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Ford Mustang the Birth of Trans-Am Racing- Muscle Cars of The Past
By
the Auto Editors of Consumer Guide
The Start of Trans-Am Racing and Muscle Car Wars
The huge sales success of the 1965 Ford Mustang was a key factor in
launching Trans-Am racing, which was staged on demanding road courses
from coast to coast. But people love a good fight, so attendance and
media interest didn't really take off until rival pony cars appeared to
chase Mustang on the racetrack as well as in the showroom.
In its early years, the Trans-American Championship --
Trans-Am for short -- was home to some of America's most exciting,
hard-fought automobile racing. Inaugurated in 1966, it was conceived by
the Sports Car Club of America as a professional series for sports cars
and Detroit's popular sporty compacts, though initial publicity
referred only to "sedans."
At first, there were two classes based on engine size. Most
foreign models ran in the under-2.5-liter category, while larger cars
like Mustang were allowed engines between 2.5 and 5.0 liters. Rules
mandated safety roll cages, minimum racing weight, fuel tank size, and
other requirements but allowed liberal tinkering with the stock
suspension and powertrain.
SCCA specified minimum production of 2500 units for a given
model, at least 500 for basic engines, and only regular-production body
modifications like speed-enhancing spoilers. In other words, to run a
car in Trans-Am, you had to make a street version to sell the public.
Like NASCAR in those days, SCCA knew it could move more tickets if the
cars on the course looked a lot like cars people could actually buy.
With hardly any competition on or off the track, Mustang was
the easy first-season champion in its class, with Jerry Titus the
winningest driver. Ford bagged a second class crown in '67, spending
bigger bucks for a squadron of teams with big-name pilots running
race-prepped Mustangs and Mercury Cougars, though Titus again took home
the driver's trophy.
The 1970 Boss 302 was every inch the streetable Trans-Am
racer, but Ford
bailed out from all forms of racing after 1970.
The next two years belonged to archrival Chevrolet and its
purpose-engineered Chevrolet Camaro Z-28. But Ford's prospects got a
huge boost when Bunkie Knudsen came over as president, determined to
regain the title from old employer and new corporate foe, General
Motors.
Sparing no expense and marshaling all available resources,
Knudsen fast-tracked the Boss 302 as Dearborn's new warrior, and gave
veteran team manager Bud Moore virtually unlimited funds for testing,
prep, mechanics, and drivers. Ace pilots George Follmer and Parnelli
Jones re-upped for a season that saw most every pony car on the
starting grid.
The battles were fierce, as the Boss had to take on
factory-backed Dodge Challengers and Plymouth Barracudas as well as the
formidable Z-28s, Pontiac Firebirds, and even some AMC Javelins from
little American Motors. It was the ultimate in "horse racing." When it
was all over, Mustang was back on top again, scoring six victories,
five at the skilled hands of Parnelli Jones.
Amazingly, Ford then quit all forms of racing, and interest in
the Trans-Am began to wane along with the pony car market. Eventually,
the series was put to rest. Though SCCA has lately revived the name,
today's Trans-Am cars are much less stock than the original racers, and
the series draws less manufacturer support and public notice.
Here's a sneak peek at the various sections of Antelope Valley Auto .info:
* The Birth of Muscle Cars Learn how the speedy 1949 Oldsmobile Rocket 88 fired the public
imagination and ignited a Detroit horsepower race that produced a slew
of "factory hot rods." In the 1950s, Chrysler unveiled its Hemi engine,
and Chevrolet its small-block V-8. It was all a preview of muscle cars
to come.
* How Muscle Cars started - Need For Speed In many ways and for many reasons, America lost its innocence in
the 1960s. Learn why no-holds-barred performance cars were just one
casualty of wrenching social changes.
Antelope Valley Auto.com has a knack for research on cars and anything
and everything about them. And a love for American muscle cars. We work hard to find Automotive information
that our readers want and enjoy.
