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1970 AMC Javelin
Penske Team Car
Chassis No. RP70-1
Driven by Mark Donohue
Finished 2nd in the 1970 Trans-AM Championship with three wins
One of the biggest surprises for the 1970 Trans-Am season was the announcement that Penske Racing was switching from their championship winning Camaros to the so far unsuccessful AMC Javelin for drivers Mark Donohue and Peter Revson. The cars were built from scratch in Penske’s shop in Newton Square PA. And in typical Penske fashion included a few “unfair advantages” such as the use of Porsche 917 disc brakes (with AMC part numbers!). This particular car was first raced in the 1970 Daytona 24 hour as a shake down for the Trans-Am season to come. Driven by both Donohue and Revson, they led the Trans-Am class by 23 laps until the engine failed on lap 205.
In the1970 Trans-Am season Donohue drove to three 2nd and 3rd place finishes, and won three times including Bridghampton, Road America and St Jovite. The team had to settle for second place in the 1970 Championship. The team built new cars for the 1971 season and won the championship
The Trans-Am Series
The Trans-Am Series was created in 1966 by the Sports Car Club of America
(SCCA) as the Trans-American Sedan Championship. Originally derived from the
SCCA's A Sedan (A/S) class. The series was known for competition of muscle
cars like the Ford Mustang, Chevy Camaro, Plymouth Barracuda, AMC Javelin
and Dodge Challenger.
At first, the Trans-Am vehicles were primarily modified versions of the road-going car. The competition was divided into two classes- an "Under 2 Liter" class (predominantly small European sedans) and the "Over 2 Liter" class (displacement limited to 5.0 liters, or 305 cu. in. ). The first race was in 1966 at Sebring Raceway. The overall win went to Jochen Rindt driving an Alfa-Romeo (an Under 2 Liter entry), with Bob Tullius (driving a Dodge Dart) taking second overall, but first in the Over 2 Liter class.
The early years were largely dominated by Mark Donohue, driving for Roger Penske. Penske campaigned Chevy Camaros through 1969, when he signed with American Motors to race the Javelin in 1970 and 1971. The 1970 Trans Am series is regarded by most racing historians as the high water mark of American road racing. Every "pony car" manufacturer was represented with a factory team and top driving talent: Chevrolet had the Chaparral Chevy Camaro Z28 team with Jim Hall, Ed Leslie, and Vic Elford. Ford's Bud Moore Boss 302 Mustangs were driven by Parnelli Jones and George Follmer. For Plymouth, the All American Racing Cudas were handled by Dan Gurney and Swede Savage. Sam Posey drove Ray Caldwell's Autodynamics Challenger TA, Jerry Titus had the Pontiac TransAm, and Roger Penske's Sunoco AMC Javelin team starred Mark Donohue and Peter Revson.
Mark Donohue
Mark Donohue was unique in the racing community. The son of a lawyer in Summit,
New Jersey, Donohue was a graduate engineer from Brown University. To him,
the challenges of auto racing boiled down to problems that could be solved
by scientific analysis.
Donohue obviously was able to put his conclusions into practice, as he chalked up an outstanding record of achievements in his racing career. His 29 career Trans-AM victories and 10 wins in a single season (1968) have never been equaled.