Bruce Jenner

Before America

Bruce's saloon racing began at home, in OSCA

1976/77 · Levels, Timaru

An OSCA Camaro at Levels

Years before Trans-Am, Bruce raced a Chevrolet Camaro in New Zealand's Open Saloon Car Association series. A period photo from Levels raceway at Timaru in the 1976/77 season is captioned "the OSCA Chevrolet Camaros of Kevin Haig and Bruce Jenner".

It's the same OSCA series his Pontiac – by then a Camaro – would return to in the 1990s with Paul Williams, and that Chris Hatton won with it in 2012.

Source: Oversteer – Blast from the past: OSCA

The 1982 Pontiac #72

Bruce's original Trans-Am car – raced only by him

Bruce Jenner's striped #72 Pontiac side by side with a red, white and blue Kendall / Canon car

Wheel to wheel: the striped #72 alongside a Kendall / Canon-sponsored rival on a dry, golden-grass American circuit.

The striped #72 mid-pack in a Trans-Am field — Mid-pack in the Trans-Am field Photo: Mark Windecker

1985 – 1986 · SCCA Trans-Am

Bruce's original car

Bruce's first car in American championship racing was a 1982 Pontiac Firebird in white with red and blue stripes, wearing #72. He was its only driver.

These were the toughest years for the privateer team: reliability struggles, but glimpses of mid-field pace, especially in 1985 with consistent top-15 finishes.

1985 · Pontiac Firebird #72Best result: 7th at Mosport (Sept 8)

1986 · Pontiac Firebird #72Best result: 22nd at Road Atlanta (Oct 12)

New Zealander Max Crawford was his crew chief. After 1986 Bruce moved into the Porsche 944, and the team's new 1985-built Pontiac took over the #72 – the car that survives today as the Jenner Camaro.

The striped 1982 Pontiac #72 in the paddock, Bruce Jenner Racing across the windscreen — In the paddock, 1985–86 – "Bruce Jenner Racing" across the screen Photo: Norbert Vogel

Podiums in the Porsche

The best season of his career

Bruce Jenner strapping in to the #42 Porsche — Strapping in to the #42 Photo: Mark Windecker

1987 · Porsche 944 #42

Two podiums

Switching to the Porsche 944 in 1987 was the turning point. In the white #42, in Olivetti colours with Goodyear, Bosch and Bendix support, Bruce finished 3rd at the Long Beach opener (one lap down) and 3rd at Portland against seasoned professionals – two podiums from 11 starts.

Source: Trans Am Series – On This Day: Long Beach 1987

Porsche 944 #423rd at Long Beach (April 4)
3rd at Portland (June 7)

Porsche 944 #429th at Memphis (Sept 13)
11th at Road Atlanta (Oct 11)

Bruce Jenner climbing into the #42 Porsche — Bruce with the #42 in the pit lane Photo: Mark Windecker

Porsche 944 #42 at Sears Point — The #42 at Sears Point Photo: Martin Spetz

The Final US Season

Mechanical setbacks and the end of the Trans-Am programme

1988 · Porsche 944 #42 and #11

A difficult year

By 1988 the programme was struggling. Bruce's confirmed results are 43rd at Detroit, a non-start at Niagara Falls and 18th at Cleveland (July 2), his best of the year. The #42 had shown his potential with two podiums; the struggles of 1988 showed how hard it was to sustain as a privateer.

Two Bruce Jenners The Olympic decathlon champion Bruce Jenner (now Caitlyn Jenner) also raced in Trans-Am. At Niagara Falls on 26 June 1988 both were entered: race photographer Mark Windecker's captions list "15th Bruce Jenner (Olympian) Camaro" and "DNS Bruce Jenner (non-Olympian) Porsche 944" – our Bruce, in the #42. Results databases sometimes merge the two, so this site only uses results that match Bruce's Pontiacs and Porsches.Source: Mark Windecker – Niagara Falls 1988 · More historical notes

Bringing Trans-Am Home

The Pontiac and the Porsche come to New Zealand

The Pontiac in blue Auto News livery — The Pontiac in its blue Auto News colours

Early 1990s · Manfeild & Wigram

Trans-Am comes to New Zealand

Bruce and Pam Jenner brought the 1985 Pontiac and the Porsche 944 #11 home to New Zealand. The Pontiac was painted blue with New Zealand Auto News and "Team USA", and Bruce raced it at Manfeild.

For Wigram he brought over two of his American drivers – Scott Lagasse in the Pontiac and Chris Kneifel in the Porsche – with Bruce on the grid helping Lagasse into the car.

Bruce Jenner at the door of the #8 Pontiac as Scott Lagasse gets in at Wigram — Bruce (red stripes) with Lagasse at Wigram

The blue Pontiac heading to the grid at Manfeild — Heading to the grid at Manfeild Photo: Jud Chapman

Bruce later had Brennan Racing fit a Camaro body in AC Delco colours, before selling the car to Paul Williams. Follow the car's full story →

Bruce Jenner in a red team jacket at Ruapuna — Bruce at Ruapuna, c. 1994

c. 1994 · Ruapuna, Christchurch · the AC Delco Camaro

Bruce with the AC Delco Camaro

Back home in New Zealand, around 1994, Bruce ran the newly rebodied Camaro as #10 in blue and red AC Delco "All Makes Parts" colours, with a Noel Leeming / Sharp rear wing, a "USA" plate on the tail, and Brennan Automotive Specialists – who built the Camaro body – on the front wing alongside Team Jennian, Bosch, Simpson and Tech Line.

In the paddock with Bruce (in the red team jacket) is Paul Williams, in a red race suit and white helmet – the man who would buy the car from Bruce and Pam and take it to the OSCA championship.

The AC Delco Camaro from behind in the Ruapuna paddock, Noel Leeming Sharp rear wing and USA plate — Ruapuna paddock, c. 1994 – #10, Noel Leeming / Sharp wing, "USA" plate; Bruce in red jacket and glasses, centre

Bruce Jenner and Paul Williams with the blue AC Delco Camaro in a New Zealand paddock — Paul Williams (red race suit, white helmet) and Bruce (right, red jacket) with the Camaro

Paul Williams' driver profile →

The other Jenner Camaro In the mid-1990s Bruce also commissioned the American team RocketSports to build a new Camaro Trans-Am, chassis RS17, for New Zealand's TraNZam series, with Chris Kneifel its first driver in late 1995. Steven "Junior" Johnson later raced it in the 1996/97 TraNZam. It is a different car from the 1985 Pontiac that became the Jenner Camaro.Source: V8 Sleuth