The history of American sports car racing has seen its fair share of world-class vehicles and those also-rans that failed to live up to any sort of expectations. The 1969 Chevrolet Camaro Trans-Am Race car is one of those that has not only lived up to the hype, but has far exceeded it.

Judging from the documents surrounding this particular ’69 Z28 Camaro, which includes HMSA and SCCA log books, the car’s racing resume shows that this was one of the fastest, most developed first generation racing Camaros to race in America. The lofty tag placed on the car is indicative of the sheer dominance it exhibited in the American racing scene back then.

Proof of the Camaro’s dominating exploits still remains in this particular model. It still comes with its original Trans-Am specifications - including the legendary all-iron 302 cubic inch engine, the Borg-Warner super T-10 transmission and the J-56 brakes.

Shortly before its awe-inspiring performances in race tracks all over America, the Camaro was actually a theft-recovered car that Richie Allin used in 1971 to replace a 1967 Camaro he wrecked at driving school. The recovered ’69 Camaro was then rebuilt based on the GM specifications provided by two of his Allin’s colleagues, Donohue and Vince Piggins.

As part of Allin’s restoration efforts, he painted the car with a bright blue metallic tone, complete with streaks of red and white streaking across the roof and down the rear quarter panels matching the large white number 87 emblazoned on the side of the car. Little did anybody know that the distinctive paint job done on the Camaro would end up playing an even more important role in the car’s re-discovery when photos from an early log book were used to find its original identity through Road America records.

This particular Camaro has also had its fair share of owners, dating back to when Allin first recovered it back in 1971. Over the course of 37 years, the car has had numerous owners who all used it for their racing exploits, until it found its way into the arms of Lance Smith of Huntington Cars, who promptly gave it a comprehensive restoration it so richly deserves.

Petersen Camaro Race History:

The car ran in four races in the Trans-Am Series in 1972.

June 4th Mid-Ohio - finished 31st

June 18th Watkins Glen - finished 10th

July 4th Donnybrooke - finished 9th

July 15th Road America - finished 30th

Various SCCA Regional and National events between 1975 and 1982

Various Historic Racing events 1988 through 2006