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

Fort Lauderdale Swap Shop The Fort Lauderdale Swap Shop is a 14-screen drive-in theater in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, that doubles as the largest drive-in and largest daily flea market in the world. Local broadcast advertising states it to be Florida's second-biggest tour ...

in 1963.

Business career

Henn opened what became the Swap Shop as a

drive-in movie theater A drive-in theater or drive-in cinema is a form of cinema structure consisting of a large outdoor movie screen, a projection booth, a concession stand, and a large parking area for automobiles. Within this enclosed area, customers can view movi ...

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 Used good, previously-owned (second-hand) goods. This type of market is often seasonal. However, in recent years there has been the development o ...

. 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 A taser is an electroshock weapon used to incapacitate people, allowing them to be approached and handled in an unresisting and thus safe manner. It is sold by Axon (company), Axon, formerly TASER International. It fires two small barbed d ...

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,

Bob Wollek Bob Wollek (4 November 1943 – 16 March 2001), nicknamed "Brilliant Bob", was a race car driver from Strasbourg, France. He was killed on 16 March 2001 at age 57 in a road accident in Florida while riding a bicycle back to his accommodation aft ...

, and Claude Ballot-Lena drove his

Porsche 935 The Porsche 935 was a race car developed and manufactured by German automaker Porsche. Introduced in 1976 as the factory racing version of the 911 (930) Turbo and prepared for FIA- Group 5 rules, it was an evolution of the Carrera RSR 2.1 turbo ...

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 endurance race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is run on the Sports Car Course layou ...

. 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 FIA World Sportscar Championship. It was later upgraded to the 956B in 1984. In 1983, driven by Stefan Bellof, this car ...

driven by John Paul Jr. and

Jean Rondeau : Jean Rondeau (13 May 1946 in Le Mans, France – 27 December 1985 in Champagné, France) was a French race car driver and constructor, who won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1980, in a car bearing his own name, an achievement which remains unique ...

placed second in the

24 Hours of Le Mans The 24 Hours of Le Mans (french: link=no, 24 Heures du Mans) is an endurance-focused sports car race held annually near the town of Le Mans, France. It is the world's oldest active endurance racing event. Unlike fixed-distance races whose w ...

, two laps behind the winning 956 of

Henri Pescarolo Henri Jacques William Pescarolo (born 25 September 1942) is a former racing driver from France. He competed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans a record 33 times, winning on four occasions, and won a number of other major sports car events including the ...

and

Klaus Ludwig Klaus Karl Ludwig (born 5 October 1949) is a German racing driver. Biography He also known as ''König Ludwig'' (" King Ludwig") for his success in touring cars and in sports car racing. In the 1970s, Ludwig drove for Ford in the Deutsch ...

. Henn, driving with

Michel Ferté Michel Ferté (8 December 1958 – 4 January 2023) was a French professional racing driver. He was the younger brother of Alain Ferté, who is also a professional racing driver. Ferté competed five seasons in Formula 3000 Formula 3000 (F3000 ...

and Edgar Dören, failed to finish in their

Porsche 962 The Porsche 962 (also known as the 962C in its Group C form) is a sports-prototype racing car built by Porsche as a replacement for the 956 and designed mainly to comply with IMSA's GTP regulations, although it would later compete in the Eur ...

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

IMSA GTP IMSA GT was a sports car racing series organized by International Motor Sports Association. Races took place primarily in the United States, and occasionally in Canada. History The series was founded in 1969 by John and Peggy Bishop, and Bill F ...

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 cars and '' Group B'' for GTs. It was designed to replace both Group 5 special production cars (closed top t ...

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 The year 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 ...

. 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 race for sports cars held at Sebring International Raceway, on the site of the former Hendricks Army Airfield World War II air base in Sebring, Florida, US. The event is the second ro ...

. 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 The Ferrari FXX is a high-performance track-only developmental prototype built by Italian automobile manufacturer Ferrari. The FXX is based on the street-legal flagship Enzo Ferrari. Production of the FXX began in 2005. Overview The FXX use ...

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 is a large business jet produced by Gulfstream Aerospace.

. In 2016, he filed suit against Ferrari for damages in the

United States District Court The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district, which each cover one U.S. state or, in some cases, a portion of a state. Each district c ...

, 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. LaFerrari means "The Ferrari" in Italian and some other Romance languages, in the sense that it is the ...

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.

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 Florida World Sportscar Championship drivers People from Murphy, North Carolina 20th-century American businesspeople