| dbo:abstract
|
- The 'Trans-Am series' is an automobile racing series that was created in 1966 by Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) President John Bishop. Originally known as the Trans-American Sedan Championship, the name was changed to the Trans-American Championship for 1967 and henceforth. The series has in fact gone by a variety of different names through the years (too many to list), some linked to sponsors, some not. It has evolved over time from its original format as a Manufacturers' Championship series for modified passenger sedans and Coupés to its current form as a Drivers' / Manufacturers' Championship Series that is open to GT style racecars. Champion drivers have been officially recognized, and Drivers' Championship(s) have been awarded since the 1972 season. The series was formed at the dawn of the 'pony car' era, and was derived from the SCCA's A & B Sedan amateur Club Racing classes, Early Trans-Am Series racecars were just modified production cars. The series was open to FIA Group 2 Touring Cars, and it featured two classes: "Over 2.0 Liter"—111 inch wheel base or less and engine displacement limited to 5.0 liters / 302 cubic inches (primarily American pony cars), and "Under 2.0 Liter" (predominantly European sedans), with both classes running together. The series was best known for competition among American V8 coupes such as the Ford Mustang, Chevrolet Camaro, Plymouth Barracuda, Mercury Cougar, AMC Javelin, Pontiac Firebird, and Dodge Challenger in the 1960s and early 1970s, driven by some of the most famous names in auto racing, like Mark Donohue, Parnelli Jones, Dan Gurney, Sam Posey and Bob Tullius, to name just a few. Marques such as Porsche (until its 911 was reclassified as a sports car and not a sedan), Alfa Romeo, BMW, Datsun, Mini Cooper, Saab, and Volkswagen competed in the series' Under 2.0 Liter category. Over the years, the series has raced on a variety of different types of race tracks (Permanent and temporary road courses / street circuits / airport circuits) all over the country, as well as at venues in Canada, Mexico, and even San Juan, Puerto Rico in 2003. Since 2015, Trans Am has been a national series (Continental U.S. only), racing at tracks primarily throughout the East Coast, South, and Midwest. Since the 2017 season, the stand-alone West Coast Championship Series has raced at four tracks—three on the West Coast, and one in Texas that is a 'shared event' with the Trans Am Championship Series. Each Championship Series is independent of the other, but both are run according to virtually identical rule books. (en)
|
