In the United States, where V8-powered muscle cars were born in the 1960s, and hang on to this day, the bespoke road racing platform created for them has been the Trans Am Series.
In the beginning, it was home to stars like Parnelli Jones, Mark Donohue and Peter Revson, while later years featured the likes of David Hobbs, Willy T Ribbs and Tommy Kendall. Iconic racing dynasties with Trans Am teams include Penske, Carroll Shelby, Dan Gurney and Jack Roush.
Through decades of highs and lows, it has remained the place for V8, bumper-to-bumper, road racing action.
Factory works teams have dominated in various eras, with the longest rivalry being between Ford’s Mustang and Chevrolet’s Camaro. Their greatest duel takes place on the streets of Detroit on a semi-regular basis, The Motor City 100, held right in front of each company’s executives.
Other cars not fitting the formula, such as the 4WD Audis that entered in 1988, which were force fit into the rules at the time, have come and gone, but the V8s have remained.
Latest iteration
It was the SCCA (Sports Car Club of America) that originated the series, and is still involved to this day. Through a 25-year agreement, SCCA Pro Racing sanctions Trans Am events and provides officials working under the direction of the Trans Am rights holders.
Several groups, often including competitors in the series, have owned the rights to the name and to run the events over the years, and its latest iteration, which began in 2011, is managed by the Parella Motorsports Holdings (PMH) group.
The Trans Am Series has evolved to be the umbrella name for five different classes, which include various Touring and GT cars. But it is the top two categories, TA (or TA1) and TA2, that continue the V8-powered, Detroit muscle car formula of old.
The Trans Am TA cars may have more power, and more rules freedom, yet it is the TA2 class that has the greater number of entries, and runs a feature race by itself at Trans Am events. It is TA2 that gets back to the roots of this beloved series, allowing only throaty, V8-powered Mustangs, Camaros, and Stellantis-Dodge Challengers to engage in short (100-mile), sprint-style shootouts. With starting fields numbering 50-60 cars, the TA2 drivers deserve their own race and, with the cars being so closely matched, they provide tight racing throughout the field.
John Clagett, long-time president and chief executive officer of the Trans Am Race Company, has spent the last decade rebuilding the Trans Am Series to today’s record level of
