All cars in the series would be “showroom stock” Chevrolet Camaro IROC-Zs or Pontiac Firebird Trans-Ams.

“Qualified Canadian drivers will now have the opportunity to field cars for a competitive series at minimal cost through the GM dealer network,” said D.G. Stirling, GM’s vice-president and general manager at the time. “This can only encourage development of Canadian motor racing at a time when costs are putting many forms of racing out of reach of some of our most talented and promising race drivers.”

Stirling’s comments proved to incredibly prophetic.

The Players Challenge Series became a foothold into the pro ranks for many talented Canadian racers. Well, semi-pro might be more accurate. Initially, total prize money was about $200,000, and grew to over $400,000 in the later years. A driver took home about $10,000 for a win. Richard Spenard, Scott Maxwell, Paul Tracy and Ron Fellows are some of the racers that did stints in The Players Series before moving on to success at higher levels of the sport.

“Wow, that’s closing in on 20 years,” said Ron Fellows from his Mississauga home, about his exploits in the Player’s Series (1986 through 1989). In the 1989 season, he won three of that year’s 10 races to secure the championship before leaving the series to compete and find success in international endurance racing, sports car racing and NASCAR.

Driving the 190-hp Camaro with dozens of other racers in identical cars gave little room for an edge, added Fellows, who had raced on an amateur basis in open-wheeled formula cars before the Players GM series.

“This series was very competitive,” he said. “It was all about finesse. There was some bravery, but I learned a skill set, and these skills I really applied to my NASCAR racing.”

Close to 500 Camaros and Firebirds were built for the series at plants in Van Nuys, California and Norwood, Ohio. GM’s St. Therese plant in Quebec was not yet building the F-cars, but there was major Canadian content in the cars — engines were built in St. Catharines.

The 5.0-litre V8 was attached to a five-speed gearbox. The cars also came equipped with the WS6 suspension tuning option, four-wheel disc brakes, Delco-Bilstein shock absorbers and 245/50VR16 Goodyear Eagles.

Safety equipment (roll bar, fire extinguisher, etc.), different brakes and a free-flow exhaust were all that differentiated the racers from the cars in GM showrooms.

All engines were tested on a dynamometer to ensure comparable performance curves, and then sealed so race teams couldn’t tamper with them. “In this way no car in the series will have a power advantage and driving talent will determine winners,” said Martin Chenhall, GM’s then director of motorsport.

Fellows agreed that in the Player’s Challenge Series, it was all up to the driver. “With the sealed driveline, about the only tuning tool you had was tire pressure. You really had to learn how to drive them.”

The $18,000 cars were offered through GM dealers, complete with GMAC financing.

Did Fellows take advantage of the financing? “Absolutely. Back in 1986, that was the only way I could race… through financing.”

His first Player’s cars were delivered by Golden Mile Chevrolet in Scarborough, Ontario. “Scott Rowntree (the dealer) was extremely helpful to me in those early years,” recalled Ron. “I trashed a car at the 1987 Toronto (Molson Indy) race. It was a big hit. It took a long time to fix, and I missed the next race. But Golden Mile had it ready just in time for Sanair. I drove it to Quebec with wet paint. I ended up wining that race.”

For the first year of operation, the series ran seven times at the usual Canadian circuits such as Mosport, Shannonville, Westwood and Mont Tremblant. They also ran on temporary street circuits, such as those in Toronto and Trois-Riviers. But in the next couple of years, the teams took a stab at oval track racing.

Fellows said he was comfortable on a track with only left turns: “I really enjoyed the ovals like Sanair and Cayuga.” The win at Sanair in 1987 was his first series victory.

Entrants were required purchase new cars each year to make sure the cars were not too stressed (for safety sake), and to keep everyone on the same competitive footing (as every model year would inventively bring variations and upgrades). The Player’s Series finished its six-season run in 1992.

For that championship run in 1989, Ron teamed with his brother Robert, and had three cars between them. Ron held onto one of those cars, which now resides in the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame (CMHF). The dark blue car is virtually untouched since its racing days, and still prominently displays its Sunoco, Players, Mackenzie Financial and Applewood Chevrolet sponsorship.

Looking at it today, the Camaro looks surprisingly roadworthy — and comfortable. Poke your head into the cockpit and you’ll notice the power windows, door locks and GM’s ERS sound system complete with cassette player; just the thing for grabbing a few moments of rock and roll while bolting down Mosport’s Andretti Straight.

Besides his daily drivers, Fellows has only one other car in his special interest “collection.” That car just happens to be a Ron Fellows ALMS GT1 Champion Corvette Z06, the first signed special edition in Corvette’s 54-year history. And the particular car in question also happens to be the very first one built — number 001, from a total limited production run of 399.

In a neat coincidence, the ZO6 will be keeping company with his Players’ car. The Motorsport Hall of Fame is housed in the same complex as Legendary Motor Cars, the well-known purveyor and restorer of muscle cars, based in Milton, Ontario. Legendary’s owner/operator, Peter Klutt, offered to store the Z06 for Ron for the foreseeable future.

“I want to keep the mileage down on that one,” says Ron. “I’ll let my kids fight over it, maybe 25 or 30 years from now, when it’s ready to go to Barrett Jackson.”