, and various other Trans-Am cars belonging to his son Tommy.
Kendall's collection of history-rich race cars was impressive by any metric.
In early 1999, I purchased the car from Chuck Kendall. I had already embarked on my career in motorsports and wanted to explore full-time historic sportscar racing. HSR (Historic Sportscar Racing), SVRA, and numerous other organizations were forming in North America and other continents as racing enthusiasts discovered the thrill of driving these early war-horses.
The Lola T-600 HU5 qualified for participating in a variety of world-class races: it had standing invitations at the Monterey Historics, as well as Historic GTP/Group C European events.
During the 1999-2000 seasons, HU5 was fully restored. Every mechanical part was crack-checked, and every spare Lola part that existed on the planet was located and purchased--leaving nothing to contingency--before the car would be campaigned again. In fact, I tracked down even the rarest parts, ones that were considered unobtainable, and added them to my already-comprehensive collection of race-ready spares. After years of negotiation, Danny Ongais agreed to sell me the complete rear section of his ex-Ted Fields Lola, including the transmission, differential, rear axles, and rear uprights. The gearbox (pictured below) was restored and rebuilt to new by Albright Engineering.
Despite grumbling from a few fellow racers accusing me of "not sharing" Lola parts with other owners, I knew that assembling a comprehensive supply of authentic parts was mandatory if I was to campaign this car--and win!--in a class that included P-cars from the 1981-1985 period. In fact, doing so would require a car set-up that was superior to HU5's original status at delivery, albeit without any modifications whatsoever.
