Today, vintage racing is more popular than ever before and with packed fields of historic cars from virtually all eras competing at top events and venues worldwide, it’s easy to see why. Of all, the Historic Trans-Am Group delivers what arguably has to be considered one of today’s very best historic racing series, with all the excitement of the original 1966-1972 “glory years.” Featuring real cars with real racing histories that were driven in period by some of the top names including Mark Donohue, George Follmer, Parnelli Jones, Sam Posey, Jerry Titus, and many more, the 2016 Historic Trans-Am series now celebrates the 50th Anniversary of the inaugural season of the SCCA’s original Trans-American Sedan Championship.
Courtesy Patrick Ernzen
During the first season, the under 2.0-liter cars, including Porsche 911s and Alfa Romeo GTAs, captured the majority of spectator attention while the larger under 5.0-liter cars struggled to be reliable and competitive. By the second season in 1967, however, American ‘ponycars’ including Mustangs, Camaros, and even Mercury Cougars took center stage and raced with increasing levels of factory support – both overt and covert. While the professional factory-backed racing teams run by Roger Penske, Bud Moore, and Holman-Moody dominated Trans-Am until the end of 1972, when America’s major manufacturers withdrew from high-profile racing involvement, skilled and committed privateers could still mount a serious challenge, finish well, and sometimes win in Trans-Am. Among them was Warren Tope, the popular and hard-charging SCCA A/Sedan and Trans-Am competitor from Troy, Michigan, who originally campaigned the ’69 Boss 302 Mustang now owned and raced in Historic Trans-Am Group events by Drew Alcazar, co-founder of Scottsdale, Arizona’s Russo and Steele Collector Automobile Auctions.
