Racing history

The Z/28 exists because of a rulebook. From Penske and Donohue's Trans-Am titles to IROC, NHRA Pro Stock, the modern COPO drag program, NASCAR, and a Camaro at Le Mans.

The Penske and Donohue Camaro chapter leads directly to their next engineering problem: Penske and Donohue at AMC, where the Javelin campaign culminated in the 1971 Trans-Am manufacturers' championship.

Sunoco/Penske Trans-Am Camaro (tribute car) Photo: TaurusEmerald, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

1967–1969

Trans-Am: Penske, Donohue, and “Team Unfair Advantage”

The Z/28 exists because Chevrolet wanted to race in SCCA Trans-Am. Roger Penske's Sunoco team, with Mark Donohue driving, turned it into a championship car — winning the manufacturer's title for Chevrolet in 1968 and 1969. Penske and Donohue then left for AMC in 1970, and Chevrolet handed the program to Jim Hall's Chaparral.

1968: Donohue won 10 of 13 races; Chevrolet took the title
The acid-dipped 1967 “Lightweight” Z/28
Sub-two-minute pit stops per Donohue's The Unfair Advantage
1970: Jim Hall's Chaparral built three Camaros; Vic Elford won at Watkins Glen

Representative third-generation Camaro editorial line illustration — Third-generation Camaro, representative illustration — not a specific model year or chassis Representative editorial illustration · AI-generated by OpenAI for CamaroFacts, 2026

1975–1990

IROC: Camaro as rented equality

The International Race of Champions all-star series switched to identically prepped Camaros for its second season (1975) — cheaper to run than the Porsches it started with — and kept them through 1990. Identically built cars made the driver the only variable, and gave Chevrolet a name to license: the “IROC-Z.”

Camaro was IROC's spec car 1975–1990
Champions in Camaros included Harry Gant (1985), Al Unser Jr. (1988)
Dale Earnhardt: era-best 11 wins / 4 titles, much of it in Camaros
Directly named the production IROC-Z trim (1985–90)

Orange 2018 COPO Camaro drag car — 2018 COPO Camaro factory drag car Photo: Michael Rivera, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

1969–present

NHRA drag racing and COPO

Bill “Grumpy” Jenkins won the first-ever NHRA Pro Stock national event in a 1968 Camaro (1970 Winternationals). The original COPO ZL1/L72 cars existed to get race-legal big-block power past GM's internal displacement policy. Chevrolet Performance revived COPO as an annual factory-built, race-only drag special from 2012 — 69 cars a year, a deliberate callback to the 1969 ZL1 count.

Grumpy Jenkins: first NHRA Pro Stock national event win (1970, Camaro)
Original COPO 9560 ZL1 (69) and 9561 L72 built for Super Stock/Stock
Modern COPO: 69/year from 2012, non-street-legal
2018 eCOPO electric drag concept marked the program's 50th anniversary

NASCAR Camaro ZL1 Garage 56 at Le Mans 2023 — 2023 NASCAR Camaro ZL1 Garage 56, Le Mans Photo: Wolkenjaeger, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

2010–present

NASCAR — Cup, Xfinity, and Le Mans

Camaro bodywork has run in NASCAR's Xfinity Series since 2010 and replaced the Chevrolet SS as the Cup Series body (badged ZL1) in 2018. Two Cup drivers' championships were won in Camaro-bodied Chevrolets — Chase Elliott (2020) and Kyle Larson (2021). In 2023 a NASCAR Camaro ZL1 ran the 24 Hours of Le Mans as the “Garage 56” entry, driven by Jenson Button, Jimmie Johnson and Mike Rockenfeller.

Cup Series body (ZL1) from 2018
Drivers' titles: Elliott 2020, Larson 2021 (Hendrick)
2023 Le Mans “Garage 56” invitational entry
Manufacturer title is scored separately — don't conflate

Camaro GT4.R racing at Lime Rock — Camaro GT4.R (IMSA GS class) Photo: Charles, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

2017–present

Road racing: the Camaro GT4.R

Developed with Pratt & Miller (the Corvette factory-racing partner) off the ZL1 platform, the Camaro GT4.R debuted for 2017 with a dry-sump 6.2 L LT1 and a six-speed Xtrac sequential gearbox, racing in IMSA and Pirelli World Challenge GT4 classes. Drivers Robin Liddell and Matt Bell scored its first win at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.

Built with Pratt & Miller off the ZL1
IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge / GT4 worldwide
First win: Canadian Tire Motorsport Park

1969 Camaro Indy 500 Pace Car edition convertible — 1969 Camaro Indy 500 Pace Car edition Photo: MercurySable99, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

1967–2016

Indianapolis 500 pace cars

Camaro has paced the Indy 500 nine times — 1967, 1969, 1982, 1993, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2014, and 2016. A.J. Foyt famously declined the 1967 pace car (officially over its lack of air conditioning), then drove one himself in 2011; Roger Penske drove the 50th-anniversary SS in 2016.

Nine pace-car appearances (1967–2016)
1969 Z11 replica package: 3,674 sold to the public
Foyt snubbed 1967, drove one in 2011
Penske drove the 2016 50th-anniversary pace car