"Last information."

#1      Charles Wallace             Mercedes 300 SL
#4      Bob Ballenger                 Porsche 356
#26    Carl Haas                        Porsche 356
#95    Jim Jeffords                    Jaguar XK120
#255  ? Fred Sclavi                   Cooper "Bobtail"

(8-2-09)  From Corvette expert Jim Gessner:

"Jim Jeffords is from the Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In 1954, when 27 years old, Jim was married with four boys. He started his racing career in a Jaguar 120, then a 140 and a Mercedes Gullwing 300SL. 

In May of 1956, Jim met Ed Cole, Chief Engineer of Chevrolet and said he heard of a Chevrolet sponsored race team was being formed. 

“How can I get on the team, Mr. Cole?” asked Jim. Ed said go see Dick Doane, a Chevrolet dealer from Dundee, Ill and promised him a production Corvette to race at Road America in the June Sprints. However a car was not ready. Dick Doane did not like Jeffords horning in on his special turf. Doane raced a Sebring Corvette ( the blue car following Jefford’s Jag) at local hill climbs, and Jim thought the nut behind the wheel should be changed, but how was he to prove to the world that his driving talent earned him the right to drive the Corvette. 

So on Memorial Day weekend 1956, Jim bought back his old Jag 140 and went out against Dr. Dick Thompson, Fred Windridge, Bark Henry and Ed Davis. These were the Corvette drivers of the day. Jeffords drove the wheels off that little Jag and was leading the race with one lap to go, when on a downshift, the engine, popped a freeze plug and the car limped to a lesser than 1st finish. 

The fans and Ed Cole mobbed and praised Jim when he returned to the pits for his great driving ability. And as a reward, Jim was given John Fitch’s Sebring modified Corvette to race in the feature on Sunday."

(8-2-09)  More from Jim Gessner:

"Not sure where, but he bought his old car back as DOANE never got him a car.
He did NOT want to lose his driving job with Chevrolet. The race actually
took place at June Sprints, June 8,9, and 10 (Fri-Sat-Sun) 1956.

Jim got hired that weekend by Ed Cole.

The rest is history:
That beginning led to:
December 3-9, 1956 Nassau Speed Week, drove the #36 factory 1957 Corvette fuel injection car

March 1957 Corvette Sebring team driver

April 1957 was co-driver with Fred Windridge in Caracas, Venezuela with the remaining factory team drivers after the AMA ban.

Dec 1-1957- Nassau Speed Weeks 16oa, 2nd class 

January 1958 purchase of the 56 SR-2 Harley Earl race Corvette. 

Nickey Chevrolet in Chicago retained Jim, to head up a race team .He asked for maintence and expenses. Jim was so positive of his ability, that he promised the owners, the Stephani Brothers that  “If I do not bring you the Championship, then I will pay you back all the expenses !!! “

Nickey agreed, and hired Ronnie Kaplan as crew chief, took over the
maintence and race prep of the SR-2 and painted it Purple alone with the 58
and 59 Production Corvettes and everyone went racing. The popular song
“Purple People Eater” by Sheb Wooley in 58 created the color and marketing ideas. And how it worked. 

From January 1958 thru December 59, Jim and Nickey entered 21 race weekends (42 races) with the famous 1958 and 1959 “Purple People Eater” Corvettes at tracks across the country. Results: 29 first in class. 3 DNFs due to mechanical.

In 1958 Jim won the SCCA National B/P Championship and earned 7000 points in the SCCA . 2nd place was Fred Windridge with 4000.

In 1959 the SCCA changed their point scoring system. Jim won the SCCA B/P Championship again and earned 76 points to Roy Tuerke’s  54. 
Result: TWO first place SCCA  B/Production National Titles for Jim and the Nickey team.

During this time, Jim had purchased the SR-2 Harley Earl B/MP car and raced it also. A broken axle on the SR-2, and a broken fan belt and broken piston ring on the B/Production Corvettes were the only three problems that Jim and the Ronnie Kaplan crew endured that caused a DNF. 

Other Highlights:

July 12-13, 1958- lapped the field in a 20-lap race at Wilmot.
Sept 20,1958- Set course record by 3 mph at Watkins Glen
Oct 4-5, 1958- Set new track record at Vaca Valley, CA

Nov 29- Dec 8, 1958- Nassau Speed Week- Won 25 lap, 1st class, 1st OA, first American driver in an American car to ever do this. Then won 1st class, and 3rd OA in the Memorial Trophy Race.

Over Labor Day 1958, Jim met Lance Reventlow at the hotel lobby next to
Thompson, CT Raceway. They had dinner and that meeting changed Jim’s racing direction. After the final season race in Riverside in November, Jim met Lance at the track the following Tuesday where Lance sold him the  # 002 Scarab. Jim got the Stephani’s to add the car as “Nickey Nouse” to the racing stable. 

In July 1959, at Riverside the Kiwanis Grand Prix Jeffords surprised the
west coast racers and brought out the 59 Corvette “Purple People Eater III” to defend his SCCA National 58 title and race against the famous California Legends. Bondurant, Guldstrand, Hooper, Reinhart, Hudson, Settember, and Sherwood were West Coast household names and the rules were very different between east coast and west coast events. West coast racers used ‘retread tires’, and that upset Jim and his crew chief Ronnie Kaplan greatly.

The race was shortened due to a bad crash, and West beat East where
Bondurant crossed the finish line only 40 feet ahead of Jim. 

The 59 season had its ups and downs with the Scarab, and changes in
sponsorship did not help. But two victories in the professional USAC events
at Medowdale (Chicago) stand out. In one of the events, Jim lapped the
course four seconds faster than Chuck Daigh had done the year before in the same car. He won 1st in class and 1st overall in all three 100 mile races. His new lap record stood for some years to come.

In 1960, Lucky Casner, owner of CAsner MOtor RAcing DIvision  (CAMORADI USA) by special arrangement with Zora Duntov bought two heavy duty #684 optioned Corvettes from Don Allen Chevrolet in Miami. 

One of the cars was assigned to it’s first race at Grand Prix of Havana .On
Feb 24,1960. Jim drove it to a first place finish in the GT race.  On the following Sunday’s Grand Prix, he finished first again in GT class,
and eighth overall. 

This is the only time that Cuba hosted a true international race in the
1957-60 time where every country in the world was invited to field their
cars. And it was the only time the race was won by an American and American car.  There has never been a race in Cuba since this 1960 Grand Prix.

Jim and Bill Wuesthoff raced this same car at the 12 hours of Sebring in
March 1960.   Once completed, they found themselves in 2nd place in class.

In June of 1960, Jim again joined Lucky Casner and co-drove the Birdcage
Maserati at LeMans. Jim’s only European experience was not pleasant as
“Lucky wasn’t” and had an off course excursion that resulted in sand in the
gearbox and a DNF 40th position. 

Later that year, Jim bought from Casner the Birdcage that Maston Gregory and Chuck Daigh had raced at LeMans, and raced it to victory at Road America beating Jim Hall in the first Professional Sports Car Race ever at Road America. This was the streamlined Birdcage and was a much faster car than the "Cage he drove at LeMans. 

At Riverside that fall Jim raced the Birdcage. Billy Krause was 1st in his
Birdcage, Bob Drake was 2nd in  “Old Yeller II”, and Augie Pabst 3rd. Jim had a broken exhaust manifold, which dropped power way down on the Birdcage and that regulated him to 4th. If there was a consolation prize, it was that he beat Carroll Shelby who finished 5th.

Before the 1961 season, Jim was struck by a mysterious allergy that almost killed him. He was in intensive care for nine months and that ended his racing career. 

In 1968, Jim briefly returned to the racing scene as manager of the AMC
Javelin Trans Am racecars. Ronnie Kaplan was crew chief and Peter Revson and George Folmer were the drivers.

Jim is on the Board of Directors for Road America at Elkhart Lake since 1958 and now is vice president.