Watkins Glen: 1969 Camaro RS/SS Conv Official Car used at 1968 US Grand Prix F1

[SMKZ28]

I recently came across an image of a light colored, presumably white, 1969 Camaro RS/SS convertible that was used in an official capacity during the 11th running of The Grand Prix of the United States held at Watkins Glen International Raceway in Watkins Glen, New York on Sunday, October 6, 1968.  This was the penultimate round of the FIA Formula One World Championship.  Mario Andretti made his Formula One debut by starting on pole but second place starter Jackie Stewart was victorious after leading all 108 laps in his Matra MS10 2/Ford Cosworth.

I had been looking for an image of this particular car for several years after seeing an Ebay auction for a program for this event that also included "Two Program Inserts (Kendall Specialty Products & Race Officials With Chevy Camaro Pace Car On The Obverse Side)."  Now thanks to Pascal Michels at the Pace Car Facebook site an image of the car has been found.

This October 6, 1968 image is interesting because the people who attended this event were some of the first people to see the newly restyled Camaro for 1969 in person since it had only been on sale for a couple of weeks.  It is also interesting because it is not only a Super Sport but it is also a Rally Sport.  This fact demonstrates that it is not the same car that was used officially by the track at the Grand Prix of the United States a year later in October of 1969.  That Super Sport Camaro convertible, which still exists and is currently for sale, was not a Rally Sport.  A thread on this Camaro will be posted at a future date.

More importantly, neither of these Super Sport 1969 Camaro convertibles should be referred to as Formula One Pace Cars because the FIA Formula One World Championship did not use pace cars until 1973.  Their races began with a standing start with a flagman on the side of the track waiving a green flag as he jumped in the air.  Also, in the late 1960's caution periods did not exist in Formula One.  If there was an accident the racing either kept going on during the cleanup or the race was red flagged if necessary.  Thus there was no reason for a pace car to control the speed of the field in a Formula One race. 

This is not to say that these Camaros were not used by the track in some official capacity.  That is why I refer to them as Official Cars, not Pace Cars.  The recently found photo shows the 1969 Camaro RS/SS convertible at the head of parade of drivers.  This parade introduced the race car drivers to the crowds of people spread around the entire 2.3 mile circuit prior to the event.  I'm not sure who the others are in the Camaro but I do know that the woman in the back is Miss U.S. Grand Prix.  According to the newspaper clipping from the event program auction, her name is Ricky Greene.  She can also be seen in many post race photographs.  The others are probably high ranking Watkins Glen International Raceway employees or owners.  Perhaps they are some of the people mentioned in the 1968 Race Officials insert.

As for the car itself, it looks to have a dark colored interior, a front spoiler, and possibly the front endura bumper option.  The chrome rear bumper appears to be brighter than the front bumper.  I can't tell if the engine is a 350 or 396.  (UPDATE: Another photo has surfaced indicating that the car was powered by a 396.)  The wording on the side of the car says: "THE GRAND PRIX OF THE UNITED STATES WATKINS GLEN N.Y. OCT 6"

Original location of 1969 Camaro RS/SS convertible and post race winners circle images: https://www.motorsportimages.com/photos/?race_type_id=0&search=1968+watkins+glen&p=18
Front side of "Race Officials" insert: https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/1968-grand-prix-formula-one-watkins-1934506563

[SMKZ28]

Several cool photos of the driver parade can also be found at Motorsport Images web site: https://www.motorsportimages.com/photos/?race_type_id=0&search=1968+watkins+glen&p=18  All of the cars used to chauffeur the drivers around the track during the parade are Corvettes, probably owned by members of a local Corvette club.

1) Ex Driver Stirling Moss
2) Denny Hulme
3) Bruce McLaren
4) Jochen Rindt

[SMKZ28]

1) John Surtees
2) Chris Amon
3) Derek Bell
4) Pedro Rodriguez

[SMKZ28]

1) Graham Hill
2) Mario Andretti
3) Dan Gurney
4) Jackie Stewart

[SMKZ28]

1) Jo Bonnier
2) Vic Elford
3) Lucien Bianchi
4) Jean-Pierre Beltoise

[SMKZ28]

1) Pierre Courage
2) Jochen Rindt
3) Jackie Stewart standing in front of line of Corvettes prior to driver parade

[SMKZ28]

1) The standing start of the Grand Prix - note flag starter in the air waiving the green flag on the right side of the photo (underneath the website logo)
2) Event Program with photo of the reverse side of insert showing "Camaro Official Car" (worthpoint.com)

After further investigation it appears that the back of the insert says the following:
"OFFICIAL CAR
1968 Grand Prix of the United States at Watkins Glen
CAMARO by Chevrolet
Courtesy Cars for Grand Prix Drivers Provided By
Chevrolet Motor Division"

[SMKZ28]

Its hard to see but some pictures also show a Camaro billboard advertisement above the last pit stall in pit lane. 

It says, "Camaro Z/28  Very even tempered. Mean all the time." 

1) Revs Institute
2) Motorsport Images

[maroman]

Thanks for posting that, it made the brain cells spin. I was there both years and don't remember much except hearing Pedro abusing the transmission in his car the whole race in '69.

[SMKZ28]

Here is another image of the 1969 Camaro RS/SS convertible used at the track during the 11th running of The Grand Prix of the United States held at Watkins Glen International Raceway in Watkins Glen, New York on Sunday, October 6, 1968.  Notice the rear spoiler seems to be the smaller, "left over '68" variety seen on early builds.  Also notice that the front bumper does seem to match the color of the car as opposed to the chrome rear bumper indicating that it had the front endura bumper option.  The caption under the photo mentions that the car is powered by a 396.

I'm not sure what publication this was taken from but the picture was posted to the Pace Car Facebook site.

[SMKZ28]

Here is a clearer shot of the back of the Race Officials Insert that came with the 1968 US Grand Prix program.

ebay

[SMKZ28]

Here are some interesting images from the 1968 US Grand Prix F1 race held at Watkins Glen. 

The first image is a zoomed in version of the upper left side of the second and it shows the lineup of Corvettes that would chauffeur the drivers around the track prior to the start of the race.  If you look closely at the front of the line you can see a part of the white 1969 Camaro RS/SS 396 convertible parked just behind what looks to be a 1969 full size Chevrolet convertible at the head of the line. 

The third image is a zoomed in version of the fourth and it shows a billboard at the track during the event that says, "Camaro SS What the younger generation's coming to."  It's cool to see that they were not only advertising the Z28 but the SS Camaro as well.

All the images came from here: https://library.revsinstitute.org/

[SMKZ28]

This 1969 Camaro Z28 advertisement appeared inside the souvenir program for the event.

worthpoint