All four of the Dick Barbour Racing Porsche 935s line up in the pits ahead of the 1979 Le Mans race, each with the Stars and Stripes draped over the rear wing. From left to right: #73 935/77 (934½) – John Hotchkiss, Bob Kirby and Bob Harmon; #72 935/77 – Bob Garretson, Skeeter McKitterick and Ed Abate; #71 935/78 – Bob Akin, Roy Woods, and Rob McFarlin; #70 935/79 – Dick Barbour, the team owner, Rolf Stommelen, and Paul Newman the actor. “Note the large timing stand for Judy Stropus (behind the #70 car). Our IMSA friends from Interscope are next to us on the far right,” Martin Raffauf pointed out (Porsche-Werkfoto)
Le Mans 1979 was a race for the ages. The Dick Barbour team had prepared and brought four 935 Porsches to qualify and race. They were as follows:
Chassis 009 00030 was a brand new car (#70). This car had been built up from a bare chassis in the team’s shop in Northern California in early 1979, and this was its first race. It was a 935-79 twin-turbo and would be driven by Dick Barbour, the team owner, Rolf Stommelen, and Paul Newman, the actor. Paul had driven at Daytona with us, and was also to do the Watkins Glen race. That was all his schedule allowed for, as the film studios would not let him drive while he was shooting any movies.
