Don Yenko race history

[COPO]

Joe C,

What kind of racing do they do there?

quote: VIR = Virgina International Raceway


I guess the spell checker wouldn't have caught that one.

[Chevy454]

I doubt if any knows for sure how many races Don participated in, but I know the total would be in the 100's, with many wins, as he was a very successful as a racer. According to Don, he did not drive/race a Stinger becuase he did not want to compete against his own cars. He said that he would rather support others in their efforts. Don knew that the real money was in selling cars, not racing.
Don's first race was in 1957, at New Smyrna Beach near Daytona, FL. in a stock 3 speed Vette with modified exhaust. He was on vacation and saw a sign that read " Enter for Sports Car Racing Here", bluffed his way into racing by giving an imaginary competition driver's number to the girl at the gate and found himself driving between veterans Paul Goldsmith in a four speed Vette (Don had never seen one) Marvin Panch in a Thunderbird with a bellypan and GMC blower. Because of transmission problems, Don ran the entire race in second gear. He crossed the finish line in third place, with a 3-4 foot flame coming from the rear of his car. The modified exhaust on Don's car was aimed at the rearend hosuing and had set it on fire. Don had caught the racing bug and now was a "racer". His first full year of racing he blew up 5 engines at such courses as Cumberland, Dunkirk and Akron. In 1961 Don finished national runnerup and easily won the national championships in his Corvette in '62 and '63. In 1964 he won the Northeast Divisional championship and was runnerup in the same league in '65. By 1966 he was driving for Gulf Oil and just missed winning the national championship at Riverside because of an official error. He had numerous class wins at the 12 hour Sebring race and the grueling Daytona 24 hours (1971 4th overall and 1st in class) and even raced at LeMans. Don is best known for winning the Citrus 250 at Daytona in 1969, during what we now call "speed week". The race was similar to IROC, as there were drivers from several different racing bodies. Don, representing SCCA racing, was racing a 1969 Camaro against such drivers/cars as Parnelli Jones/'69 Mustang, Loyd Ruby/'69 Camaro, Joie Chitwood/'69 Camaro, and Bob Tullius/'69 Javelin. Don's first place plaque and related newspaper articles from Don's scrapbook were displayed at the last Supercar Reunion. Tom @ sYc

[JoeC]

It is difficult to find information on the Camaros Don Yenko raced. I believe the car he raced at Daytona in 1969 was a 1968 302 cu. in. Camaro white with two thin blue stripes wearing the number "11". (Tom what does your scrapbook show?). The 1969 Sebring records list Don as 10th place in a 1969 ZL1 Camaro with Bob Grossman as co-driver. The first time I read this I dismissed it as a misprint. I just read another article on Sebring 1969 and it also states that Yenko/Grossman beat all the Corvettes in a "sleeper" Camaro with a ZL1 engine. The car was part sponsored by Yenko Sports Cars. I wonder if it was a real ZL1 or L72 Camaro or just a fabricated race car. This is the first I ever read of anyone road racing a ZL1 Camaro. I will keep digging for info/pics on this car.

[sYc]

Joe; The info I quoted was from the Daytona newspaper out of Don's scrapbook. I will double check as I have several other items of interest from the race. Also, I have photos of Don's '68 and '69 Camaros, from his photo collection. The '69 is kind of neat, as there is a Yenko emblem on the rear panel. Tom

[DarrylD]

Is the 69 Sebring race the only race that mentions the ZL-1? If you have a picture of it, maybe you can find pictures of the car at other races where they might not mention the fact that its a ZL-1. Like Joe said, though, there's a good chance it's just a car they stuck a ZL-1 motor in to race. Tom, can you post a picture of the '69 with the Yenko emblem on the back? Even if its black and white, I'm sure everyone would like to see it.

[DarrylD]

By the way, how old would he have been when he started racing in '57?

[JoeC]

Don Yenko was 59 according to his obituary in 1987. So if he began racing in 1957 he would have been 29. Does anyone know Don's birthday? In the early 1980's, when he was over 50 years young, he was labeled by a press person as "the old man of racing". After this at one of the races he attended with Kim Mason (from Yenko Honda) he made a joke of it and walked up to his race car with a cane in his hand. I saw a picture of this but do not recall where. Vic Edlebrock Jr. has a restored ex-Smokey Yunick 1968 Trans-Am Camaro. In an article about this car, the author lists one of the Camaro's previous owner/drivers as Don Yenko. This may have been the same car that Don used to win the Citrus 250.