Color Photos of 1st Trans Am: 1966 Sebring 4 Hour International Touring Car Race

[SMKZ28]

If you didn't see it in the Trans Am pace car thread, I have found a treasure trove of vintage pictures taken at racing events run at Sebring Circuit in Sebring, Florida: https://sebringrace.com/index.html  All photos came from this source unless otherwise noted.

This thread will feature the color pictures of the cars competing in the over 2.0 liter class during the first ever Trans Am event ever held.  It was called the Sebring 4 Hour International Touring Car Race and it was held at Sebring, Circuit in Sebring, Florida between noon and 4:00 pm on Friday, March 25, 1966.   Jochen Rindt won it overall in his 1966 Alfa Romeo 1600 GTA and the combination of Bob Tullius and Tony Adamowicz won the over 2.0 liter class in their 1966 Dodge Dart.

Here are a couple of photos showing the rear of the field at the start of the event.  Mostly under 2.0 liter cars shown.

[SMKZ28]

Since the Camaro would not be introduced until the fall, the Chevrolet banner was flown by two Corvairs.   Spurgeon May finished the race in 19th place while Don Eichsteadt placed 29th but did not finish.  These cars were at a distinct disadvantage because they could not compete with the other V8 cars in their class and their engines were too large to be placed in the under 2.0 liter class.

Photo #4 came from ebay

[SMKZ28]

Until I saw these photos I always thought that the #4 1966 Mustang driven by A.J. Foyt in this race had twin BLUE racing stripes over the top but these color photos demonstrate that they were red and green.  My son has a 1:64 scale Hot Wheels replica of the car and it has twin BLUE stripes and since all of the pictures I have seen before were in black and white I always thought it was replicating the Shelby look.  It also appears to have had a red interior.

The photos show the Mustang going through the pre-race technical inspection held in downtown Sebring.

[SMKZ28]

More photos of Mustang #4

Photo 1 came from goldcoastcustoms.com
Photo 2 came from the Pony Site

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More of Mustang #4

Notice in the second photo the car has had a tire change (black colored rear wheel was seen on the front when going through tech inspection) and they may have wired up the exhaust which appears to be hanging too low in the first photo.

[SMKZ28]

There are several pictures of the the #14 1966 Plymouth Barracuda driven by Charles Rainville and Bruce Jennings.  They finished 7th overall in the event.

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#14 Barracuda on pit lane

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More of #14 Barracuda

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One more of #14 Barracuda

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Here are the photos of the class winning 1966 Dodge Dart of Bob Tullius and Tony Adamowicz.  They finished 2nd overall in the event.

[SMKZ28]

Only two photos were taken of the 1965 Plymouth Barracuda driven by Ray Stoutenberg to a 38th place finish.  Unfortunately he did not finish the race.

[SMKZ28]

Here are the photos featuring the #1 1966 Ford Mustang of Dick Thompson who finished the race in 26th place.

[SMKZ28]

These photos show the #15 Plymouth Barracuda driven by Scott Harvey.  He would finish in 6th place.

3rd photo is from Ebay

[SMKZ28]

The #5 1966 Ford Mustang was driven by Ed Diamond to a 28th place finish, although he was unable to finish the race.

[SMKZ28]

Click on the following link to view all the other photographs taken during the Trans Am race: https://sebringrace.com/page78.html