AMC mentioned Randall in their factory racing publication "Performance American Style" which I believe was published in 1972. I think that was about as close as Randall got to "official permission". Also having a "factory special" (if that's what it was)for AMC in 1972 made perfect sense as a year earlier they won the Trans Am championship (I think they did in 72 as well but without Donohue), they were heavily involved with Wally Booth and also Penske in NASCAR. So when the big three were winding down their hipo programs starting in 71, AMC was just getting a bit more serious from there efforts in the late sixties. Why was this? Remember, this was AMC, either they were running behind everyone else or were several years ahead in some cases (4x4 eagle, Grand Wagoneer ect.). In a few cases they had the right product at the right time but very few. Oh, one last thing, my brother ordered a brand new 73 Hornet hatchback with a 360, 727 Torque Flite and posi and it was a really fast ride and was just as safe as anything from the big three in those days. Structually the car was solid but what gave people the impression of poor build quality was the cheap all-plastic interiors AMC used. Coming from a family that had many AMCs, FoMoCo and GM products, GM and Ford were at the top in solid, nicely appointed interiors, Chrysler was a distant third and AMC was behind them IMHO.
