American Muscle Car Masters

TGR Staff -06/02/2022

American Muscle Car Masters (AMCM) is a relatively new racing series founded by drivers Al Fernandez and Craig McCormick to bring the excitement of Trans Am style racing to the amateur level. Most of the cars and technical requirements mirror those of the professional Trans Am 2 series, but races are held in conjunction with the National Auto Sports Association (NASA), keeping costs down and allowing for regional competition. We headed out to watch a recent race at Eagle’s Canyon Raceway in Decatur, Texas to see what the series was all about.

AMCM allows competitors to take Late Model Stock Car, Super Late Model Stock Car, TA2, GTA, ASA, and NASCAR chassis. While all of these race cars are built by different manufacturers and for different series, fundamentally they are all full tube frames, rear-wheel drive, and V8 race cars. However, road race cars are set up very differently than circle track cars. Regardless of the chassis, a team that starts with all cars must run an AMCM legal fiberglass body, which gives drivers a choice of a Mustang, Camaro, or Challenger. Some exceptions are made on period-correct cars that may have a Monte Carlo or even a Ford Taurus body, but the most competitive cars tend to be the Howe Chassis.

Each race weekend features three races where drivers can earn points towards the championship. To add an additional challenge the second and third races feature an inverted grid meaning the fastest cars start at the back, so the fastest driver must work extra hard passing the entire field to take first place.

AMCM originally started with races in Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana, however, for 2022 series has expanded to Colorado and is expanding to create an AMCM West region as more drivers join the series. Race weekends are inexpensive, at least for the racing world, with entry fees being between $400-$600 depending on the track.