Over the years, the CAM Challenge has tried a number of different formats as a traveling road show, and continues to fine tune its offering. “Tire Rack signed a multi-year deal to support the series all over the country,” says Boreen. “What has happened is we started out trying to run it like a Match Tour and we found out we had to modify it a little, just due to the economics. This year we are trying to run them at ProSolo events. The Invitational, however, will be a Match Tour format, and we hope to have between 80 and 100 cars this year.”

So, what is CAM? The category currently offers three classes, which encompass a wide range of cars, all of which can be extensively modified. The basics are simple: American muscle cars with the engine in the front, drive tires in the rear, sporting 200 UTQG tires, and maintaining some semblance of an interior. Obviously there are a few more rules than that, but that’s the gist.
Image by Brandy Phillips

CAM Traditional (CAM-T) is the home for almost anything resembling a 1948-’00 era road-going automobile. CAM Contemporary (CAM-C) includes most modern pony cars, starting with body styles originating in 2001. CAM Sports (CAM-S) is designed with sports cars in mind, but is also a landing zone for any other CAM car that manages to run afoul of the rules – it essentially serves as an “in-excess” class. “We never want to turn anyone away,” says Boreen of bumping some cars to the faster class. “CAM-S allows other CAM-eligible cars that might be underweight or missing required interior pieces a place to play.”

The freedom found in CAM is also appealing to many longtime SCCA members. “Sometimes, SCCA members autocross cars that can win rather than cars they like,” Boreen points out. “I think back to when Chrysler was paying a lot of money for wins in the Neon; some people hated the cars but made a lot of money doing it. In CAM, people are driving cars that they like.”

Autocrosser Dennis Bay is one such individual, as he approaches the completion of a four-year-long, pro-touring-style build. “I have always liked ’69 Camaros, ever since my good friend in collage bought one,” he says. “However, the dynamics of a 49-year-old car were not up to my modern standards, so CAM gives me a place to autocross my favorite car with the updates that give it modern dynamics and powertrain. Also, most everyone else running CAM-T is in a similar situation – a classic car with modern amenities.
Longtime SCCA autocrosser Dennis Bay has spent the last four years building his CAM-T Camaro – it’s a a labor of love, he says, and an opportunity to compete with a car he truly enjoys.

What does the future hold for CAM? Currently, CAM is still classified as supplemental in the Solo Rules, which means it does not crown a National Champion even though the classes are offered at the Tire Rack Solo National Championships. This supplemental status also gives Boreen and his team the flexibility to make quick decisions they believe are in the best interest of the category. “We are always trying to make things better in CAM, but right now we want the category to be stable,” says Boreen. “There is some thought of the new cars that are coming out – should we start moving more cars into Traditional? But that’s years down the road. We are looking at weights; some cars really struggle to get down to 3,000lbs, we want these cars to be drivable on the street and we don’t want to force people to do crazy things.”

The open rule set and engineering freedom allowed in CAM has resulted in some pretty incredible pieces of machinery showing up, but in reality you likely don’t need to go too wild to find your place in CAM. “There are some people out there with 700 or 800hp, which is great, but I’m not convinced you need that,” says Boreen. “I think if you have 350-400hp you can be competitive. You can do it little by little, and just have fun with it.”

For any automotive enthusiast, CAM – a near rules-free playground for American performance cars – is inspiring. And, it turns out, SportsCar magazine’s staff is not immune to CAM’s siren song.