Topics

1

Trans-Am Camaros / Ford Flat Out.....A Camaro helps Ford make a movie !!!!

« on: September 30, 2019, 11:41:22 PM »

Almost 50 years ago late in the summer of 1969, I received a call from the Ford Motor Company asking me if we would be interested in helping them out with the filming of a movie. Their movie was called Ford Flat Out and they needed footage from the last race of the season taking place in Riverside California. At first, I thought it must be some kind of a joke, but after they assured me that everything was on the up and up so I told them to show me the money.
   Anyway, they did come through with the cash so we were off to California..... But first, a stop at Ford Carcraft in Detroit to have cameras and sound gear installed then after a long haul to Riverside qualified well and ran a strong race but 5-minute stops for film change prevented us from having a good finish.

Sadly the race didn't go well for Ford as Mark Donahue ended up winning the race and the championship, but they did get some good footage for their movie.
Here is a link to some photos of our adventure...
 https://satman.typepad.com/photos/the_transam_series/oie_jpg-6.html

2

Trans-Am Camaros / Parnelli Jones interview !!

« on: January 19, 2017, 08:20:58 PM »

Here is a link to a recent Podcast interview with Trans-Am legend Parnelli Jones and Adam Carolla.

http://www.podcastone.com/pg/jsp/program/episode.jsp?programID=317&pid=100605598

AL Richards

3

Trans-Am Camaros / Podcast interview with 1970 Trans Am Series champion Parnelli Jones

« on: October 29, 2015, 12:40:37 AM »

    Here is a link to a recent podcast interview  with 1970 Trans Am Series champion Parnelli Jones that you might find interesting .... I my opinion Parnelli was one of the most exciting drivers to ever strap into a race car. http://carcastblog.adamcarolla.com/category/carcast/

AL

4

Trans-Am Camaros / Pit lane tragedy ....

« on: April 30, 2015, 02:02:56 AM »

       The recent pit lane fire at Richmond International Raceway during a mid-race pit stop at last weekend's Xfinity Series race with Brendan Gaughan's number 62 Richard Childress Racing car sent two crew members of the RCR crew, along with one member of a neighboring team to the hospital with sever burns.
 This event caused me to pause and reflect on how lucky we and the other Trans-Am teams were not having to suffer the horrific consequences of having to survive a similar event.
 Unlike the NASCAR boys who wear nomex fire suits, helmets and have a battery of fire suppression equipment on hand, we were clad in only t shirts and jeans and our fire suppression consisted of a 5 lb fire extinguisher that would be challenged to control a good BBQ fire.
  
     Back in the day we couldn't afford a fancy fueling rig like the Penske boys so our answer was a 20 gallon Nascar style refueling can wielded by 2 big burly crew members ..... Did we spill some fuel you bet your ass but compare our paltry 2 or 3 gallons to the Exxon Valdez like stops of  Penske boys we were definitely  minor leaguers .

Remember speed costs money. How fast do you want to go?

AL
 

 

5

Trans-Am Camaros / Man and Machine from Australia

« on: December 04, 2014, 12:49:28 AM »

While surfing the web the other day I came across a great website called Man and Machine, from Australia of all places, they feature Muscle cars and Classics of all makes and models with an element of iconic Machines to add to the mix.............. They have a lot of cool videos that are very professionally done.

http://www.manandmachinetv.com.au/

AL

Remember speed cost how fast do you want to go ??

6

Trans-Am Camaros / Sam Posey ..... Racing Legened or unsung Hero ??

« on: May 05, 2014, 01:18:24 AM »

Sam Posey has to be one of the most interesting characters to ever climb behind the wheel of a Trans-Am car....... Not only was he a talented driver but he later went on to become a sports broadcaster and journalist. Sam has a very eloquent way with words and he really knows how to tell a story.
Unfortunately Sam now suffers from Parkinson's Disease but he seems to be coping with his condition and hopefully he will for a long time to come.

AL

7

Trans-Am Camaros / Favorite Independent Trans-Am Driver ???

« on: March 31, 2014, 11:56:14 PM »

      With the majority of the teams racing in the Trans-Am series being independents I think not enough credit has been given to the unsung heroes who soldiered on in inferior cars, prepared by underfunded teams for little or no compensation
 
     Perhaps our members could reveal their favorite Drivers and why... In deference to my two drivers Robert Barg and Dick Hoffman who did more with less than anyone I know and in all fairness to  others I will go outside my own team for my choice and pick one of the most exciting drivers ever to race in the Trans Am.

I will not divulge this drivers name but a very big clue is the car he drove pictured below ...............

8

Trans-Am Camaros / Trans-Am cheating fact or fiction ???

« on: March 26, 2014, 03:57:24 PM »

     Anybody who is a fan of early Trans-Am racing has probably heard stories of blatant cheating taking place by the factory teams. Having competed in the series back in the day, we were certainly aware of the fact that there was some, shall we say, 'creative engineering' taking place.  Though, we never really knew to what extent it was happening.

 My question to members of this forum is how bad do you think  the cheating really was? …............. Did John Taminus and the SCCA  inspection crew turn a blind eye to what was going on? And, if they did, was it detrimental to the sport ?

AL

9

Trans-Am Camaros / The Inside Story of Campaigning an Independent ’67 Camaro in the Trans Am

« on: March 20, 2014, 05:04:01 PM »

Here is a link to a podcast interview that I recently did with Robert Kibbe of The Muscle Car Place .....

AL


http://www.themusclecarplace.com/tmcp-206-al-richards-the-inside-story-of-campaigning-his-independent-67-camaro-in-the-trans-am-series