yeah, with a bit of track aero Javelins go from some of the more awkward looking muscle cars; to honestly one of the arguably most beautiful. What a looker those Penski Javelins with the side exhaust were.
Love the Javelin! The Javelins under Donohue and Penske were what made the Trans Am such a thrilling period. The Javelins battling the Mustangs and the other contenders from the Big 3 is a story that deserves becoming a movie.
No doubt! Trans Am was the best American racing series ever for my money & my favorite car "1970 Javelin" driven by Mark Donahue... oh to build a custom tribute car with today's technology! The stuff dreams are made of...😍😏
Hear Mike talk was like getting in a time machine back to my childhood in the early 90's. I've lost interest in Nascar but Mike's voice brings back all that joy and nostalgia from watching races with my family.
My father worked for AMC in Kenosha and he took my brother and I to Meadowdale raceway in 1969 to watch the Javelins race. Mark Donahue won that day in his Sunoco Camaro. Great memories… my father is 90 now and still going strong!
In a way it's probably good this was coming to an end just before I was picking up the keys. I got into enough trouble without trying to emulate these guys and cars on our local roads.
That was great fun, gentlemen! I love this era of American racing. So much variety between Trans-Am, Can-Am, NASCAR, Indy cars, SCCA, Bonneville, sports cars...There was so much to see! Everything now is so homogenized and regulated; it's nice to go back and see how it was 50 years ago before everything got too corporate. Thanks again, Jay and crew, for another great episode, and thanks to Mike Joy and Ken Epsman for bringing the cars out for a live history lesson! ✌️❤️🙂🇨🇦
Oh, I'm watching. You're saying there's a current Can-Am series I've somehow missed?😁 And try to tell the differences between teams in NASCAR, Formula 1, Indy cars, etc. without their liveries.
@@scottimusgarrett15 you can actually see a difference in F1 cars again, since the rules change last year. There were actually pretty big differences in the cars last year, and probably will still be this year. The problem with F1 is they turned the cars into land yachts, that are powered by Dyson vacs. I hope when they get rid of the MGU-H in 26, that we will actually get SOME sound back.
You can tell Mike has spent his career in broadcasting cause he talks like my dad used to on the telephone. Loud as hell . Love you Mike. Your a voice of my generation.
Yet another wonderful episode of JLG. Mike Joy is a true gentleman in real life and those of us old enough to remember Trans-Am do so fondly. (By the way, the '70 Challenger T/A? That stood for "trans am" as well, only the name was already taken by Pontiac and Chrysler didn't want to pay licensing to SCCA 🙂). - Ed on the Ridge
im under 40 for now 85-95-kid lol and i remember T/A racing as a kid but the cars by the 1980's-99 where ringer car's and not something you could buy at the dealership's my 60's charger im going for a imperial/upscale feel and T/A vibe's/upcoming next year mule-car mod's as a what if hype marketing stunt, and yes technically it's a cheater care/500-540CI 4.3X4.5in stroke D-8 heads all iron and dry sump engine ect as im building for me not the rule book ( maybe there's a better class to fit it in ? ) but it's still got some/mostly vibe's from early sedan/convertible 🇺🇸 racing class's as it's not a full racing car ringer to win
I am sorry to hear about Jay's motorcycle accident. I'm 65 and have been riding motorcycles since I got my driver licence at 17. I'm aware that the unexpected can cause even experienced riders to go down. Us old guys don't bounce as well as we used to! Wishing you a speedy recovery. I just watched Steve Lehto's video no the cancellation of Jay Leno's Garage on NBC. I watch on You Tube and I hope the show continues. I would like to thank you for being such a conscientious steward of automotive history and sharing it with me.
My 3 daughters and I watched Mike Joy finish 2nd to his son at Limerock this past year. Prior to the race we were wandering around the pits in the rain and he had my young ones get their pictures in the cars. I did not recognize him and asked another driver why he looked familiar. The driver I asked was his son, though he did not tell us that was his Dad. We all talked again after the race and took pictures with them and the cars. Very nice people on a kind of rainy day where many bugged out. Great that they put so much into the sport.
This show will be the most watched for months to come, and hopefully into history. Jay get seriously injured, bounces back, and does a show with the Man. Mike, whose voice quivered, when Dale Earnhart finally won the Daytona 500 in '98..."Every man, on every team........I shared his tears. Mike Joy? Are you listening? Your work makes a generation of car guys, stand up and listen.....to your every word.
Thanks for bringing back alot of great memories!!! I was an SCCA corner worker and Pit Row worker and remember the sound smell and compression of a group of Mustangs Camaros and Javelins and Dodges screaming by!!! When the grid would come down Pit Row you could feel the vibration from the asphalt up through your feet!!!!
Love the Javelin! That car runs, too! Saw it win at the Historics in Monterey and at Watkins Glen. Got to meet Ken and see the car up close a few times. Ken's a great driver and a super nice guy, even offering folks to sit in the Javelin at the Watkins Glen Grand Prix Festival in town. Trans Am was my favorite series. I grew up in the area where Roger Penske started his operation with Mark Donohue, and live a few blocks from the original shop. I look at that building every time I drive by, thinking of the history that was made there.
This was another EPIC video. Just wish it was much longer & Jay would've gotten to drive all three cars. Would've loved seeing that Javelin on the road. My Dad had a new Javelin in the early 70's but only kept it a week then went back to Oldsmobile. But overall, as far as I'm concerned this could've been 3 hours long with an hour dedicated to each car. Now I'm going to watch the Barrett Jackson auction on TV 😎😎😎
This is very cool. When I was young I used to watch the IMSA Porsche 962C's. I once had the chance to see a SCCA race in person. I love to see any vintage race cars. Since your showing 70's race cars, I'd like to see someone come in with a 70's mid-engined Can-Am race car and explain the cool history of that era. I'm sure most young people have no idea. I love the AMC shown here. Hoovie from "Hoovies Garage" has a Hertz Mustang just like this one. Thank you.
The Trans Am series was my favorite also. Thanks for bringing light to this old series. Mike Joy was awesome with his history on this subject. In regards to the AMC engine, they only had one block, like Pontiac, so the difference between a 304 and 401 was just bore and stroke. The racing engine used a different bore and stroke than the regular 304.
Love that era of racing... thanks to those guys for sharing all their knowledge ! And there goes Jay riding off into the sunset like the last american hero lol
This is great. I recognized Mike Joy right away. His voice is legendary. I remember this series but I was too young to really remember. Trans Am history. Cool. Like a mini NASCAR.🔥🔥😎♥♥
I was an SCCA course worker in 1992. The Trans Am race at Sonoma was my first pro event. I flagged the turn 6 carousel. I got to wander the Pitts several times & meet all the famous drivers & got to hang out with some of them on Saturday night. It's still one of my favorite weekends ever.
Mike Joy is a very knowledgeable announcer and passionate race car enthusiast. His work on nascar is such a small piece of him. Great episode about the best sanctioned group of racers ever.
I loved this segment highlighting the early days and development of the Trans Am racing system. The two guests were walking encyclopedias. Well done Jay. 👍
This is totally awesome. It was a blast watching the Trans Am cars in the vintage races at Laguna Seca this past summer during the Monterey Historics. Boss 302 owner here and a total Ford nut. That Javelin is really cool, love it. Great to see Mike Joy!
We always thought the AMC Javelin/AMX from '71 looked a bit hokey on the street, with the quasi-Corvette bulgy fenders, etc. As a race car, especially with the Trans Am livery, it looks awesome! 👍👍
My good friend Tony "a2z" Adamowicz won the Under 2 Liter Trans Am Championship in '68 piloting a Porsche 911. The title helped propel his career significantly which speaks volumes for how the Series was viewed back in the day. He later drove Challengers in '70 with Sam Posey and Javelins for Roy Woods in '71. Tony really enjoyed his time in Trans Am and always spoke very highly of Series. Thanks Jay for putting a video together on this topic!
l had two AMX's. A 68' and a 69'. The 69' had a 290 v8 and less than 25k on the odometer. That car with headers was reasonably fast. l remember driving at over 100 mph it still got decent gas mileage. l would drive it from Dallas to Austin and back on a regular basis at 90+ mph. The car loved it. lt seems like that wouldve made a great trans am car.
Just awesome history of Trans-Am Racing. What a treat to have Mike Joy riding with Jay Leno in a very nice Trans-Am Ford Mustang. Great video Jay, thank you!
Thank you for another fun episode of Jay Leno's Garage. all three of the car's in this episode look amazing! The sound of that Mustang is so loud but it brought back memories of going out to the drag strip back in the 90's. I know it is not the same, but the wide open exhaust and choppy idle are very exciting to hear...
Great video Jay! My two favorite racing series were Trans Am, (I remember that red white and blue Javelin), and the IROC series! If I’m not mistaken, when IROC started they used identically prepared Porsche 911’s, then came the Camaros! Fantastic racing! Thank you!
Another Fab J Leno!! I had completely forgotten about Trans-Am racing which was right in my wheel house in my early hot rod days… 1964 Falcon, 289…. Crane Cam, Needle Rockers, Hooker headers, Vertex Mag… American Mags, Fun Car… had to sell it to pay for the Doc Bill for #1 Son. Today I have a C8 in garage… starting my youth over again… Thanks J for more great memories!
I watched the Trans Am series at Laguna Seca in 1968 & 69. The cars raced for 500 miles ! Incredibly tight competition between all the makes and the drivers were fearless !
The 69 Camaros had an option for a cross ram intake manifold with two small Holley Carburetors that got shipped in the trunk and installed at the dealer . Most used it for Trans Am racing versus Drag racing because it was only available on the DZ 302
at 72 I still love loud cars. When I drive my 69 SS Camaro with corvette 427 side exhaust my wife wears ear plugs! These years were just the best for cars! Most of the cars I collect are 63 to 75. Another well done Jay Leno episode and hopefully folks learned a lot today! Tkx Jay!
I remember Riverside in Agawam and Flemke, Krebs, Greco, and Jocko Maggiacomo (adding a lot of excitement with runs toward the front but not winning as often as it looked like he could have), to name a few. I got back from overseas and back to the races just before Mike Joy started there and wonder what he thought of Gary Colturi, who seemed so talented in the first pinto bodied Modified I saw (lost too soon in a motorcycle accident on the streets). I believe Mike Joy started there a year or two before Gary started impressing us. I always like the last turn seating when spectating. My dad liked the 1st turn seating where they had a rowdy crowd that would throw things at the drivers they disapproved of as they left the track. I tried to get my dad to sit in the more civilized sections, but he wouldn't consider it until the night his favorite, Ed Patnode, was finally around the second place car and had 6 laps to catch the leader. He was doing great, I'm sure prompted by us yelling "Go Ed Go!" as I carelessly swung my beer around as if making a lap, before my dad looking in horror as the beer headed for the largest part of the rowdiest crowd below us. Thinking quick, I grabbed his beer and splashed it on both of us as he followed my lead and looked behind us as if to see who had started the beer shower. Luckily the crowd behind us was watching the excitement on the track and didn't notice us looking like we were among the beer shower victims. We didn't sit in that section after that night.
This is one of the best episodes. Genuine interest in the cars, and the cars are awesome. These cars required knowledge, feeling and courage to get them on the limit. New cars are faster and easier to drive, but are they as rewarding? Props for bringing up Riverside. My father won the SCCA Formula B Championship there in 1968. He'll be 84 in a few days, and if it still existed, could probably do a respectable lap of it....
Mike Joy has been the voice of racing for me since watching races as a kid in the 1970's. I've always loved the Javelin. Good to see it get recognition here. Fantastic cars, fantastic episode. Wishing Jay all the best after his clothesline encounter :)
Trans Am was a great, great series. Parnelli Jones proved to the world that he retired from racing waaaay to early. Donohue, Follmer and Gurney really spiced things up. I miss it to this day and wish someone had filmed the dog gone thing!
Amazing cars always have been my favourite but living in Yorkshire I know very little about the Trans Am series fascinating insight to a wonderful era 🎉❤
Odd that you didn't mention Craig Breedlove being on team AMC/AMX With Mark Donohue Before Pete Revson, The Donohue / Breedlove Was the championship team, They put me in mind of the Jim Hall Hap Sharp Chaparral team. Just Say'in. Not to take anything away from Pete Revson, He wad a great driver.
Great episode. Thank you for calling the racing Historic and not Vintage. Grinds me when I hear Historic racing called that. Lovely to see original Trans Am cars together like that too.
Great video Jay! I have special feelings for Trans-Am cars. I owned a 1970 Challenger T/A 340 sixpack. I absolutely love that car. MoPar magazine did a special article on my car with the guy I sold it to . I out run a lot of cars on the street with that car!
Excellent content! I always enjoy learning more about the original Trans Am series...that era of racing was my favorite! These cars started on the showroom floor before they were tweaked to race in the series...I fell in love with 1968/1969 Penske Z/28 Camaros driven by Mark Donohue that won the championships those years, and the Boss 302 Mustangs driven by Parnelli Jones, and George Folmer battling it out. All that was needed was Sam Posey's # 77 Dodge Challenger to round out the field! Thanks!
I Love this program! It's kinda like getting to hang out with your Dad or Grandpa and just trying to soak in all of their knowledge and enthusiasm! What a great way to honour and respect the ingenuity of our predecessors. Keep up the amazing work!
