Thomas Annunziata finally earned his first win of the 2024 season after an up-and-down year of bad luck and frustrating finishes. With blazing speed, Annunziata defended the point position through multiple restarts, leading every lap of the CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series race at VIRginia International Raceway (VIR).
Annunziata led the field to green in his No. 90 Bayshore Mortgage Funding/Chriswell Ford Mustang, holding off a challenge from second-place starter Jake Drew (No. 7 Silver Hare Racing Chevrolet Camaro) and settling comfortably into the first position. Followed closely by Thomas Merrill in the No. 26 HP Tuners/Cope Race Cars Ford Mustang, the top three remained the same through two early yellow flags. When racing resumed from the second caution period on lap 12, Drew challenged Annunziata on the inside of Turn 1, but Annunziata defended, opening the door for Merrill to pass Drew on the outside for the second spot.
A double yellow was displayed just one lap later for a two-car crash in Turn 14, resulting in a lengthy cleanup. When the green flag waved on lap 19, Annunziata, Merrill and Drew were followed by young newcomer Tristan McKee (No. 28 Team SLR-M1 Racecars Chevrolet Camaro), who had broken into the top five following an impressive early pass on Rafa Matos (No. 60 Concord American Flagpole/Nitro Motorsports Ford Mustang), and Connor Zilisch (No. 57 Silver Hare Racing Chevrolet Camaro), who drove through the field from the last position after missing the weekend’s practice session. One lap later, Zilisch took over the fourth spot, and Matos found his way back around McKee for fifth.
The field finally got a long green-flag run, allowing Annunziata to stretch out a dominating lead over Merrill. Behind Merrill, Zilisch was working to pick off Drew for third, but Zilisch spun on lap 23, dropping out of the top five. As the laps wound down, Drew had a slight off after going too wide into a turn on lap 27, allowing Matos to get right to his rear bumper and attempt to claim the final podium spot. Drew held him off, and on the final lap, McKee took the fourth position from Matos. When the checkered flag waved, Annunziata crossed the finish line with a nearly 9s gap over Merrill.
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“This feels great,” said Annunziata. “These Nitro Motorsports guys deserve at least a few wins this year. We’ve had that speed all year, but silly things happened; that’s racing. It’s a bit emotional. I got my first win with Nick Tucker being my crew chief. I’ve been with Nick and Nitro for a while. I grew up karting with them and came up the ranks and developed with them into cars. We have a cool program going on, so it’s definitely a little emotional. Ronnie and Mike deserved it as well. We’ve been working so hard. Everyone’s super happy. I’m super happy to have Bayshore Mortgage Funding, Chriswell Ford, Chipoys and Eat Clean Bro all on the race car this weekend as well. The car’s beautiful. Congratulations to Thomas Merrill and Jake Drew and thanks to all the fans here. You guys are awesome.”
In Pro/Am Challenge, Barry Boes started the race from the top spot in his No. 27 Team SLR-M1 Racecars Ford Mustang, but an early mistake on lap four put him in the back of the field, forcing him to battle through Pro/Am and Pro drivers alike. Initially, it appeared that Cale Phillips would earn his first Pro/Am victory in his No. 99 Mincey’s Graphics/SNP Inc. Ford Mustang, but with seven laps remaining, Boes reclaimed the lead. Phillips held on for second and Keith Prociuk finished third in his No. 9 HP Tuners/Cope Race Cars Ford Mustang.
“I made a mistake kind of early in the race, went to the back of the pack, and it reminded me how incredibly good every driver in this field is,” said Boes. “From the back, from the very first pass, you’ve got to work for it, and it just gets harder and harder as you go up, but I was able to make my way back up and it feels fantastic.”
The highlight show of Saturday’s race will air on MAVTV on Thursday, October 10 at 8:00 p.m. ET.
The CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series returns to the track for the season finale at Circuit of The Americas on November 1-3.