One of my favorite Penske transam stories is the one about the brake discs on the their AMC cars. Rules said that the discs had to have a part number from the manufacturers part catalog (I.e. be stock parts.) Penske took the discs from a Porsche 917-10 can am car (~1100 hp needs a lot of breaking power…) and paid a local AMC dealer to enter them into the AMC parts catalog…

@c0mplex564

11 ай бұрын

Based as fuck

@jasin1441

11 ай бұрын

Hahaha that's awesome

@04dram04

10 ай бұрын

That's scummy

@c0mplex564

10 ай бұрын

@@04dram04 baby, getting outplayed and getting cheated aint the same thing.

@jackryan4313

10 ай бұрын

@@04dram04it's not

It's racing! The rule book says what you can and can't do. It's a racers job to find every advantage while following the rules of that series. If you find time or speed from changing something that the rules don't say anything about, you're gonna win the race. No, it's not cheating, well, maybe in some cases it is, but mostly it's just trying to be better than the other guys on any given day. This is why the rule book is thick as a dictionary today!

@robertdevito5001

Жыл бұрын

Acid dipping is cheating, a 20 foot tower for quicker refueling and brake calipers that automatically retract are innovations.

@GreaseMonkey-dq2dk

Жыл бұрын

@@robertdevito5001 the acid dipping was innovative too. It was an idea to decrease weight. No rule about how thick the panels had to be at the time, only that they were to be factory supplied fenders, which they were. They just weighed half as much as everyone else's. Some would say it's all cheating. Some would say it's all innovative. The ones that say innovative are probably racers or at least race fans. The ones that say cheating probably aren't, or they got beat by that guy at the last race. 😂

@shantygaming694

Жыл бұрын

I really only have an issue with it in grass roots racing series and lower feeder series. I grew up racing jet boats, and there was lower classes designed to be cheap and affordable to attract new racers. A race series designed to simple, drop in a stock Chevy ZZ4, and go racing. Yet you’d have people running built up motors that was obviously against the spirit of the class. And the classes for people wanting to run built up motors exist, but they rather beat up on new racers and people doing everything they can to afford racing in the first place.

@commodoresixfour7478

Жыл бұрын

​@@shantygaming694 That could be said for Demolition Durbys too.

@jamessimms415

Жыл бұрын

@@robertdevito5001 If your not trying to find advantages or being innovative, then your not serious abt winning.

It's so interesting to see how Racing was back in the day. Thank you so much for Telling those Legendary Storys

@djjazzyjeff1232

Жыл бұрын

It was so much better. Everything in racing has become more and more and more homogenous over the years, in basically all forms.

@themotorsportstory

Жыл бұрын

Appreciate you watching!

@rolux4853

Жыл бұрын

@@djjazzyjeff1232 exactly! I love the vintage race cars, nowadays everything is boring and regulated to death. No more fun in racing..

@Jehty21

Жыл бұрын

@@rolux4853 so you think real death is more fun than regulated to death?

@rex8255

Жыл бұрын

@@rolux4853 I was watching a video the other day about how Nascar decided they were going to have these cool new wings on the back! Which worked great until a car got spun, and it created lift. SMDH. Formula 1 is getting so irritated with the FIA they're about ready to give them the finger (or whatever hand gesture te ultra rich use). THANKS, RULES LAWYERS!

That refuelling footage is terrifying 😳

@heathkill4821

11 ай бұрын

Indeed fuel dumped all over the rear of the car and when he took off the car shook it off like a wet dog😂

@RENO_K

10 ай бұрын

​@@heathkill4821😂like a wet dog

@markl6038

9 ай бұрын

Particularly after watching Jos Verstappen's pit stop disaster in 1994.

@BlackMan614

9 ай бұрын

Shocked one of the pit crew doesn't have a cigarette in his mouth.

@yoslauda4714

5 ай бұрын

​@@BlackMan614ahh that's why he spilled the gas, no lit cigarette on mouth = insufficient skills😅

Everyone should read "Unfair Advantage" by Mark Donohue.

@TheFarCobra

Жыл бұрын

Anyone who hasn’t read it has wasted their life to this point.

@themotorsportstory

Жыл бұрын

Amazing read for sure! I'm still not all the way through it, but there's not an ounce of boring in it!

@kentbeitel9966

Жыл бұрын

It’s a fast read, I couldn’t put it down

@Lobo-tommy10

Жыл бұрын

If you haven't your just a backmarker.

@scottyskydog

Жыл бұрын

Awesome read!

It's always interesting to speculate who 'engineered' the best Camaro for the Trans-Am series, the Penske team or Smokey Yunick. Sadly, the SCCA tech inspectors freaked out when they took a first look at Smokey's Camaro and flat refused to let it race. The guy who restored it a few years ago found all sorts of interesting features hidden in it that the SCCA guys never discovered.

@ClumsyCars

Жыл бұрын

Such as?

@janofb

Жыл бұрын

@@ClumsyCars He used thinner window glass to reduce weight, cut the subframe to raise the floorpan and lower the ride height, and tilted the front end forward to improve aerodynamics. He also ran his fuel through his roll cage making his fuel line 11 feet long and 2" wide which added 1 3/8 gallons, plus he had a larger fuel tank which he would put in a deflated basket ball, then inflate. Tech inspection would calculate the 22 gals legal, then he would deflate the basket ball, pull it out, and add in 2 more gallons.

@themotorsportstory

Жыл бұрын

It's amazing all of the stuff these guys did that's only just recently coming to light

@NoNORADon911

Жыл бұрын

Trans am now sounds like it should have lipstick and a beard.

@glennoswald5928

11 ай бұрын

​@@janofbThe roll cage fuel and the basket ball in the fuel tank were both Smokie Nascar experience s not Trans Am

My grandfather was part of the team during the 60's and 70's, he was part of the sunocos oil for his trans am series and he had some wild stories

@gunsmoke51

9 ай бұрын

Who was your father?

@Doomhammer1334

9 ай бұрын

@@gunsmoke51 my grand father was Gerald Kroninger, my father was a kid at the time

@gunsmoke51

8 ай бұрын

Sure. I remember J(G)erry Kroniger. His son (your Dad?) worked at Penske Racing Summe '76.@@Doomhammer1334

I can really recommend reading the book mentioned in this video "The unfair advantage". There so many great stories more in this book.

@themotorsportstory

Жыл бұрын

For sure, It's a great book! I still haven't finished it, but I'm happy I have more left to enjoy!

@bloqk16

Жыл бұрын

@@themotorsportstory My favorite chapter in that book was with the Ferrari 512M. If Ferrari devotees ever wondered why that car had lackluster success in its two years of competition, Donohue does well to describe all the shortcomings of the 512 . . . and he pulled no punches with his criticisms.

So the best part about the brake changes, is that it wasn't from the normal brake booster, they added a second one on a switch to operate the retracting. It was a spec booster, of course, since that was required for the series, but they didn't specify you couldn't add extras. (Also idk if you mention it later, but they'd also take porsche brake calipers down to the local GM dealers and have them register a part number for it so they were "GM" brakes.)

9:37 "Being the fun loving people that they are, the SCCA..." THANK YOU FOR YOUR INPUT! #iykyk 🤣 Great video!

@themotorsportstory

Жыл бұрын

Thank you for your input. We will continue to monitor the performance balance of your comment. Jokes aside though, glad you enjoyed it! Looking forward to watching your stuff as a fellow autocross/track day enjoyer!

@reprehensiblereptile1138

Жыл бұрын

@@themotorsportstory The SCCA knows to ruin a good thing, and they do so repeatedly.

I’m a big trans am fan and I was glad to see there were some people who had stories like this. I like watching this old film and the innovations that these guys made

My dads father (Roy Gane) was apart of Penske racing in that era and I always enjoy the stories and Hearing the craftsmanship that went into those cars.

@themotorsportstory

9 ай бұрын

That's awesome! Sounds like a really great guy to talk to.

This is top quality storytelling, truly awesome!

@themotorsportstory

Жыл бұрын

Thanks so much!

More videos on the Trans-Am series. Lots of awesome stories came out of this race series by all participants. Great job.

To lower the front end of the car he had the spindles moved up. 75 inches for better arodinamics . Mark was an automotive genius, an one hell of a driver, watching him race is what got me into the sport.

Wow, a great story told about this Racing Team. I love first generation Camaros and the old no. 6s from 1967 and 1968 raced by the Penske Team will always be my favourites. Thanks a lot for sharing!

@themotorsportstory

Жыл бұрын

Really glad you enjoyed it, thank you!

@dougcarpenter7627

11 ай бұрын

Wins for shitrolling should be stricken from history and fines levied!!! Even from long ago. Rules should always be adhered to!!!!! Unfair comparison should still be corrected!!!!!! Otherwise racing history was made into a f'n bad joke!!!!

The bit about cooling the fuel down to fit more in is straight up genius! I’d never think of that!

If you work for Penske they bend the rules on how much they can work thier employees for min pay as well!!

Formula 1 maestro, Adrian Newey once said that there is nothing like the spirit of the rules. In fact bending rules is the birth of innovation.

Going from memory, I remember the engine blocks being acid dipped as well. The company Traco comes to mind.

@dougcarpenter7627

11 ай бұрын

ANOTHER CHEATING CHEVY COMPANY !!!!

@marklangren3142

4 ай бұрын

Track built Penskes engines

@marklangren3142

4 ай бұрын

Tracko

Great vid, really enjoyed!!! 🏁🏁

I expected the music at 1:02 to suddenly change audio quality 10 seconds into the song and it was jarring when it stayed consistent.

If I liked craft beer, this channel would be the craft beer of KZread channels. Premium, unique, and with an incredibly dedicated, growing, and loyal community. Keep it up! (Also I feel like a snob for being here so early in its lifestyle ;)

@themotorsportstory

Жыл бұрын

Haha, I like the analogy! Thank you🙂

Tracktribe's "A night alone" music threw me off guard for a moment there. it's the dankpods testing song for me and nothing else !!

Penske and Chevrolet weren't the only ones acid dipping, most of the rest of the competition did it too. Sam Posey tells of the time his team left the body in the acid bath a bit too long. No problem until an official who had been looking over the car leaned on the roof with his elbow and it just buckled. "Oh, what's this" he said, we can't have this! Team Posey got permission from Chrysler Corp. to go to a local dealer and cut the roof off a showroom car and put it on the race car to get through tech inspection. Trans Am, with its strong factory backing at that time, tried anything they thought they could get away with to improve their chances!

Donahue and crew spent a lot of time sorting out springs and sway bars. That trial and error effort is what ultimately got the Camaro to handle.

Great video! There are so many Penske dealerships here in the Midwest, its great to see the backstory!

Nice! 11foot8 is indeed the first thing that came to mind when I heard Penske 😂

@DonnieX6

Жыл бұрын

Love your channel by the way, so glad I found it, your videos are quite interesting indeed! 👊😊

@LuisAbreu90

Жыл бұрын

maybe in part 2. One of the biggest surprises for the 1970 Trans-Am season was the announcement that Penske Racing was switching from their championship winning Camaros to the, so far, unsuccessful AMC Javelin for drivers Mark Donohue and Peter Revson. The cars were built from scratch in Penske’s shop in Newton Square Pennsylvania. In typical Penske fashion, they included a few “unfair advantages” such as the use of Porsche 917 disc brakes (with AMC part numbers!).

@themotorsportstory

Жыл бұрын

I couldn't resist putting that in haha!

@themotorsportstory

Жыл бұрын

Appreciate that!

@themotorsportstory

Жыл бұрын

Thanks for the idea for part 2! If there's enough info on it, that sounds really interesting!

One of my new favorite channels

@themotorsportstory

Жыл бұрын

Thanks, that means a lot!

This is the definition of what racing is about

Brilliant video. I am a British F1 fan and know very little about American racing series. This is true racing spirit. Motor racing history is told by teams who have innovated and exploited gaps in the rulebooks. Great stuff!

@themotorsportstory

Жыл бұрын

Thank you, glad you enjoyed!

Actually, this is exactly what is missing from NASCAR today. Getting the most out of your car and pit crew by squeezing sweat out of the rulebook.

@Brandeino

Жыл бұрын

It’s still ongoing. Just gotta wait 20 years for the new secrets to come out!

@mmmmmmmmmm.m.

Жыл бұрын

I heard a rumour about lol Pva paint on cars disappearing over a race distance. 😂

@phoenixcampos3144

Жыл бұрын

You think we’d hear about if it they were doing it well today?

@reprehensiblereptile1138

Жыл бұрын

Not anymore, racing has become homogenized across all professional series. Much to the detriment of the sport, and drivers/ constructors.

@adillakandi.r

11 ай бұрын

Its still the same, the difference is they would caught after post race inspection

*_Mark Donahue was one of the best race drivers ever... RIP._*

There were really no rules about roll cages either (compared to today) they just had to have one. Today with a car weighing that much you would need a roll cage with tubing that was 1-750” X .095” they had 1-5” X .065” I’m talking a quarter inch narrower and half the thickness if they ever had a bad shunt in on it would have folded like a tin can!

Awesome video 🔥

"If it's not on the rulebook, it's technically legal". Racing skills can make you go fast, but bending the rules to make your car go even faster win you the races and championship. I always find teams that trying to push the limit and go creative with the rules fascinating.

The subtle art of acid dipping isn't to lower the weight of the car because the shows up on the scales. You put the weight back as low and as far back as you can hide it to lower center of gravity and shift weight distribution. And unless they start checking front/rear weight plus putting the car on a turntable to check CG you're home free.

8:00 the fuel tower, in the back ground, is a U-Haul truck. Iro-nyyy

@themotorsportstory

Жыл бұрын

🤣Yup, that was how they got it there! I should have paused to mention that, because it's pretty funny!

@marklangren3142

Жыл бұрын

Penske trucking didn't exist in the 60's and 70's

@milfordh.mercado2787

Жыл бұрын

I wonder how did penske felt when he had to rent a U-Haul truck on that day 😂😂.

Dude thanks so much, lit af videos

@themotorsportstory

Жыл бұрын

Thank you, glad you're liking them!

My stepdad used to go to races in Indy about every year with his dad. Here's the best story: It rained all day, but they brought umbrellas to tough it out. He notices the guy in front of him had a Penske jacket, so whenver his umbrella would gather water he would shake or dump it onto the guy. After the third or fourth time, his dad yell at him "Quit fucking with the poor guy, what he do to you?" "He's a Penske fan." Then there were two umbrellas being unloaded on the guy.

I saw one of the Mark Donohue Sunoco Camaros once. Absolutely was thrilled!

watching those old cars running loose through the turns.....real driving. I miss that kind of racing.

I live in PA and have friends and family who worked at Penske and i myself worked as a collision tech in their old race shop on Riverfront Drive in Reading ( it was a truck shop when i worked there and still is ) and it was next to the shop where they make penske racing shocks and not once when i worked there was this history even mentioned and im not even mad because this is a great story.

@HotBoiRicer

Жыл бұрын

Used to live an hour from reading, still haven’t been to the old shop back home in PA.

@SAMPLETEXT285

Жыл бұрын

@@HotBoiRicer id visit again soon as they are building a new shop near Lancaster and moving out of that shop so it's longevity is unknown now.

@themotorsportstory

Жыл бұрын

That's awesome, thanks for sharing that! Penske has some great history!

Wow amazing facts of yesterday's racing for Penske. I had only herd of the Acid dipping but the rest of this information is fascinating. Cheating has always been part of the game. I remember when Penske had his cars always waxed so they would slip faster when running. It wasn't cheating, but he always brought innovation to the sport. Thanks for the video.

Can't believe I've only just caught this vid ,absolutely genius trickery and absolutely hilarious too 😂😂😂 perfect 👍

First of all Roger Penske is a good man deep down. He is honest and a good businessman. Second Chevy Cmaros still finished third in points behind Ford and AMC . Ouch! Roger went on to become the president of AMC at the end. Ironic, Yep!

Stuff still happens. Years ago in Australian Supercars a team was found to be exploiting the rule that said no ballast could be added outside the passenger cell by having a 50kg muffler fitted to the exhaust system, getting the weight down as low as possible. This was eventually banned. The team? DJR Team Penske 😂

this is the type of people I love in motorsports, win at any cost doing anything it takes

Great stuff.

Very interesting and fun video

Great video.

I just watched the VIN Wiki's video about cheating in nascar yesterday so this video is timed amazingly

@themotorsportstory

Жыл бұрын

Awesome! Love VIN Wiki's stuff!

These times were pure gold. Great motorsport story thank you! Love the bonus stories in the comment section. 😂

I'd love a video on Penske's time with AMC. They were a weird car company.

I was fascinated reading this stuff from the other side, in Allan Moffat's book Climbing The Mountain.

You omitted the mercury switch controled brake lights and the three lug nut Minilite wheels.

You missed how Mark Donahue described the car refueling. All that weight going into the fuel tank at once was like a ton of brick being dumped into the truck.

He got busted for acid diddimg when an official was literally just shooting the sh*t with him and happened to just lean against the car with his elbow propped on the roof. Just from the weight of his arm caused the roof to dent in. He said "its from all this hot sun". Haha Busted!

Those Cougars are so pretty!

The AMC engine was junk so Roger put all Chevrolet internal parts in it. Pretty ingenious as always. I saw his teams run at Elkhart Lake where he dominated the series. Also Mark Donahue drive the 917 Porsche to many wins. I was going to college to become a mechanical engineer and built and drove many radical race cars in the 60s and 70s and admired many who read the rule book differently.

@racerx8856

9 ай бұрын

So describe the "junk". Penske had Traco build all of his engines.

It's all good the weird little audio dropout didn't bother me cool video thanks for sharing

@themotorsportstory

Жыл бұрын

Glad you liked it!

From what I've heard, only the car-swapping trick was the cheating part. All the rest is innovation. Some of those principles Penske did are being used in racing today.

Funny story, I race asphalt circle track locally and I bought a car from a guy who didn't know anything about the car. I go to my first race and i have a bunch of people wondering where I bought it because they had thought the car had been trashed many years ago. I dealt with some mechanical issues and as i was fixing it i had trouble welding parts of the car, the metal wouldn't weld, so I replaced pieces with newer material. I go back to the track and I'm having a conversation with another racer who knows where the car came from and i told him about having problems welding it. He told me the original owner built 2 identical cars but one was acid dipped. He wouldn't expound on it, he just said it was something to think about and walked off.

GREAT VIDEO AND GOOD HISTORY. Interpretation of the rules is the name of the game in TA and many other series. it allows for creativity and good engineering practices to put utilized. Bravo Team Penske. SCCA has been known for many years to stifle creativity for political reasons. And finally a moment of reflection for Mark Donahue, one of the best engineers and drivers, and you are greatly missed. RIP

@themotorsportstory

Жыл бұрын

Thank you! Agree with everything you said here👍🏻

This Kiwi's favourite Roger the Dodger story. He went to McLaren in the UK in 1967 and talked Bruce into selling him a CanAm McLaren. An M6B I think. McLaren was not selling customer cars at this time. So old Rodger probably emptied his pockets! LOL He took it back to the States and spent another two fortune's on it. Americanizing it. That is, chroming everything, painting and pinstriping everything. In the first race in 1968, he showed up with his baby and parked it next to Denny's car. Bruce's and his boys efforts over the winter. Their completely new version, M8A, hurriedly given a splash of papaya orange paint. And easily 20-seconds a lap faster than the Penske and Donahue's Sunoco trailer queen.

Roger Penske was then, is now, and has ALWAYS Been My HERO ! Both On the Race Track, On the Water, and In the Boardroom ! IF it's Good for Me and Not Good for the Company or the Team.......iT Ain't Good for Me ! "We" Ain't Doin' iT ! Race On Captain 🐾👍 Best Always, Bruce Stone and STONE Bros. Racing ✔️🤫

Penske is a beast at anything he touches. Incredibly smart that’s so true.

Great video! Loved it!

One word comes in mind when listening to this video: AMEEEEERICUUUUUU

I've seen his yacht in person, that thing is HUGE

Jesus, seeing all those guys just getting doused in fuel while standing in a puddle of fuel. So dangerous

Great!!!! Do you do one about Penske's years with AMC? As a former AMX owner, I'd love to know more about race involvement.

The comments on this video illustrate the main divide in current racing. Using the top end for example, we have F1, which is you have $$$ do what you want within these guidelines. And then we have indycar, where the cars are the same so it's all down to the driver. At least that's the basic principal. I'd be unsurprised if some of the same type things weren't being tried but iDk really. This divide exists in every type of racing I know of, planes, boats, whatever, there are always both types of classes.

Now he's at it over here with the Mustangs. 😂😂

Hey the background music is the Dankpods headphone test music! That’s cool

Cool!

Go read the Unfair Advantage, it was written by Donohue. It's a very good book

@themotorsportstory

Жыл бұрын

It's a great read!

@incomingexploiter

Жыл бұрын

@@themotorsportstory it really is

Thanks

In the VIN Wiki channel, it's also mentioned that the fuel lines of the camaros are an inch in diameter, increasing the capacity (secretly) SCCA told the team to take one of the tanks out for investigation because SCCA thought there's something nefarious in the tanks, I. E., the cars have longer run times between fuel stops. But penske drove the said car out, *WITHOUT THE FUEL TANK, because there's still fuel in the lines*

The amount of fuel spilling over on the back of the car is crazy

I like working out the energy transfer rates for fuelling cars.. 22 gallons in 5.5 seconds comes out at nearly half a gigawatt.

@themotorsportstory

Жыл бұрын

Interesting! That's a pretty huge amount of energy haha

Bro, killed me when you said dry ice lol

Innovation should always blur the rules a little, these guys had me cackling at their audacity, fucking rock on Team Penske. Some certified bad asses of the track racing scene for sure.

Winners never quit and quitters never Win. Good on you Roger Penske. DJT is another one who is a winner.!

@wymple09

11 ай бұрын

DJT has been on a very long losing streak, starting with his mind.

This a good addendum to the vinwiki video

@themotorsportstory

Жыл бұрын

Glad you think so! I haven't seen that specific video by them so it makes me laugh that other people are accusing me of copying it as if I'm not allowed to cover the same topic haha

When i seen Penske rental truck my first thought was the CanOpener!

04:20 When the tech inspector set his clipboard and materials down on the roof, the roof buckled in...

Racing in the 60s and 70s and even 80s was just a whole different world that racing is now. Just look how much fuel dumps all over the car when they pull the nozzle out. lol wtf?

Damn shame this video doesn’t have more views

@themotorsportstory

Жыл бұрын

Appreciate that, but it looks like the algorithm found it now🙂

I was surprised to see Cougars racing.

Lol, thanks for making this video.

Fantastic video. Rules are still being bent today. It will never change.

in the crazy series of circumventing the rules (mode "it's not explicitly forbidden so it's necessarily authorized") I heard about a team which, in nascar, would have imagined having a hidden fuel reserve " in" the pipes of the safety cage ..... sometimes all it takes is a few drops of fuel to avoid running out of fuel ! on the other hand, there is a question of the safety of the pilots in the event of "contact" between cars that are a little too violent.........

all that racing fuel splashing in/around red hot exhausts, brakes, etc., and zero protection for the refuelers. INSANE !!

A classic battle of wits. 😮

Roger owes everything to Mark

Holy crap fuel all over the back of the car the ground is covered wild men what a gotdam mess lol

@bloqk16

Жыл бұрын

I was at the 1969 Trans Am race at Sears Point where one of those Penske Team quick pit stops for fuel ruined a pair of top quality alligator shoes Roger Penske was wearing. The value of those shoes, when adjusted for inflation, would cost around $500 in 2023.

@themotorsportstory

Жыл бұрын

That's an awesome story haha! Didn't know he was a man of high fashion too

As usual, my friend you surpassed the last story with the biggest name in the racing world whose 'win it all' attitude in the trans-am championship has to be legendary tell for this channel so please do more in the future and one more thing to ask when you said the word 'acid dip' i was thinking of dodge challenger ta cars story where it's true or not that's remains to be seen so thank you for the video and have nice day bye now 🫡🫡.

@themotorsportstory

Жыл бұрын

Thank you! I'm not sure on the Dodge, but many many cars of the time were also doing the acid dipping, so it's very likely. Hope you have a nice day too!

@milfordh.mercado2787

Жыл бұрын

@themotorsportstory Well thank you and one more thing to ask didn't The Scca ever find out about the 69 camaros having a switch to turn off their taillights as i remember one time on a long forgetting episode of American muscle car t.v. when they talk about the same camaro anyway i got to go now see you next time bye now.

It didn't hurt that The King in my opinion Mark Donohue was behind the wheel.

@themotorsportstory

Жыл бұрын

He was a great driver! And reading his book, seemingly quite humble as well.

One story whether it's true or not is to get more fuel into the car the rulebook did not say ho thick the fuelline must be so he had a massive pipe going from the tank to the engine allowing sever extra gallons I believe.

@exoditegrayc

9 ай бұрын

That was Smokey's trick.