1968 Trans Am No. 7 Meadowdale International Raceway (July 7, 1968)

[SMKZ28]

Not sure if anyone has seen the pictures of the 7th Trans Am race of the 1968 season held at Meadowdale International Raceway, Carpentersville, Illinois that appear on the Chicago Sports Car Clubs Memories of Meadowdale International Raceways web site.  Attached are some pics of the Penske Camaros I found at the site but you can see more pics of Javelins, the start of the race, and an advertising folder promoting the race at: http://miroldpix2.homestead.com/68transampage.html  The pics were taken and provided to the site by Mike Odell.

[SMKZ28]

I also found some great photos of the Meadowdale Trans Am race at the Meadowdale International Raceway Preservation Association Facebook page.  Attached are some of the Camaro pics I found there but other pics of Firebirds, Mustangs, Javelins, Alphas, and Porsches can be seen on their photo page at: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Meadowdale-International-Raceway-Preservation-Association/400782870695?sk=taggednotes#!/pages/Meadowdale-International-Raceway-Preservation-Association/400782870695?sk=photos (when you get to the photos page, scroll down to the photos added in 2010).  These photos were posted to their site by Ronald Spannraft.

[SMKZ28]

Here are a few more pics of Camaros found at the site mentioned in my previous post.

[SMKZ28]

Here is a picture of the cover of the program for the event.  I found this picture at: http://shop.driveabledreams.net/product.sc?productId=38

[SMKZ28]

Sorry if any of this is a repost.  I don't remember seeing any of these pics before.  I live in the southwest suburbs of Chicago and whats left of this track is located in the northwest suburbs of Chicago, so I have a particular interest in it.  Does anyone have any more pics of this race?

[MO]

I like the AMX rumble seat Pacecar.

[SMKZ28]

I like the AMX rumble seat Pacecar.

Good catch, I had not noticed that until you mentioned it.  As a result I went looking for info on the car.  I found out that it is a 1968 Jeffords AMX-R and it is the only one ever built.  More info on the car can be found in this article: http://www.hemmings.com/mus/stories/2009/11/01/hmn_feature7.html   

The article states that, "Jeffords took the AMX-R on the road, mostly to Trans-Am races, and apparently used it as a pace car for a few of those races--at one point, the AMX-R carried the lettering "Official Car" just below the driver's and passenger's windows."  By using the word "apparently" it seems that there may have been some doubt that this car was used as a pace car for Trans Am races.  This picture just might prove that it did.

The attached pics show what it looks like today and they were found at: http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?5399930-My-photos-from-a-local-car-show-some-neat-stuff-inside-2011-Krasl-Concours&p=73136776

[Jon Mello]

Scott, thanks for posting the photos. I don't think we had anything from Meadowdale on here yet. My folks moved us to Cary, Illinois just a few months after the Meadowdale Trans-Am. Cary is not very far away at all and we drove by the track on numerous occasions. We attended all the races at Road America and Blackhawk Farms in the '70-'74 timeframe before leaving for California at the end of '74. I had always hoped to see a race at Meadowdale but that never happened. I'm glad they have made a nature preserve out of the property rather than putting in some housing tract or shopping mall.

[SMKZ28]

I wasn't born until 1976 so I never got to see any races at Meadowdale either but I have ridden my mountain bike along the old ghost track.  A lot of the racing surface is still there.  They also have car shows where the participants cars are lined up on the old front strraight.  I to am happy that they were able to preserve the place. 

As for the other two tracks, I've been attending all the races at Road America since 1987 and have been to Blackhawk multiple times for their Fathers Day weekend vintage races.  Great places!

[MO]

Thanks for posting the AMX-R links and information. I haven't seen anything about that car in years. I'm glad to see it is still around.

[Sixteen Grand Sedan #56]

I love that recessed cup holder in the RH quarter panel probably works good at car shows.

[Jon Mello]

Here's a short write-up on the race from National Speed Sport News. (Jon Mello Collection)

[Jon Mello]

Here's a short write-up from Sports Car Graphic, courtesy of Robert Byng.

[SMKZ28]

Great stuff Jon, thanks!

[Jon Mello]

You're welcome, Scott. Glad you have enjoyed it. Here's the Meadowdale program. (Jon Mello Collection)