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Motorsport competition
The 1972 Trans-American Championship was the seventh running of the Sports Car Club of America 's Trans-Am Series . The first seven rounds used split classes, while the last four rounds had the Under 2500cc class only. Milt Minter brought Pontiac its first win, at Mid-Ohio . George Follmer and American Motors won the over 2.5L division, while John Morton led Datsun to the championship title of the "Two-Five Challenge".
1972 is considered to be the end of the series' "golden era". From 1973 onward, Trans Am would evolve into a lesser clone of the rival IMSA GT Championship , with similarly modified cars, but with a more conventional focus with vehicles such as the Chevrolet Beretta being used. IMSA GT's focus on exotic cars such as Ferraris and Porsches provided a more adaptable format, in comparison to Trans Am's reliance on domestic performance sedans.
Rnd
Date
Circuit
Distance
Over 2.5 Winning Car
Under 2.5 Winning Car
Over 2.5 Winning Driver(s)
Under 2.5 Winning Driver(s)
1
May 6
Lime Rock Park , Lakeville, Connecticut
130.05 mi (209.30 km) (U2L) 200.43 mi (322.56 km) (O2L)
AMC Javelin
Datsun 510
George Follmer
Bob Sharp
2
May 29
Bryar Motorsports Park , Loudon, New Hampshire
112 mi (180 km) (U2L) 152 mi (245 km) (O2L)
AMC Javelin
Datsun 510
George Follmer
John Morton
3
June 4
Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course , Lexington, Ohio
120 mi (190 km) (U2L) 180 mi (290 km) (O2L)
Pontiac Firebird
Datsun 510
Milt Minter
Peter Gregg
4
June 17
Watkins Glen International , Watkins Glen, New York
114.818 mi (184.782 km) (U2L) 192.489 mi (309.781 km) (O2L)
AMC Javelin
Datsun 510
George Follmer
Peter Gregg
5
July 2 July 4
Donnybrooke International Speedway , Brainerd, Minnesota
150 mi (240 km) (U2L) 210 mi (340 km) (O2L)
AMC Javelin
Alfa Romeo GTV
George Follmer
Horst Kwech
6
July 16
Road America , Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin
108 mi (174 km) (U2L) 200 mi (320 km) (O2L)
Ford Mustang
Datsun 510
Warren Tope
John Morton
7
July 30
Sanair Super Speedway , Saint-Pie, Quebec
104 mi (167 km) (U2L) 169 mi (272 km) (O2L)
Ford Mustang
Alfa Romeo GTA
Warren Tope
Bert Everett
8
August 19
Road Atlanta , Braselton, Georgia
126 mi (203 km)
not contested
Datsun 510
John Morton
9
September 17
Portland International Raceway , Portland, Oregon
105.325 mi (169.504 km)
not contested
Datsun 510
John Morton
10
October 15
Laguna Seca Raceway , Monterey, California
102.5 mi (165.0 km)
not contested
Datsun 510
John Morton
11
October 28
Riverside International Raceway , Riverside, California
127.5 mi (205.2 km)
not contested
Datsun 510
John Morton
[ 1]
Drivers' championships[ edit ]
The points system was as follows:
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
7th
8th
9th
10th
20
15
12
10
8
6
4
3
2
1
Color
Result
Gold
Winner
Silver
2nd place
Bronze
3rd place
Green
4th & 5th place
Light Blue
6th–10th place
Dark Blue
Finished (Outside Top 10)
Purple
Did not finish
Black
Disqualified (DSQ)
White
Did not start (DNS)
Blank
Did not participate (DNP)
Not competing
Color
Result
Gold
Winner
Silver
2nd place
Bronze
3rd place
Green
4th & 5th place
Light Blue
6th–10th place
Dark Blue
Finished (Outside Top 10)
Purple
Did not finish
Black
Disqualified (DSQ)
White
Did not start (DNS)
Blank
Did not participate (DNP)
Not competing
Manufacturers' championships[ edit ]
Only the highest-finishing car scored points for the manufacturer. The points system was as follows:
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
9
6
4
3
2
1
Best 6 results count toward the championship.
Best 9 results count towards the championship.