Mate great piks I thank you once again , strangley enough I was in LA last week [RE RIVERSIDE] I was to visit Riverside as there was a Harley agent there called house of Harley , I was to puchase some Harley aparrel...... but ended up finding a shop closer in Anaheim a place called Garden City....Long Story short when I got back home ,,,,a couple of mates mentioned River Side Race track I had heard of it from years gone past ..Thanks Mate
Grant, Thanks to your comment I remembered my first visit to Riverside in October 1974.
It was to see the IROC race that was now consisting of (Identical) 1974 Camaros powered by 350 Chev engines prepared by Traco Engineering that produced 440 horsepower and also had to be identical.
(The engines were painted gray so as to show any oil leaks. )
The Race of Champions was for champion race drivers from Nascar to Formula One.
(See the attached entry list for 1974 )
(Ken Hyndman)
Last edited by khyndart in CA; 05-31-2014 at 07:49 AM.
In the garage area is Roger Penske in discussion in front of # 7 Camaro that was to be driven by Emerson Fittipaldi that day.
As usual Roger is impeccably dressed even to the black shiny shoes as the rest of us had the dusty versions !
(Note special spare IROC motor in the background, painted gray )
This car went on to be one of the best as noted in this article.
"The black number seven 1974 Chevrolet Camaro IROC Race Car was offered for sale at the 2006 RM Auction in Monterey California where it was expected to sell between $100,000-$150,000. It was offered without reserve. Driven by Bobby Allison, Bobby Unser plus Emerson Fittipaldi who drove this vehicle and never lost a race while behind the wheel. This vehicle was never defeated. It is thought that the vehicle was a Penske/Donohue prototype car. It was dubbed 'lucky number seven' due to its very prestigious accomplishments on the racing circuit. "
(Ken Hyndman )
Last edited by khyndart in CA; 06-02-2014 at 12:00 AM.
I walked around the Riverside track to the back straight and it was such a casual atmosphere where James Hunt was with Dan Gurney and spectators would wander up and have a chat.
( James was there to drive the Jorgensen Steel Eagle for Dan in the F5000 race )
Hunt said he would like to try driving a IROC Camaro one day and he did a year later in Oct 1975.
( Ken Hyndman )
Last edited by khyndart in CA; 06-02-2014 at 01:48 PM.
Riverside, Oct. 26 1974
Second lap of IROC race on the back straight heading down to turn 9.
Four time Indy 500 winner, A J Foyt in Camaro # 2, in the lead, Jody Scheckter, in Camaro # 16,trying to get close enough to draft Foyt, as this was a whole new learning experience for Jody.
Note the dry landscape and the smoggy atmosphere. The air is cleaner today but the track is gone due to residential development.
( Ken Hyndman )
( Note the lack of safety standards for spectators compared to today !)
Last edited by khyndart in CA; 06-07-2014 at 11:50 PM.
Outstanding images Ken! Thanks for sharing. The 1974/75 IROC season was the second year for the series. It was also the first year in which Camaros were used. The first season the cars were Porsche RSR's. My guess is that the car pictured was no more special than the other cars, or at least, that was not the intention. As you know, you can build two cars identical, but its always possible one is just a little bit better than the other.Originally Posted by khyndart in CA
In the garage area is Roger Penske in discussion in front of # 7 Camaro that was to be driven by Emerson Fittipaldi that day.
As usual Roger is impeccably dressed even to the black shiny shoes as the rest of us had the dusty versions !
(Note special spare IROC motor in the background, painted gray )
This car went on to be one of the best as noted in this article.
"The black number seven 1974 Chevrolet Camaro IROC Race Car was offered for sale at the 2006 RM Auction in Monterey California where it was expected to sell between $100,000-$150,000. It was offered without reserve. Driven by Bobby Allison, Bobby Unser plus Emerson Fittipaldi who drove this vehicle and never lost a race while behind the wheel. This vehicle was never defeated. It is thought that the vehicle was a Penske/Donohue prototype car. It was dubbed 'lucky number seven' due to its very prestigious accomplishments on the racing circuit. "
(Ken Hyndman )
Mark Donohue raced in IROC the first year, with the Porsches, and I think his successes here did a great deal for his reputation, and even in his own mind. Traditionally, Donohue hated having a team mate, as he was convinced he wasn't a great driver, and that he was able to better set up his car, which helped him to win. But he beat some of the very best drivers in the world in the first year of IROC, winning two of the three races, and I think this really cemented his reputation as one of the greats.
Thanks again for the photos Ken. Its rare to see such great early IROC images.
Really interesting Ken, yes remember when IROC was running ,I guess inversion wud mean reverse grid race , & G Hill was last in a particular race . Often we had reverse grid races when I was doing pre 65 racing I found it fun , except for the odd newbies not using mirrors or not looking at flags , I would clip a few on the way through & some times got a telling off, none of us being perfect thats what makes life interesting ...Thanks Ken
Yes Steve, Mark Donohue did a marvelous job preparing these cars and keeping them all equal.The Camaros arrived at Penske Racing with just 2 months to get them prepared. Mark chose 14 mechanics with no race car building experience to help keep it equal. He worked with them completely removing the entire power train, all the wiring,interior,suspension, fuel system etc and reassembling with heavy duty racing equipment. Many companies contributed which helped keep within the budget of $15000 each car. (which was half of what each RSR Porsche cost to run the previous season !) These companies also benefited from the advertizing stickers and television exposure which was huge for their future growth also.
These Mark Donohue prepared Camaros were so good that they were used for at least 3 seasons of IROC racing.
Sadly Mark died of injuries during practice for the 1975 Austrian GP while driving a Penske F 1 car.
Note all the contributing companies on this display.
( You may have to have your glasses on to read this image !)
Ken Hyndman
Last edited by khyndart in CA; 06-03-2014 at 08:05 AM.
Thats some great info Ken! Many thanks.
1973-74 IROC series (including Denis Hulme) - 10 minute video
1984 IROC from Talladega - Derek Bell versus the wall at 175mph.
Youtube clip
Last edited by Bryan; 06-06-2014 at 02:32 AM.
IROC racing got pretty wild at times.
Sometimes when you see these clips it looks more like the IROI series (International Race of Idiots)
(Ken Hyndman )
Ken what an action packed clip, obviousley the drivers did not own these cars talk about distructive drivers........
Did somebody ask if any of these cars survived still?
Grant,
These were champion drivers from F 1, Nascar, Indy,Le Mans,drag racing etc. They raced mainly on oval circuits in later years. The Nascar boys did not want to be beaten by foreign drivers on their home tracks so this led to a lot of " tapping" just to remind others of where they were !
I remember some of the races were like demolition derbies and you knew the series could not last. I am glad I got to see the early years even though they had some violent incidents back then.
Not a lot of love was lost between these proud warriors !
(Ken Hyndman )
Last edited by khyndart in CA; 06-07-2014 at 01:10 AM.
The only original 1974 IROC Camaros that I could still find are the Black # 7 first driven by Bobby Unser Sept 14, 1974.Did somebody ask if any of these cars survived still?
The Brown # 10 Camaro and the Yellow # 6 Camaro first raced by Jody Scheckter.
Perhaps someone has more information.
After seeing the way they were driven it is a miracle any survived !
Check the start of this race that I went to at Riverside. They had hardly crossed the starting line when this crash took place !
(Ken Hyndman )
I found two more photos of Riverside during IROC races in 1974 and 1975. That will be the end of this part of my collection.
The first photo shows Jody Scheckter in # 10 following the Porsche pace car with Graham Hill in Blue Camaro # 3 followed by Richard Petty in the white Camaro. They had a rolling start but still managed to collide right after the start. As shown in the previous post.
Last edited by khyndart in CA; 06-12-2014 at 05:51 AM.
Steve Millen raced in the later Camaros and turned a few heads on the oval, and a couple of 'the good o'l boys' after they had a dig at him. He was pretty respected in the end.
Oct 25 1975 IROC race Riverside.
It is a year later and the Camaros are back with black stripes over the hood and larger rear windows.
This shows the start of the race and Bobby Unser is already in the lead followed by James Hunt. Bobby Unser led from start to finish.The race drivers included ; Bobby Unser, AJ Foyt, Mario Andretti, Emerson Fittipaldi, Benny Parsons, Richard Petty, Jody Scheckter, Brian Redman, Al Unser, David Pearson, Bobby Allison and James Hunt.
In the background is the sweeping corner # 9, one of the longest corners on any road course in the country.
(This is my last Riverside photo )
( Ken Hyndman )
Last edited by khyndart in CA; 06-09-2014 at 07:28 AM.
Riverside Raceway 1974I found two more photos of Riverside during IROC races in 1974 and 1975. That will be the end of this part of my collection.
The first photo shows Jody Scheckter in # 10 following the Porsche pace car with Graham Hill in Blue Camaro # 3 followed by Richard Petty in the white Camaro. They had a rolling start but still managed to collide right after the start. As shown in the previous post.
In the background you can just see the high grandstands above Turn Six in October 1974.
Riverside Today;
This is approx. where Turn Six was situated today in June 2014. (Oh for the good old days !)
See attached Google Map.
https://www.google.com/maps/@33.9387...rlPA!2e0?hl=en
( Ken Hyndman )
Last edited by khyndart in CA; 06-12-2014 at 06:46 AM.
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