The series started and ended with the focus on two of irocs alltime top competitors, dale earnhardt and al unser jr. American auto racing series that pitted top drivers from different series. Dale earnhardts former iroc racer is most likely the only one left in. Although some say the nascar guys had an unfair advantage. Chevrolet camaro 197589, dodge daytona 199093, dodge avenger 1994 95. Jul 30, 2014 its hard to say if the iroc series will ever come back, but it sure would be cool to see 12 of todays top race car drivers strap in to identically prepared fifthgen camaros and battle it.
Despite its name, the iroc was primarily associated with north american, ovaltrack racing. True value iroc series daytona international speedway daytona beach, florida drivers from iroc xviii mark martin al unser jr. Nascar, cart, and irl drivers named for 1999 true value iroc series tinton falls, nj nascar winston cup champion jeff gordon, pep boys indy racing. The supertruck series by craftsman made their 1st stop of 1994 at the mesa marin raceway, in bakersfield, california, for the supertruck mesa marin 20. Jun 25, 2019 it was 45 years ago when the first madefortv race series pitted the worlds most famous and successful race car drivers from around the globe against oneanother in the aptly named. In 1991, he drove in the iroc series, winning the championship. Most updated information and news on iroc results, stats, drivers, events. Labonte won the nascar xfinity series championship. The eighteenth year of iroc competition took place in 1994. Jun 21, 2008 true value iroc series daytona international speedway daytona beach, florida drivers from iroc xviii mark martin al unser jr. In 1985, the original irocz featured top notch specs that were a not only performance driven but eye catching as well. The chassis used were tube chassis left over from when nascar was the grand national series.
Those last 11 years of races featured that very same firebird trans am body style that the hot wheels iroc firebird was based off of. Iroc xviii was the first year the dodge avenger was used in competition, replacing the dodge daytona, and continued the format introduced in iroc xviii. The first victory was scored by mark martin in 1994 at the track too tough to tame, darlington raceway. After race 1 of the 2001 iroc season, dale earnhardt lost his life during the last corner, of the last lap, in the daytona 500 on february 18th, 2001. First time offered for sale since 2016 restoration. With all variables cars, tires and setups removed, these noexcuses events are man against man. Iroc international race of champions series rules from iroc website series rules. In 1985, this car was also the star of the wildest finish in iroc history. To see a list of race winners and race results for the iroc series, select a. If there was an international series of championship drivers today with a 12car field to be filled, who would you.
Browse through latest information on your favorite iroc drivers, including full biographies, latest news, highres photos and high quality videos. Apr 17, 2015 really acting as an acronym for international race of champions, this sort of allstar game of autoraces began life in 1973 as the brainchild of david lockton, developer of the ontario motor speedway and organized by racing greats, roger penske, les richter and mike phelps. Dale earnhardt rusty wallace scott sharp kyle petty dale jarrett steve. When iroc switched to dodge daytonas in 1990, the chassis was retrofitted with dodge power and the daytona body.
Driver carl pasteryak 1994 iroc results racingreference. I dont have much from this race so please dont ask for any other stuff from this race. In 2007, iroc could not find a sponsor and closed down operations after almost 30 years of competition. Can you list the 100 top nascar drivers of alltime. The irocz was option b4z on the option sheet and could only be ordered with the z28 option package. Iroc xix was the second and final year the dodge avenger was used in competition, and continued the format introduced in iroc xviii.
Iroc was also unique in that it was a spec series, in which each pilot was handed the same car with an identical setup under the watchful eye of stewards who were experienced racers themselves. It was run with a small field of 12 invited drivers. The international race of champions iroc was an american auto racing series that pitted top drivers from different series together in identically prepared cars. The history of iroc racing never before seen photos hot rod. Ranking the iroc cars from best to worst hagerty media. Iroc drivers find information on your favorite iroc drivers. Finally in 1994, the iroc race cars were all fitted with the dodge avenger bodies, as shown here.
From 1975 to 1990 the chevrolet camaro was the official car for the iroc racing series. The 1999 true value international race of champions series challenges twelve of the worlds best drivers to compete against each other in a four race series. The nineteenth year of iroc competition took place in 1995. Throw in a title from the 30yearold international race of champions iroc during that series final year of operation in 2006, and its clear that stewart is in a league of his own. No other race car in the history of the world can claim the lineage of world class drivers which have competed in this historic vehicle. It is a pontiac firebird with a 350 cubic engine that can put out 500 horsepower. Sep 20, 2007 scott sharp spins out during the 1994 iroc race at daytona. Due to the long break iroc shortened the race to 46 laps. So while the iroc series went under in 2007 due to lack of a sponsor, the hot wheels iroc firebird has lived on.
1994 1993 1992 1991 1990 1989 1988 1987 1986 1985 1984 1980 1979. He and was involved in an accident during the season opener at daytona, placed 6th at darlington, 10th at talladega, and 11th at michigan, finishing up 12th overall. Camaro z28 8 cylinders 1994 last year they made the 8 cyl original paint job original set of tires type american classics. Over the years cart and the irl drivers, among others also participated. True value iroc series weekend minimarathon on espn. Four years later, iroc was reinstated and they selected the new camaro z28 as their competition vehicle. In 1984, chevrolet introduced the camaro irocz 28 for the 1985 model year. The last nonnascar based champion of the series was al unser, jr. This new performance icon boasted skid pad numbers within the range of. Run between 19742006 with a few scattered years spent on hiatus, iroc would put drivers behind the wheel of a fairly wide range of automobiles. The camaro was irocs car of choice through 1980 until iroc was temporarily discontinued.
Iroc announces indy racing league drivers chicagoland. Touring car championship grandam series american le mans series x1r pro cup series nascar southeast series nascar midwest series nascar southwest series nascar northwest series asa national tour fia formula two series whelen southern modified tour exhibition unclassified races. Im really looking forward to racing in iroc again, said sharp. The series started and ended with the focus on two of iroc s alltime top competitors, dale earnhardt and al unser jr. A year later, dale earnhardt took victory in the car on the high banks of talladega superspeedway. Nov, 2001 sharp participated in the 1994 true value iroc series representing his second scca transam championship. Not only did nascar loose one of its best drivers so did the iroc series. In some years, no sports car drivers were even invited. It was considered to be a rookie of the year winner by numerous auto publications and was featured in car and drivers ten best list in 1985. Iroc at indy speedway race results indy motor speedway. Driven by bobby allison, bobby unser, and emerson fittipaldi drove this vehicle and never lost a race while behind the wheel. The roster of drivers and final points standings were as follows. In 1993 earnhardt took over driving duties for the. This 1974 iroc series camaro is said to be one of 5 still in existence out of a total of 15 genuine original unibody race series cars.
Veteran iroc test drivers dave marcis, jim sauter, dick trickle and andy hillenburg run the cars before each series event to ensure that chassis suspension settings are the same. He is the first and only driver to win championships in stock cars, indy cars and openwheel midget, sprint and silver crown cars. Iroc dodge avenger race cars, sports car, mopar cars. International race of champions iroc was a north american auto racing competition, created by les richter, roger penske and mike phelps, promoted as an equivalent of an american motorsports allstar game. Chevrolet however, decided to create a commemorative camaro to celebrate the return of the iroc series and the iroc z28 was born. Chassis was originally built by banjo matthews for use in the 1984 iroc camaro race cars. The history of iroc racing never before seen photos.
Chevrolet camaro 197589, dodge daytona 199093, dodge avenger 199495. Classics on autotrader has listings for new and used 1994 chevrolet camaro classics for sale near you. Although iroc employed former nascar drivers to set up the cars for these races, the series invited drivers from different fields of auto racing to compete. Jan 12, 2015 the iroc series was a great idea that brought many drivers together from various sanctioning bodies to see what these guys were made of.
Its said to be extensively documented and includes a computation book which the seller describes as a log book and setup record for all iroc races it competed in. The track had second round qualifying for the nascar winston cup series and the nascar busch grand national race later in the day to get in, forcing iroc to shorten the race. Driven by 26 renowned drivers included gordon johncock, aj foyt, geoff brabham, derek bell, ken. Drivers raced identicallyprepared stock cars set up by a single team of mechanics in an effort to. The international race of champions is a series of four races designed to produce a winner determined solely on driver skill. Its hard to say if the iroc series will ever come back, but it sure would be cool to see 12 of todays top race car drivers strap in to identically prepared fifthgen camaros and battle it.
The iroc series called upon drivers from varied racing disciplines. Mayfield had been driving for this team, so it was basically a switch for the two drivers and teams. The iroc series was a great idea that brought many drivers together from various sanctioning bodies to see what these guys were made of. To see a list of race winners and race results for the iroc series, select a year. The roof skin, front windshield, bumper skin and the door skins are actually authentic pieces that have been equipped on the iroc race cars. Although open wheel drivers had numerous successes, as of 2005, drivers from road racing series had only won two races in the history of iroc. Click on the year to see detailed race results and standings for that year tweet. Race one took place on the daytona international speedway, race two took place at darlington raceway, race three ran at talladega superspeedway, and the year finished at michigan international speedway. Almost each and every race would feature bumpin and bangin as drivers pushed their way to the front of.
Iroc international race of champions rauzulus street. Kenseth is also the 2004 iroc champion and won nascar rookie of the year in 2000. Nov 25, 2019 iroc was also unique in that it was a spec series, in which each pilot was handed the same car with an identical setup under the watchful eye of stewards who were experienced racers themselves. Drivers raced identicallyprepared stock cars set up by a single team of mechanics in an effort to make the race purely a test of driver ability. This car retains one of the original iroc dodge 355 cu.
Mark martin drove this 1996 iroc series champion car. What kind of cars did nascar use for the iroc series answers. The only surviving iroc race car owned by dale earnhardt. International race of champions was a north american auto racing competition, created by les richter, roger penske and mike phelps, promoted as an equivalent of an american motorsports allstar game. Iroc, an elite invitational series, has been asking the best drivers to show their stuff in identical cars since the 19731974 racing season.
In the fourrace series, some of the best drivers from indy, nascar. Twelve racers were invited to compete, usually chosen from recent season championships in their respective series and major events. It was 45 years ago when the first madefortv race series pitted the worlds most famous and successful race car drivers from around the globe against oneanother in the aptly named. Racing legends, of which the iroc series was exclusively composed, tend. Dale earnhardt, kenny brack, and ricky rudd strapped in. To see a list of race winners and race results for the iroc series, select a year from the listing below. It was lent to the america on wheels museum, allentown, pennsylvania, from the roger penske racing team owner collection. Officials instructed the drivers to take it easy for the first ten laps before being allowed to go full throttle. Dale earnhardts former iroc racer is most likely the only one left in existence. The rest of the season played out with the 11 remaining competitors, not replacing dale earnhardts spot. Scott sharp spins out during the 1994 iroc race at daytona. Iroc announces indy racing league drivers chicagoland speedway.
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