Preston Henn

Preston Henn (born January 20, 1931 in North Carolina) is an American entrepreneur from Fort Lauderdale, Florida who founded the Fort Lauderdale Swap Shop in 1963.

Swap Shop

Henn opened what became the Swap Shop as a drive-in movie theater in 1963. He shortly thereafter decided to add a flea market. 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.^[1] 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 to subdue him.^[1] Henn was subsequently sent to a mental hospital for again attempting to assault the vendor.^[2]

Racing career

In 1983 Henn, along with co-drivers A. J. Foyt, Bob Wollek, and Claude Ballot-Lena drove his Porsche 935 to victory in the 24 Hours of Daytona.^[3] The following year Henn's Porsche 956 driven by John Paul, Jr. and Jean Rondeau placed second in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Henn himself made five starts at Le Mans with a best finish of 10th in 1983. His Porsche 962 driven by Foyt and Wollek won the 1985 12 Hours of Sebring.

Henn also participated in offshore powerboat racing. He inexplicably ceased all racing activities a few years later and subsequently refused to discuss his racing career.^[4] Despite this, Henn still maintained an extensive exotic car collection both in his private estate and on display at the Swap Shop^[5] and is a partipicant of the Ferrari FXX program.^[6][7][8][9]

References