1969 Trans-American Sedan Championship

The 1969 Trans-American Championship was the fourth running of the Sports Car Club of America's Trans-Am Series. The championship was open to SCCA Sedan category cars competing in Over 2 liter and Under 2 liter classes.[1] 1969 marked the end of the use of co-drivers in the Trans-Am Championship, as most of the races were between 2.5 and 3 hours. The Over 2 liter and Under 2 liter Manufacturers' titles were won by Chevrolet (Due in large part to Mark Donohue's 6 wins) and Porsche (Due in large part to Peter Gregg's 7 wins) respectively.[1]

1969 Trans-Am Series
Previous: 1968 Next: 1970

Schedule
Chevrolet won the Over 2 liter class championship. Mark Donohue's 1969 Chevrolet Camaro from the series is shown at the U. S. Vintage Grand Prix at Watkins Glen International, a vintage car show where historic race cars are driven.

The championship was contested over twelve races.[1]

Race Date Circuit Distance Over 2 liter winning car Under 2 liter winning car
Over 2 liter winning car Under 2 liter winning car
1 May 11 Michigan International Speedway, Brooklyn, Michigan 344.24 mi (554.00 km) Ford Mustang Porsche 911
Parnelli Jones Gary Wright
2 May 30 Lime Rock Park, Lakeville, Connecticut 2 h 30 min
218.79 mi (352.11 km)		 Ford Mustang Porsche 911
Sam Posey Tony Adamowicz
3 June 8 Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington, Ohio 240 mi (390 km) Chevrolet Camaro Porsche 911
Ronnie Bucknum Peter Gregg
4 June 22 Bridgehampton Race Circuit, Sag Harbor, New York 250.8 mi (403.6 km) Ford Mustang Porsche 911
George Follmer Peter Gregg
5 July 6 Donnybrooke International Speedway, Brainerd, Minnesota 252 mi (406 km) Ford Mustang Porsche 911
Parnelli Jones Peter Gregg
6 July 20 Bryar Motorsports Park, Loudon, New Hampshire 200 mi (320 km) Chevrolet Camaro Alfa Romeo GTA
Mark Donohue Gaston Andrey
7 August 3 Circuit Mont-Tremblant, Saint-Jovite, Quebec 3 h
257 mi (414 km)		 Chevrolet Camaro Porsche 911
Mark Donohue Peter Gregg
8 August 10 Watkins Glen International, Watkins Glen, New York 2 h 30 min
269.1 mi (433.1 km)		 Chevrolet Camaro Porsche 911
Mark Donohue Peter Gregg
9 August 24 Laguna Seca Raceway, Monterey, California 226.1 mi (363.9 km) Chevrolet Camaro Porsche 911
Mark Donohue Peter Gregg
10 September 7 Seattle International Raceway, Kent, Washington 303.75 mi (488.84 km) Chevrolet Camaro Porsche 911
Ronnie Bucknum Peter Gregg
11 September 21 Sears Point Raceway, Sonoma, California 201.84 mi (324.83 km) Chevrolet Camaro Porsche 911
Mark Donohue Don Pike
12 October 5 Riverside International Raceway, Riverside, California 201.84 mi (324.83 km) Chevrolet Camaro Porsche 911
Mark Donohue Alan Johnson

Championships

Points were awarded for finishing positions in each class at each race on the following basis:[2]

1st2nd3rd4th5th6th
9 6 4 3 2 1

Only the highest-placed car of each make could earn points for its manufacturer [2] and only the best nine results for each manufacturer counted towards the championship totals.[2]

No Drivers titles were awarded in 1969 or in any other Trans-American Championship prior to 1972.[2]

Over 2 liter Manufacturers Championship
Pos [1] Manufacturer [1] MIC LRP MDO BRI DON BRY MTB WGL LAG PAC SPT RIV Points [1]
1 Chevrolet 2 3 1 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 78 (94)
2 Ford 1 1 2 1 1 3 8 2 3 2 2 4 64 (71)
3 Pontiac 3 5 8 3 4 5 2 12 5 3 4 3 32 (34)
4 American Motors 4 7 5 6 5 8 4 5 7 12 8 6 14 [3]

Under 2 liter Manufacturers Championship
Pos [1] Manufacturer [1] MIC LRP MDO BRI DON BRY MTB WGL LAG PAC SPT RIV Points [1]
1 Porsche 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 81 (106)
2 Alfa Romeo 3 2 8 3 1 12 7 4 5 28
3 BMW 9 9 3 14 8 6 5
4 British Leyland 3 4

The cars

The following models contributed to the points totals of their respective manufacturers.[1]

1969 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am

1969 had marked the sales debut of the Pontiac Firebird Trans Am however the car's smallest engine was well over the 5000cc maximum set by the series at the time and it was not used in the 1969 championship. In using the name Trans Am, a registered trademark, General Motors agreed to pay $5 per car sold to the SCCA.[4]

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References
  1. "1969 Trans-Am Box Scores" (PDF). Sports Car Club of America. Archived (PDF) from the original on 30 April 2011. Retrieved 29 April 2011.
  2. Dave Friedman, Pony Cars Wars 1966 to 1972, page 112
  3. The official SCCA’s 1969 Trans-Am Box Scores list AMC as scoring 14 points in seven of the twelve races but show a final total of only 13.
  4. "Edmund's Pontiac Firebird History".
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