1972 Trans-Am season review

[Jon Mello]

A Competition Press & Autoweek preview of the coming 1972 Trans-Am season, courtesy of Robert Barg.
While '72 was a lean year with only one factory-backed racing team (AMC), the good news for first-gen
Camaro lovers is there were still a lot of these cars competing in Trans-Am at this time. This is the last
year for the 305 cubic inch limit and the classic Trans-Am as we knew it.

[Jon Mello]

Lime Rock was the first race of the 1972 Trans-Am season. CP&A coverage provided by Robert Barg.






















__________________________________________________________________________________________


Lime Rock Trans-Am coverage as found in the May 10, 1972 issue of National Speed Sport News, courtesy of Chad Raynal (OCTARD).

[Jon Mello]

Bryar was the second race of the 1972 Trans-Am season. This was the debut of Milt Minter in a Herb Adams
Firebird and he did well, finishing second to Follmer's Javelin. Coverage below is courtesy of Robert Barg.















                                               

[Jon Mello]

Mid-Ohio Trans-Am coverage as found in SCCA's Sports Car magazine. (Jon Mello Collection)

[Jon Mello]

Mid-Ohio was the third race of the 1972 Trans-Am season. The Competition Press & Autoweek issue below is
provided courtesy of Mike Matune.  Also posted below are some pages from my 1972 Mid-Ohio Trans-Am program
as well as some other items which come courtesy of Robert Barg.  Milt Minter won this race in his Firebird following
up his strong initial showing at Bryar, which was just one week earlier.




























[The items below are from Robert Barg]

[Jon Mello]

Watkins Glen was the fourth race in the 1972 Trans-Am season.  This was a return
to the winner's circle for Follmer's RWR Javelin. Coverage below courtesy of Robert Barg.
































Program pages below from the Jon Mello Collection

[oldtransamdriver]

After a decent 12th place finish at Bryar, it all started to go downhill.  At Mid-Ohio the throttle linkage broke and I was lucky to get back to the pits to have it repaired and was able to finish way down.  I should have been scrapping it out for 12th or thereabouts.

Watkins Glen - I remember about 10 minutes before the start of the race thinking "what am I doing here"?  It's about 100 degrees F, humid as hell, and the car is old and tired.  It must have been an omen as to what was going to happen - near the end of the race I pulled off the track with "engine problems" - a sad ending for an old warrior that had served us well.

That was the end of the line for our "low-budget" gang.  Al, the owner, was going to start a business.  We could all see the writing on the wall for the series - new rules etc. coming in for 73.

Years later I met a Corvette racer who said to me - "you lucky S.O.B - you got to run with the Big Dogs!".  I couldn't have said it any better.

Robert  Barg

[Jon Mello]

I think there's a bunch of us who wish we were able to do the same thing, Robert (aka Lucky Dog).   

We appreciate you being here and sharing your memories with us.

[Jon Mello]

Donnybrooke was the fifth race of the 1972 Trans-Am season. I do not currently have a Competition Press & Autoweek
issue which covers this event but will add that in when I come across it. In the meantime, I have included a track map and
official SCCA results from the race.

[Jon Mello]

Road America was the sixth race of the 1972 Trans-Am season. I do not currently have a Competition Press & Autoweek
issue which covers that event but will add that in when I come across it.  In the meantime, I have included info from my 1972
Road America Trans-Am program as well as the results sheets which come courtesy of Robert Barg.  Warren Tope won this
race after George Follmer blew the engine in his RWR Javelin.

[Jon Mello]

Sanair was the seventh and final race of the 1972 Trans-Am season. The season ended far earlier than previous seasons
with Seattle, Riverside, Summit Point and Edmonton all canceling their race dates. The championship had been sewn up at
by George Follmer at Donnybrooke. A sad way to end things up after some pretty good years. Coverage below is courtesy
of Robert Barg.

[OCTARD]

And the last page of the above '72 Lime Rock Trans-Am Event from the May 10, 1972, National Speed Sport News.

[Jon Mello]

ARRC Coverage from SCCA's Sports Car magazine. The American Road Race of Champions race at the end of
the 1972 race season crowned Warren Agor and his Camaro as the National Champion in A-Sedan that year.
(Jon Mello Collection)

[S A Dunbar]

ARRC Coverage from SCCA's Sports Car magazine. The American Road Race of Champions race at the end of
the 1972 race season crowned Warren Tope and his Camaro as the National Champion in A-Sedan that year.
(Jon Mello Collection)

The "Carl Shafer" Camaro referenced in this article is the 1969 Camaro my father purchased from Carl and raced from 1974 thru 1984, winning the GT1 National Championship in 1980.  The car was built by John and Burt Greenwood and was driven to the 1969 A Sedan National Championship by Bill Petree (owned by Greenwood).  It then went to Marshall Robbins, then Shafer, then my father...

[SMKZ28]

I found some cool color photos taken by Stu Brennan at the Schaefer Trans Am events held at Lime Rock Park, Lime Rock, Connecticut on May 6, 1972.  He took 13 pictures of the regular Trans Am race as well as several more of the 2.5 challenge.  I will post the pictures of the over 2.5 race.  To see the pictures of the 2.5 challenge click here: http://www.pbase.com/sb_photos/lrtransam72

I apologize if these photos have already been posted in another thread.  I seem to remember seeing them somewhere before but I couldn't locate them in the short time I had to look.  If they have, I think they should be in the this thread as well.