The 1982 Trans-Am Series was the seventeenth running of the Sports Car Club of America's premier series. All races ran for approximately one hundred miles. [1] The successful Datsun brand saw its final Trans Am victory in 1982, although the Nissan brand which replaced it did see notable success thereafter.
Round | Date | Circuit | Winning driver | Winning vehicle |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | May 23 | Road Atlanta | Jerry Hansen | Chevrolet Corvette |
2 | June 6 | Sears Point | Doc Bundy | Porsche 924 |
3 | June 13 | Portland | Elliott Forbes-Robinson | Pontiac Trans Am |
4 | June 27 | Laguna Seca | Elliott Forbes-Robinson | Pontiac Trans Am |
5 | July 4 | Kent | Elliott Forbes-Robinson | Pontiac Trans Am |
6 | July 18 | Mid-Ohio | Elliott Forbes-Robinson | Pontiac Trans Am |
7 | July 24 | Road America | Jerry Hansen | Chevrolet Corvette |
8 | August 8 | Brainerd | Paul Newman | Datsun 280ZX |
9 | September 5 | Trois-Rivières | Elliott Forbes-Robinson | Pontiac Trans Am |
10 | October 3 | Sears Point | Tom Gloy | Ford Mustang |
Datsun was a Japanese automobile manufacturer brand owned by Nissan. Datsun's original production run began in 1931. From 1958 to 1986, only vehicles exported by Nissan were identified as Datsun. Nissan phased out the Datsun brand in March 1986, but relaunched it in June 2013 as the brand for low-cost vehicles manufactured for emerging markets. Nissan considered phasing out the Datsun brand for a second time in 2019 and 2020, eventually discontinuing the struggling brand in April 2022.
The Datsun 510 was a series of the Datsun Bluebird sold from 1968 to 1973, and offered outside the U.S. and Canada as the Datsun 1600.
The Nissan Violet is a model of car that appeared in Japan in 1973, and was exclusive to Japanese Nissan dealerships called Nissan Cherry Store as a larger companion to the Nissan Cherry.
The Nissan A series of internal combustion gasoline engines have been used in Datsun, Nissan and Premier brand vehicles. Displacements of this four-stroke engine family ranged from 1.0-liter to 1.5-liter and have been produced from 1967 till 2009. It is a small-displacement four-cylinder straight engine. It uses a lightweight cast iron block and an aluminum cylinder head, with overhead valves actuated by pushrods.
The Nissan L series of automobile engines was produced from 1966 through 1986 in both inline-four and inline-six configurations ranging from 1.3 L to 2.8 L. It is a two-valves per cylinder SOHC non-crossflow engine, with an iron block and an aluminium head. It was the engine of the Datsun 510, Datsun 240Z sports car, and the Nissan Maxima. These engines are known for their reliability, durability, and parts interchangeability.
The Nissan Z engine is a series of automobile and light truck four-cylinder engines that was engineered by Nissan Machinery, manufactured by the Nissan Motor Company from 1979 through August 1989. All Z engines had 4 cylinders, a total of 8 valves and a single overhead camshaft (SOHC). Displacements ranged from 1.6 L to 2.4 L.The Z series' engine blocks were nearly identical to those of the earlier L Series with the exception of the Z24. While the Z16 and Z18 engines had a deck height similar to the earlier L13/L14/L16/L18 variants, the Z24 had a taller deck height to accommodate a longer stroke. The most notable difference between the Z-series engine and its predecessor was the introduction of a new crossflow cylinder head which reduced emissions by moving the intake ports to the right side of the engine opposite the exhaust ports. This change allows the exhaust port velocity to more effectively scavenge the cylinder and reduce reversion pulses to enhance induction. This change also limits maximum valve lift/lobe lift profiles rendering the cylinder head and valve train configuration undesirable for high-performance uses. The Z series evolved into the NA and KA engines which, along with the smaller CA series, replaced the Z series.
The Datsun Truck is a compact pickup truck made by Nissan in Japan from 1955 through 1997. It was originally sold under the Datsun brand, but this was switched to Nissan in 1983. It was replaced in 1997 by the Frontier and Navara. In Japan, it was sold only in Nissan Bluebird Store locations.
The Datsun Cherry (チェリー), known later as the Nissan Cherry, was a series of subcompact cars which formed Nissan's first front-wheel drive supermini model line.
Horst Kwech was an Australian race car driver, race car constructor, engineer and inventor known primarily for his several wins in the early Trans-Am Series races of the 1960s and the beginning of the 1970s.
This article documents the events that occurred in motorsports in the 1960s.
The 1971 Trans-American Championship was the sixth running of the Sports Car Club of America's Trans-Am Series. The format was altered to an over 2500cc class and an under 2500cc class, up 500cc from past years. All races used split classes except where noted. The year marked the rise of Datsun as a competitive brand, with the Japanese company winning several races throughout the season. American Motors, led by Mark Donohue's 7 wins, and Datsun, led by John Morton's 6 wins, won the manufacturers' championships.
The 1972 Trans-American Championship was the seventh running of the Sports Car Club of America's Trans-Am Series. The first seven rounds used split classes, while the last four rounds had the Under 2500cc class only. Milt Minter brought Pontiac its first win, at Mid-Ohio. George Follmer and American Motors won the over 2.5L division, while John Morton led Datsun to the championship title of the "Two-Five Challenge".
The 1977 Trans-Am Series was the twelfth running of the Sports Car Club of America's premier series. Porsche swept the season. All races except for the Six Hours of Watkins Glen ran for approximately one hundred miles. With the revival of the Can Am Series that year, 1977 also began a resurgence of interest in SCCA events. Trans Am would contribute with a slight resurgence in the eighties.
The 1978 Trans-Am Series was the thirteenth running of the Sports Car Club of America's premier series. It was the first time the series left North America, with a round in Mexico at the end of the season. All races except for the Six Hours of Watkins Glen ran for approximately one hundred miles.
The 1980 Trans-Am Series was the fifteenth running of the Sports Car Club of America's premier series. After several years of recovery from the decline of demand for muscle cars in the early seventies and the 1973 Oil Crisis, Trans Am evolved into a support series for the IMSA GT Championship, using vehicles that were also used in IMSA GT races. This would set the standard for the series thereafter, and this standard would be applied to the SCCA's World Challenge series many years later. Almost all of the races ran for approximately one hundred miles. Besides Watkins Glen, the only exception was Trois-Rivières.
The 1981 Trans-Am Series was the sixteenth running of the Sports Car Club of America's premier series. All races ran for approximately one hundred miles.
The 1983 Budweiser Trans-Am Championship was the eighteenth running of the Sports Car Club of America's premier series.
James Joyce Fitzgerald was an American racing driver. He is the winningest driver in Sports Car Club of America history, with over 350 career wins. Fitzgerald was also at one time the oldest driver to run a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race, being 65 years old when he ran in the 1987 Budweiser 400 at Riverside International Raceway for Hendrick Motorsports.