1967 Lola T70 Spyder

The names Roger Penske and Mark Donohue are almost synonymous with the term Can-Am. While these two would totally dominate the Can-Am series in its later years with the mighty Porsche 917, they also played major roles in the championship’s first two seasons in 1966 and 1967. Using the fast and elegant Lola T70, Donohue and later teammate George Follmer would help put Penske Racing firmly on the racing map. With all the success that Penske Racing enjoyed during those first years (and in years to come), it was rather surprising to learn that the history of Penske’s Lola T70s had become a mixed-up conglomeration of fact, rumor and supposition. What seemed in the beginning like a very straightforward story on the Penske Lola T70, quickly turned into months of detective work to unravel the lineage of the half-a-dozen Lola T70s that were purported to have been run by Penske Racing in 1966 and 1967. With the gracious help of Sun Oil’s Penske liason Bill Preston, Penske driver George Follmer, the Penske restoration shops in Brookland, Michigan, and author John Starkey, we believe that we have finally unraveled the mystery surrounding the Penske Can-Am Lolas.

The Sun Rises