The Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, where historic race cars take to the legendary track to display vintage levels of grip to thousands of sun-parched fans, is a veritable orgy of amazing machinery. From spindly prewar speedsters to vicious 1970s Formula 1 racers, nearly the entire history of motorsports was present in some form or another. But as awe-inspiring as it is to watch the legends of racing’s past duke it out through the Corkscrew—and it’s always awe-inspiring, every lap—we’re suckers for the unexpected oddball racers. So you know the 1985 Buick Somerset racer you see here sent our offbeat-o-meter soaring to redline.
You might not consider the stodgy, Iron Duke–powered Somerset (which was renamed Skylark for 1988) to be suitable inspiration for a Trans-Am competitor. There’s reason: “That’s because they didn’t do so well,” quipped Pieter Baljet, whose crew prepped this brick-like Buick and an equally 1980s-tastic Chevrolet Beretta for some hot laps around Laguna Seca.
After a somewhat successful 1985 SCCA Trans-Am season—the V-6–powered Buick took two victories and placed fourth overall—the racer was purchased by Gordie Oftedahl, given a V-8 transplant, and entered in the 24 Hours of Daytona. “The car wasn’t terribly uncompetitive, I think it qualified top 10 in class,” Baljet explained. “But unfortunately, the team as a pit crew and all was rather unorganized.”
Ric Moore, who co-drove in the Buick’s Daytona attempt, chimed in: “It was a lot of volunteers, asking, ‘What do I do now?’ “
“It wasn’t a highly professional effort,” said Baljet.
Over the years, the car has been rebodied several times, briefly being transformed into an equally unlikely Oldsmobile Toronado, before being purchased as an incomplete basket case in 1992 and slowly returned to its original racing configuration and 1985 Sears Point livery as seen here. Driver/owner Mike McNamee fielded the 507-hp, Odd-Fire 4.5-liter V-6–powered car valiantly during the weekend’s historic races—this wasn’t the first appearance at the Reunion for the car or McNamee—but in a class dominated by the likes of a screaming Mazda 787, a Spice Acura GTP Lights racer, and an IMSA-prepped BMW M5, the Buick was majorly outgunned.
No matter—one of the greatest joys of historic racing is seeing unlikely machinery given a chance to shine. It’s cool seeing a gaggle of 1965 Mustang Shelby GT350s roaring through the Corkscrew, or hearing the scream of F1 days gone by. But watching the relentlessly upright Somerset whirl around Laguna Seca scratched a weird-car itch we never even knew we had.
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