David Tom

What a treasure trove of information this well-produced book is, for anyone with an interest in the short but intense glory days of North American road racing and the cars which have become iconic emblems of that time, the prototype Mustangs, Camaros, Firebirds, Cougars, Barracudas, Challengers, GTOs, Javelins and the like. The Sports Car Club of America's Trans-American Championship Road Racing Series flourished in the years between 1966 and 1972, with every US "brand" of muscle car represented as manufacturers poured resources into tweaking their entries to perform at the highest levels, and to catch the eye of the Parnelli Jones wannabes shopping for a street car with lots of bottom end and more than a hint of stylish but uniquely American panache.

This book details the establishment of the Trans-Am racing series from its early years on primitive dirt-banked tracks to the high profile races at Daytona and Watkins Glen, before factory sponsorship and support faded away in the early 1970s.

There is a wealth of technical information included here, of interest to the serious mechanic and restorer, as well as to the armchair racer. The photos throughout are excellent; an ambitious collection of private memorabilia, vintage factory promotional material, and professional images of the cars in action.

It wasn't just about the cars, either. Some of the personalities involved were more than a little outspoken, ambitious and occasionally eccentric; reading about the shop floor politics and clashes of strong personalities was a decided bonus.

One of the nicest inclusions in this book were the occasional "Caretaker Reports" detailing where some of the cars are now. Some are long gone, being scrapped or moldered away in farm fields, but a respectable number were tucked away safely in garages. Some have been restored and a number are still racing.

Full disclosure, and why I was eager to get my hands on this book: my first car was a '72 Mustang, and my second a '70 Barracuda. Both are long gone, but I've never ceased to mourn them, sacrificed decades ago to pay for college tuition. This book was almost painful to read, as it reminded me of how much there was to like about those punchy, powerful cars, a bit primitive compared to our power-everything transport today, but so much more interesting and challenging, and most importantly, fun to drive.… (mehr)

Fantastic coffee table book with great pictures for the racer in your life. Plus there is actually a great story told of the early years of Trans-Am Racing written by someone who was there and has the "insider" view of many things. While my own racing career started 2 decades later the same cheating that is described in the book continued to the time I was involved in SCCA SpecRX7.
I'm still a fan of stock class racing so unlike the author I was saddened to see the Trans-Am move from Stock with safety equipment to full on race with little in common with the street.… (mehr)

For those of us fortunate to be around when the short lived Trans-Am series ran the road race tracks this book brings back all the memories of the cars that were the coolest thing going. David Tom has put together a book that brings back that era in all its flash and glory. I have to admit I was one who did not follow the this racing circuit closely but the cars were everything to me. In fact my very first car was a '66 Mustang, my second a '69 Javelin and I have never lost the feel and magic that those cars were.

The book takes you through the development of Trans-Am from the mid sixties through the early seventies. It may be a bit on the techie side for many, but it was a lot of what drove the series and led to so many innovations and changes in motorsports and well worth the education. Classic as it was so were the drivers and developers, big names like Parnelli Jones, Roger Penkse, Peter Revson, Mark Donahue, Smokey Yunnick, and many more. Tom's pictorial is special with many photos from the grassroots era through its rapid evolution. And of course the cars. Mustangs, Camaros, Firebirds, Javelins, Barracudas, Challengers, even the Grey Ghost Pontiac are all here in this book, a must have for any true enthusiast and just us plain lovers of the cars.… (mehr)