Photo by team yellow... and they nailed it. I think it would be hard to get these cars positioned this well deliberately

http://www.historictransam.com/Drivers/GaryGoeringer68Mustang22.html

A Firebird was being raced by Guillermo Cruz from Ecquador at the May 11th, 1969 Wolverine Trans-Am at Michigan International Speedway.

http://www.camaros.org/forum/index.php?topic=8328.105

this ought to settle last weeks controversy about Javelin vs AMX

http://www.camaros.org/forum/index.php?topic=8328.0

racing photographer Ron Lathrop captured photos of the prominent racetracks and their drivers in America during the late 1960s, before going into the Air Force from 1965 - 69 and again from 1972 - 92.

Sunoco's 1969 Camaro "Inspection Cruiser". Huh, even though it's just a 307, it's still a 1969 Camaro, and that would be mighty cool to see show up

Above is the famous frozen fuel of the Penske Donahue Camaro... dry ice was used to super chill a barrel or drum of gas, which when loaded into the Camaro, was helpful in packing more fuel into the gas tank, and lower the fuel air mix temp at the carb, possibly lowering the engine temp - but certainly packing more oxygen atoms per cfm for a more power

here's a better look at the drum in a barrel, being supercooled, and frosting the bottom half of the barrel

Ron was a freelance racing photographer dating back to 1963 and did work for Sports Car Graphic, Competition Press, Road and Track, as well as a number of karting magazines and even Rod and Custom.

https://bangshift.com/general-news/thursday-time-killer-a-massive-treasure-trove-of-vintage-late-1960s-trans-am-photos/
http://www.camaros.org/forum/index.php?topic=8309.0

David Howes raced this phenomenal AMC Javelin in the 1972 and '73 British Saloon Car Championship. Unlike the American Trans-Am Javelins, which were limited to a 305, the engine in Howes Javelin was out to 389 cu in

Blast from the past

Words: Steve Havelock
Photography: Steve Havelock and Marc Devis

Marc Devis' 1968 AMC Javelin racecar is a real time warp machine with a new owner who appreciates it and is giving it a new life in historic racing...

Most old race cars are like Trigger's broom. Twenty new handles, and twenty new heads. Racing, by it's very nature, is hard on machinery. Notwithstanding crash damage, components wear out and metalwork hardens due to flexing, and starts to crack or even break. Even bodywork, especially aluminum panels, can split. Furthermore, most racecars were only built to last a season or two. After that, many were either scrapped or stripped. No one at the time envisioned that some of these cars would be racing in 30, 40, 50 or more years later. Consequently, very few historic racing cars are truly original, as they raced in period. The lucky ones were covered in a dust sheet and shoved to the back of the garage, but most of those were unearthed years ago.

At the 2016 Silverstone Classic, therefore, it was very special to witness the return to the racetrack of a time warp AMC factory-sponsored Javelin that last raced 41 years ago. Sporting red, white, and blue AMC racing colors, this steroidal, highly modified racecar was fundamentally just as it was when it was put into dry storage in 1975. It even carried some of its original Silverstone scrutineering tags. Only the seat and fire extinguisher system had been updated for safety reasons, but even so, the old system, which still works, has been retained for authenticity.

The car had been methodically gone through and prepared for the track by WDK Motorsports of Andover, including crack testing of key components, new tyres and brakes. Under the bonnet is one of the original race engines which has been refreshed. It's an AMC 390ci (6.4-litre) V8 with twin Holley carbs which is coupled to a four-speed T10 gearbox. Proud owner and driver from Belgium, Marc Devis, explained to me: "It's the only Javelin that raced in Europe in period. i bought the car late last year from David Howes. How often is it that you can buy a race car from the original owner that is untouched, hasn't been modified or messed with, resprayed or disassembled? It's one of a kind. I'd like to keep it that way. it's British motor sport history. I like these special cars and doing this project and bringing it back to life is what I like to do."

David Howes, now 74, was at Silverstone to watch its comeback race and he later told me all about the car's history and how it came about. He recalled: "In the Sixties I'd been racing an ex-Alan Mann Ford Falcon Sprint quite successfully. I then decided to do Group 2 racing (British and European Touring Car Championship). Everybody else was running Chevrolet Camaros and Ford Mustangs, but I wanted something a bit different. I had a motorcar dealership and used to sell AMC cars, which at the time were Ramblers. Their station wagons were the most popular. We sold a lot of those in the UK. They were right-hand drive and they were a super station wagon, they really were. It was about the only American car you could buy that was right-hand drive. I also became the UK's first ever Jeep dealer, who were owner by AMC back then. So, I had an association with AMC and had a few good contacts at the factory. They had been doing well with the Javelin in America in the Trans-Am Championship, so I decided to build a Javelin racecar."

The transformation from a puny road car to pumped-up Group 2 racecar was massive. It's like the Incredible Hulk's warning - "You won't like me when I'm angry." For starters, David recalled that it ran on 12" wide McLaren wheels at the front, and 15" or 16" wide Gulf Mirage wheels at the rear. When shod with sticky slick tires, the additional forces generated necessitated the beefing up of the chassis and to stop it, massive Can-Am ventilated discs and powerful calipers were fitted all round, along with new master cylinders, servo and Aeroquip hoses.

This braking system was designed and supplied by Automotive Products of Leamington Spa. The 390ci motor was stripped and race prepped by Ian Richardson Racing of Ampthill. Ian was a top racer himself, soon to be campaigning an 8.1 litre fuel-injected Chevy powered Corvair. The Javelin's motor was fully balanced, polished and blueprinted. The flywheel was lightened, the head was gas flowed, roller rockers and Crower roller cam assembly were fitted, as were forged pistons, a custom-made manifold and a Mallory ignition system. The bill came to £1325, a tidy sum back then.

David said: "There were a lot of trick parts on the car and a heck of a lot of modifications; a lot of special parts, all one offs, which we had to have made and machined. It's far from a basic road car. The location of the rear axle was changed and it's all different suspension. It runs on coil springs and dampers at the back. They would normally run on leaf springs like the road cars, but we put on plastic lookalike springs and the scrutineers accepted that. It was a nylon leaf so it looked like a leaf spring and then you could pretty much do what you liked. It's all still there. It's just as it was when I last raced it. It's very much a time warp car."

In went the roll cage and all the safety gear. The only concessions to lightness were two fiberglass doors with Perspex windows and a Perspex rear screen. The rest of the car is steel. The Javelin was painted white. Daivid's first race in the car was March 1972 at Brands Hatch, quickly followed by Oulton Park,Thruxton, and Silverstone. After sorting out some oil surge problems by dry-sumping the motor with a system supplied by Traco Engineering of California, he started taking outright victories, class wins, and podiums.

In September RAC TT at Sliverstone, things didn't go as well. He said: "It was quite a big meeting. Silverstone was much faster than it is today. The old Woodcote corner was about 125 mph in my car. You would really steam through there. I came through there and was about to pass a back marker, a Mini, and we touched. It put me into the wall and I went all along the pit wall, right under the bridge and ended up in the field. It flattened all the way down the right-hand side of the car and I didn't get a scratch on me. It was a bit of a mess and I was a bit upset at the time. We rebuilt it and it was better than ever afterwards."

Meanwhile, back in the States, the Penske-run Javelins won the 1971 Trans-Am Championship and, with the Woods Brothers taking over the operation, again in 1972. David said: "I had a new engine built for me by the Woods Brothers in California. They were very famous racers in NASCAR and Trans-Am and the factory said they were the best people to go to. We flew it back, popped it in the car and it really was quick. That engine was about 550 horsepower. The first one was about 470bhp. It made a big difference. I think I paid them $8,000 or $9,000 just for one engine. Sitting in their workshop were the two trans-Am race cars with six or seven engines. The Woods Brothers raced the cars on behalf of the factory with full factory support. They were previously run by Roger Penske who, with Mark Donohue driving, won the championship first time and then Roy Woods took over the cars and won the championship again with George Follmer. I could have bought them, with all the spares and engines, for $20,000 each. If only. The ex-Mark Donohue car sold about six years ago for $500,000."

In March'73, David tried to persuade AMC to cough up the money so he could buy one of them and race it in Europe and the UK, but they weren't willing. He did however manage to secure sponsorship, advice, and parts form the factory for his own Javelin and consequently resprayed it in the striking factory Trans-Am color scheme. David said: "If I ever asked for any bits and pieces, it was always very forthcoming. I had a good relationship with them. They were a small company and I knew the MD. He was an English guy who headed the whole AMC company."

"Every time I went over there I would go and knock on his office door and he'd say, 'Oh, hello David, nice to see you.' and I could call him from England and he'd take my call. They gave me a lot of help with all the bits and pieces. I asked for some help from Penske, but they said no, it was their legal property. So that wasn't forthcoming."

http://theamcforum.com/forum/british-touring-car-javelin_topic76309.html

Trans Am veteran David Pintaric, in the No. 57 Kryderacing Cadillac CTS-V, won his first TA race in the final at Daytona, Nov 10, 2018. The victory is Pintaric’s first in 55 career TA class starts and gave the Cadillac make its first win in Series history. Except it didn't, as Cadillac parts weren't on the car on the track.

so, there I was, sorta enthused that Cadillac was racing in SCCA, and had their first win. A congrats moment, you know?

But, it turns out, "a funny thing happened on the way to the forum" -  (musical by Sondheim, based on a book co-written by Larry Gelbart - who invented MASH) I learned that they don't race factory made cars in SCCA anymore. Nope. It's all bullshit, it's whatever body they want to work for aero advantage, mounted to the chassis they've improved over time.

As I was saying, I learned a funny thing, on my way to finishing this post, I read:

In his fourth year with the series, instead of the Chevrolet Corvette that Pintaric has driven for every race with Trans Am thus far, he has decided to change to a Cadillac body.

“It’s really cool,” said Pintaric. “It’s not your daddy’s Cadillac, that’s for sure. Kerry Hit, with Advanced Composite Products out of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, built this body, assembled it and put it on the car. We have the same chassis, just a different body, so I don’t think we’re working too many bugs out. I’ve got a lot of affection for the Corvette world, and I haven’t left it behind, but I wanted to try the Cadillac and I wanted to work with Kerry.”

So, did Cadillac get their 1st win? No. There aren't any Cadillac parts on the fiberglass body that replaced the Corvette body that was tossed because it was problematical.

Well, learning new stuff every day sometimes results in disappointments, like, SCCA isn't racing sports cars anymore. It's wealthy guys racing trick race car chassis with wind tunnel tuned bodies. So, whats the fucking point of admiring SCCA anymore? It's not Mark Donohue and Penske doing cool tricky things with factory cars, just to make a factory car a winning race car. Now, it's pointless, it's who spends more to win.

http://gotransam.com/news/?cid=65427
https://autoweek.com/article/sports-cars/ernie-francis-jr-repeats-trans-am-series-ta-class-champion

Oscar Koveleski

His M8B McLaren Can Am carwas criticized by the SCCA for it's paint scheme, as they had a rule limiting how much body space could be used for advertising.... he told them "it's just racing stripes"




Oscar Koveleski can be accurately described with two words – speed, and passion. His love of speed started early. As a youngster, Oscar had a passion for model cars and airplanes. He learned to fly at age 9, and at 18 he joined the Philadelphia Region of the SCCA.

His first win came in a 1951 SCCA Regional race at Bone Stadium in Pittston, Pennsylvania. He raced regularly through the 50s and 60s in SCCA Regional and National Races, as well as the 12 hours of Sebring and the 24 hours of Daytona.

in the Ferrari he bought from Andy Warhol

In 1970, he won the ASR National Championship at Road Atlanta, beating 27-time National Champion Jerry Hansen by just one-tenth of a second. From 1969 through 1972, Oscar was a regular competitor in SCCA Can-Am action, with his orange “Car 54” one of the most recognized cars in the series.

Finished second in the Cannonball Baker Sea-to-Shining Sea Memorial Trophy Dash with teammates Tony Adamowicz and Brad Niemcek – all founders/perpetrators of the infamous PRDA (Polish Race Drivers Assoc) in the Chevy van loaded with 5 drums of 130 octane racing gas.

The PRDA van made one seven-minute fuel stop. The Ferrari consumed 240 gallons of fuel averaging 80 mph; the PRDA van used 356 gallons while traveling a slightly shorter route and averaging about 3 mph less.

the 1st name on the front fender Tony Adamowicz, known affectionately as Tony A2Z, worked as a White House staffer for the Eisenhower, Kennedy and Johnson administrations when he suddenly got the urge to drive racing cars. His talent quickly became obvious – he won the Under 2.0-liter portion of the SCCA Trans Am championship in 1968. He also won a championship in Formula 5000 against world-class competition, and in a Ferrari 512, scored podium finishes in 24-hour contests at both Daytona and Le Mans.

Looking for a way to contribute to better safety for drivers, he joined the board of directors of the Motor Racing Safety Society. Oscar served on the Board of Directors for the SCCA, and promoted SCCA races at Pocono Raceway from 1980 to 1996.

Best known for creating Auto World in 1958, Oscar Koveleski became the man about slot cars, model cars, and radio control cars and remained so for over 30 years. He introduced a countless number of children to racing, both in person and through his mail order catalog that sold model and slot cars beginning in 1958. Oscar contributed to a love of cars and racing early in a child’s life, and many future racers got their start at home thanks to his Auto World catalog.

https://www.scca.com/pages/oscar-kovaleski

http://oscarkoveleski.com/
https://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2016/12/oscar-koveleskis-can-am-car-was.html
https://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2016/12/andy-warhol-had-one-rare-ferrari-he.html
http://www.rrdc.org/member/oscar-koveleski/
https://www.caranddriver.com/archives/the-cannonball-baker-sea-to-shining-sea-memorial-trophy-dash-archived-feature-some-kind-of-milestone-in-modern-automotive-annals-page-3

Something I've never seen or heard of before, the Saleen Ranger

In 1988 they introduced the Sport Truck (Ranger). They produced produced 27 Rangers in 1988. Three were Race Trucks and 24 were sport trucks. All sport trucks were white with blue trim except one that was blue. They came with a 2.9L and were all 5-speed’s. They were all long bed’s.

Why?

Because in 1987 Steve Saleen went racing in the SCCA Coors Race Truck Challenge and captured two wins.

In 1991, Saleen won the SCCA Race Truck championship with five victories in six races which moved Steve into a tie for the most victories in the series, and provided Ford with the manufacturer’s championship.

https://www.therangerstation.com/articles/saleen-ford-ranger/
https://www.hagerty.com/articles-videos/articles/2018/10/02/scca-racetruck-challenge-pole-position-mayhem

when accepting a double dog dare, you may be in for more than you bargained for if dealing with a maniac. He may just dare you to follow the leader, and you've got to repeat everything he does

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10210219395241591&set=gm.2195092047169270&type=3&permPage=1&ifg=1

The season finale at Riverside, the final race of the Trans Am 2.5 Challenge, had no trophies. The winner was given an old fishing hat by SCCA Race Steward Joe Henderson

The season finale at Riverside turned out to be the final race of the Trans Am 2.5 Challenge.

Morton wins Riverside, with Peter Gregg 2nd

For winning a Riverside, John Morton was awarded an old fishing hat by SCCA Race Steward Joe Henderson. It seems that the SCCA, with their fantastic organizational skills, forgot to have trophies made for the race.
The SCCA's Executive Director would not even approach the winners podium.

In fact things were so bad the O-2 series ended early for lack of interest. The 2.5 Challenge continued alone

“There is no race queen, no trophy, no celebration at Riverside,” wrote Wilkinson. “In the embarrassing scene in the winner’s circle, Joe Henderson, the SCCA series steward, presents John his old fishing hat because no one has provided a trophy.”

http://www.datsunhistory.com/transam1.html
https://www.carnichiwa.com/racing/vintage-datsun-racing-revisited-the-stainless-steel-carrot-chronicles-the-early-years/

Gregory Peck's half brother raced Mustangs in SCCA, this one was a K code Shelby test mule, it was upgraded with Shelby GT 350 speed parts, then tested, then sold as is

Carroll Shelby ordered Chuck Cantwell and Jerry Schwartz to test by November and Cantwell bought a blue 271HP K-code notchback from the Ford dealer.

It was stripped and built up again with competition parts from Shelby. Modified to Group 2 specs.

When they were finished with more suspension testing, the car was sold "as is" to Donald Peck in May of 66 as a used race car.

http://www.ponysite.de/66_shelbygroup2_0.htm

'62 Corvette "Gulf Oil" race car originally bought from the Yenko dealership and raced by Dick Thompson, the famous Corvette racing dentist, sold for 1.65 million in 2015

In 14 races, the Gulf Oil ’62 Corvette finished first in class 12 times including wins at Daytona and Sebring and captured the 1962 A-Production Championship.

Following the end of the 1962 season, the Corvette returned to Yenko Chevrolet and was purchased by Tony Denman, who continued to campaign the car. It returned to Daytona for the 250-mile race, as well as the 3 Hours of Daytona, placing 6th and 22nd overall, respectively, which translated to a 2nd in class on both occasions.

 In 1963 was converted to street specifications and sold at the end of the season and then the Corvette was driven as a street car, repainted green, and then red, and then passed through just four owners before being purchased by a Corvette expert, who found the car being used as a daily driver by a college student who was completely unaware of its racing history.

Although a number of the car’s racing components were missing, Ernst was able to track down the missing parts through Denman, who had kept the components in his parents’ garage before selling them in 1979. Ernst was able to buy the missing parts back in May 1985, reuniting the Corvette with its original engine block, cylinder heads, exhaust manifold, Yenko heavy-duty suspension, Stewart Warner gauges, and roll bar, amongst other original components.

http://www.rmsothebys.com/lots/lot.cfm?lot_id=1071914
http://www.thegentlemanracer.com/2015/01/1962-corvette-gulf-oil-race-car.html

SVRA at Sears Point Raceway, historic racing cars from the glory days of SCCA Trans Am racing series

https://www.facebook.com/groups/505973489414476/permalink/1600090756669405/

Anyone else think it would be cool as hell to see the Grey Ghost and maybe other SCCA famous cars race in the Optima Challenge?

I've already extensively covered what makes this Tempest cool, one year ago, almost exactly to the day  http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2016/06/the-grey-ghost-pontiac-tempest-had-life.html

https://www.facebook.com/groups/505973489414476/permalink/1600092596669221/

sometimes, I look at the numbers comparing stock and race versions of a car, and wonder why the stock one had more parts, but accomplished less. Example, 1969 Z 28 with the 302

Horsepower and torque of a Z/28 302 engine make for a customer, with cross ram dual quads?
377 horsepower at 6000 rpm and 355 ft.lbs torque at 4500 rpm

What about one of the Z/28s that raced in the 1969 Trans Am series?
 486HP with a single 4 BBL

http://www.race-cars.com/carsold/chevy/1130509518/1130509518ss.htm
http://www.vintagemusclecarparts.com/pages/302crossram1.html
http://www.highdefforum.com/car-forum/115098-muscle-cars-1962-1972-a-43.html

1959 Elkart Lake, SCCA National Road America, paddock, William Mitchell with the Chevrolet Corvette Sting Ray SS

https://www.facebook.com/InsideTheMotorsportPaddock/

racing Acadian, St Jovite, 1965 (first time I've ever seen a full race Beaumont)

https://revslib.stanford.edu/catalog/nr431fv6910

a rarely seen 71 and 72 AMX Javelin

http://gwadagone.fotki.com/trans-am-racing1966/?view=roll#867

http://gwadagone.fotki.com/trans-am-racing1966/?view=roll#1071

An SCCA Mustang I've never seen before, the Jerry Thompson

http://gwadagone.fotki.com/trans-am-racing1966/?view=roll#952