From a Stewards Point of View: John Bornholdt

John Bornholdt, known familiarly as "Johnny B." John was a race steward for more than 50 years starting in 1952 at Sebring. He worked in race series ranging from the SCCA to Formula One. Currently, a member of the SCCA's Professional Court of Appeals, Bornholdt is one of only two people who have been honored with the Wolf Bonato, David Morell, and the SCCA Hall of Fame Awards. He's the founding regional executive of the South Jersey SCCA. Bornholdt worked at virtually all races in the Vineland Speedway road course from 1958 on.

He was steward at the United States Road Racing Championship (USRRC) races, then chairman of stewards for many Can-Am, TransAm, and Formula 5000 races as well as the American steward for Formula One races from 1970 through 1991.

He was series chief steward for the single seat 5-liter Can-Am, and then spent 17 years as series chief steward for the Toyota Atlantic series. He was also a judge for CART and Champ Car. He held various positions in SCCA club racing stewards organizations, including divisional executive steward and director of stewards. He also put in time as a flagger and chief timing and scoring during his career in racing. Bornholdt worked for 45 years at RCA, becoming program manager of large radar projects, retiring in 1996.

This episode is part of our HISTORY OF MOTORSPORTS SERIES and is sponsored in part by: The International Motor Racing Research Center (IMRRC), The Society of Automotive Historians (SAH), The Watkins Glen Area Chamber of Commerce, and the Argetsinger Family - and was recorded in front of a live studio audience.

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00:00:00 Introduction and Sponsors

00:00:31 Johnny B's Racing Career

00:02:46 The Role of a Race Steward

00:04:29 Race Organization and Stewards

00:05:04 The 1955 Le Mans Disaster

00:08:51 Protests and Appeals in Racing

00:12:00 Stewards' Decision-Making Process

00:23:09 Training and Selection of Stewards

00:39:06 Humorous Racing Anecdotes

00:48:13 Meeting Rick Gallus

00:48:21 The Circuit Movie Experience

00:48:58 Standing Starts and Rule Changes

00:51:17 Pro Racing vs Club Racing

00:53:48 George Follmer's Accident

00:57:42 The Formula V Protest

01:23:31 The Importance of Timing in Racing

01:25:25 Final Thoughts and Reflections