1974 Chevrolet Camaro IROC Race Car Coupe

IROC, an acronym for the International Race of Champions, was motorsport's version of the Masters, where the skill of the driver, not his mechanic or pit crew, determines the winner. Virtually everything about the race cars, from the engines to the tires, was identical.

The concept of having top drivers from different major series competing in identically prepared cars was conceived in 1973 by Roger Penske and Les Richter, with Jay Signori at the helm from the beginning. Spanning four decades, IROC ran 240 events at 16 different racetracks across the United States, fielding cars for more than 100 of the biggest names in stock car, open wheel, and road racing from throughout the world in a variety of cars - Porsche RSRs, Chevrolet Camaros, Dodge Daytonas, and Pontiac Firebirds.

In 1975, the larger rear window of the 1976-76 model Camaro was installed in these cars to make them look like the 1975-76 model.

David Pearson drove this #10 Chevrolet Camaro on October 26th, 1974, at the IROC II Riverside. Johnny Rutherford drove it the following day at Riverside. A.J. Foyt drove it on February 14th, 1975, at the IROC II Daytona. Jody Scheckter drove it on September 13th, 1975, at IROC III Michigan and again on October 17th, 1976, at IROC IV Riverside. James Hunt drove it on September 18th, 1976, at IROC IV Michigan.

The car has a 30-gallon fuel tank and weighs 3,200 pounds dry. It has a 109-inch wheelbase and sits 50 inches tall. The Chevrolet 350 cubic-inch engine prepared by Traco offers 440 horsepower and 400 ft-lbs of torque. It rides on Goodyear tires, has steel and fiberglas body, and a worm-and-peg steering. There is an Edelbrock manifold and a Holley 850 four-barrel carburetor.

By Daniel Vaughan | May 2014