Racing the Historic Trans Am Challenge on the streets of Long Beach, Trans Am Champion, Tomy Drissi, driving his spectacular 1970 Jim Hall Chaparral factory Camaro, was ecstatic after Saturday’s race.
“That was incredible,” said Tomy, Trans Am Champion. “Bringing these cars back to Long Beach was absolutely brilliant. I really have to hand it to Chris Vandagriff and the Historic Motor Sports Association (www.hmsausa.com) and the Toyota Grand Prix organizers for making this happen. I had my first Trans Am win (2000) at Long Beach, so to drive this Chaparral Camaro here is pretty sentimental.”
“The Long Beach fans were blown away by the sight of these historic cars,” said Tomy. “These are not replicas. These are the cars that ran in the hay day of the “pony wars” when Trans Am was “the” road racing series in America. To see them mixing it up on the Long Beach streets was just unbelievable.”
“There was plenty of good racing,” added Tomy. “These guys weren’t holding back… when you consider these cars aren’t replicas, that’s really saying something. Seeing everyone finish was just a blast!”
Tomy’s Chaparral Camaro came to life when Roger Penske jumped to AMC in 1970. At the request of Chevrolet Jim Hall built 3 Chaparral Camaro’s to compete in Trans Am. The car finished in the top 10 in every race it entered, including four 4th place finishes with Jim Hall behind the wheel. The car had its solo victory at Watkins Glen, at the hands of Vic Elford .
The Chaparral Camaro produces around 475 horsepower and weighs 3,375lbs. It can cover the 1/4 mile in just over 10 seconds. Depending on gearing, it’s capable of speeds of up to 200 mph.
The Long Beach Grand Prix was the first time the Historic Trans Am series competed as part of a major racing series event. Twenty-eight competitors raced on the streets of Long Beach. The Historic Trans Am Challenge, includes American muscle cars from the late 1960s and early 1970s. The Series came into being in the early 1990s when racing enthusiasts found the old Trans Am cars and began restoring them. The series, which features about 50 racers, has race at several of the country’s top venues; Sonoma Raceway, Watkins Glen International Raceway, Mont Tremblant and Laguna Seca.
Keep up with Tomy at http://www.tomydrissi.com or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/tomydrissi/ – Catch Tomy’s Twitter feed at https://twitter.com/tomydrissi
Tomy Drissi is an American driver and Trans Am Champion.
His driver experience includes ALMS, Trans-Am, NASCAR and Speed World Challengea
Born December 9 in Hollywood, California, Tomy owns an advertising firm that produces upcoming film displays for cinemas.
Drissi’s first racing experience in motorsports was street racing on Mulholland Drive in the Hollywood Hills.
Tomy’s professional racing career highlights include:
• 1999 Trans-Am Rookie of the Year,
• 2000 Trans-Am BBS Most Improved Driver,
• 2000 Trans-Am Crew of the Year
• 2000 Trans-Am Long Beach Champion
• 2009 Trans-Am Champion.
• 2010 ALMS (one off race) Prototype LMP1 3rd. at Mid Ohio
• 2011 saw Tomy’s return to the American Le Mans LMPC division. He scored a 2nd at Long Beach, 3rd at Lime Rock, 1st at Mid Ohio,1st at Inaugural Baltimore Grand Prix and second at Road Atlanta -Petit Le Mans.
• 2012, Drissi teamed with Bruno Junqiera for finishing 2nd at Laguna Seca, a win at Mosport (Canadian Tire Motorsports Park), 2nd at Baltimore and second at the season finale, Petit Lemans.
• 2013 NASCAR CUP/Nationwide. Best result at Mid Ohio starting 38th and finishing 19th.
• 2014 IMSA LMPC at Daytona 3rd.
• 2014 NASCAR CUP/Nationwide. Finished 19th at The Glen
• 2015 TUDOR Series. 2nd Place Rolex 24 at Daytona
• 2016 WeatherTech Series. 2nd Place Rolex 24 at Daytona
• 2017 Three wins in the Trans Am Series
• 2017 WeatherTech Series. 1st Place Motul Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta