The duo of Roger Penske and Mark Donohue pretty much stands alone on a pedestal away from every other driver/owner tandem in the history of American racing. Never was a pair of people so suited to working with each other. Both insanely talented and gifted at their own end of the operation and both were so locked in on being successful that failure was literally never in the cards for them. The only reason their partnership ended was because Donohue was killed in the early 1970s in a racing accident. They’d likely still be kicking asses today. But we digress.
This video features footage and action from the 1971 Trans-Am series. While 1970 is largely accepted as the peak year for Trans-Am Racing, 1971 was no slouch either. You will see huge crowds at the races, lots of cars, and plenty of participation. While it was down from 1970, 1971 was still a great year for the series and one of the reasons was the dogfight between Donohue and George Follmer for the series title at the end of the year. Both exceptionally good drivers as well as good men, it was not a battle of anger and hatred as much as it was one of work. Sort of a cold war we’d say.
Anyway, this eight minute film takes you right into the nitty gritty of the points battle, the teams, the men involved, and the sport itself. There are some amazing sights and sounds in here as well with the delightful roar of a screaming 304ci small block out of open pipes. This is the series that got people thinking about pro touring cars because the look they captured in this era is pure perfection.
Very interesting video back in the day I really enjoyed the Trans AM series wish it would return.
Brian:
I went to the ’71 race @ Loudon. It was great! Unreal that full sized pony cars could race side by side on the old track. Race was the end of May and it had to be 80+ degrees.