Photos - 1970 Watkins Glen Trans-Am Race

[Steve Holmes]

This small but fascinating collection of photos was sent to me by Randy Hernandez. Randy's images have appeared on this site before, most notably in the Perks Of The Job story.

Having read Perks Of The Job, you'll know that Randy's father was the great Fran Hernandez, manager for Fords racing programs during their titanic Total Performance era when they dived head-long into several high-profile arenas of the sport, most notably their GT40 and associated program in an effort to win Le Mans.

By 1970, Ford was cutting back on its racing budget. It'd scrapped the Le Mans project after achieving its goal in 1966 and '67. It'd also withdrawn from NASCAR, and drag racing, and slashed its Trans-Am budget by 75%.

The Trans-Am cut-backs were significant. Ford had had a presence in the series since its inception in 1966, and ran twin-pronged programs in 1967 and '69. The '67 program comprised multi-car teams of Ford Mustangs (run by Shelby racing team), and Mercury Cougars (run by Bud Moore Racing), while the '69 attack had both Shelby and Moore running Mustangs.

But although Ford missed out on the Manufacturers Championship in 1969 (there was no Drivers Championship at this stage), the Bud Moore cars regularly out-paced the Shelby cars, and when the budget cut-backs for 1970 required reverting back to a single team, it was Shelby who got the chop.

Of the 1970 Trans-Am series, the schoolbus yellow factory Mustangs, driven by Parnelli Jones and George Follmer, were the dominant force. In truth, they were really the only team to enjoy any real consistency, essentially carrying over from their 1969 campaign, with updated versions of the same basic cars. Everyone else, by contrast, was either new to the series, or were racing all-new models. And as such, the well-developed Bud Moore Mustangs won 6 of the 11 races.

That said, they were hard-pushed, particularly by the Penske team, and the very determined Mark Donohue, as they developed their new AMC Javelins, having switched from running Camaros the past three seasons.

The race depicted in these photos is Round 9 of the series, held at the challenging Watkins Glen circuit. As it transpired, this was one of the few races that got away from the factory Ford team. Parnelli Jones put his car on pole, with Donohue alongside, and it was this pairing who fought over the lead during the first 30 laps. But then it rained, and in the slippery conditions, Vic Elford, driving one of the two Chevrolet backed Chaparral Camaros, surged through to the front, and built a sizable lead. Eventually, the rain stopped, the track dried, and Donohue, who'd got past Jones, began closing in on Elford, but ran out of laps before he could run down the white Camaro. This was to be the only race victory in the Trans-Am series for the highly accomplished Jim Hall's team.

It was Randy Hernandez who snapped these images. At the time, he was on active duty in the Navy, aged 23, and stationed at Maryland. He chose to take a weekend trip to Watkins Glen, New York, to see his father, and catch the Trans-Am race. Being the son of the top man for Fords racing programs tends to get you places the general public can’t go, as you’ll see from a couple of the close-up shots of the Bud Moore machines. That said, the public had much greater freedom back then than they do now, with just a piece of rope skirting around the cars to give the mechanics space to work. But its neat to see such good close-up shots of both Bud Moore, and Fords two star drivers.

This was a very special period in US road racing. Enjoy these images.

[Steve Holmes]

OK, first photo and we're in the roped off area of the Ford factory team. Pictured is the #15 Mustang of Parnelli Jones, who, it has to be said, was one of the true legends of the Trans-Am series. He was a hard-as-nails racer, hugely intimidating, and hugely accomplished. He'd won the Indy 500, but he loved the cut and thrust of the Trans-Am series, and was comfortable here.

If there had been a Drivers Championship in the 1970 Trans-Am series, he'd have been champion. He won 5 of Fords 6 victories that season. Perhaps his greatest race was his incredible come-back drive in the final 1970 event at Riverside, when he was punted off the track early in the race. From the rear of the field and a lap down in a massively battered car, he drove a monstrous race to work right fight his way back, un-lap himself, and take the victory. It was an epic drive.

Thats Jones in the race suit, talking to team boss Bud Moore.

[Steve Holmes]

This is the other of the two factory Mustangs, of George Follmer. Follmer was another who'd come from more of a sporty car background, having contested the Can-Am series with great success, and who would eventually go on to become Can-Am champion in 1972, driving the mighty Porsche 917/10, run by the Penske team. Penske driver/engineer Mark Donohue had developed the 917 alongside Porsche engineers in Germany, but in an horrific testing shunt early in the year, was forced out until later in the season. Follmer was drafted in at last minute, and went on to win, thus eclipsing McLaren's dominance in the series.

The 1970 factory Mustangs were essentially the same cars raced by Moore and Shelby in 1969, although these were newly constructed. The development from 1969 meant they hit the ground running in 1970. on the surface, the most notable changes apart from the obvious sheet metal changes, were the much deeper front spoiler, and the single 4-barrel carb, which all teams were forced to run in 1970, with multi-carb set-ups being banned.

It didn't matter, the Ford motors were producing more power, and Firestone were producing bigger, stickier tyres.

Regarding the front spoilers, new-for-1970 rules allowed non-factory spoilers, but these had to fit within strict standards, but were essentially a flat-pane made of alloy or fibreglass, with most teams opting to have a couple of brake duct holes cut into them.

[Steve Holmes]

Perhaps the biggest news of the 1970 Trans-Am series was Penske switching from Chevrolet to American Motors. This was a big deal. Penske had won the championship the past two seasons for Chevrolet, running Camaros. In addition, Roger Penske himself was a Chevrolet dealer.

Much of the success was a result of the massively talented Mark Donohue, who was the ultimate all-rounder. He would design and develop the cars, and he could drive them as fast as the very best. He was also an unbelievably hard worker.

While Penske were the factory Chevy team the past three seasons, I don't know that they ever received any money from General Motors. Remember, GM had their "no racing" policy at the time. However, behind the scenes they provided a huge amount of engineering support to Penske, including designing, manufacturing, and homologating parts that helped Penske win.

But American Motors were desperate to win the Trans-Am series, and they agreed terms with Roger Penske for a vast sum of money, around 2 or 3 million dollars, which was a huge amount at the time. But they wanted results, and there was plenty of pressure. According to Donohue, Roger Penske announced they'd win the Trans-Am Championship in 1970. Of course, this never happened. In fact, AMC were about to release Penske from their contract following Round 5 at Bridgehampton. They planned to tell them after the race. But, as luck would have it, Donohue won the race.

If you ever get the chance to buy a copy of Mark Donohue's book The Unfair Advantage, grab it. Its a fascinating insight into his life in racing, and how much it consumed him. But he really struggled in 1970, as the team fought to make the Javelin a race winner. Remember, AMC had been in the Trans-Am series since 1968, and hadn't won a race until that victory at Bridgehampton.

Penske really became the biggest competitors for the Bud Moore factory Mustang team, taking a total of three race victories. But they weren't actually as fast at most events as the Mustangs. They suffered engine problems in the early races, and their first victory came about not by being faster than the competition, but being smarter. Most Trans-Am races were long, and required at least one pit stop. As a result, the cars would also run around in a gaggle on the track, battling each other. Then they'd all make their pit stops at around the same time. The Penske team figured they could be faster if they were in clear air, and didn't have to share pit lane with the other teams, so brought Donohue in much earlier than the competition. He then spent the rest of the race driving around on his own, and everyone forgot about him. It was a clever tactic, and won American motors their first Trans-Am race.

Of course, when the rest of the factory team withdrew from the Trans-Am series in 1971, American Motors were champions the next two years.

This is a neat shot of the Penske team, and its two cars. Team mate to Donohue in 1970 was the brilliant Peter Revson. He won races and championships in several formulas, including Formula 1 and Can-Am, but he wasn't as fast as Donohue in the Trans-Am series.

Thats Revson's Javelin #9, with Donohue's car in behind. If you look carefully in the drivers seat of the Penske transporter, you can see Mark Donohue with his head and arm sticking out, having a chat.

[Steve Holmes]

This is a great looking car, and typical of many of the quality privateer cars that contested the Trans-Am series. Remember, the SCCA used their own A/Sedan rules for the Trans-Am, and these rules were used throughout the US and Canada in countless regional competitions and championships. The Trans-Am was really just a high-profile nationwide version of these smaller regional events. And of course, the Trans-Am had the manufacturers involved.

But even in 1970, which was the biggest and most successful year for the Trans-Am in terms of manufacturer support, factory entries usually didn't even break into double digits. Ford, Chevrolet, Pontiac, American Motors, Dodge and Plymouth all supported factory teams in 1970, the only year this happened. But only Ford, Chevrolet and AMC had 2-car representation throughout the entire season. Most others just ran a single car.

And so the Trans-Am series relied heavily on the support of numerous privateers, or independents, as they were known. A few well-heeled privateers actually ran the full series, but most just picked the races that were closest to where they lived. They'd enter without a hope in hell of winning, but they'd usually pick up a reasonable amount of prize money if they finished well. And then there was the added bonus of racing against the million dollar factory teams.....

The car pictured here is the 1969 Mustang raced by Warren Tope. This was a privateer entry, but Warren and his father Donald had some good connections within Ford Motor Company, so were privy to a few extras the regular privateers didn't have. Tope only ran this car for one season, then switched to one of the Bud Moore factory cars from 1970. In fact, it was the George Follmer car pictured above that Tope raced from '71.

This particular '69 Mustang still exists, and now races with the Historic Trans-Am group. Here is the guff from its profile:

This car was an inter-company transfer to Transmission & Chassis Division from Ford Motor Company. Donald Tope (Warren's father) was head of that division.

The car was built as A/S in 1969, and then underwent more development in 1970. It was worked on at Kar Kraft and at Warren's shop in that area which he shared with Ed Hinchcliff. Later the car was worked on at Bud Moore's shop. Donald Tope often asked some of the Kar Kraft engineers to work on Warren's car, including Lee Dykstra, Lee Morse, and Mitch Marchi. The car got some very special attention and was built well.

Warren Tope Drove in the following 1970 Trans-Am races: Mid-Ohio (17th), Donnybrooke (DNF), Road America (12th), Mt. Tremblant (9th),& Watkins Glen (DNF).

At the end of the 1970 season Warren purchased the 1970 X Follmer car and drove it in 1971 and 1972, but continued to own this car and rent it out to Gene Harrington at several races during 1971.

Late in 1971, at the SCCA runoffs, Warren had a problem with the Follmer car and had his original car delivered to the runoffs. He won the SCCA A/S in this car. This has been verified through Gene Harrington. In 1972 Warren sold this car to Dick Roe who entered two Trans-Am races.

[Steve Holmes]

Heading into the 1970 Trans-Am season, many predicted the new Chaparral built and run Camaros were going to be the dominant force. Think about this for a minute: Camaro had won the Trans-Am series in both 1968 and 1969. Both seasons, Penske racing were the factory team.

But the brilliant Jim Hall was a bigger name than Roger Penske in the late 1960s. His amazing creative Chaparral sports cars were absolutely cutting edge. Chaparral had been a top campaigner in the SCCA Can-Am series since its inception, introducing several ground-breaking designs that would be copied by others in years to come. In addition, Hall's Chaparral machines had been front runners in the World Endurance Championship in 1966 and '67. Hall even owned his own race track!

Although Chaparral would be running the new 2nd generation Camaros in 1970, many of the changes from gen 1 to gen 2 were on the surface. Underneath, the gen 2 model has a few advantages over the gen 1 cars, but its successes from 1969 should have carried over.

And so, combining the dominance shown by Camaro in the last two years, with the brilliance of Jim Hall, this was a sure-bet. But the season didn't transpire that way at all.

The two beautiful white Chaparral Camaros, with their single metallic Navy blue stripe running down the centre and Chevy bowtie emblems as the background for the door numbers, looked a million bucks. They were well built, featuring typical forward thinking design. But Chaparral were new to the Trans-Am series. The competition were even better prepared.

The two Chaparral Camaros, driven by Hall himself, and Ed Leslie, were among the best handling, best stopping cars on the grid. But they lacked power. Chaparral chose to build their motors in-house. Penske, on the other hand, had Traco build their engines, and they were considered the most powerful in 1967 and '68, and were on a par with the Ford motors of '69. Traco were well versed on the small block Chevy, and they knew all the secrets, such as the trick of breaking in a new motor, then fitting it with brand new heads.

In addition, Smokey Yunick, who was contracted by GM in a development role, created some impressive new slant plug heads, which were expected to produce good power. But the SCCA didn't allow these heads to be used.

From the 11 race series, Chaparral claimed just one victory, here at Watkins Glen. By this stage, Hall himself had retired as a driver, and plugged Vic Elford into his car. Hall hadn't raced since his violent somersault in a Can-Am car in 1968, and never really got comfortable in the Camaro.

Elford was running in about 4th or 5th spot throughout the early part of the race, but when the heavens opened, the brilliant handling of his Camaro allowed him to push through to the front, and even though the track dried late in the race, he took the victory.

Amazingly, even though Chaparral were the factory Chevy team, it was actually another team that took the first victory of 1970 for Camaro: the privateer Roy Woods outfit, whose American Racing Associates (ARA) ran a pair of 1969 Camaros, one of which was an ex-Penske car. With this, Milt Minter won at Donnebrook.

[Steve Holmes]

Bud Moore Racing became the only Ford factory team for the 1970 Trans-Am series, after FoMoCo drastically reduced its funding in motor racing. As a result, they dropped Carroll Shelby, with only Moore continuing on, with a reduced budget.

Moore prepared three Kar-Kraft supplied bodies into race cars for 1970, with the 1970 sheet metal. None of their 1969 cars were carried over. The chassis numbers were 9F02M212775, 776, and 777. The two main race cars, one each for Parnelli Jones and George Follmer, were chassis' 775 and 776, and both had the newly introduced 3-link rear suspension. Chassis 777 had the same suspension as the 1969 cars.

Jones didn't like the 3-link set-up, and actually raced 777 early in the season, before the Bud Moore team reverted all three cars back to the 1969 set-up.

According to Mustang racing guru Wolfgang Kohrn, the easiest way to tell the two Jones chassis' apart, is from the interior; chassis 775 and 776 had grey interiors with black speckles, while 777 was black with grey speckles.

I suspect this is Follmer's car.

[Steve Holmes]

OK, its just been pointed out to me, by someone much smarter than myself, that the interior photo above that I guessed to be Follmer's car, is in fact chassis 777.

Chassis 777 is the only one of the three 1970 Bud Moore cars to feature a staggered dash cluster, whereas 775 and 776 both featured their dials all in a row.

My thanks to the person who pointed this out, and who wishes to remain anonymous.

[khyndart in CA]

Steve,
Does this look correct for George Follmer's chassis # 776 ? (Laguna Seca 2015 )




(Ken Hyndman photos )

[Steve Holmes]

Hi Ken, thats one of the 1971 Bud Moore cars. Ford pulled the pin on their support of the Trans-Am series at the conclusion of the 1970 season, and Moore had to go it alone in '71. With the Historic Trans-Am cars as you've photographed, the S.S. Jacobs signage just above the Boss hockey stick stripe is the most obvious giveaway that this is a 1971 car. That and the white painted Minitite wheels.

Without Ford support, Bud Moore needed the help of sponsors. Moore had two new Mustangs in 1971, plus chassis 775 from 1970.

There is some really great info on the 1971 cars here: http://www.impeccableinc.com/invento...-In-White_2_27

[khyndart in CA]

Thanks for that info Steve.
You are probably well aware of this site. http://www.ponysite.de/transam.htm

I found it when doing the Horst Kwech thread where you can also read about the Holman & Moody storage shed (Yuck !)


KH.

[Steve Holmes]

Thanks Ken, yes the owner of that site, Wolfgang Kohrn, is a member and sometime poster here.

[khyndart in CA]

Here is a short clip of the 1971 Trans Am series showing the Mustangs and the Mark Donohue / Penske Javelin battling it out.
Note the risks taken in pit lane and Roger Penske almost getting run over !


(Ken Hyndman )

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[Steve Holmes]

Thanks to Tony Garmey for sending me this pic. This is one of the Parnelli Jones 1970 Bud Moore Mustangs he did some work on about 5 years ago. I assume its chassis 777 as 775 went to Mexico in 1971 and is thought to no longer exist.