By Peter M. DeLorenzo
Detroit. The sport of motor racing is filled with memorable races marked by both triumph and tragedy. It's the nature of the sport that these two extremes have left such an indelible impression that they live on for decades, leaving a legacy that is part and parcel of our collective memories. The many heroic individuals - and individual efforts - that have carved out their place in motorsport history are too often luridly offset by gut-wrenching tragedies that have torn us apart along the way. It is an unfortunate consequence of a sport that consumes everything and everyone in its path, a fevered, relentless pursuit marked by unbridled elation and devastating, soul-crushing disappointment. In this series I will try to avoid dwelling on the tragic stories, because as enthusiasts of this sport we are all too familiar with them. If, in the course of talking about a particular race mentioning a tragic event is unavoidable that will have to be, but this series will mainly focus on those memorable moments from those glory days that rivet us to this day. This week, I am doing something different in that I'm covering the entire 1970 Trans-Am Series.
Some younger racing enthusiasts may chafe at the constant reminders of the Can-Am and Trans-Am series, but these racing championships were indeed very special chapters in the annals of American road racing, and they remain vividly memorable - and important - to this day. I've previously covered many events in the Can-Am series, but the 1970 Trans-Am Series was indeed special in its own right. From its beginning in 1966, the Trans-Am Series grew into a hotbed of factory-supported road racing, with GM (Camaro and Firebird), Ford (Mustang) and Chrysler (Plymouth Barracuda and Dodge Challenger) squaring-off for bragging rights on the racetrack and in the marketplace. "Pony" cars were hot, and the Detroit automakers were all-in for the competition. Roger Penske was in charge of the factory Camaro team for Chevrolet, with Mark Donohue dominating the championship in 1968 over Ford entries from Shelby American and NASCAR's Bud Moore, and winning it again in 1969, although having a much tougher time of it because the larger '69 Camaro was an aero "brick" compared to the beautifully compact '68 version.
This era was marked by cutthroat competition and let's say some very "creative" interpretation of the rules. Examples? Acid-dipping the "bodies-in-white" from the factory became a thing, but it didn't always work out as planned. The Penske team acid-dipped its 1969 Camaros because the bloated dimensions increased their weight to an unacceptable level. The only problem was that the bodies were left in the acid bath a few minutes too long, and the result was paper-thin spots on the body that would - ahem - actually bend to the touch. One area in particular on Penske's '69 Trans-Am Camaros were their roofs, which came out of the acid-dipping with the structural integrity of paper mache. The creative solution? They turned to the Camaro option list and arrived at the decision to run black vinyl roofs on the cars, which wasn't exactly road racer cool, but it did the trick to mask the problem. But that was just the tip of the iceberg with these racing machines, because there was very little "production-based" (allegedly) on any of them. By the end of the 1969 season, it was clear that these were factory hot rods that bore no resemblance to production anything.
For 1970, the Trans-Am Series was shaping up to be a monumental slugfest with all of the factory teams pumped and ready to go. The biggest change for 1970 was that Roger Penske took a sizable chunk of ca$h to switch allegiances from GM to American Motors (this was a pattern he repeated over the years, changing manufacturer allegiances quite frequently). I can't quite convey just how big of a shock to American road racing this was, with Penske turning away from Chevrolet after back-to-back Trans-Am Championships and tasking Mark Donohue and the Penske team with turning the Javelin into a competitive Trans-Am entry in just a matter of a few months. Needless to say, they were up to the task, but the Javelin was not close to being an instant success. Mark would drive the No. 6 Sunoco AMC Javelin for the 1970 season, while Peter Revson would wheel the other No. 9 Penske Sunoco AMC Javelin.
Countering the Penske/AMC juggernaut was a formidable two-car team of Ford Mustang Boss 302s prepared and entered by the great Bud Moore, with two of the most tenacious racers in the country: the great Parnelli Jones and the talented George Follmer. Moore's "School Bus Yellow" Mustangs bristled with a plethora of tricks and prodigious power from their NASCAR-ized V8s. Jones would wheel his preferred No. 15, while Follmer would be in the No. 16 team car.
With Roger Penske leaving the fold, Chevrolet turned to its longtime ally, Jim Hall. Though the Texan had no real experience with the concept of "sedan" racing, Chevrolet engineering operatives took charge of the project and made sure that Hall's factory-supported Camaro team would be properly represented in the fight (to the detriment of other Camaro entries). Hall would do the driving himself in some races, along with Ed Leslie and Vic Elford, and the cars would wear No. 1 and No. 2.
Chrysler had its own ideas for competing in the Trans-Am Series, with vastly different entries for its Plymouth and Dodge divisions. Another American racing icon - Dan Gurney - was enlisted to field the factory-supported Plymouth Barracuda team. Dan's All-American Racer organization was directly involved in preparing the cars, with Dan himself doing some driving in his traditional No. 48, while Dan's racing protege - Swede Savage - would wheel the No. 42 'Cuda. A single Dodge Challenger entry was entered by the small Autodynamics team, with Sam Posey driving the No. 77 Lime Green Challenger, although a second entry from the team would be added later.
There were several notable independent entries as well. The Owens/Corning Fiberglas Racing Team, led by Tony DeLorenzo and having accrued a tremendous record of success in SCCA National racing as well as in FIA endurance racing, would enter two Chevrolet Camaros for the season. The No. 3 machine would be driven by Tony, while the No. 4 team car would be wheeled by Jerry Thompson. This team would be stonewalled by operatives within Chevy Engineering, and they were, in fact, competing as an "outlaw" entry devoid of factory support. Roy Woods Jr.'s American Racing Associates team would field two bright yellow '69 Camaros, one for Woods (No. 68) and the other for road racing ace Milt Minter (No. 69). Jerry Titus would enter and race his No. 8 Pontiac Firebird Trans-Am, but he would tragically lose his life due to a crash at Road America. Warren Agor would also race his No. 13 '69 Camaro, among many others.
The stage was set for the titanic battle of the factories and independents in the 1970 SCAA Trans-Am Series, and it didn't disappoint.
(Getty Images)
Parnelli Jones (No. 15 Bud Moore Engineering Ford Mustang Boss 302) started the 1970 Trans-Am season with a decisive victory at the opener in Laguna Seca on April 19th. Parnelli finished 40 sec. ahead of Mark Donohue (No. 6 Penske Racing Sunoco AMC Javelin). George Follmer (No. 16 Bud Moore Engineering Ford Mustang Boss 302) was third, Swede Savage (No. 42 All American Racers Plymouth Barracuda) fourth, Milt Minter (No. 69 American Racing Associates Chevrolet Camaro) fifth, Sam Posey (No. 77 Autodynamics Dodge Challenger) sixth, and Jerry Titus (No. 8 Pontiac Firebird Trans-Am) finished seventh.
Detroit. The sport of motor racing is filled with memorable races marked by both triumph and tragedy. It's the nature of the sport that these two extremes have left such an indelible impression that they live on for decades, leaving a legacy that is part and parcel of our collective memories. The many heroic individuals - and individual efforts - that have carved out their place in motorsport history are too often luridly offset by gut-wrenching tragedies that have torn us apart along the way. It is an unfortunate consequence of a sport that consumes everything and everyone in its path, a fevered, relentless pursuit marked by unbridled elation and devastating, soul-crushing disappointment. In this series I will try to avoid dwelling on the tragic stories, because as enthusiasts of this sport we are all too familiar with them. If, in the course of talking about a particular race mentioning a tragic event is unavoidable that will have to be, but this series will mainly focus on those memorable moments from those glory days that rivet us to this day. This week, I am doing something different in that I'm covering the entire 1970 Trans-Am Series.
Some younger racing enthusiasts may chafe at the constant reminders of the Can-Am and Trans-Am series, but these racing championships were indeed very special chapters in the annals of American road racing, and they remain vividly memorable - and important - to this day. I've previously covered many events in the Can-Am series, but the 1970 Trans-Am Series was indeed special in its own right. From its beginning in 1966, the Trans-Am Series grew into a hotbed of factory-supported road racing, with GM (Camaro and Firebird), Ford (Mustang) and Chrysler (Plymouth Barracuda and Dodge Challenger) squaring-off for bragging rights on the racetrack and in the marketplace. "Pony" cars were hot, and the Detroit automakers were all-in for the competition. Roger Penske was in charge of the factory Camaro team for Chevrolet, with Mark Donohue dominating the championship in 1968 over Ford entries from Shelby American and NASCAR's Bud Moore, and winning it again in 1969, although having a much tougher time of it because the larger '69 Camaro was an aero "brick" compared to the beautifully compact '68 version.
This era was marked by cutthroat competition and let's say some very "creative" interpretation of the rules. Examples? Acid-dipping the "bodies-in-white" from the factory became a thing, but it didn't always work out as planned. The Penske team acid-dipped its 1969 Camaros because the bloated dimensions increased their weight to an unacceptable level. The only problem was that the bodies were left in the acid bath a few minutes too long, and the result was paper-thin spots on the body that would - ahem - actually bend to the touch. One area in particular on Penske's '69 Trans-Am Camaros were their roofs, which came out of the acid-dipping with the structural integrity of paper mache. The creative solution? They turned to the Camaro option list and arrived at the decision to run black vinyl roofs on the cars, which wasn't exactly road racer cool, but it did the trick to mask the problem. But that was just the tip of the iceberg with these racing machines, because there was very little "production-based" (allegedly) on any of them. By the end of the 1969 season, it was clear that these were factory hot rods that bore no resemblance to production anything.
For 1970, the Trans-Am Series was shaping up to be a monumental slugfest with all of the factory teams pumped and ready to go. The biggest change for 1970 was that Roger Penske took a sizable chunk of ca$h to switch allegiances from GM to American Motors (this was a pattern he repeated over the years, changing manufacturer allegiances quite frequently). I can't quite convey just how big of a shock to American road racing this was, with Penske turning away from Chevrolet after back-to-back Trans-Am Championships and tasking Mark Donohue and the Penske team with turning the Javelin into a competitive Trans-Am entry in just a matter of a few months. Needless to say, they were up to the task, but the Javelin was not close to being an instant success. Mark would drive the No. 6 Sunoco AMC Javelin for the 1970 season, while Peter Revson would wheel the other No. 9 Penske Sunoco AMC Javelin.
Countering the Penske/AMC juggernaut was a formidable two-car team of Ford Mustang Boss 302s prepared and entered by the great Bud Moore, with two of the most tenacious racers in the country: the great Parnelli Jones and the talented George Follmer. Moore's "School Bus Yellow" Mustangs bristled with a plethora of tricks and prodigious power from their NASCAR-ized V8s. Jones would wheel his preferred No. 15, while Follmer would be in the No. 16 team car.
With Roger Penske leaving the fold, Chevrolet turned to its longtime ally, Jim Hall. Though the Texan had no real experience with the concept of "sedan" racing, Chevrolet engineering operatives took charge of the project and made sure that Hall's factory-supported Camaro team would be properly represented in the fight (to the detriment of other Camaro entries). Hall would do the driving himself in some races, along with Ed Leslie and Vic Elford, and the cars would wear No. 1 and No. 2.
Chrysler had its own ideas for competing in the Trans-Am Series, with vastly different entries for its Plymouth and Dodge divisions. Another American racing icon - Dan Gurney - was enlisted to field the factory-supported Plymouth Barracuda team. Dan's All-American Racer organization was directly involved in preparing the cars, with Dan himself doing some driving in his traditional No. 48, while Dan's racing protege - Swede Savage - would wheel the No. 42 'Cuda. A single Dodge Challenger entry was entered by the small Autodynamics team, with Sam Posey driving the No. 77 Lime Green Challenger, although a second entry from the team would be added later.
There were several notable independent entries as well. The Owens/Corning Fiberglas Racing Team, led by Tony DeLorenzo and having accrued a tremendous record of success in SCCA National racing as well as in FIA endurance racing, would enter two Chevrolet Camaros for the season. The No. 3 machine would be driven by Tony, while the No. 4 team car would be wheeled by Jerry Thompson. This team would be stonewalled by operatives within Chevy Engineering, and they were, in fact, competing as an "outlaw" entry devoid of factory support. Roy Woods Jr.'s American Racing Associates team would field two bright yellow '69 Camaros, one for Woods (No. 68) and the other for road racing ace Milt Minter (No. 69). Jerry Titus would enter and race his No. 8 Pontiac Firebird Trans-Am, but he would tragically lose his life due to a crash at Road America. Warren Agor would also race his No. 13 '69 Camaro, among many others.
The stage was set for the titanic battle of the factories and independents in the 1970 SCAA Trans-Am Series, and it didn't disappoint.
(Getty Images)Parnelli Jones (No. 15 Bud Moore Engineering Ford Mustang Boss 302) started the 1970 Trans-Am season with a decisive victory at the opener in Laguna Seca on April 19th. Parnelli finished 40 sec. ahead of Mark Donohue (No. 6 Penske Racing Sunoco AMC Javelin). George Follmer (No. 16 Bud Moore Engineering Ford Mustang Boss 302) was third, Swede Savage (No. 42 All American Racers Plymouth Barracuda) fourth, Milt Minter (No. 69 American Racing Associates Chevrolet Camaro) fifth, Sam Posey (No. 77 Autodynamics Dodge Challenger) sixth, and Jerry Titus (No. 8 Pontiac Firebird Trans-Am) finished seventh.
(Getty Images)
Round 2 of the 1970 Trans-Am season took place at Lime Rock Park on May 9th. Parnelli Jones (No. 15 Bud Moore Engineering Ford Mustang Boss 302) made it two wins in a row (winning by a lap), while many of the other top contenders did not finish due to a variety of issues. Ed Leslie (No. 2 Chaparral Cars Chevrolet Camaro) was second, and Sam Posey (No. 77 Autodynamics Dodge challenger, above) finished third at his home track.
Round 2 of the 1970 Trans-Am season took place at Lime Rock Park on May 9th. Parnelli Jones (No. 15 Bud Moore Engineering Ford Mustang Boss 302) made it two wins in a row (winning by a lap), while many of the other top contenders did not finish due to a variety of issues. Ed Leslie (No. 2 Chaparral Cars Chevrolet Camaro) was second, and Sam Posey (No. 77 Autodynamics Dodge challenger, above) finished third at his home track.
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After George Follmer (No. 16 Bud Moore Engineering Ford Mustang Boss 302) won Round Three of the 1970 Trans-Am Series at Bryar Motorsports Park in Loudon, New Hampshire, on May 31, the series arrived at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for Round Four on June 7th. As the field comes to the Green Flag, pole-sitter Mark Donohue (No. 6 Penske Racing Sunoco AMC Javelin) runs next to Ed Leslie in the No. 2 Chaparral Cars Chevrolet Camaro, with Jones (No. 15), Follmer (No. 16), Savage (No. 42), Hall (No. 1) and Posey (No. 77) close behind.
After George Follmer (No. 16 Bud Moore Engineering Ford Mustang Boss 302) won Round Three of the 1970 Trans-Am Series at Bryar Motorsports Park in Loudon, New Hampshire, on May 31, the series arrived at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for Round Four on June 7th. As the field comes to the Green Flag, pole-sitter Mark Donohue (No. 6 Penske Racing Sunoco AMC Javelin) runs next to Ed Leslie in the No. 2 Chaparral Cars Chevrolet Camaro, with Jones (No. 15), Follmer (No. 16), Savage (No. 42), Hall (No. 1) and Posey (No. 77) close behind.
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Tony DeLorenzo (No. 3 Owens/Corning Fiberglas Chevrolet Camaro), Ed Leslie (No. 2 Chaparral Cars Chevrolet Camaro) and Mark Donohue (No. 6 Penske Racing Sunoco AMC Javelin) go at it in the 1970 Mid-Ohio Trans-Am. Donohue would finish third, Leslie DNF, and DeLorenzo finished tenth.
Tony DeLorenzo (No. 3 Owens/Corning Fiberglas Chevrolet Camaro), Ed Leslie (No. 2 Chaparral Cars Chevrolet Camaro) and Mark Donohue (No. 6 Penske Racing Sunoco AMC Javelin) go at it in the 1970 Mid-Ohio Trans-Am. Donohue would finish third, Leslie DNF, and DeLorenzo finished tenth.
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Parnelli Jones (No. 15 Bud Moore Engineering Ford Mustang Boss 302) accepts congratulations from the flag man after winning the 1970 Mid-Ohio Trans-Am. Notice the scuffs and dents on the bodywork? Jones and Follmer were teammates, but they gave each other no quarter on the racetrack. The two knocked each other off of the track twice while battling for the lead, on the way to finishing 1-2. Mark Donohue (No. 6 Penske Racing Sunoco AMC Javelin) finished third.
Parnelli Jones (No. 15 Bud Moore Engineering Ford Mustang Boss 302) accepts congratulations from the flag man after winning the 1970 Mid-Ohio Trans-Am. Notice the scuffs and dents on the bodywork? Jones and Follmer were teammates, but they gave each other no quarter on the racetrack. The two knocked each other off of the track twice while battling for the lead, on the way to finishing 1-2. Mark Donohue (No. 6 Penske Racing Sunoco AMC Javelin) finished third.
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Next up for the 1970 Trans-Am Series was a stop at Bridgehampton, New York, on June 21st. Mark Donohue (No. 6 Penske Racing Sunoco AMC Javelin) came through for his first win of the season, in a dominant performance. George Follmer (No. 16 Bud Moore Engineering Ford Mustang Boss 302) was second and Parnelli Jones (No. 15 Bud Moore Engineering Ford Mustang Boss 302) finished third.
Next up for the 1970 Trans-Am Series was a stop at Bridgehampton, New York, on June 21st. Mark Donohue (No. 6 Penske Racing Sunoco AMC Javelin) came through for his first win of the season, in a dominant performance. George Follmer (No. 16 Bud Moore Engineering Ford Mustang Boss 302) was second and Parnelli Jones (No. 15 Bud Moore Engineering Ford Mustang Boss 302) finished third.
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After independent Milt Minter (No. 69 American Racing Associates Chevrolet Camaro) came through for an unexpected win at Donnybrooke International Raceway in Brainerd, Minnesota, the 1970 Trans-Am Series arrived in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, for the Road America Trans-Am on July 19th. The starting grid gets the "1-minute" warning with George Follmer (No. 16 Bud Moore Engineering Ford Mustang Boss 302) on pole and his teammate Parnelli Jones (No. 15 Bud Moore Engineering Ford Mustang Boss 302) right next to him. Ed Leslie (No. 2), Swede Savage (No. 42), Sam Posey (No. 77), Mark Donohue (No. 6), Peter Revson (No. 9), Jim Hall (No. 1), Milt Minter (No. 69) and Warren Agor (No. 13) filled out the top-ten starters on the grid.
After independent Milt Minter (No. 69 American Racing Associates Chevrolet Camaro) came through for an unexpected win at Donnybrooke International Raceway in Brainerd, Minnesota, the 1970 Trans-Am Series arrived in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, for the Road America Trans-Am on July 19th. The starting grid gets the "1-minute" warning with George Follmer (No. 16 Bud Moore Engineering Ford Mustang Boss 302) on pole and his teammate Parnelli Jones (No. 15 Bud Moore Engineering Ford Mustang Boss 302) right next to him. Ed Leslie (No. 2), Swede Savage (No. 42), Sam Posey (No. 77), Mark Donohue (No. 6), Peter Revson (No. 9), Jim Hall (No. 1), Milt Minter (No. 69) and Warren Agor (No. 13) filled out the top-ten starters on the grid.
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Swede Savage (No. 42 All American Racers Plymouth Barracuda) gets in to Sam Posey (No. 77 Autodynamics Dodge Challenger) under braking for Turn 5 at Road America. The racing was flat-out and ferocious during the 1970 Trans-Am season, and the crowds - and the racers - loved every minute of it.
Swede Savage (No. 42 All American Racers Plymouth Barracuda) gets in to Sam Posey (No. 77 Autodynamics Dodge Challenger) under braking for Turn 5 at Road America. The racing was flat-out and ferocious during the 1970 Trans-Am season, and the crowds - and the racers - loved every minute of it.
(Getty Images)
Tony DeLorenzo (No. 3 Owens/Corning Fiberglas Chevrolet Camaro) gets pit service during the Road America Trans-Am. He finished eighth that day.
Tony DeLorenzo (No. 3 Owens/Corning Fiberglas Chevrolet Camaro) gets pit service during the Road America Trans-Am. He finished eighth that day.
(Getty Images)
On August 2, the 1970 Trans-Am Series moved to the Circuit Mont-Tremblant in Saint Jovite, Quebec. Mark Donohue (No. 6 Penske Racing Sunoco AMC Javelin) won that round, followed by George Follmer (No. 16 Bud Moore Engineering Ford Mustang Boss 302) and Parnelli Jones (No. 15 Bud Moore Engineering Ford Mustang Boss 302). The Chaparral Cars Chevrolet Camaros ran into trouble in this race, as Ed Leslie (No. 2) crashed out and Vic Elford (No. 1) DNF.
On August 2, the 1970 Trans-Am Series moved to the Circuit Mont-Tremblant in Saint Jovite, Quebec. Mark Donohue (No. 6 Penske Racing Sunoco AMC Javelin) won that round, followed by George Follmer (No. 16 Bud Moore Engineering Ford Mustang Boss 302) and Parnelli Jones (No. 15 Bud Moore Engineering Ford Mustang Boss 302). The Chaparral Cars Chevrolet Camaros ran into trouble in this race, as Ed Leslie (No. 2) crashed out and Vic Elford (No. 1) DNF.
(autosportsltd.com)
On August 16th, the 1970 Trans-Am Series traveled to Watkins Glen, New York. The race was run in the rain, as Vic Elford (No. 1 Chaparral Cars Chevrolet Camaro) delivered the only win of the season for the Midland, Texas-based team. This shot is of Vic during practice. Mark Donohue (No. 6 Penske Racing Sunoco AMC Javelin) was second, and George Follmer (No. 16 Bud Moore Engineering Ford Mustang Boss 302) finished third.
On August 16th, the 1970 Trans-Am Series traveled to Watkins Glen, New York. The race was run in the rain, as Vic Elford (No. 1 Chaparral Cars Chevrolet Camaro) delivered the only win of the season for the Midland, Texas-based team. This shot is of Vic during practice. Mark Donohue (No. 6 Penske Racing Sunoco AMC Javelin) was second, and George Follmer (No. 16 Bud Moore Engineering Ford Mustang Boss 302) finished third.
(Getty Images)
Jones (No. 15), Donohue (No. 6) and Savage (No. 42) battle it out in the 1970 Watkins Glen Trans-Am.
Jones (No. 15), Donohue (No. 6) and Savage (No. 42) battle it out in the 1970 Watkins Glen Trans-Am.
(Getty Images)
The 1970 Trans-Am season finished off with a two-race swing on the West Coast. First up was the Trans-Am Kent at Seattle International Raceway in Kent, Washington. Parnelli Jones (No. 15 Bud Moore Engineering Ford Mustang Boss 302) delivered yet another win, with Mark Donohue (No. 6 Penske Racing Sunoco AMC Javelin) second, and Sam Posey (No. 76 Autodynamics Dodge Challenger) finishing third. Parnelli was an intimidating presence just sitting in his Bud Moore Mustang. Jones was by far the toughest competitor in the history of the Trans-Am series, and he would prove it dramatically two weeks later.
The 1970 Trans-Am season finished off with a two-race swing on the West Coast. First up was the Trans-Am Kent at Seattle International Raceway in Kent, Washington. Parnelli Jones (No. 15 Bud Moore Engineering Ford Mustang Boss 302) delivered yet another win, with Mark Donohue (No. 6 Penske Racing Sunoco AMC Javelin) second, and Sam Posey (No. 76 Autodynamics Dodge Challenger) finishing third. Parnelli was an intimidating presence just sitting in his Bud Moore Mustang. Jones was by far the toughest competitor in the history of the Trans-Am series, and he would prove it dramatically two weeks later.
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Riverside International Raceway, October 4, 1970. My all-time favorite enduring image of Parnelli Jones was taken during the 1970 Trans-Am at Riverside. Jones, in his now-familiar No. 15 Bud Moore Engineering Ford Mustang Boss 302, qualified on the pole and was well in the lead, but while passing a back-marker on the fifth lap Jones clipped the lapped driver, which sent him spinning off into the desert. The result? The right side of Jones' Mustang was caved in, the right front fender was rubbing the tire and the driveshaft was bent. “I was the fastest qualifier at Riverside,” Jones recalled in an interview with the Business Journal at his office in Torrance, California. “I started lapping a back-runner car. And as I went underneath him, he was looking in his mirror at another car because he was defending himself. And when he did, he didn’t make the turn... And he ran in the side of me, knocked me off the course.” Jones got back on the track with a damaged spoiler and caved-in door. But that wasn't all, because the car wouldn’t turn. “Because it wouldn’t turn, I’d have to hit the curbing and get the car on two wheels to make a turn,” Jones said. For the duration of the race, Jones had to bounce his car off the wall at every turn. “I always said it was one of my best races that I had ever run... It’s one of the toughest races I ever drove.” Jones worked his battered Mustang into third place behind Mark Donohue (No. 6 Penske Racing Sunoco AMC Javelin) then manhandled his way past for second. In the book, The Mudge Pond Express, Sam Posey described the scene: "The season was at an end and Bud Moore's Mustang had destroyed the opposition. Now it was time for a showdown between Follmer and Jones, with nothing at stake but each other's fierce pride. Parnelli's familiar school bus yellow Mustang was battered and dirty and the right side was caved in, the front spoiler was crumpled, and the brake ducts were dropping off, but Parnelli didn't care. Lap after lap he charged out of turn nine, contemptuously brushing the wall, gunning past the pits with his granite chin thrust forward. Each time around the Mustangs were closer together, and with ten laps to go they were running nose to tail, their domination of the Trans-Am so complete that they had each other to race with." Behind the pit wall, Ford brass worried about the possibility of another Jones-Follmer showdown, but in the nick of time Follmer's shift linkage broke, leaving him without third gear. Jones cruised past to cap off a tremendous 1970 season, winning the Trans-Am Championship and delivering the Manufacturer's Championship for Ford. Follmer (No. 16 Bud Moore Engineering Ford Mustang Boss 302) was second, and Mark Donohue (No. 6 Penske Racing Sunoco AMC Javelin) finished third.
Riverside International Raceway, October 4, 1970. My all-time favorite enduring image of Parnelli Jones was taken during the 1970 Trans-Am at Riverside. Jones, in his now-familiar No. 15 Bud Moore Engineering Ford Mustang Boss 302, qualified on the pole and was well in the lead, but while passing a back-marker on the fifth lap Jones clipped the lapped driver, which sent him spinning off into the desert. The result? The right side of Jones' Mustang was caved in, the right front fender was rubbing the tire and the driveshaft was bent. “I was the fastest qualifier at Riverside,” Jones recalled in an interview with the Business Journal at his office in Torrance, California. “I started lapping a back-runner car. And as I went underneath him, he was looking in his mirror at another car because he was defending himself. And when he did, he didn’t make the turn... And he ran in the side of me, knocked me off the course.” Jones got back on the track with a damaged spoiler and caved-in door. But that wasn't all, because the car wouldn’t turn. “Because it wouldn’t turn, I’d have to hit the curbing and get the car on two wheels to make a turn,” Jones said. For the duration of the race, Jones had to bounce his car off the wall at every turn. “I always said it was one of my best races that I had ever run... It’s one of the toughest races I ever drove.” Jones worked his battered Mustang into third place behind Mark Donohue (No. 6 Penske Racing Sunoco AMC Javelin) then manhandled his way past for second. In the book, The Mudge Pond Express, Sam Posey described the scene: "The season was at an end and Bud Moore's Mustang had destroyed the opposition. Now it was time for a showdown between Follmer and Jones, with nothing at stake but each other's fierce pride. Parnelli's familiar school bus yellow Mustang was battered and dirty and the right side was caved in, the front spoiler was crumpled, and the brake ducts were dropping off, but Parnelli didn't care. Lap after lap he charged out of turn nine, contemptuously brushing the wall, gunning past the pits with his granite chin thrust forward. Each time around the Mustangs were closer together, and with ten laps to go they were running nose to tail, their domination of the Trans-Am so complete that they had each other to race with." Behind the pit wall, Ford brass worried about the possibility of another Jones-Follmer showdown, but in the nick of time Follmer's shift linkage broke, leaving him without third gear. Jones cruised past to cap off a tremendous 1970 season, winning the Trans-Am Championship and delivering the Manufacturer's Championship for Ford. Follmer (No. 16 Bud Moore Engineering Ford Mustang Boss 302) was second, and Mark Donohue (No. 6 Penske Racing Sunoco AMC Javelin) finished third.
(Getty Images)
Parnelli Jones was simply spectacular during the 1970 Trans-Am season, and anyone who had the pleasure of seeing him drive that year will never forget it.
Parnelli Jones was simply spectacular during the 1970 Trans-Am season, and anyone who had the pleasure of seeing him drive that year will never forget it.
(Getty Images)
Swede Savage and Dan Gurney in deep discussion during the 1970 Trans-Am season.
(Getty Images)
The "Gurney blue" AAR 'Cudas were great looking and a crowd favorite.
Swede Savage and Dan Gurney in deep discussion during the 1970 Trans-Am season.
(Getty Images)The "Gurney blue" AAR 'Cudas were great looking and a crowd favorite.
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