CRG Discussion Forum
Model Specific Discussions => Trans-Am Camaros => Topic started by: SMKZ28 on December 12, 2012, 10:18:12 PM
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Not sure if anyone has seen the pictures of the 7th Trans Am race of the 1968 season held at Meadowdale International Raceway, Carpentersville, Illinois that appear on the Chicago Sports Car Clubs Memories of Meadowdale International Raceways web site. Attached are some pics of the Penske Camaros I found at the site but you can see more pics of Javelins, the start of the race, and an advertising folder promoting the race at: http://miroldpix2.homestead.com/68transampage.html The pics were taken and provided to the site by Mike Odell.
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I also found some great photos of the Meadowdale Trans Am race at the Meadowdale International Raceway Preservation Association Facebook page. Attached are some of the Camaro pics I found there but other pics of Firebirds, Mustangs, Javelins, Alphas, and Porsches can be seen on their photo page at: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Meadowdale-International-Raceway-Preservation-Association/400782870695?sk=taggednotes#!/pages/Meadowdale-International-Raceway-Preservation-Association/400782870695?sk=photos (when you get to the photos page, scroll down to the photos added in 2010). These photos were posted to their site by Ronald Spannraft.
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Here are a few more pics of Camaros found at the site mentioned in my previous post.
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Here is a picture of the cover of the program for the event. I found this picture at: http://shop.driveabledreams.net/product.sc?productId=38
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Sorry if any of this is a repost. I don't remember seeing any of these pics before. I live in the southwest suburbs of Chicago and whats left of this track is located in the northwest suburbs of Chicago, so I have a particular interest in it. Does anyone have any more pics of this race?
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I like the AMX rumble seat Pacecar.
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I like the AMX rumble seat Pacecar.
Good catch, I had not noticed that until you mentioned it. As a result I went looking for info on the car. I found out that it is a 1968 Jeffords AMX-R and it is the only one ever built. More info on the car can be found in this article: http://www.hemmings.com/mus/stories/2009/11/01/hmn_feature7.html
The article states that, "Jeffords took the AMX-R on the road, mostly to Trans-Am races, and apparently used it as a pace car for a few of those races--at one point, the AMX-R carried the lettering "Official Car" just below the driver's and passenger's windows." By using the word "apparently" it seems that there may have been some doubt that this car was used as a pace car for Trans Am races. This picture just might prove that it did.
The attached pics show what it looks like today and they were found at: http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?5399930-My-photos-from-a-local-car-show-some-neat-stuff-inside-2011-Krasl-Concours&p=73136776
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Scott, thanks for posting the photos. I don't think we had anything from Meadowdale on here yet. My folks moved us to Cary, Illinois just a few months after the Meadowdale Trans-Am. Cary is not very far away at all and we drove by the track on numerous occasions. We attended all the races at Road America and Blackhawk Farms in the '70-'74 timeframe before leaving for California at the end of '74. I had always hoped to see a race at Meadowdale but that never happened. I'm glad they have made a nature preserve out of the property rather than putting in some housing tract or shopping mall.
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I wasn't born until 1976 so I never got to see any races at Meadowdale either but I have ridden my mountain bike along the old ghost track. A lot of the racing surface is still there. They also have car shows where the participants cars are lined up on the old front strraight. I to am happy that they were able to preserve the place.
As for the other two tracks, I've been attending all the races at Road America since 1987 and have been to Blackhawk multiple times for their Fathers Day weekend vintage races. Great places!
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Thanks for posting the AMX-R links and information. I haven't seen anything about that car in years. I'm glad to see it is still around.
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I love that recessed cup holder in the RH quarter panel ;D probably works good at car shows.
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Here's a short write-up on the race from National Speed Sport News. (Jon Mello Collection)
(http://i586.photobucket.com/albums/ss309/1967z28/Oct%202012/Meadowdale1.jpg)
(http://i586.photobucket.com/albums/ss309/1967z28/Oct%202012/Meadowdale2.jpg)
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Here's a short write-up from Sports Car Graphic, courtesy of Robert Byng.
(http://i586.photobucket.com/albums/ss309/1967z28/Oct%202012/Meadowdale3.jpg)
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Great stuff Jon, thanks!
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You're welcome, Scott. Glad you have enjoyed it. Here's the Meadowdale program. (Jon Mello Collection)
(http://i586.photobucket.com/albums/ss309/1967z28/Oct%202012/Meadowdale4.jpg)
(http://i586.photobucket.com/albums/ss309/1967z28/Oct%202012/Meadowdale5.jpg)
(http://i586.photobucket.com/albums/ss309/1967z28/Oct%202012/Meadowdale6.jpg)
(http://i586.photobucket.com/albums/ss309/1967z28/Oct%202012/Meadowdale7.jpg)
(http://i586.photobucket.com/albums/ss309/1967z28/Oct%202012/Meadowdale8.jpg)
(http://i586.photobucket.com/albums/ss309/1967z28/Oct%202012/Meadowdale9.jpg)
(http://i586.photobucket.com/albums/ss309/1967z28/Oct%202012/Meadowdale10.jpg)
(http://i586.photobucket.com/albums/ss309/1967z28/Oct%202012/Meadowdale11.jpg)
(http://i586.photobucket.com/albums/ss309/1967z28/Oct%202012/Meadowdale12.jpg)
(http://i586.photobucket.com/albums/ss309/1967z28/Oct%202012/Meadowdale14.jpg)
(http://i586.photobucket.com/albums/ss309/1967z28/Oct%202012/Meadowdale15.jpg)
(http://i586.photobucket.com/albums/ss309/1967z28/Oct%202012/Meadowdale16.jpg)
(http://i586.photobucket.com/albums/ss309/1967z28/Oct%202012/Meadowdale17.jpg)
(http://i586.photobucket.com/albums/ss309/1967z28/Oct%202012/Meadowdale18.jpg)
(http://i586.photobucket.com/albums/ss309/1967z28/Oct%202012/Meadowdale19.jpg)
(http://i586.photobucket.com/albums/ss309/1967z28/Oct%202012/Meadowdale20.jpg)
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Here are two pics I posted in the Trans Am Pace Car thread but they should also be here. The first is a picture of a 1968 AMX that is decaled as the pace car for the Meadowdale Trans Am race but I am still trying to figure out if this was the pace car or if it was the AMX-R with the rumble seat mentioned and shown in a photo earlier in this thread. The second item is an article about how AMC used the Pace Car and 100 replica Javeilns to promote their products at the racetrack and during the days leading up to the race. I found both pics on the internet at: http://www.planethoustonamx.com/stuff/badger-javelin.htm Interesting to note that the car is an AMX but it says JAVELIN in big letters on the side! Presumably to support the race cars. The strange thing is that the article states that the AM dealers in the Chicagoland area were "successful in getting a commitment from the Meadowdale Raceways officials to have a white Javelin (with black rally stripes and decals) selected as the "Official Pace Car" for the race." Did the writer mean to write white "AMX" or was there an actual Javelin pace car. Does anyone have any information or pictures of the pace lap??
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I just tried to go back to the Meadowdale International Raceway Preservation Association Facebook page to look at the pics I mentioned when I created this thread a few days ago but now the photos uploaded in 2010 are inaccessible for some reason. You can still get to them by using the right arrow after you click the last photo in the 2011 section but that takes forever, so I decided to post them here. Ronald Spannraft posted all of the color photos and Rich Hayhurst posted the 4 black and white photos.
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More from Ronald Spannraft
In the 2nd photo, you can see the 1968 Jeffords AMX-R that I mentioned earlier in this thread. It is parked behind the guardrail, directly above the roof of the Firebird.
The third photo shows some of the spectators that wore their red, white and blue AMC racing jackets just like the article, "Titanic Tie-In," mentioned.
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More from Ronald Spannraft
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one more from Ronald Spannraft
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This from Rich Hayhurst
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This from Rich Hayhurst
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This from Rich Hayhurst
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This from Rich Hayhurst
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Here is a picture of the ticket for the 1968 Meadowdale Trans Am. It came from a web site promoting the new book about the racetrack entitled, "The Midwest Motorsport Legend - Meadowdale Raceways." See it here: http://www.aleopublications.com/html/mdwdale_raceways.html
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Thanks for the additions, Scott. Here's coverage of the event as found in Competition Press & Autoweek. (Jon Mello Collection)
(http://i586.photobucket.com/albums/ss309/1967z28/Oct%202012/Meadowdale21.jpg)
(http://i586.photobucket.com/albums/ss309/1967z28/Oct%202012/Meadowdale22.jpg)
(http://i586.photobucket.com/albums/ss309/1967z28/Oct%202012/Meadowdale23.jpg)
(http://i586.photobucket.com/albums/ss309/1967z28/Oct%202012/Meadowdale24.jpg)
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is that fisher in the gagnon spring firebird in smkz28's post # 17 ? I believe this was the first race for fisher with this car ?
mike
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Mike, yes to both of your questions. Here's a shot of the pace lap from Meadowdale taken by Pete Luongo.
Unfortunately the pace car isn't in the photo.
(http://i586.photobucket.com/albums/ss309/1967z28/Oct%202012/Meadowdale25.jpg)
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Mike, yes to both of your questions. Here's a shot of the pace lap from Meadowdale taken by Pete Luongo.
Unfortunately the pace car isn't in the photo.
(http://i586.photobucket.com/albums/ss309/1967z28/Oct%202012/Meadowdale25.jpg)
Jon, thanks for the great additions. It seems that most of the pics taken of Trans Am pace laps, no matter what track, seem to only focus on the race cars. It seems that the only pace cars that are well documented with lots of photos are the Indy 500 pace cars. That's why I get excited when a picture of any pace car from that time period surfaces. The article stated that 25,000 people were at the race despite a rain storm early in the day. I wonder how many of these people have pics or slides of the race just waiting to be discovered. This notion applies to all the Trans Am races between 1966-1972!
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I agree that there were probably many people who took pictures while they were at this race. It might be worth checking out estate sales since you are not all that far from where Meadowdale is and you might also put want ads on craigslist, in newspapers, or elsewhere, stating that you are looking for racing photos from the Trans-Am classic era of the late sixties and early seventies.
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Here's a link to a video simulation of the Meadowdale track that gives you a feel for how it was to drive it.
The banked Monza turn near the end was leveled flat by the time the Trans-Am race came in 1968 however.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtOXSTvh0XY
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That was fun!!
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Ralph Webb at the Meadowdale Trans Am in the A. O. Fick Tool and Die Works Camaro.
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I found this cool ad for the upcoming Trans Am event at Meadowdale in the program for the 1968 June Sprints at Road America that is currently for sale on Ebay: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-1968-ROAD-AMERICA-YEARBOOK-June-Sprints-PROGRAM-Elkhart-Lake-WI-SCCA/162692340613?hash=item25e1381b85:g:FWEAAOSwqRRZz7Ki or another one here: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Road-America-1968-program-June-Sprints-15-16-and-entry-list/112728730282?hash=item1a3f27eaaa:g:tLoAAOSwz~pZ-7fI
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Check out this cool promotional newspaper mailing which is promoting the upcoming Trans Am race at Meadowdale International Raceway in Carpentersville, Illinois. Pictures of four of the 8 pages appeared in the Ebay ad when it was for sale back in June 2017. I found it here: https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/meadowdale-raceway-1968-trans-am-1872439164
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Here are the other two images.
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Great stuff, Scott. Thank you. Your efforts are appreciated.
Filmed footage from the Meadowdale race can be seen at this link...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltof03Knlm0
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Check out this short but cool film of the 1968 Meadowdale Trans Am. It seems that it was a part of an AMC producecd film. I had not seen this before.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WwtBdjzqpM