The Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli does a quick turnaround from Lime Rock Park to the city of Detroit, where the Detroit Grand Prix returns to the downtown streets for the first time since 1991. The Big Machine Vodka SPIKED Coolers TA2 Series joins the NTT IndyCar Series, Indy NXT and IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge for a doubleheader weekend.
The standalone weekend for TA2 will be composed of two feature races, the 3-Dimensional Services Group Muscle Car Challenge on Saturday, and the 3-Dimensional Services Group Motor City Showdown on Sunday. Race 1 will be a 60-minute shootout, while Race 2 will be a full 75-minute event, with the field for Race 2 set by race results in Race 1.
With Lime Rock Park back-to-back with this weekend’s doubleheader, a potential total of 333 championship points can potentially be awarded to a single TA2 driver in just eight days. Thomas Merrill maxed out the 111 possible points this past Saturday at Lime Rock by winning the pole (5 points), leading a lap (1 point), leading the most laps (2 points), and winning the race (103 points), emerging from Round 4 of the 2023 season with the points lead.
Schedule:
Qualifying:
Saturday, June 3
8:15-8:45am ET
Race 1:
3-Dimensional Services Group Muscle Car Challenge
Saturday, June 3
10:35-11:35am ET
Race Length: 60 minutes
Race 2:
3-Dimensional Services Group Motor City Showdown
Sunday, June 4
11:00am-12:15pm ET
Race Length: 75 minutes
TV Broadcast:
MAVTV
Thursday, June 8
8:00pm ET
Detroit street course history
The Trans Am Series has been competing on the streets of Detroit since the third Detroit Grand Prix held in 1984. Tom Gloy won the event, and since then, Trans Am drivers such as Wally Dallenbach Jr., Scott Pruett, Greg Pickett and Scott Sharp have visited Winner’s Circle on downtown configurations.
Once the event moved to Belle Isle in 1992, Trans Am legends like Dorsey Schroeder, Ron Fellows, Tommy Kendall and Paul Gentilozzi drove to victory. Most recently, competitors in this weekend’s event, Rafa Matos (2018) and Misha Goikhberg (2019), have won at Belle Isle, and Dillon Machavern finished third and second in the 2019 doubleheader. However, all of the competitors in this weekend’s event will be on even footing, as this will be the first time anyone has driven the new downtown configuration.
Meet the drivers
Fans will have the opportunity to meet the stars of the Big Machine Vodka SPIKED Coolers TA2 Series and Indy NXT at an autograph session on Friday, June 2 from 11:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m. at the GM Renaissance Center Wintergarden.
3-Dimensional Services Group triple track tournament
This weekend’s doubleheader will kick off a mid-season points challenge for the Big Machine Vodka SPIKED Coolers TA2 Series dubbed the 3-Dimensional Services Group Triple Track Tournament. Consisting of the next four races at three unique racing venues, the Triple Track Tournament will award the driver who accumulates the most points in the 3-Dimensional Services Group sponsored events with a special custom trophy. The four races that count towards the points challenge are:
3-Dimensional Services Group Muscle Car Challenge (Detroit Race 1)
3-Dimensional Services Group Motor City Showdown (Detroit Race 2)
3-Dimensional Services Group Classic (Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, June 22-25)
3-Dimensional Services Group 100 (Road America, July 6-9)
Home game for 3-Dimensional Services Group
The sponsor of this weekend’s Detroit doubleheader and the Triple Track Tournament, 3-Dimensional Services Group, is headquartered just 25 miles away from the race circuit in Rochester Hills, Mich. 3-Dimensional Services Group is operated by two-time Trans Am TA class champion and owner of Peterson Racing, Doug Peterson.
In addition to being a Trans Am champion, Peterson, who drives the No. 87 3-Dimensional Services Group Ford Mustang, is also a hall of famer. Last November, he was inducted into the Michigan Motor Sports Hall of Fame. Originally from Pontiac, Mich., Peterson was first exposed to racing when his father Leroy raced in the Detroit area, and he has had great success in Trans Am since joining the series in 2011. Peterson won back-to-back Trans Am championships in 2013 and 2014 driving for Tony Ave Racing before starting Peterson Racing and earning two championships as an owner with driver Rafa Matos in 2018 and 2021. This weekend, Peterson will be joined on the racetrack by teammates Mike Skeen in the No. 86 3-Dimensional Services Group Camaro, Matos in the No. 88 3-Dimensional Services Group Ford Mustang and Austin Green in the No. 89 3-Dimensional Services Group Camaro.
Marks making TA2 appearance
Fresh off his spoiler victory at Lime Rock Park in Monday’s TA race, Justin Marks will be making his first appearance of 2023 in the Big Machine Vodka SPIKED Coolers TA2 Series this weekend in the No. 8 Trackhouse Chevrolet Camaro for TeamSLR. Marks most recently drove in the TA2 class at Watkins Glen International last fall. Although he has only made three starts in the class, he does have experience navigating these 530-horsepower machines around a street course. Marks participated in the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix in 2021, finishing fourth.
Young guns vs. veterans
The 2023 season is shaping up to be a battle between the series’ youngest drivers and veterans, with the first four races won by two former champions (2018 & 2021 champion Rafa Matos, 2022 champion Thomas Merrill) and two young guns (15-year-old Brent Crews, 16-year-old Connor Zilisch). The same four drivers occupy the top four in points, with Merrill currently leading the points, Matos seeded fourth, and Crews and Zilisch in the second and third positions, respectively. 17-year-old Evan Slater rounds out the top five in the standings.
Young guns actually compose seven of the top-10 spots in the points, with Dillon Machavern (No. 17 SLR-M1 Race Cars Ford Mustang) the only other driver over the age of 25 in the top 10. Young Guns Thomas Annunziata in the No. 90 Nitro Motorsports Ford Mustang and Nathan Herne in the No. 29 CUBE 3/Berryman Ford Mustang (currently eighth and ninth in points) both had very successful days at Lime Rock last weekend, with Annunziata scoring his first podium of 2023 with a third-place finish, and Herne earning a hard-fought fifth-place finish. With 222 points available this weekend, there’s plenty of progress to be made in the standings. Time will tell if the Young Guns or veterans will wind up on top.
1. Thomas Merrill (366)
2. Brent Crews (363)
3. Connor Zilisch (357)
4. Rafa Matos (356)
5. Evan Slater (320)
1. Brent Crews (363)
2. Connor Zilisch (357)
3. Evan Slater (320)
4. Darin Mock (223)
5. Thomas Annunziata (218)
1. Thomas Annunziata (218)
2. Nathan Herne (210)
3. Austin Green (194)
4. Thad Moffitt (185)
5. Ben Maier (176)
Complete Standings: CLICK HERE