THE Explosive Truth Behind SMOKEY YUNICK Bonneville CAMARO

Описание: Discover the story of Smokey Yunick's return to motorsports in 1968 with a chevrolet camaro 302 and 396 engine that pushed the boundaries of auto racing history. Was it genius engineering or blatant cheating? His 1968 cars certainly caused a stir in the Trans Am world and beyond.
follow the history and controversy surrounding these legendary 1968 camaros

Smokey Yunick’s mysterious No. 13 hemi head Camaro is one of the most ingenious and controversial race cars storys in American motorsport—a true symbol of creative rule-bending, technical innovation, and the legendary reputation of Yunick himself.
Key Features and Innovations

"Look at the way this thing is put together."

The Bonneville Camaro. Flat-towed one of three of these out to California, put Lloyd Ruby in it at Riverside and ran off 3 laps quicker than the previous year's Trans Am pole speed.

Hemi-Head Twin-Cam Engine: Yunick famously re-engineered the Camaro’s small-block Chevy V8, fabricating hemispherical “Hemi” cylinder heads inspired by Chrysler’s legendary Hemi, vastly improving airflow and power. This was not a factory-available modification and gave the car extraordinary performance.

Smokey Yunick set over 300 speed and endurance records at the Bonneville Salt Flats in the late 1960s, using his highly modified Camaros and a roster of legendary drivers.
Types of Records Set

Flying Mile Record: Yunick’s cars completed mile-long sprints at top speed, repeatedly breaking the existing flying mile benchmarks over a marked 10-mile course.

Standing Mile & Acceleration: He set records for acceleration from a standstill over a fixed distance, demonstrating both raw engine power and traction innovation.

Long-Distance Endurance: The Camaros would run for hours to set records in categories such as 1, 5, and 10 hours at sustained high speeds, doing so with both 302 and 396 cubic inch engines.

Distance Benchmarks (kilometers and miles): Yunick’s team broke records over fixed distances (e.g., 1,000 kilometers, 3,000 kilometers, 500 miles), showing extraordinary reliability and fuel efficiency for American muscle cars at the time.
Legacy

Record Numbers: Contemporary accounts confirm the cars shattered hundreds of existing records in various classes for speed and endurance, with some sources suggesting more than 265, others claiming over 300.

Notable Drivers: Famous drivers involved in these runs included Mickey Thompson, Curtis Turner, Bunkie Blackburn, and Johnny Patterson, who collectively spent nearly two weeks setting these new records.

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Best Community Comments
@ejgrant5191
Smokey brought the Camaro out to the SCCA Trans Am race @ Riverside raceway....John Bishop the head SCCA inspector deemed it a little too liberal of an interpretaion if the rule book....Instead of returning to Daytona with nothing the Camaro was taken off to Bonneville....Both a 302 Chevy and a 396 Big Block were used to set quite a few FIA speed records....The car as raced in Vintage Trans Am sported a Edelbrock STR-10 X-ram intake...This intake was never allowed to be used in Trans Am racing only the GM "Winters Foundry" X-ram intake is legal for a SCCA T/A Camaro....Also sports a poorly disguised set of "Dart Machinery" cylinder heads on it....and Edelbrock aluminum valve covers where the Penske T/A Camaros used stamped GM valve covers on their 440HP TRACO 302 Chevy motors

@crazylarryjr

The riverside story was told by Gray Baskerville who was an editor for one of the bigger magazines at the time, his story was a bit different.
In his story, most of your info was said as well, BUT he had submitted it for inspection and received a list of infractions, to which he said, "Save the pole for me tomorrow" This was a Friday and qualifying was Saturday, he never showed. days later Smokey phoned Gray and Gray asked where did he go, Smokey said, "Bonneville running 2 bills (200 MPH) and breaking records." To which Gray explained that his (Smokey's) stunt caused almost every team to blow at least two engines pushing their cars to match his practice time.
Like i said, this was the story told by Gray Baskerville, not long before he passed away. Said that was his best Smokey Yunick story, proof that racers feared Smokey even when he wasn't there

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