Author Topic: Daytona: 1969 Camaro RS/SS 396 Conv Pace Car for NASCAR GT Citrus 250 1969  (Read 4339 times)

SMKZ28

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A white 1969 Camaro RS/SS 396 convertible was used as the pace car for the 1969 Citrus 250 NASCAR Grand Touring event held on the road course at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida on Friday, February 21, 1969.  Two days later this Camaro would go on to pace the 1969 Daytona 500 (I will make a separate thread for that event).  It is not the same Camaro that paced the Daytona 24 Hour race held three weeks earlier.  Don Yenko would win the event from the pole in his ex-Smokey Yunick 1968 Camaro.

Info and photos of the event can be seen in Replies #10-15 on pages 1 & 2 of the following CRG thread: http://www.camaros.org/forum/index.php?topic=9860.0
Additional info and the first picture can be seen here: http://racersreunion.com/community/forum/stock-car-racing-history/31721/1969-citrus-250 (the second picture is a cropped version of the first)

The third picture came from here: https://speedsport.com/racing-history/recalling-the-1969-florida-citrus-250/ (the fourth photo is a cropped version of the third)
Scott
I don't have a 1st Gen but I have 1971 Z28 RS 4-spd, 1997 Z28 Z4C 6-spd, 2000 SS Convertible, 2010 RS 6-spd

SMKZ28

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Re: Daytona: 1969 Camaro RS/SS 396 Conv Pace Car for NASCAR GT Citrus 250 1969
« Reply #1 on: February 19, 2020, 03:37:51 PM »
You can see the pace car in this picture from an article in the May 1969 issue of Motorcade magazine. (Jon Mello Collection) http://www.camaros.org/forum/index.php?topic=9860.15
Scott
I don't have a 1st Gen but I have 1971 Z28 RS 4-spd, 1997 Z28 Z4C 6-spd, 2000 SS Convertible, 2010 RS 6-spd

SMKZ28

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Re: Daytona: 1969 Camaro RS/SS 396 Conv Pace Car for NASCAR GT Citrus 250 1969
« Reply #2 on: February 19, 2020, 03:41:59 PM »
The Camaro pace car can be seen in a few photos from the Petersen Automotive Museum Digitization Project: https://archive.petersen.org

The second and fourth photos are cropped versions of the first and third.
Scott
I don't have a 1st Gen but I have 1971 Z28 RS 4-spd, 1997 Z28 Z4C 6-spd, 2000 SS Convertible, 2010 RS 6-spd

SMKZ28

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Re: Daytona: 1969 Camaro RS/SS 396 Conv Pace Car for NASCAR GT Citrus 250 1969
« Reply #3 on: February 19, 2020, 03:43:34 PM »
More from the Petersen...
Scott
I don't have a 1st Gen but I have 1971 Z28 RS 4-spd, 1997 Z28 Z4C 6-spd, 2000 SS Convertible, 2010 RS 6-spd

SMKZ28

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Re: Daytona: 1969 Camaro RS/SS 396 Conv Pace Car for NASCAR GT Citrus 250 1969
« Reply #4 on: February 19, 2020, 03:44:41 PM »
These photos from the Petersen show Don Yenko in victory lane.
Scott
I don't have a 1st Gen but I have 1971 Z28 RS 4-spd, 1997 Z28 Z4C 6-spd, 2000 SS Convertible, 2010 RS 6-spd

SMKZ28

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Re: Daytona: 1969 Camaro RS/SS 396 Conv Pace Car for NASCAR GT Citrus 250 1969
« Reply #5 on: February 19, 2020, 03:48:50 PM »
These images from newspapers.com show that Don Yenko's win was used for advertising purposes.

Ad #1 came from the March 7, 1969 edition of The Daily Notes.  This was a Canonsburg, Pennsylvania newspaper.

Ad #2 came from the March 9, 1969 edition of The Indianapolis Star.  I don't think the creators of this ad realized that the race car did not have a "427" in it.
Scott
I don't have a 1st Gen but I have 1971 Z28 RS 4-spd, 1997 Z28 Z4C 6-spd, 2000 SS Convertible, 2010 RS 6-spd

SMKZ28

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Re: Daytona: 1969 Camaro RS/SS 396 Conv Pace Car for NASCAR GT Citrus 250 1969
« Reply #6 on: February 19, 2020, 08:08:26 PM »
Here are two great color photos of the winning Yenko Camaro after the event.  They came from here: https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/historic-stock-car-photos.289913/page-19
Scott
I don't have a 1st Gen but I have 1971 Z28 RS 4-spd, 1997 Z28 Z4C 6-spd, 2000 SS Convertible, 2010 RS 6-spd