Chuck Kelsey - Chev Nova

I recently had an article handed to me regarding Charles (Chuck) Kelsey, an American who in either 1963 or 1964 took a US-built Chev Nova to England and raced against the touring cars there.
His opposition included the Jaguars of Graham Hill, Jack Sears and Roy Salvadori and he raced with success at such places as Crystal Palace, Snetterton and Aintree.
Would anyone have more information and/or pictures?

[TimD]

Hi White Knight,

I've had a look at what I've got on Chuck Kelsey. He did indeed bring a Chev to England, but I've only found references to it running in 1962, and it is described in the programmes as a '62 model Chevy II. Is that the same shape as a Nova? I'm a little shaky on my GM models...!

Bearing in mind that my records are not complete by any means, my first reference to the Chev is at the classic International Trophy meeting on May 14 1962 at Silverstone. This was a traditional F1 season opener, non championship, which attracted the big names. The Touring Car race was a regular support, and was fiercely contested.

The result

1 Graham Hill (Jaguar 3.8)
2 Michael Parkes (Jaguar 3.8)
3 Jack Sears (Jaguar 3.8)
4 David Hobbs (Jaguar 3.4)
5 Chuck Kelsey (Chevrolet)
6 Innes Ireland (Ford Zodiac Mk3)

Two weeks later, on May 27 1962, Kelsey did rather better. At Brands Hatch he beat Roy Salvadori's Jag into second place outright.

My only other reference to the car is at the August 6 1962 Molyslip Trophy race which supported the Guards International at Brands Hatch. The event was held in torrential rain, and this decimated the field.

On lap nine of the race, Graham Hill speared off the track, and hit South Bank so hard it pushed the front wheel of the Jaguar under the frame. Whether disconcerted by this or not, Kelsey passed the accident and pulled into the pits. Motor Sport magazine reported that he withdrew from the race "...saying he had the wrong tyres fitted."

And that is the grand total of everything I have on Chuck Kelsey's Chevy. By the fact that you mention Aintree, Snetterton and Crystal Palace too suggests that he made quite a season of it. I'd be fascinated to hear of anything more. Especially if he returned for 1963. By then, the American car of choice was proving to be Jack Sears' gargantuan Galaxie 500. I'd love to find out if the Chevy took that on.

The Chevrolet wasn't Kelsey's first effort at European racing, by the way. In the 1961 season, he ran a Lotus 20 in Formula Junior events. He seems not to have finished "in the results" as it were, as I can only find references to him in entry lists.

Anyone got anything more?