AUSTIN, Texas – With a season-high number of entries and multiple championships at stake, the Trans-Am Championship presented by Pirelli descends on Circuit of the Americas to stage the penultimate race weekend of the national championship as well as the final event of the Trans-Am West Coast Championship season.
One of the most modern circuits on the Trans-Am schedule will play host to the thunder as the largest field of the year takes to the Texas track with a mix of 54 TA, TA2 powered by AEM, SuperGT and GT class machines.
The Trans Am Series will present two 102-mile (30-lap) races at the 20-turn, 3.427-mile circuit. The Trans-Am 100 race, featuring the TA/SGT/GT classes, will take place on Saturday, while the TA2 powered by AEM class will have the Muscle Car Challenge on Sunday.
The largest TA2 powered by AEM field of the year will look to get up to speed with a pair of test sessions on Friday, with qualifying set for Saturday. With 33 TA2 cars entered for the weekend staked with season veterans like NASCAR star Mike Skinner and Texas-natives vying for the Southern Cup Championship, Virginia Int’l Raceway round winner Marc Miller can relax a little bit knowing he only has to take the green flag on Sunday to clinch the national TA2 championship.
“I absolutely love COTA,” said Miller. “It has a bit of everything and I have a lot of great friends in Austin and the racing environment is great. It would be nice to continue podium runs or have a shot at the pole there so my focus will be to keep the pressure on. SMR has done a great job preparing fast and reliable equipment for our team all year. As a driver I want to be able to reward them with race wins, podiums and a championship. Overall it would be great to see all of our full-season entries make it into top-10 results this year and bring home a Team Championship for SMR.”
With six top-10 finishes and one top-five standings so far this season, Lawless Alan has the opportunity to secure the Rookie of the Year award in TA2. While Alan could take top rookie honors at COTA, the NASCAR K&N Pro Series part-time driver is on the hunt for his first podium of the year.
“The competition in Trans-Am is world class,” said Alan. “You have drivers that have competed in IndyCar, IMSA, different European series, previous Trans-Am champions and some of the best road course drivers in the world. So to come in and be challenged with new tracks from week to week and then to also be running up front with this level of talent is just really fantastic.”
Defending TA class title holder and current points leader Ernie Francis Jr. is hoping to fend off Chris Dyson, as the duo are separated by 16 points leading into the penultimate round for the national TA class championship. The event marks the second season that COTA sets the stage for the championship shootout between the two, as the Texas circuit saw Francis claim the 2018 victory ahead of Dyson on his run to the championship.
The championship in the SGT class was sealed up by Mark Boden three rounds early, therefore, Boden’s Porsche 991 GT3 Cup decided not to make the Texas trek for the penultimate round. Watkins Glen Int’l winner Aaron Pierce and three-time runner up Ken Thwaits are drivers to keep an eye on this weekend.
In the West Coast Championship, Simon Gregg clinched the TA class championship over rookie Michelle Nagai one round early at Portland Int’l Raceway. Gregg opted to enter just the National championship at COTA with a focus on keeping his top-five standing, leaving the West Coast Championship podium open for a new contender to take the top spot.
In the TA2 West Coast Championship finale at COTA, the stakes are even higher. There is no margin for error and every point matters as Anthony Honeywell and Brad McAllister enter the weekend just two points apart, having exchanged victories all season long.
After a two month break, Trans-Am West Coast Championship GT Class leader Roger Eagleton is looking forward to getting back in action at the Formula One Grand Prix Circuit to close up what has been a breakthrough year for the DIG Motorsports rookie.