1970 AMC Javelin Trans Am

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!). This particular 1970 AMC Javelin Trans Am was the first chassis built and was raced in the 1970 24 Hours of Daytona by Donohue and Revson as a shake-down for the Trans-Am season to come.

In the 1970 Trans-Am season, Donohue drove to three second and third-place finishes and won three times including Bridgehampton, Road America, and St. Jovite. The team had to settle for second place in the 1970 Championship. Penske built all new cars for the 1971 season and won the championship over the Ford Mustangs… read more >