Author Topic: 1968 Trans Am No. 7 Meadowdale International Raceway (July 7, 1968)  (Read 35034 times)

SMKZ28

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Re: 1968 Trans Am No. 7 Meadowdale International Raceway (July 7, 1968)
« Reply #15 on: December 16, 2012, 05:51:28 AM »
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??
Scott
I don't have a 1st Gen but I have 1971 Z28 RS 4-spd, 1997 Z28 Z4C 6-spd, 2000 SS Convertible, 2010 RS 6-spd

SMKZ28

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Re: 1968 Trans Am No. 7 Meadowdale International Raceway (July 7, 1968)
« Reply #16 on: December 16, 2012, 06:54:48 AM »
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.
Scott
I don't have a 1st Gen but I have 1971 Z28 RS 4-spd, 1997 Z28 Z4C 6-spd, 2000 SS Convertible, 2010 RS 6-spd

SMKZ28

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Re: 1968 Trans Am No. 7 Meadowdale International Raceway (July 7, 1968)
« Reply #17 on: December 16, 2012, 06:58:20 AM »
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.
« Last Edit: December 16, 2012, 07:23:24 AM by SMKZ28 »
Scott
I don't have a 1st Gen but I have 1971 Z28 RS 4-spd, 1997 Z28 Z4C 6-spd, 2000 SS Convertible, 2010 RS 6-spd

SMKZ28

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Re: 1968 Trans Am No. 7 Meadowdale International Raceway (July 7, 1968)
« Reply #18 on: December 16, 2012, 07:02:22 AM »
More from Ronald Spannraft

Scott
I don't have a 1st Gen but I have 1971 Z28 RS 4-spd, 1997 Z28 Z4C 6-spd, 2000 SS Convertible, 2010 RS 6-spd

SMKZ28

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Re: 1968 Trans Am No. 7 Meadowdale International Raceway (July 7, 1968)
« Reply #19 on: December 16, 2012, 07:04:17 AM »
one more from Ronald Spannraft

Scott
I don't have a 1st Gen but I have 1971 Z28 RS 4-spd, 1997 Z28 Z4C 6-spd, 2000 SS Convertible, 2010 RS 6-spd

SMKZ28

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Re: 1968 Trans Am No. 7 Meadowdale International Raceway (July 7, 1968)
« Reply #20 on: December 16, 2012, 07:06:52 AM »
This from Rich Hayhurst
Scott
I don't have a 1st Gen but I have 1971 Z28 RS 4-spd, 1997 Z28 Z4C 6-spd, 2000 SS Convertible, 2010 RS 6-spd

SMKZ28

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Re: 1968 Trans Am No. 7 Meadowdale International Raceway (July 7, 1968)
« Reply #21 on: December 16, 2012, 07:07:21 AM »
This from Rich Hayhurst
Scott
I don't have a 1st Gen but I have 1971 Z28 RS 4-spd, 1997 Z28 Z4C 6-spd, 2000 SS Convertible, 2010 RS 6-spd

SMKZ28

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Re: 1968 Trans Am No. 7 Meadowdale International Raceway (July 7, 1968)
« Reply #22 on: December 16, 2012, 07:07:53 AM »
This from Rich Hayhurst
Scott
I don't have a 1st Gen but I have 1971 Z28 RS 4-spd, 1997 Z28 Z4C 6-spd, 2000 SS Convertible, 2010 RS 6-spd

SMKZ28

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Re: 1968 Trans Am No. 7 Meadowdale International Raceway (July 7, 1968)
« Reply #23 on: December 16, 2012, 07:16:02 AM »
This from Rich Hayhurst
Scott
I don't have a 1st Gen but I have 1971 Z28 RS 4-spd, 1997 Z28 Z4C 6-spd, 2000 SS Convertible, 2010 RS 6-spd

SMKZ28

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Re: 1968 Trans Am No. 7 Meadowdale International Raceway (July 7, 1968)
« Reply #24 on: December 16, 2012, 07:42:46 AM »
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
Scott
I don't have a 1st Gen but I have 1971 Z28 RS 4-spd, 1997 Z28 Z4C 6-spd, 2000 SS Convertible, 2010 RS 6-spd

Jon Mello

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Re: 1968 Trans Am No. 7 Meadowdale International Raceway (July 7, 1968)
« Reply #25 on: December 17, 2012, 05:18:29 AM »
Thanks for the additions, Scott. Here's coverage of the event as found in Competition Press & Autoweek. (Jon Mello Collection)







Jon Mello
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Re: 1968 Trans Am No. 7 Meadowdale International Raceway (July 7, 1968)
« Reply #26 on: December 17, 2012, 02:38:52 PM »
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

Jon Mello

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Re: 1968 Trans Am No. 7 Meadowdale International Raceway (July 7, 1968)
« Reply #27 on: December 17, 2012, 04:34:25 PM »
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.

Jon Mello
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SMKZ28

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Re: 1968 Trans Am No. 7 Meadowdale International Raceway (July 7, 1968)
« Reply #28 on: December 17, 2012, 07:08:13 PM »
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.



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!     
Scott
I don't have a 1st Gen but I have 1971 Z28 RS 4-spd, 1997 Z28 Z4C 6-spd, 2000 SS Convertible, 2010 RS 6-spd

Jon Mello

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Re: 1968 Trans Am No. 7 Meadowdale International Raceway (July 7, 1968)
« Reply #29 on: December 18, 2012, 02:55:45 PM »
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.
Jon Mello
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