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2005 Pontiac Firebird IROC Race Car
VIN/Chassis #: LRP5374
Driven by Mark Martin, Sam Hornish Jr., Hélio Castroneves, and Max Papis
Eligible for special inaugural 2025 Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion IROC class with past racing champions
Race-prepped by Ray Evernham, in restored condition, eligible for multiple historic racing events
2nd-place finishes in Atlanta 2005 and Daytona 2006
350 C.I.D GM V8 engine - 500HP, Jerico 4-speed manual transmission
Winters Quick Change Differential, Brembo Carbon Vented Disc Brakes, power steering
Thorough and original IROC documentation
IROC series founded by Roger Penske, Les Richter, and Mike Phelps
IROC’s Resurgence
Through a partnership of Ray Evernham and Rob Kauffman, the IROC trademark was revived to bring one of the most exciting series back to the forefront. With many of the former IROC race cars race-prepped by Ray Evernham Enterprises, these cars spanning from 1973 to 2006 are ready to be back on a track and used in the way they were designed to be. The 2025 Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion inaugural IROC racing class represents a rare opportunity to race alongside racing legends and those who raced the same cars in the original IROC series. These include Jeff Gordon, Danny Sullivan, Mark Martin, Bill Elliott, Ken Schrader, Bobby Labonte, Scott Pruett, Zak Brown, Bruce Canepa, and others.
The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering, will be hosting the IROC race cars as the Featured Racing Class on Friday August 15th, 2025 at the Quail Lodge, complete with a police escort from Laguna Seca through the mountains of Carmel Valley. With Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion signing on for 3 years of IROC racing classes just to start, the IROC racing series is seeing a resurgence unlike anything else, with a driver’s opportunity to racing among other racing legends and celebrities.
2005 Pontiac Firebird IROC
The International Race of Champions (IROC), an American racing series promoted as the equivalent of an all-star game, was a unique and prestigious motorsport competition that ran for several decades, from 1974 to 2006. The goal was to bring together the best drivers from various driving series to compete in identically-prepared cars at some of the world’s most legendary tracks. With names racing such as Can-Am and Trans-Am champion Mark Donohue, F1 champion James Hunt, NASCAR legend and champion Dale Earnhardt, Indycar champion A.J.Foyt, Trans-Am, Can-Am champion George Follmer, and more legendary drivers were invited to join the racing championship to prove who was the best of the best.
The IROC series was founded in 1973 by Roger Penske, Les Richter, and Mike Phelps, wanting to create a championship that featured top drivers from a variety of racing categories and disciplines, such as Formula 1, IndyCar, NASCAR, and sports car racing. The goal? To create a series to determine the “champion of champions” by placing competitors in identically-prepared cars to level the field across the board. No secret additions, no extra power, no trick tuning, just pure raw driving ability. Still remembered as a unique and prestigious series that brought together some of the greatest drivers in motorsport, IROC created the concept of identifying the “champion of champions” and cemented it as a memorable era of racing history.
While the IROC concept seemed simple enough in theory, the implementation was slightly more difficult, especially when bringing together 12 top drivers and preparing 12 identical cars (with 3 additional spare cars) with equal performance in all aspects. Debuting in 1973 with Roger Penske, the series organizer, and the late Mark Donohue, the project supervisor and development driver, found their first cars with the help of their German counterparts. Porsche Carrera RSRs were the first cars used in the series and the first season was met with popular reception. However, there was a snag: the Porsches proved to be too expensive to build and maintain, and a suitable replacement was needed. Penske, with his ties to Chevrolet, found the next logical choice in the form of the 1974 Chevrolet Camaro. Fast and inexpensive to acquire and modify, the Camaro would end up being the platform of choice for the next 15 years.
Fast forward to 1996 where IROC introduced the Pontiac Firebird as the next iteration of race car for the series, raced through the series conclusion in 2006 and were designed by Laughlin Racing. This 2005 Pontiac Firebird IROC car is one of the final examples ever built and only competed on track during the 2005 and 2006 seasons. Only 4 lucky drivers piloted this chassis with its most recognizable appearance in the final 2005 season race with Mark Martin, finishing in 2nd place at Atlanta and clinching his 5th IROC championship. Hélio Castroneves accompanied Sam Hornish Jr. and Max Papis as the other racers who drove #LRP5374 in competition, with Hornish Jr. taking 2nd place at Daytona in 2006. Equipped with a 350 C.I.D. engine with 500 horsepower, paired to a Jerico 4-speed manual transmission, Winters Quick Change Differential, Brembo Carbon Vented Disc Brakes, and power steering, the Firebird is a potent historic racing package.
In August of 2025, Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion will play host to a special IROC class of racing, featuring legendary IROC competitors, modern racing legends, and displays of over 20 historic IROC cars. This #03 2005 Pontiac Firebird IROC has been race prepped by Ray Evernham Enterprises, IROC co-owner, is in restored condition and is eligible for this year’s 2025 Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion, future IROC series classes, along with other historic race events nationwide.
The IROC series represented a unique and special snapshot in racing history, gathering the best of the best to compete against one another on equal footing. Seeing F1 champions race against Indy car champions, along with NASCAR drivers rubbing against sports car drivers. A series as unique as IROC may never take place again, but with this race-ready #03 Pontiac Firebird you can drive and enjoy a piece of motorsport history.
