The IROC (international race of champions) series had some incredibly long legs in the world of motorsports. While it is no longer contested, the series ran from the early 1970s right up until 2005. Drivers from different disciplines and genres of racing would be placed in identically prepared cars and then turned loose on ovals, on road courses, and race tracks that did not favor any one particular driver or genre of racing too heavily.
Everyone remembers the series has having used Camaros for years and years, because it did but in its first year, they used modified Porsche 911 racers as the weapon of choice for competitors. It was the only year that they used Porsches and the only year that the series was run on road courses entirely. Mark Donohue won that version of the IROC and he probably would have won 10 more had he lived to compete further. But that is another story for another day.
The video below shows one of those original IROC Porsches and it is being driven by HSR competitorTodd Treffert in competition. How hot roddy were those cars? Watch this thing at the start of the race and how it just swallows most of the field whole. During racing it walks a Trans-Am Boss 302 Mustang like it had three spark plug wires fall off of it.
The other side of these cars is shown as well in terms of their difficulty to drive and propensity in wanting to throw their tail out when cornering. Treffert saves himself at least once in this video. Fun stuff!
” identically prepared cars ” series until 2005, rekon they were tired of competing with nascar ?
wonder when nascar will force teams to lease/run their engines –
like in the slowly dying truck series.
cool video though !
the GT40 ( ? ) out front engaged warp drive early – gosh !
He had nothing for the Shelby in front of him. Had trouble with a shift and later all blur of hands fighting for control. Still ran good.