1966 Trans-American Sedan Championship Explained

The 1966 Trans-American Sedan Championship was the inaugural running of the Sports Car Club of America's Trans-Am Series auto racing series. It was open to FIA Group 1 and FIA Group 2 cars and was contested over seven races.[1] Manufacturers titles were awarded for both Over 2 Liter and Under 2 Liter cars with Ford and Alfa Romeo winning their respective class championships.[1] Horst Kwech and Gaston Andrey were subsequently named Drivers co-champions in 1980 when the SCCA retroactively named drivers championships for the series after the 1980 season.

Schedule

The championship was contested over a seven race series.[1] Overall winner race winners are shown in bold.

Rnd Race Date Circuit Distance Over 2 liter - Winning car Under 2 liter - Winning car
Over 2 liter - Winning driver(s) Under 2 liter - Winning driver(s)
1Sebring 4-Hour International Touring RaceMarch 25Sebring International Raceway, Sebring, Florida348.4milesDodge DartAlfa Romeo GTA
Bob Tullius
Tony Adamowicz
Jochen Rindt
2Mid-America 300 June 12Mid-America Raceway, Wentzville, Missouri299.25milesFord MustangAlfa Romeo GTA
Tom Yeager
Bob Johnson
Horst Kwech
Gaston Andrey
3Bryar 250July 10Bryar Motorsports Park, Loudon, New Hampshire250milesPlymouth BarracudaFord Cortina Lotus
Bruce Jennings Allan Moffat
4VIR 400 July 31Virginia International Raceway, Danville, Virginia400.5milesFord MustangAlfa Romeo GTA
Tom Yeager
Bob Johnson
Horst Kwech
Gaston Andrey
5Marlboro 12-HourAugust 14Marlboro Park Speedway, Upper Marlboro, Maryland12 Hours
688.5miles
Dodge DartAlfa Romeo GTA
Bob Tullius
Tony Adamowicz
Harry Theodorocopulous
Sam Posey
6Pan-American Endurance RaceSeptember 10Green Valley Raceway, Smithfield, Texas6 Hours
391.84miles
Ford MustangAlfa Romeo GTA
John McComb
Brad Booker
Horst Kwech
Gaston Andrey
7Riverside 4-hour raceSeptember 18Riverside International Raceway, Riverside, California4 Hours
351miles
Ford MustangLotus Cortina
Jerry Titus Frank Gardner

Season review

The Dodge Dart of Bob Tullius won the Over 2 liter class at the opening race at Sebring International Raceway, while the Alfa Romeo GTA of Formula One driver Jochen Rindt won the Under 2 liter class and was placed first overall.[1]

Over the course of the championship Ford Mustangs won the Over 2 liter class at four races with Dodge Darts winning twice and Plymouth Barracuda once.[1] Alfa Romeo GTAs won the Under 2 liter class at five races with Ford Cortina Lotus winning twice.[1] Ford and Alfa Romeo won their respective class championships.[1]

Points system

Points were awarded according to finishing position.[1] Only the highest-placed car scored points for the manufacturer.[1] Drivers' championships were not awarded in Trans-Am until 1972.

Championship standings

Over 2 liter class

Pos Manufacturer SebMARBryVIRMarGRVRIVPts
1Ford512151146
2Chrysler-Plymouth221322539
3Dodge15413233
4Chevrolet43

Under 2 liter class

Pos Manufacturer SebMARBryVIRMarGRVRIVPts
1Alfa Romeo112111257
2Ford of Britain2122136
3BMW644
4BMC43
5Volvo52
6Fiat Abarth61

The cars

The following models scored championship points for their respective manufacturers.

Over 2 liter class

Under 2 liter class

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 1966 Trans-Am Box Scores . . 29 April 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110717085342/http://www.trans-amseries.com/results/1966.pdf . 17 July 2011 . dead .
  2. http://touringcarracing.net/Races/1966%20Sebring.html Four Hour Governor’s Cup for Sedans, touringcarracing.net
  3. http://touringcarracing.net/Races/1966%20Virginia.html VIR 400, touringcarracing.net
  4. http://touringcarracing.net/Races/1966%20Marlboro.html The Great Race - Marlboro 12 hour, touringcarracing.net