Trans Am racing pace car pics...are there any?

[oldtransamdriver]

I remember this race - started 21st along side Carl Shafer. 
By this time, the old 67 camaro was tired and the throttle linkage
broke in the middle of the race.  I managed to get back to the
pits and the crew fixed it, but I probably lost 4 or 5 laps - did
manage to finish 17th.  I think 36 cars started the race.

Even though the factories were gone, 17,000 fans still showed up for this race.

Sadly, there was only one more race for us at Watkins Glen where the engine died
during the race.  It was a sad ending for a tough old car and it was later sold to a
local stock car racer.

Robert

[SMKZ28]

I found three pictures at the Revs Digital Library that show that a 1970 Ford Thunderbird was used as the pace car for the Trans Am race held at Sears Point International Raceway in Sonoma, California on September 21, 1969.  In the first picture, just above Bucknum's Camaro, you can see the door is open to the Thunderbird and when you use the zoom-in feature at the web site you can clearly see that it says "pace car" written on it.  Next to the Thunderbird is a 1969 Mustang Mach 1 with something also on the door.  With its proximity to the pace car, I'm not sure if this was a back up pace car or just some other car used by the track in some type of official capacity.  You can also see the rear of the Mach 1 in the third picture when you zoom in. 

This same track used a 1969 Shelby GT500 to pace the Wiebel 150 NASCAR Pacific Coast Late Model event on June 8, 1969 as evidenced by the picture from the 1969 Trans Am race program posted by Jon Mello in post #20 on page two of this thread, so maybe the Mach 1 was used to pace some other event at the track.  I also have a couple pictures showing that a 1969 Boss 302 Mustang was used to pace the F5000 event held at the track in 1969.  I mention these Mustangs because of "69MACH1AQUA's" recent post about a 1969 Mach 1 Mustang pace car at Riverside International Raceway.  He also PM'd me over at the Camaro Pace Car web site asking me about the car.  Perhaps the MACH 1 he was talking about was used at Sears Point and not at Riverside.  Both of these tracks were/are in California and maybe a previous owner got them mixed up when he said that the car was used as a pace car??  Just a thought.

Picture 1: http://library.revsinstitute.org/digital/collection/p17257coll1/id/151897/rec/50

Picture 2: http://library.revsinstitute.org/digital/collection/p17257coll1/id/163259/rec/22

Picture 3: http://library.revsinstitute.org/digital/collection/p17257coll1/id/134915/rec/17

[SMKZ28]

Here are a few more cool pictures of the 1968 Camaro RS/SS 396 convertible used to pace the 24 Hours of Daytona on February 3/4, 1968.  This is the car that was driven by actor/motorsport enthusiast James Garner.  He clearly can be seen in the fourth picture going off the track!  I found them at the Revs Digital Library and if you click on the links you can use the zoom-in tools to get extreme close ups if you wish.  Additional pictures of the car can be seen in reply #77 on page six as well as replies #204, 206 & 207 on page fourteen of this thread.

Picture 1: http://library.revsinstitute.org/digital/collection/p17257coll1/id/45913/rec/183
Picture 2: http://library.revsinstitute.org/digital/collection/p17257coll1/id/44484/rec/220
Picture 3: http://library.revsinstitute.org/digital/collection/p17257coll1/id/10881/rec/582
Picture 4: http://library.revsinstitute.org/digital/collection/p17257coll1/id/142314/rec/891

[SMKZ28]

While not a Trans Am race, here is a picture of Stirling Moss in the drivers seat of the one of one 1968 Camaro Z28 convertible that was used to pace the 1968 SCCA Can-Am event held at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin on September 1, 1968.  I found this picture in the program for the 1969 Road America June Sprints which is currently for sale on Ebay.  You can see an additional picture of Stirling and the car in reply #26 on page two of this thread.  Jon Mello provided the color picture of the car that shows Denny Hulme in the backseat on his victory lap around the track.  I believe he mentioned he found it on Ebay.  The car still exists and the owner has recently applied the Road America Can Am pace car decals to it while displaying/showing it at automotive events.  The third picture shows the car on display at the Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin Concours held in conjunction with the WeatherTech International Challenge with Brian Redman presented by HAWK vintage event at Road America on Saturday, July 22, 2017.  The fourth pictures shows it on display at the Muscle Car and Corvette Nationals held in Rosemont, Illinois on Saturday, November 18, 2017.  I took the 3rd and 4th pictures.

[SMKZ28]

Here is the placard displayed with the car for some background info.  I didn't realize when I took the picture that the Mecum family owns the car.  If anyone knows Dana personally let him know that there is another picture of his car in the 1969 Road America June Sprints program.  He might want to purchase one.

[MO]

Surprised the font isn't closer to the original.

[SMKZ28]

Just found color film footage confirming my suspicion that a 1968 Camaro RS/SS convertible was used to pace Les Trois Heures du Circuit Trans Am event held at Le Cirquit Mont-Tremblant, St. Jovite, Quebec, Canada on July 21, 1968.  See the pace lap here in this Youtube footage:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AscdtPH8EsI

The fourth photo shows the Camaro on pit lane after a sports car event that took place on the same day.  It came from http://autocourse.ca/index.php?file=photos.html

[SMKZ28]

The same contributor also posted film footage of Les Trois Heures du Cirquit Trans Am event held at Le Cirquit Mont-Tremblant, St. Jovite, Quebec, Canada on August 3, 1969.  In it you can see the 1969 Camaro RS/SS Convertible Indy Pace Car edition used as the pace car.  See the Youtube footage here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMU2G-1no-Y   It is mislabeled "1968" but it is clearly 1969.  You can see other pictures of this pace car in Reply #84 on page 6 of this thread as well as Reply #150 on page 11.

[SMKZ28]

Here are a couple pictures I found on a Youtube video entitled, "BRIDGEHAMPTON IMAGES racing in the 60s & 70s" posted by "tfman54"  In the video they are labeled 1969 but they are clearly 1970.  See the pictures here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rC7KeO7BM7A 

The first picture shows the red 1967 or 1968 Toyota 2000GT that was used as the pace car for the 1970 Marlboro 200 Trans Am race at Bridgehampton Race Circuit, Bridgehampton, New York on June 21, 1970.  Another picture of this car at this race can be seen in Reply #153 on page 11 of this thread.

The second picture shows a 1970 Camaro Z28 RS with a vinyl top parked on the race track during pre-race festivities.  Although I can't make out what it says, there is something written on the door of the car as well as the front fender.  This coupled with the fact that it is on the track leads me to believe it was involved in some type of official capacity.   

[Jon Mello]

Thanks for your efforts to document these cars, Scott.

[SMKZ28]

Here is a cool picture of a 1968 AMC Javelin decked out in "Pace Car" stickers for the Trans Am race held at Meadowdale International Raceway in Carpentersville, Illinois on July 7, 1968.
It came from the first page of a promotional newspaper mailing that talked about the upcoming Trans Am race.  Previously posted pictures show the 1968 Jeffords AMX-R at the head of the field on the grid, not a Javelin.  See my replies #32 through #36 on page three of this thread and #49 on page four to see other pictures and info on the pace car for this event.  I found the picture here: https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/meadowdale-raceway-1968-trans-am-1872439164

[SMKZ28]

A yellow Maserati Ghibli Spyder was used as the pace car for the Bryar 200 Trans Am event held at Bryar Motorsport Park in Laconia, New Hampshire on May 31, 1971.  This is a rare car.  Maserati only produced approximately 125 Spyders models between 1969 and 1973. 

1st picture: Ebay
2nd picture: cropped version
3rd picture: Current picture of a yellow Ghibli Spyder with the same wheels.  With only 125 produced, perhaps it's the same car???  The pace car does seem to have a mirror on the drivers side front fender that the car in the current picture does not have. (Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maserati_Ghibli)

[SMKZ28]

After the heads up given to us by Jon Mello about the new Petersen Publishing Archive digitization project I have been able to find several more pictures of the pace cars that were used in the Trans Am races.  Stay tuned for more.  Thank you Jon!

Here are four pictures showing the 1968 or 1969 AMC AMX that was used to pace the Mission Bell 250 at Riverside International Raceway, Riverside, California on September 8, 1968.  Additional pictures of the car can be seen in reply #69 on page five of this thread, reply #132 on page nine and reply #234 on page 216.

Notice in the last two photos all the AMC Javelins and AMX's going around the track in a parade prior to the start of the race.

I found them at the Peterson Auto Museum SEMA digitization project web site here: https://archive.petersen.org/pages/home.php

[SMKZ28]

Here are three more pictures of the 1968 or 1969 AMC AMX that paced the Mission Bell 250 at Riverside International Raceway, Riverside, California on September 8, 1968.  They also came from the Peterson Auto Museum SEMA Digitization Project web site: https://archive.petersen.org/pages/home.php

[SMKZ28]

At the Peterson Auto Museum SEMA digitization project web site I was also able to find 3 pictures showing the white 1969 Camaro RS/SS convertible that was used to pace the Mission Bell 250 Trans Am race held at Riverside International Raceway in Riverside, California on October 5, 1969. 

https://archive.petersen.org/pages/home.php