Legendary racers from all disciplines of motorsports converged at Lime Rock Park for the SpeedTour All-Star Race, where they’re paired with the stars of the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli in a CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series car. Scott Speed in the No. 17 Team SLR-M1 Racecars Chevrolet Camaro was the fastest in qualifying with a best time of 52.657s, claiming the pole for himself and his driving partner, Tristan McKee.
Starting beside him on the front row is Andy Lally in the No. 70 Nitro Motorsports Ford Mustang, who laid down a lap time of 52.845s. Lally is paired with 2023 CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series champion Brent Crews. Their No. 70 car was the fastest in the weekend’s only practice session.
“These CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series cars are really fun,” said Speed. “A lot of our young drivers get to drive these as part of their development, so it’s fun to get in one and drive it at speed and get a feel for them. They’re great cars for these kids to develop in; it’s a great series. I’m happy to be able to come out here and race with Tristan — obviously super young, one of the new, hot up-and-comers. It’s cool to be able to get in the car and get a real experience of what they’re feeling.”
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“I’m excited,” said McKee. “Scott gets to do the first half and I get to do the last, so hopefully I’m in a good position and I can stay there. I feel pretty good about it. I feel comfortable in these cars and on this track, so I feel good.”
SpeedTour CEO Tony Parella offered his thoughts on the event thus far.
“I’m so grateful for all the All-Stars that came out,” said Parella. “When you consider this field, there’s over 8,000 NASCAR starts, almost 600 sports-car racing starts, 40-plus Formula 1 starts, IndyCar championships and everything in between gracing us with their presence. I think it’s like old home week for these guys. They’re having a family reunion, and, you know, these drivers look a little older. They’ve got a little more gray, maybe a couple more pounds, but when you look at the speeds, they’re still racers. To bring this platform to the young up-and-coming drivers that have aspirations to race on the biggest stages, this is a perfect conduit for that, so, for that, I’m grateful. We got blessed with good weather. I want the fans to have a ball. Heck, we had an autograph session that lasted over an hour. If we let it, the line would have gone two hours.”
The SpeedTour All-Star Race will be contested Saturday at 1:00 p.m. ET. It will be broadcast live on MAVTV and streamed live here beginning at 12:30 p.m. ET. The All-Stars will take the green flag for the race, then hand over their TA2 cars to the Trans Am pros following a mid-race competition break for a driver change.