John Cannon

My Formula 5000

John Cannon
photo 1970 & profile 1976
Born June 21, 1936

John Cannon, a former RAF pilot, became a major road racing star after
an eight year apprenticeship. Cannon has raced a variety of cars since
1960 and made his name in October, 1968 by driving a three year old
McLaren-Chevrolet to victory over the powerful Cam-Am team of Bruce
McLaren and Denis Hulme in the rain soaked Castrol Grand Prix at
Laguna Seca Raceway in Monterey, Calif. Cannon drove an
Eagle-Chevrolet Formula 5000 car in the 1969 SCCA Continental
Championship series. He won three races but failed to earn points in
most others and ended the season tied for fourth place in the final
standings. Consistency paid off for Cannon in 1970 as he drove the
Hogan-Starr McLaren Chevrolet to Formula 5000 victories at Riverside,
Calif, Kent, Wash. and Road America and supported the wins with a
series of solid second and third-place finishes to capture the series
championship crown. He ran the 1970 Tasman series for owner Carl
Hogan, drove for March in 1971 European formula 2 series with
considerable success and in 1972 Campaigned a March 725 in the L&M
F5000 championship series with a seventh and an eight his only
finishers. In 1973, Cannon started four Can-Am races with two finishes
in the Lothar Motschenbacher McLaren putting him 15th in the final point
standings. In 1974, Cannon competed on both the USAC championship
trail, the California 500, Phoenix 200 and Trenton 300 and the Formula
5000 series, entering the final two events at Laguna Seca and Riverside,
an 11th-place finish, his best F5000 outing. Last year(1975) Cannon
drove the Anglo American Racing March 73AM in eight of nine north
American Formula 5000 Championship series events with his best finish
a fourth in the season ending Riverside event to place 12th in the overall
1975 series championship standings. Cannon begins his 1976 racing
endeavors by competing in the Australian Rothman's F5000 series,
capturing a victory in ht Sandown round driving his 1975 mount, the
March 73AM