Racing Camaros Book

[Steve Holmes]

Hi everyone, I spent much of last year writing a book called Racing Camaros - An International Photographic History 1966 - 1984.

The book is approx 175 pages, and covers the advent of the Camaro and its involvement in motor racing. Much of the book spans the years 1966 through 1970, when Chevrolet played an active role in the racing programs. Although Camaros from around the world feature, the book focuses on the SCCA Trans-Am series.

It features approx 300 photos, many of which have never been published before. Although its called a Photographic History, there are over 30,000 words, plus detailed captions. I've also included some really nice pages from the Camaro homologation sheets.

Jon Mello was a huge help with the book, supplying a great amount of information and I'm forever grateful to him.

The book was published by Veloce Publishing who now have copies available. Stock is being sent to the US where you'll be able to order it from Amazon.com etc, but if you want a copy sooner, order direct from the publisher.

I'll post page and photo samples over the coming days and weeks, but Veloce Publishing have some page samples on their order page: https://www.veloce.co.uk/store/Racing-Camaros-p187276085

[369]

I’ll be placing my order in a few minutes......looking foreword to checking it out!

[MO]

Awesome....look forward to reading your new book!!

[msbrunner@ucdavis.edu]

Just ordered - looking forward to it!

[MO]

Placed my order today as well. Forgot about your last book "Racing Mustangs"; they still had it in my que when I signed in (forgot and never pulled the trigger), so I ordered that too!

[RichSS2006]

Ordered one today. Can't wait to see it. Thanks

[Jon Mello]

Steve, thanks for the kind words.  I was glad to play a small part and leave the bulk of it to you and the other contributors.  That's a lot of work but I look forward to reading and enjoying the fruits of your labor!

[369]

Got my book in the mail today!!!

Tons of pictures ....(most of which I’ve never seen before) and an outstanding write up so far...

Excellent job Steve!!  This will seriously go down as a “must have” publication for most of us.

[Steve Holmes]

Hi everyone, thanks for the kind words. Sorry its taken me so long to post here. Things have been hectic lately and I've just written another two books since completing Racing Camaros.

Anyway, I wanted to share some of the beautiful images from my Racing Camaros book. I've been very fortunate to be able to access some amazing collections and I'm hugely grateful for that.

We have to kick things off with this one, for obvious reasons!

[Steve Holmes]

Smokey Yunick's beautiful black and gold 1967 Camaro, making its only Trans-Am appearance under Yunick's ownership at Sebring in 1968. Al Unser and Lloyd Ruby drove, and equaled the qualifying time of the fastest Penske Camaro which was also fastest of the Trans-Am cars. Unfortuntely, Smokey's motor blew on lap 43.

[Steve Holmes]

One of my favorite images. This is Helmut Marko, these days head of Red Bulls youth driver program, kicking up the dust at Aspern, Austria, in early 1969. This is the very first Penske Racing Camaro. It recently returned to the US, now owned by Pat Ryan.

[Steve Holmes]

Jerry Thompson's Owens Corning Camaro in the pits at the 1970 Circuit Mont-Tremblant Trans-Am. The Owens Corning team of Tony DeLorenzo and Thompson had come from A/Production sports car racing, running big block Corvettes, and decided to build two brand new Camaros for the 1970 Trans-Am. They were the only team outside the factory Chaparral squad to run the new second-gen car in 1970. The cars looked great, but their development and competitiveness suffered from early delays and they never caught up.

 

[Steve Holmes]

Dramatic shot from the 1969 Bryar Trans-Am. Mark Donohue and Ed Leslie chase Parnelli Jones in the leading Bud Moore Mustang. The trio were about this far apart for the first 19 laps before Donohue found a way by. Leslie tried to follow, but he and Jones clashed, and the Mustang went off course. Leslie carried on to finish second, making for a Penske 1-2. This was Leslie's first race with the team, filling in for Ron Bucknum who'd broken his wrist in a road accident.

[Steve Holmes]

Beautiful color image moments before the pace lap for the 1968 Bridgehampton Trans-Am. This was the first race for Sam Posey in the second Penske Racing Camaro. He was apparently paying Roger Penske $4000 per race to drive that car, with the agreement he'd purchase it at the end of the season for $12,000. Peter Revson shares the front row with Donohue in the factory Javelin, with George Follmer on row 2. The Javelins got faster as the 1968 season went on, pushing the factory Mustangs back to row 3.

[Steve Holmes]

Pictured in the Kent pits during the final round of the 1967 Trans-Am. This is the second Penske Racing Camaro built in 1967, often referred to the 'lightweight' car. It made four appearances in 1967, and won two of them. Mark Donohue and Craig Fisher then drove it to third overall in the 1968 Sebring 12 Hours.