1999 Chevrolet Camaro Coupe

The governing body of the Daytona Rolex 24 Hour race, the USSRC, had its demise in September of 1999. As a result, the Grand-Am Road Racing Association was formed with backing from NASCAR and the International Speedway Corporation. This new racing series announced its 10-race schedule and its five-class structure, including SR and SRP II for sports prototypes, as well as three GT classes - GTO, GTU and AGT or American GT.

The first race was the Rolex 24 at Daytona, where the Camaro of Comer Racing, fought to victory in GTA with Doug Mills, John Finger, Richard Maugeri and Andy McNeil driving. The Camaro is powered by a Chevrolet V8 racing engine with Dark Cylinder block, Trick Flow cylinder heads, Crower roller valvetrain, 13:1 compression ratio and dry-sump oiling. The 600+ horsepower produced was sent tot he rear wheels through a Sanz five-speed manual gearbox. There were four-wheel Alcon hydraulic disc brakes and a Bemco tubular racing chassis.

Since that race, the car has been given a $400,000-plus restoration bringing it back to its race-winning appearance and specification.

In 2010, this race car was offered for sale at the 'Automobiles of Amelia Island' event presented by RM Auctions. The car was estimated to sell for $75,000 - $125,000 and offered without reserve. As bidding came to a close, the car had been sold for the sum of $52,250, inclusive of buyer's premium.

By Daniel Vaughan | May 2010