I spent the weekend at the Mecum Auction in Indy with David Tom and John Miller. David is just finishing his book on the TransAm cars . Warren Dernoshek and I were able to add a little info and photos for him. David and John were hoping to sell the 1970 Smokey Yunick Camaro Pilot car ...but no buyer yet.

       Warren Dernoshek and I had a discussion about the Gene White car last year. Warren talked to Smokey over the years and he confirmed thatcar was his. I have photos of this car in my files.

      Just a few additions to this discussion....Donna Mae Mims entered a Corvair in a TransAm once ....I think in Missouri ...DNF   ...I recall Brock Yates in that race in a Dodge Dart.  Tony D's Corvair was a 1965 , ran as an A/ Sedan..he told me it gave him his first of many race wins..I think at Nelson Ledges.. As a favor , Don Yenko gave him a Yenko Stinger ID tag later and Tony traded the car to his dentist for dental work ! That car now belongs to a friend in Maryland...who also has a red/red  ( rare combo )1969 COPO Camaro.    The Sebring Stinger referred to was raced by Russ McGrotty, a Chevy dealer in N Y ..co-driven by Art Riley,  ( better known as a superb Volvo racer ) and a close friend of Don Y.

     Vic's car is the 68 we had at Yenko for several years.Well, sort of.... As I recall , when David Tom found it , it was very rusty and he rebodied it before selling it to Vic. It had been acid dipped originally, so the metal was thin to start with.

         I seem to recall that one or both of these guys raced as " Bolus and Snopes racing " sponsored by Chartreuse ( sp ) Liqours. I think they had a mascot mule " Dick Johnson " ?  Also the photo of the Yenko / Grossman 69 Camaro......it was built from 2 cars purchased from the insurance salvage pool in N.J and welded together. It was pretty rough around the edges , but had some " good parts " from GM...rear end, front spindles.    We ran it for several races with a ZL1 427 aluminum block...very fast. The name on the door , Marlbank, was a horse farm in KY. , owned by Mamie Reynolds  of the tobacco family. It was Grossman's car and he and Don ran it in a few TramsAms later.

      Of couse , these drum brake parts were used on Nova, Chevelle  even 65-69 Corvair. I run them on my Vintage Yenko Stinger Just swap them front to rear due to different weight bias. Have one new set on the shelf...impossible to find new .  Material is So hard that we go thru drums before shoes wear down

           My Yenko Stinger Canadian Prototype was a featured car and received 998 of a possible 1,000 pts in judging. A unique 1 of 1 car, with GM Canada history and paperwork signed by Don Yenko.

   I was at the Chicago show with my Yenko Stinger Canadian Prototype ( which had high score of the show, 998 /1,000 points )   I was near the AMC display, but had little time to look at the cars and parts. Have always liked AMC underdog status.

   I have several receipts showing that Yenko bought Harrison coolers from a flying buddy of Don's , Gary Goss at Ardmore Field, I think in Oklahoma.

   Doug ended up with the Bill Thomas 1960  Corvair  which Bill had developed for sedan racing ( another back door Chevy project ). Bill developed the 4 carb , big valve heads which became the 140 hp Corvair engine in 1965. That car now belongs to a friend here in Indiana who restored it to the configuration that Doug last raced it.

 Re:  Photo of Parnelli and Ruby in Citrus 250...race was won by Don Yenko in recently purchased( by Mike Summers of Best Photo Service ) Yunick Camaro. In my book " The Yenko Era " you will find a photo of Mr. Jones sitting in the Mustang looking very unhappy. He said he was at a disadvantage being a Firestone dealer ,having to use a tire not competitive with latest Goodyears. Also , I recall he had trouble with the shifter.

   I remember Richard Petty's  Plymouth Road Runner having a vinyl roof about the same time in Nascar. I may have a photo in my archives

If I remember correctly, Buck Baker was given the inventory of 303 Pontiac engines to run in NASCAR's Grand american series , where you ran ovals and could keep the revs up with tight gearing. I think he won the championship once or twice. With the big intake passsages, lt had the same problem as the Mustang 302 tunnelport in 1968, torque at lower RPM. A real bear at higher RPM , but did not pull well off the corners.

 Just a note on the Jerry Thompson & Tony D  Corvettes... Jerry was in B/P at that time. If I recall correctly, Tony led most of the Runoffs @ Riverside in A/P later , but was passed on the last lap by a 427 Cobra. I think Jerry was 6th in B/P

That may be Ron McConkey in Donna Maes Stinger