Preston Byron Henn (January 20, 1931 – April 30, 2017) was an American entrepreneur who founded the

Fort Lauderdale Swap Shop The Fort Lauderdale Swap Shop is an 80 acre indoor and outdoor flea market, featuring a 14-screen drive-in theater in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. From 1989–2006 the Hanneford Family Circus performed daily (except Tuesdays) in the Swap Shop food co ...

in 1963.

Business career

Henn opened what became the Swap Shop as a drive-in movie theater in 1963. He shortly thereafter decided to add a

flea market A flea market (or swap meet) is a type of street market that provides space for vendors to sell previously owned (secondhand) goods. This type of market is often seasonal. However, in recent years there has been the development of 'formal' ...

. Through shrewd business practices and somewhat extravagant promotion, Henn was able to grow the Fort Lauderdale Swap Shop into one of the region's most popular tourist attractions. Throughout its drive-in theater ownership, he owned 3 drive-in theaters in the state of Florida.Tobia, P.J
Crazy like a Henn
''Broward/Palm Beach New Times'', November 24, 2005, ''retrieved August 16, 2009'' In 2005 Henn began making unusual decisions such as firing the facility's trademark circus act, and it was rumored he was selling the facility. Later that year he was involved in a violent altercation with a vendor he was trying to evict. Police used a

taser Taser (stylized in all caps) is a line of handheld conducted energy devices (CED) sold by Axon Enterprise (formerly Taser International). The device fires two small barbed darts intended to puncture the skin and remain attached to the targe ...

to subdue him. Henn was subsequently sent to a mental hospital for again attempting to assault the vendor.

Racing career

In 1983, Henn, along with co-drivers

A. J. Foyt Anthony Joseph Foyt Jr. (born January 16, 1935) is an American former racing driver who competed in numerous disciplines of motorsport. He is best known for his open wheel racing career, and for becoming the first four-time winner of the India ...

, Bob Wollek, and Claude Ballot-Lena drove his

Porsche 935 The Porsche 935 is a race car that was developed and manufactured by German automaker Porsche. Introduced in 1976 as the factory racing version of the Porsche 911 (930), 911 (930) Turbo and prepared for Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, ...

to victory in the

24 Hours of Daytona The 24 Hours of Daytona, also known as the Rolex 24 At Daytona for sponsorship reasons, is a 24-hour sports car racing, sports car Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Flo ...

. The following year Henn's

Porsche 956 The Porsche 956 was a Group C sports-prototype racing car designed by Norbert Singer and built by Porsche in 1982 for the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, FIA World Sportscar Championship. It was later upgraded to the 956B in 1984. I ...

driven by John Paul Jr. and Jean Rondeau placed second in the

24 Hours of Le Mans The 24 Hours of Le Mans () is an endurance-focused Sports car racing, sports car race held annually near the city of Le Mans, France. It is widely considered to be one of the world's most prestigious races, and is one of the races—along with ...

, two laps behind the winning 956 of

Henri Pescarolo Henri Jacques William Pescarolo (; born 25 September 1942) is a French former racing driver and motorsport executive, who competed in Formula One from to . In endurance racing, Pescarolo is a four-time winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and w ...

and

Klaus Ludwig Klaus Karl Ludwig (born 5 October 1949) is a German racing driver. He had a very successful career winning a total of 118 races. Biography He also known as ''König Ludwig'' (" King Ludwig") for his success in touring cars and in sports car r ...

. Henn, driving with Michel Ferté and Edgar Dören, failed to finish in their

Porsche 962 The Porsche 962 is a sports prototype racing car designed and built by Porsche. Created to replace the Porsche 956, 962 was introduced at the end of 1984 and replaced the 956 in the International Motor Sports Association, IMSA's IMSA GT Champio ...

after ignition failure while on lap 247 (Pescarolo/Ludwig covered 360 laps). Driving in the

IMSA GTP IMSA GT classes are former classifications of sports prototypes in sports car racing competing in the IMSA GT Championship. The classes were used at different, overlapping times during the period from 1971 to 1998, over which the championship ran. ...

class, Henn's brand new 962 was the first time the new model was raced at Le Mans. There was another Porsche 962 in the

Group C Group C was a category of sports car racing introduced by the FIA in 1982 and continuing until 1993, with ''Group A'' for Touring car racing, touring cars and ''Group B'' for Grand tourer, GTs. It was designed to replace both Group 5 (motorspor ...

class run for British team John Fitzpatrick Racing, though it was a converted 956, making the white Swap Shop Porsche the first true 962 to race at Le Mans. Henn himself made five starts at Le Mans with a best finish of 10th in

1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...

. His Porsche 962 driven by Foyt and Wollek won the 1985

12 Hours of Sebring The 12 Hours of Sebring is an annual motorsport Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance race for Sports car racing, sports cars held at Sebring International Raceway, on the site of the former Hendricks Army Airfield World War II air base in S ...

. Henn also participated in

offshore powerboat racing Offshore powerboat racing is a type of racing by ocean-going powerboats, typically point-to-point racing. In most of the world, offshore powerboat racing is led by the Union Internationale Motonautique (UIM) regulated Class 1 and Powerboat P1 ...

. He inexplicably ceased all racing activities a few years later and subsequently refused to discuss his racing career. Despite this, Henn still maintained an extensive exotic car collection both in his private estate and on display at the Swap Shop and was a participant of the Ferrari FXX program. His 1964 Ferrari 275 GTB/C Speciale could become the first car to sell for more than $100 million.

Personal life and death

In 2013, Henn was the first person to buy a

Gulfstream G650 The Gulfstream G650, G700, and G800 are large Business jet, business jets produced by the American company Gulfstream Aerospace.Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello. Founded in 1939 by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988), the company built Auto Avio Costruzioni 815, its first car in 1940, adopted its current name in 1945, and be ...

for damages in the

United States District Court The United States district courts are the trial courts of the United States federal judiciary, U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each United States federal judicial district, federal judicial district. Each district cov ...

, Southern District of Florida, Fort Lauderdale Division. His complaint alleges his reputation as a Ferrari collector has been damaged as he was not selected by Ferrari to purchase a

LaFerrari LaFerrari, project name F150, is a limited production mid-engine, mild hybrid sports car built by Italian automotive manufacturer Ferrari. Its name means "The Ferrari" in Italian, as it is intended to be the definitive Ferrari. Design and de ...

Aperta. Henn died April 30, 2017, at his home, survived by his wife of over 60 years, Betty.Wallman, Brittany
Swap Shop entrepreneur Preston Henn dies at 86
''Sun Sentinel'', May 1, 2017, Retrieved May 1, 2017 He was 86.

Racing record

24 Hours of Daytona results

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Henn, Preston 1931 births 2017 deaths 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers American car collectors Trans-Am Series drivers Businesspeople from Fort Lauderdale, Florida 24 Hours of Daytona drivers Racing drivers from Miami World Sportscar Championship drivers People from Murphy, North Carolina 20th-century American businesspeople Racing drivers from North Carolina