1970 trans am series drivers

Autodynamics 1970 transam challenger, the genuine article. Rule changes in 1973, the trans am series went through its first major rule change. Gentilozzi scored seven wins and set seven records en route to his first career transam series drivers championship, the first drivers championship earned in a. Automobile is situated in ofallon, il simply 15 mis east of downtown st. The 1970 transamerican championship was a motor racing series organised by the sports. Gurney and his protege swede savage drove factorysponsored, aar built plymouth barracudas in the 1970 transam series. The 1970 season was the height of the incredible trans am series.

In the transam series, teams would acid dip the race cars to etch away metal, thus making the car lighter. From the 1970s on, transam cars andor drivers would also be seen running in the imsa gt championship. Follow top drivers mark donohue and peter revson in amc javelins. Looking at transam racing today, its completely different ball game. The trans am series was created in 1966 by sports car club of america scca president john bishop. The 1970 trans am series is regarded by most racing historians as the high water mark of american road racing. The trans am series presented by pirelli ta2 cars battle. This site contains ta javelin history, photos, racing history and general amc historical information. The ford mustang driven by george follmer in the 1970 transam series. A tale of two mustang boss 302 trans am cars unfolds in. Backdating the drivers championship to the inaugural season, 30 different drivers took titles, with multiple championships. The second boss 302 trans am from the jim click collection is a 1970 model, though its identified as chassis 31971. A past participant in the 1972 transam series with driver robert clemens, this 1970 chevrolet camaro looks qualified, and it raced at both watkins glen and road america. Sam posey trans am road racing series hagerty articles.

The 1970 season was the year that all of the stars would finally fall on the trans am series. Throughout the years, some of the greatest names in motorsports have participated in the trans am series. Mark donohue won 10 of 12 races, including eight in a row. Every pony car manufacturer was represented with a factory team and top driving talent. The ford boss 302s and z28 camaros were competing for street sales with the public. The best drivers in the world fought fiercely in every race, providing competition and action that has never been equaled in any other race series. Por sche, long dominant in this field has been eliminated from the 1970 competition. Since all the factories were participating in 1970, the. The motor is an original keith black, destroked, 14 to 1 compression ratio, 303. Scca transam racing series 1970 dodge challenger ta driven by sam posey amelia island select march 2015 grab a piece of history with this 1970 dodge challenger, which has the distinction. The series has in fact gone by a variety of different names through the years too many to list, some linked to sponsors, some not. At laguna seca, the first race of the season, the challenger team was last in line for technical inspection. Clagett is referring to what many consider the golden years of the trans am.

Group 4 and 5 cars were added to the mix in 1976, and the trans am series went to a twoclass systemcategory i and ii. The 1970 trans am series is regarded by most racing enthusiasts as the high water mark of american road racing. The trans am series presented by pirelli a look back. One of four bodyinwhite cars shipped to the bud moore team by kar kraft for 1971, 31971 was prepared as a backup car for drivers george follmer, peter gregg and parnelli jones, but never saw action during the season. For those of us old enough to remember the iconic scca transam series from the 1960s to early 1970s, youll recall the drivers and cars which made it. The 1970 boss 302 mustang with which drivers like parnelli jones and peter gregg raced in the trans am series. Reduced power ratings for 1971 were offset by availability of pontiacs enormous 455 in formula and trans am models. Trans am racing had become the top race in the country. The 1970 transamerican championship was a motor racing series organised by the sports car club of america for scca sedans. Along with its vivid images, transam era offers detailed captions and yearby year season summaries that chronicle the transams gradual rise and sudden fall. Full tubeframe chassis compete in the top classes, and even in the productionbased groups the barrier to entry is exponentially higher than it was some 50 years ago. The trans am series at road atlanta the foametix muscle car challenge duration. This is a great documentary style film following the 1970 trans am season. This 1970 pontiac trans am ram air iii for sale has a numbers matching 400c.

Penske took his team, including mark donahue to american motors leaving chevy. Jerry titus october 24, 1928 august 5, 1970 was an american race car driver, mechanic, and journalist. The challenger ta differ from any other standard high performance vehicles built by chrysler. Originally known as the trans american sedan championship, the name was changed to the trans american championship for 1967 and henceforth. Chevrolet had the chaparral chevy camaro z28 team with jim hall, ed leslie, and vic elford. Trans am 1970 the trans am series of 1970 was one of the most hotly contested race series in history as all drivers battled to take the championship in there mustang camaro, javelin or barracuda. Also new to the transam series in 1998 was the fifthgeneration chevrolet corvette driven by paul gentilozzi. Road racing championship usrrc series, which mostly involved stuffing a highpowered american v8. Find new and used 1970 pontiac trans am classics for sale by classic car dealers and private sellers near you. But, despite its longevity, the series has never quite managed to rediscover the. Transam ta 1970 standings championship points standings for the transam ta 1970. The 1970 team included roger penske and mark donohue, which helped amc win backtoback trans am series championships for 1971 and 1972. The racing is more clinical and the cars lack character.

Individual driver statistics for the 1970 transam ta. Theres never been a more hard fought race series than the trans am races of the late sixties and early seventies. First transam race held on march 25 is won by austrian formula one driver, jochen rindt, in an alfa gta at sebring. This changed in 1970, when amc hired roger penske, who. Dan gurney beats parnelli jones in the closest trans am race at green valley raceway by three feet. The 1970 season began where 1969 left off, as american manufacturers waged. Originally built and raced by ed hinchliff, a ford motor company engineer and trans am racer who raced in the trans am series from the 1960s to this current decade. American motors had joined transam as early as 1968, but it didnt pose any threat to chevy and ford in its first seasons in the series. Here are some video snippets from a documentary called trans am 1970. Transam racing in 1970 as seen through the eyes of a 10. Donohue easily won the drivers championship, and amc was the handsdown winner among the manufacturers. For a model with a late introduction february 26, 1970 this still amounted to nearly a fivefold increase over the introductory 1969. The 1970 12 pontiac trans am saved pontiac at a time when sales of the firebird were dropping and labor strikes were occuring.

In 1975, the trans am series was restructured based on the scca club racings fastest production car classes. The emphasis on the manufacturers masked how critical the driver was. Pages in category transam series drivers the following 158 pages are in this category, out of 158 total. A visual history of canam, the greatest racing series ever. Penske racing ran the effort for amc javelin, with drivers. The transam series was created in 1966 by sports car club of america scca president.

This category contains drivers that competed in the trans am series 19662005, 2009. The 1970 trans am season was a replay of the prior years manufacturer wars with one major exception, the shelby racing team pulled out of trans am racing totally. Six full factory teams prepared for battle in the 1970 championship, each with elite driving talent. All told, 3196 trans ams were built as 1970 models. Dedicated to the documentation and preservation of the 100 scca transam javelins manufactured by american motors for the 1970 model year. Ford thanks to parnelli jones and george follmer and still potent alfa romeo won the over 2 litre and under 2 litre titles respectively. With a serious racing effort from all four major automotive manufacturersford, general motors, chrysler, and american motorsand their backing of topnotch teams running mustangs, camaros, javelins, dodge challengers, plymouth barracudas, and pontiac firebirds, the entry list was a spectator. The mustang race car everyone remembers, from a time when everyone was watching. In 1978, greg pickett won the category ii drivers title, in a chevrolet corvette. The photos rich shares herefrom the transam race at lime rock, connecticut, september 5, 1970was his first ever ta race, and we went there to see some of our indy car friends. Nationality of participating drivers % country drivers number. Jones won the closest drivers championshipby a onepoint margin ahead of. Of these, 1769 manual and 39 automatic transmissioned ram air iii tas were built while only 88 total ram air ivs went into 1970 trans ams.

From small beginnings in 1966 through the spectacular 1970 season, the trans am series included nearly every american auto manufacturer and famous drivers. The 1971 season was another donohue steamroller as he won seven races, including six straight, in his amc javelin. Author daniel lipetz conducted years of research that sheds new light on the series and uncovers previously unknown facts about individual cars, races, and drivers. The 1970 javelin had similar styling features of the amx, with a unique twin venturitype grille a change from the prior years bullseye badge. American cham pionship of the sports car cub of america is a com petition for manufacturers rather than drivers.