Sam Posey - Driving Career

Driving Career

Sam Posey started as an amateur sports car racer, and graduated to the Can Am and Trans Am. Posey raced the Sunoco Camaro for Roger Penske in 1968 in the Trans Am series. Chevrolet won the championship based on the Penske team effort. Mark Donohue was the lead driver and he won a remarkable 10 of 13 races. Posey's first race was at Bridgehampton where he finished 3rd. Other finishes were: Meadowdale, 3rd’; St Jovite, 3rd; Bryar, 6th; Watkins Glen, 2nd which was the only race that Donohue was beaten by a Camaro in 1968. Posey's car was the same Sunoco Blue with yellow lettering as Donohue. Posey sported a yellow spoiler and Donohue had a red spoiler.

In 1969, he won the Lime Rock Trans-Am in a factory Ford Mustang. In 1970, Posey was the driver for Ray Caldwell's factory-backed Autodynamics Dodge Challenger in Trans-Am, racing against Parnelli Jones, Dan Gurney, Mark Donohue and Jim Hall in what most racing historians regard as the greatest season of professional road racing in US history. Posey also raced in the USAC Championship Car series in the 1969 and 1972-1974 seasons, with 13 career starts, including the 1972 Indianapolis 500. He finished in the top ten 8 times, with his best finish in 3rd position in 1969 at the Kent road course. He was the team driver for Caldwell's Can-Am racer which featured monocoque aluminum construction in two parallel longitudinal space frames, with solid front and rear axles.

As an endurance racer, Posey appeared at the 24 Hours of Le Mans 10 times (1966, 1969–1973, and 1975–1978) and finished in the top 10 five times. His best finish was 3rd position during the 1971 competition in which he drove the Ferrari 512M. He also won the 1975 12 Hours of Sebring, teaming with three other drivers.

He participated in two Formula One world championship events, the 1971 and 1972 United States Grand Prix, retiring from the first and finishing 12th in the second, thus not scoring any championship points. He drove Surtees cars on both occasions, but only the first was a works-entered car.

He also competed in a single NASCAR Grand National (predecessor to Nextel Cup) event, the first race of the 1970 series, held on the Riverside International Raceway road race course in Riverside, California.