TransAm and SVRA Speed Tour at Sebring International Raceway Part 3

Report by Mark Roden

Day 3 Sunday 26-FEB

When we arrived for the third day of action at Sebring International Raceway, we headed right for the SVRA paddock and spent some time in the area talking to one of the drivers in group 10.  He was working on the engine of his car (a 1970 Dodge Challenger), while the car next to his (also a Challenger) was being loaded onto the trailer. 

We snapped a few pics of David Nicholas’ 1968 BMW 2002 #60, a mid-field entry in Group 8, and the #35 Alfa Romeo GTV of Tom Benjamin (sadly, the only shot I managed to get of that car all weekend.)  Both were about to be loaded up, so we snapped our photos, had a few words with the drivers, and then set out for our race time perch. 

We chose the white fence inside Sunset Bend (turns 17 / 17a) next to the corner worker’s kiosk, not far from where I began the weekend on Friday. We parked on the east side of the safety chute and then walked over to the fence with the gear, stepladder, and plenty of water.  Having the car so close was a real plus and allowed us to cool off when we needed it (and, we needed it.)

More people showed up than on the previous two days, but we still had plenty of room.  In my personal experience photographing motor racing events, access to a track on this level is not exactly common. Maybe I should visit permanent road courses more often.

We caught the tail end of the #2 race for Groups 1-3-4-5b, watching as Travis Engen capitalized on the handy lead that he held from flag to flag. 

The #24 Corvette of Bill Treffert came in second about 10 seconds behind him, followed closely by John Nash in the Lotus Super 7, who exchanged a “thumbs-up” with him after the checkered.  (Pics are from Saturday)

Rounding out the top 5 were Tom Brown in his ’63 Triumph Spitfire, and Duke Waldrop, the driver of the #62 Titan 9, who has the distinction of being the only person ever to race at Daytona in a car, a motorcycle, and a powerboat. 

Around 11:15 the next group (5a-7-9-11 ) came rumbling under the bridge to begin their final race of the weekend.  Most of the fastest entries hailed from Group 11, although the AF01 Australian Formula car was in Group 9 and very fast in its own right.  The best lap times of the top 5 finishers were in the 2:01 to 2:05 range.  Not too bad for period Le Mans Prototypes and the like, some of which could easily run with the Trans Am cars.



First to the line was, to no one’s surprise, the Audi R8, followed by the AF01 of Nathan Byrd and Adam Lindemann in the Coyote Corvette.   The Swift came in fourth, and rounding out the top quintet was Wayne Jackson in the stunning looking #018 Oreca FLM-09.  All these cars had great track appeal, each with characteristics typical of their racing era.

Next up, all stock cars (Group 10SC).  Having been to my first NASCAR race the week before (the Daytona 500), I found this group to be interesting.  Some of the cars I recognized; Dale Earnhardt Jr’s #8, for instance.  However, most of them I was unfamiliar with.  I managed to get some good shots of them on Saturday afternoon, so for the race I decided to take a chance and practice on my slow shutter speed technique. 

Some came out alright, but I was only able to work my way down to 1/80s.  We were close enough and they were fast enough that I got a decent motion effect.  Nothing slower than 1/80s proved out.  I suppose I will simply have to keep practicing.

Concerning the race, they were well matched.  Eight seconds was the total separation from the top of the grid to the bottom.  The winning car was Ryan Gimmell’s 2006 Dodge Charger, the #22 Pennzoil car originally driven in NASCAR by Kurt Busch, who used it to qualify 3^rd and finish 5^th in the 2011 Daytona 500 in his last year with Penske Motorsports.

Rounding out the top 3 were Shannon Ivey, in Dale Earnhardt Jr’s #8 2005 Chevrolet Monte Carlo, and Scott Holley, sporting Kurt Busch’s (again) blue and white Miller Lite 2004 Penske Dodge.

Once the cars appeared on the pace lap, we headed back across the safety chute to our fence position and set up again.  It was a good vantage point; we could hear them screaming down the back straight and braking to get thru the last bend, and then watched as they headed back up the front straight toward the green flag. Justin Marks was on pole in the #99 Camaro and led the field to green, fighting off Paul Menard immediately from the drop of the flag.

By the 4^th lap the top 3 cars of Marks, Dyson and Brabham had built up a sizeable gap between themselves and the next group back; a duo of Challengers driven by Boris Said and Paul Menard.

Amy Rumen lost a wheel on lap 8 causing a full course yellow.  Several other drivers dropped out early due to the unrelenting punishment the Sebring track dishes out, including Chris Dyson on lap 14 causing another FCY, Paul Menard on lap 15, Justin Marks on lap 17 with some sort of brake system failure, and Boris Said going out with tire problems on lap 20, setting up the action for the final seven laps of the race.

Tomy Drissi in the #8 Mustang was driving a great race, but he got a little too quick on the restart and had to serve a drive-thru penalty, effectively taking him out of contention for the lead.

Over the course of the race, I alternated my position slightly along the fence, switching to the other side of the kiosk where I could use a short tire wall for context.  There was also a break in the barrier for the safety chute that was easily accessible. 

Using the tires as a foreground turned out to be a good choice and really conveyed the speed of the cars, and the safety chute gave me an open view of the track when they passed through that area. 

Photos of the XGT entries:

Photos of the SGT entries:

Photos of the GT entries:

As far as action goes, the race delivered in typical Trans Am fashion.  I was hoping for a last dash shootout at the end between Brabham, who won the race, and Adam Andretti who came in second, but that never materialized.  For full race stats go to gotransam.com and it will give you everything in grid format. 

Outside of Indy, IMSA and NASCAR, the Trans Am series is the top racing class running in the States.  I saw them many years ago at the Dallas Gran Prix in the late 1980s / early 90s, at a time when names like Scott Pruett, Tommy Kendall, Jack Baldwin, Irv Hoerr and Dorsey Schroeder ruled the series.  Hurley Haywood, Ron Fellows and Lyn St. James are other notable drivers running in the series at that time. 

Seeing Trans Am racing for the first time really made a lasting impression on me.  It didn’t hurt that I had track credentials for those events.  Now some 2 decades later it is just as thrilling, even without the media or photo pass.

Following the race, we made our way to the corral where the driver’s ceremony was getting set up.  The cars were pulled into a fenced area where the drivers were standing around talking to each other, the sponsors, and a handful of fans present.  We were invited in by the announcer and were given unfettered access to the entire ceremony.  The winners were interviewed on stage in typical fashion. 

I was standing just off left stage center, taking photos and video and occasionally dodging champagne sprays (it really doesn’t mix well with expensive camera equipment).  I realized quickly why everyone else was further behind me.  (I did manage to avoid getting hit by flying bubbly, but only just!)

Overall, the event provided some of the best racing outside of the major INDY/IMSA/NASCAR races that I have attended.  The track is legendary, the access is completely open, and the crowd is very minimal.  People are friendly and you can photograph everything from your stepladder and drive your car around like a mobile ice cooler. 

Combining the Trans Am and SVRA Speed Tour, along with the Hagerty car show, gave the chance to see a wide variety of motorsports all at one event and up close, from Sprite to Le Mans winner.

What’s not to like about that?

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