# 1969 Trans-American Sedan Championship

The 1969 Trans-American Championship was the fourth running of the Sports Car Club of America's Trans-Am Series. The championship was open to SCCA Sedan category cars competing in Over 2 liter and Under 2 liter classes. 1969 marked the end of the use of co-drivers in the Trans-Am Championship, as most of the races were between 2.5 and 3 hours. The Over 2 liter and Under 2 liter Manufacturers' titles were won by Chevrolet (Due in large part to Mark Donohue's 6 wins, and a major crash at the St. Jovite, Canada race that nearly destroyed all the Ford and Shelby team cars. Not including the controversial illegal underweight Camaro used by Donohue, wins were to be stripped from Chevrolet given to Ford. But GM threatened to take their money and leave the series.) and Porsche (Due in large part to Peter Gregg's 7 wins) respectively.

## Schedule

The championship was contested over twelve races.
| Race | Date | Circuit | Distance | Over 2 liter winning car | Under 2 liter winning car |
| Race | Date | Circuit | Distance | Over 2 liter winning car | Under 2 liter winning car |
| 1 | May 11 | Michigan International Speedway, Brooklyn, Michigan | 344.24 mi (554.00 km) | Ford Mustang | Porsche 911 |
| 1 | May 11 | Michigan International Speedway, Brooklyn, Michigan | 344.24 mi (554.00 km) | Parnelli Jones | Gary Wright |
| 2 | May 30 | Lime Rock Park, Lakeville, Connecticut | 2 h 30 min 218.79 mi (352.11 km) | Ford Mustang | Porsche 911 |
| 2 | May 30 | Lime Rock Park, Lakeville, Connecticut | 2 h 30 min 218.79 mi (352.11 km) | Sam Posey | Tony Adamowicz |
| 3 | June 8 | Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington, Ohio | 240 mi (390 km) | Chevrolet Camaro | Porsche 911 |
| 3 | June 8 | Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington, Ohio | 240 mi (390 km) | Ronnie Bucknum | Peter Gregg |
| 4 | June 22 | Bridgehampton Race Circuit, Sag Harbor, New York | 250.8 mi (403.6 km) | Ford Mustang | Porsche 911 |
| 4 | June 22 | Bridgehampton Race Circuit, Sag Harbor, New York | 250.8 mi (403.6 km) | George Follmer | Peter Gregg |
| 5 | July 6 | Donnybrooke International Speedway, Brainerd, Minnesota | 252 mi (406 km) | Ford Mustang | Porsche 911 |
| 5 | July 6 | Donnybrooke International Speedway, Brainerd, Minnesota | 252 mi (406 km) | Parnelli Jones | Peter Gregg |
| 6 | July 20 | Bryar Motorsports Park, Loudon, New Hampshire | 200 mi (320 km) | Chevrolet Camaro | Alfa Romeo GTA |
| 6 | July 20 | Bryar Motorsports Park, Loudon, New Hampshire | 200 mi (320 km) | Mark Donohue | Gaston Andrey |
| 7 | August 3 | Circuit Mont-Tremblant, Saint-Jovite, Quebec | 3 h 257 mi (414 km) | Chevrolet Camaro | Porsche 911 |
| 7 | August 3 | Circuit Mont-Tremblant, Saint-Jovite, Quebec | 3 h 257 mi (414 km) | Mark Donohue | Peter Gregg |
| 8 | August 10 | Watkins Glen International, Watkins Glen, New York | 2 h 30 min 269.1 mi (433.1 km) | Chevrolet Camaro | Porsche 911 |
| 8 | August 10 | Watkins Glen International, Watkins Glen, New York | 2 h 30 min 269.1 mi (433.1 km) | Mark Donohue | Peter Gregg |
| 9 | August 24 | Laguna Seca Raceway, Monterey, California | 226.1 mi (363.9 km) | Chevrolet Camaro | Porsche 911 |
| 9 | August 24 | Laguna Seca Raceway, Monterey, California | 226.1 mi (363.9 km) | Mark Donohue | Peter Gregg |
| 10 | September 7 | Seattle International Raceway, Kent, Washington | 303.75 mi (488.84 km) | Chevrolet Camaro | Porsche 911 |
| 10 | September 7 | Seattle International Raceway, Kent, Washington | 303.75 mi (488.84 km) | Ronnie Bucknum | Peter Gregg |
| 11 | September 21 | Sears Point Raceway, Sonoma, California | 201.84 mi (324.83 km) | Chevrolet Camaro | Porsche 911 |
| 11 | September 21 | Sears Point Raceway, Sonoma, California | 201.84 mi (324.83 km) | Mark Donohue | Don Pike |
| 12 | October 5 | Riverside International Raceway, Riverside, California | 201.84 mi (324.83 km) | Chevrolet Camaro | Porsche 911 |
| 12 | October 5 | Riverside International Raceway, Riverside, California | 201.84 mi (324.83 km) | Mark Donohue | Alan Johnson |

## Championships

Points were awarded for finishing positions in each class at each race on the following basis:
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th |
| 9 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
Only the highest-placed car of each make could earn points for its manufacturer and only the best nine results for each manufacturer counted towards the championship totals.
No Drivers titles were awarded in 1969 or in any other Trans-American Championship prior to 1972.

### Over 2 liter Manufacturers Championship

| Pos | Manufacturer | MIC | LRP | MDO | BRI | DON | BRY | MTB | WGL | LAG | PAC | SPT | RIV | Points |
| 1 | Chevrolet | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 78 (94) |
| 2 | Ford | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 64 (71) |
| 3 | Pontiac | 3 | 5 | 8 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 12 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 32 (34) |
| 4 | American Motors | 4 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 8 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 8 | 6 | 14 |

### Under 2 liter Manufacturers Championship

| Pos | Manufacturer | MIC | LRP | MDO | BRI | DON | BRY | MTB | WGL | LAG | PAC | SPT | RIV | Points |
| 1 | Porsche | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 81 (106) |
| 2 | Alfa Romeo | 3 | 2 | 8 | 3 | | 1 | 12 | | 7 | 4 | | 5 | 28 |
| 3 | BMW | 9 | | | 9 | 3 | | 14 | 8 | 6 | | | | 5 |
| 4 | British Leyland | | | | | | | 3 | | | | | | 4 |

## The cars

The following models contributed to the points totals of their respective manufacturers.
* Chevrolet Camaro
* Ford Mustang
* Pontiac Firebird
* AMC Javelin
* Porsche 911
* Alfa Romeo GTA
* BMW 2002Ti
* Mini Cooper S

## 1969 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am

1969 had marked the sales debut of the Pontiac Firebird Trans Am however the car's smallest engine was well over the 5000cc maximum set by the series at the time and it was not used in the 1969 championship. In using the name Trans Am, a registered trademark, General Motors agreed to pay $5 per car sold to the SCCA.