1968 Trans-American Championship

The 1968 Trans-American Championship was the third running of the Sports Car Club of America's Trans-Am Series. 1968 marked the addition of the 12 Hours of Sebring and the 24 Hours of Daytona, the only year that the Trans-Am Series featured those races. The season also marked the first time that an event was held outside of the United States, when a race at Mont-Tremblant brought Trans-Am into Quebec, Canada.

The championship was open to SCCA Sedans, which were required to conform with FIA Group 1 Series Production Touring Car or Group 2 Touring Car regulations.[1] A Manufacturers Champion was determined in both Over 2-liter and Under 2-liter classes.[1] The titles were awarded to Chevrolet (thanks to Mark Donohue's unprecedented 8 race winning streak, and Chevrolet winning 10 out of 13 races) and Porsche (thanks to Tony Adamowicz' 5 race class winning streak and Porsche's eight class wins in a row) respectively.

Schedule

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Chevrolet won the Over 2.0 Liter title with its Camaros. Car is often shown in historic events, as seen in 2004.
 
American Motors placed third in the Over 2.0 Liter class with its Javelins. This from a 2015 vintage meeting.
Rnd Date Circuit Distance Over 2.0 Winning Car Under 2.0 Winning Car
Over 2.0 Winning Driver(s) Under 2.0 Winning Driver(s)
1 February 3–4 Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach, Florida 24 Hours
2,369.49 mi (3,813.32 km)
Ford Mustang Porsche 911
  Jerry Titus
  Ronnie Bucknum
  Peter Gregg
  Stan Axelsson
2 March 22 Sebring International Raceway, Sebring, Florida 3 Hours
275.6 mi (443.5 km)
Porsche 911
  Bert Everett
March 23 12 Hours
1,149.2 mi (1,849.5 km)
Chevrolet Camaro
  Mark Donohue
  Craig Fisher
3 May 12 War Bonnet Raceway Park, Mannford, Oklahoma 253 mi (407 km) Chevrolet Camaro Alfa Romeo GTA
  Mark Donohue   Horst Kwech
4 May 30 Lime Rock Park, Lakeville, Connecticut 3 Hours
261.63 mi (421.05 km)
Chevrolet Camaro Porsche 911
  Mark Donohue   Tony Adamowicz
5 June 16 Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington, Ohio 244.8 mi (394.0 km) Chevrolet Camaro Porsche 911
  Mark Donohue   Bert Everett
6 June 23 Bridgehampton Race Circuit, Sag Harbor, New York 3 Hours
282.15 mi (454.08 km)
Chevrolet Camaro Porsche 911
  Mark Donohue   Tony Adamowicz
7 July 7 Meadowdale International Raceway, Carpentersville, Illinois 240 mi (390 km) Chevrolet Camaro Porsche 911
  Mark Donohue   Tony Adamowicz
8 July 21 Circuit Mont-Tremblant, Saint-Jovite, Quebec 3 Hours
254.4 mi (409.4 km)
Chevrolet Camaro Porsche 911
  Mark Donohue   Tony Adamowicz
9 August 4 Bryar Motorsports Park, Loudon, New Hampshire 200 mi (320 km) Chevrolet Camaro Porsche 911
  Mark Donohue   Tony Adamowicz
10 August 11 Watkins Glen International, Watkins Glen, New York 2 Hours, 30 Minutes
262.2 mi (422.0 km)
Ford Mustang Porsche 911
  Jerry Titus   Tony Adamowicz
11 August 25 Continental Divide Raceway, Castle Rock, Colorado 250 mi (400 km) Chevrolet Camaro Porsche 911
  Mark Donohue   Fred Baker
12 September 8 Riverside International Raceway, Riverside, California 249.6 mi (401.7 km) Ford Mustang Alfa Romeo GTA
  Horst Kwech   Vic Provenzano
13 October 6 Pacific Raceways, Kent, Washington 303.75 mi (488.84 km) Chevrolet Camaro Alfa Romeo GTA
  Mark Donohue   Ed Wachs
[2]

Championships

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Points system

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Points were awarded to manufacturers according to the finishing positions in each race.

1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th
9 6 4 3 2 1

Only the highest-placed car scored points for the manufacturer and only the best 10 finishes counted towards the championship.

Drivers' championships were not awarded in Trans-Am until 1972.

Over 2.0 Liter Manufacturers Championship standings

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Pos Manufacturer DAY SEB WBN LRP MDO BRI MEA MTB BRY WGL CDV RIV PAC Pts
1 Chevrolet 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 4 1 90 (105)
2 Ford 1 3 3 2 2 5 5 7 3 1 3 1 3 59 (63)
3 American Motors 5 2 3 3 2 2 2 2 4 5 2 5 51 (53)
4 Pontiac 4 4 7 12 2 3 2 22
[2]

Under 2.0 Liter Manufacturers Championship standings

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Pos Manufacturer DAY SEB WBN LRP MDO BRI MEA MTB BRY WGL CDV RIV PAC Pts
1 Porsche 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 3DNF 90 (102)
2 Alfa Romeo 5 3 1 7 4 4 3 1 1 43
3 BMW 6DNF 7 4 13 2 9
4 Volvo 6 5 7 8 6 4
5= BMC 14 6 9 10 5 9 10 3
5= Lancia 9 5 6 3
[2]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Sports Car Club of America - General Competition Rules - 1968 Edition
  2. ^ a b c "1968 Trans-Am Box Scores" (PDF). Sports Car Club of America. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 17, 2011. Retrieved April 29, 2011.
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