For the race, Team Penske had other “Unfair Advantages” going for them. Chevrolet engineer Bill Howell had supplied six prototype cross-ram intake manifolds (the minimum number for homologation) that added considerable power at high RPMs. The extra horses were enough that The Lightweight squeaked by Smokey Yunick’s very trick and—very illegal—Camaro in qualifying, a threat that disappeared when the Yunick car’s engine expired in dramatic fashion just two hours in. To save time in the pits, Howell had developed a system using brake booster vacuum to retract the front brake caliper pistons, enabling much quicker pad changes. The new system saved the Camaro team a full two minutes over the Ford contingent at every pit stop, a huge factor in the Mark Donohue/Craig Fisher Lightweight’s Trans-Am Class victory and amazing third overall finish, just six laps out of second overall behind two Porsche 907 factory prototypes. Almost as impressive was the “heavy” Camaro’s second in Trans-Am and fourth overall finish, with drivers Joe Welch and Bob Johnson finishing four laps behind The Lightweight—an outcome thought impossible against a massive field of factory Porsches, Ford GT40s, Lolas, Ferraris and Corvette L88s. Sebring had been an astounding success, one that launched the Penske Camaros onto their first Trans-Am Championship and the most dominant season in the history of the series. While the first Sunoco Camaro was the 14th Z28 built on the first day of Z28 production (December 29, 1966), The Lightweight was both the second Z28 off the assembly line and the second of the six racers to wear the Team Penske/ Sunoco livery from 1967 through 1969. It was restored for sanctioned vintage racing in 1988 and has been restored again several times since, always to the same immaculate presentation and retaining the same impressive catalog of unique parts. Some examples: The car’s Traco-built 302/550 HP racing V-8 is still home to one of the six prototype cross-ram intake systems first used at Sebring in 1968; The original hand-fabricated dashboard remains in place, complete with the unique aircraft-style bullet light used to illuminate the tach for night racing; photographs taken at Sebring in 1968 show the tach light and gauges in the exact same positions; Chevrolet produced and hand number-stamped two differentials for each race after Mark Donohue calculated the best axle ratio for each track; one of those marked for Sebring is still with the car, the other having been returned, according to Chevrolet records, for destructive testing. The car’s current owner has raced The Lightweight for 35 years at tracks across the country, garnering a winning race history in the Sportscar Vintage Racing Association (SVRA), the Historic Trans-Am Group and at the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion (formerly the Monterey Historic Races). The car won the SVRA Trans-Am Reunion at Watkins Glen in 1995 and again in 2013. It was a class winner at the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance, won the Best Race Car Award at the Brian Redman International Challenge Concours at Road America and was featured at the 2020 Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance celebration of Roger Penske, where it was shown among the other remaining Sunoco Camaros. Its magazine cover features include the April 1996 issue of Sports Car, the February 2016 Road & Track and Speed Tour Quarterly in 2021. Prepared and ready for the track or show, The Lightweight has been inspected and found to be 1967 period-correct within the SVRA Group 6 rules. It bears a very rare Trans-Am brass tag, No. 72-AS-23, issued by Trans-Am Technical Director John Timanus, and includes an SVRA Historic Medallion and certificate verifying its race history. It is eligible for the Monterey Motorsports Reunion, SVRA and Historic Trans-Am vintage racing events and enjoys a standing invitation to England’s historic Goodwood. The central figure in a fascinating tail of engineering excellence, dedication and pure will to victory, the 1967 Penske Chevrolet Camaro Z28 Lightweight is truly a mythical hero of the original Trans-Am series.
