The Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli heads to Road Atlanta for Round 3 of the 2023 season. Trans Am has been visiting the 53-year-old facility since 1972, holding 39 races at the Braselton, Georgia track.
This is the last race before Trans Am’s National Championship begins a two-month hiatus prior to Lime Rock Park on Memorial Day weekend. Once racing resumes, the schedule heats up, with five races in seven weeks.
Schedule:
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Bennett and BridgeHaul’s backyard
At this weekend’s Mission Foods Atlanta SpeedTour, Trans Am will be joined by the Atlanta-based, woman-owned Bennett Family of Companies and BridgeHaul as they host an employee weekend at the track and sponsor both the TA/XGT/SGT/GT and Big Machine Vodka SPIKED Coolers TA2 Series races. Saturday’s TA/XGT/SGT/GT event will be called the Bennett/BridgeHaul Classic, and Sunday’s TA2 race will be titled the Bennett/BridgeHaul 100. The command for Sunday’s TA2 Series race will be given by Marcia Taylor (Owner and CEO of Bennett Family of Companies) and XGT racer and Sebring winner Danny Lowry (VP of Bennett Family of Companies).
Bennett-sponsored Austin Hill (no relation to the Austin Hill racing in XGT this weekend) just earned the company a hometown victory in the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway this past weekend. Will the brand be lucky for our Road Atlanta contenders? Five drivers in this weekend’s races are sponsored by Bennett and BridgeHaul, including:
XGT
Danny Lowry, No. 42 BridgeHaul/Bennett Mercedes AMG GT3
Tyler Hoffman, No. 43 BridgeHaul/Bennett Mercedes AMG GT3
SGT
Ricky Sanders, No. 18 BridgeHaul/Bennett/Pitboxes.com Porsche 991.1
GT
Michael Attaway, No. 91 Bennett/BridgeHaul/Pitboxes.com Audi R8
TA2
Thomas Merrill, No. 26 Bennett/HP Tuners/Mike Cope Race Cars Ford Mustang
Past winners at Road Atlanta
There are a number of drivers in this weekend’s field who have tasted victory at Road Atlanta in the past. Chris Dyson, Amy Ruman and Billy Griffin are tied with the most wins of any entrants in this weekend’s event with three. For both Dyson and Ruman, Road Atlanta was home to their first-career Trans Am wins.
TA
Chris Dyson, No. 16 GYM WEED Ford Mustang (2022, 2020 II, 2018)
Boris Said, No. 79 ECC/Anchor Bolt & Screw Dodge Challenger (2021)
Amy Ruman, No. 23 McNichols Co. Chevrolet Corvette (2016, 2015, 2011)
Doug Peterson, No. 87 3-Dimensional Services Group Ford Mustang (2014, 2012)
XGT
Randy Hale, No. 31 Hale Motorsports/Marsh Racing Chevrolet Corvette (2022)
Ken Thwaits, No. 7 Franklin Road Apparel Chevrolet Corvette (2020 I)
SGT
Danny Lowry, No. 42 BridgeHaul/Bennett Mercedes AMG GT3 (2022)
Lee Saunders, No. 44 LandSearch LLC Dodge Viper (2015)
GT
Billy Griffin, No. 14 Griffin Auto Care/Sheehan’s Towing Mustang (2022, 2020 II, 2020 I)
TA2
Rafa Matos, No. 88 3-Dimensional Services Group Ford Mustang (2019, 2018)
Adam Andretti, No. 41 Ultimate Headers Chevrolet Camaro (2014)
Double duty drivers
Three Trans Am competitors will be pulling double duty in this weekend in Atlanta, also competing in Formula Race Promotions’ first event of 2023.
TA2’s Misha Goikhberg in the No. 10 BC Race Cars Ford Mustang will be competing in the F1600 Championship Series, XGT rookie Austin Hill in the No. 0 Southern Ohio Equipment/Aluma Trailers/Ferris Chevrolet Corvette will compete in the Atlantic Open Class, and TA’s Keith Grant in the No. 40 Showtime Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro will be running in the Atlantic 016 Class.
Scott Borchetta in the No. 48 Big Machine Vodka SPIKED Coolers Ford Mustang in TA2 will be pulling triple duty, also be competing in two Sportscar Vintage Racing Association classes: Group 6 and Group 10
Atlantans coming home
There are a number of drivers in this weekend’s field who are originally from the state of Georgia, including two from Atlanta proper and two from nearby suburbs Marietta and Stockbridge.
TA
Claudio Burtin, No. 15 Burtin Racing Chevrolet Camaro (Marietta)
XGT
Tyler Hoffman, No. 43 BridgeHaul/Bennett Mercedes AMG GT3 (Atlanta)
SGT
Ricky Sanders, No. 18 BridgeHaul/Bennett/Pitboxes.com Porsche 991.1 (Stockbridge)
GT
Michael Attaway, No. 91 Bennett/BridgeHaul/Pitboxes.com Audi R8 (Jefferson)
TA2
Ty Young, No. 22 Ty J Young Wealth Management Ford Mustang (Atlanta)
Rob Clifton, No. 58 Meco of Augusta Ford Mustang (Evans)
CD Racing Going for Three, Dyson Going for 21
Chris Dyson in the No. 16 GYM WEED Ford Mustang returns to the site of his first-ever Trans Am victory in pursuit of his 21st-career TA class win. Dyson has three previous victories at Road Atlanta, earning his debut victory in 2018, scoring the win in Race 2 in 2020, and winning in last year’s event at the track. As the defending winner, Dyson hopes to break the tie for sixth in all-time TA victories after his win at NOLA Motorsports Park two weeks ago tied him with Ron Fellows at 20.
Dyson also aims to lead his team to their third-consecutive 1-2 finish of 2023. In the season-opener at Sebring International Raceway, Matthew Brabham in the No. 20 GYM WEED Mustang led CD Racing’s Adam Andretti to victory, while Brabham finished second to Dyson at NOLA. With only two entries at Road Atlanta this weekend, Dyson and Brabham will have to be perfect to race each other to another 1-2 finish.
Record number of XGT entries
Xtreme GT, or XGT, debuted as a Trans Am class in 2020 and was created to provide a wide range of FIA GT3 cars with a place to race. This weekend, Road Atlanta will host seven XGT entries, the most entries in a single event since the class debuted. This weekend’s entries include 2022 XGT Western Championship title holder Chris Evans and 16-year-old Austin Hill, who is making his first-career Trans Am start. Hill is the 2022 and 2021 FRP Formula Atlantic Series champion and was the youngest driver to race in the World Racing League at age 14. He also was the youngest driver to ever earn a podium finish in the SCCA National Runoffs at Indianapolis Motor Speedway that same year.
XGT entries
Matt Crandall, No. 3 Avant-Garde Ford Mustang
Randy Hale, No. 41 Hale Motorsports/Marsh Racing Chevrolet Corvette
Danny Lowry, No. 42 BridgeHaul/Bennett Mercedes AMG GT3
Tyler Hoffman, No. 43 BridgeHaul/Bennett Mercedes AMG GT3
Nathan Byrd, No. 88 Sonesta/Tilson/Hopegivers Porsche 911 GT3
Chris Evans, No. 92 Central Welding Supply Ford Mustang
Austin Hill, No. 0 Southern Ohio Equipment/Aluma Trailers/Ferris Chevrolet Corvette
Grants fill the field
Four members of the Grant family will be taking the green flag this Saturday at Road Atlanta. Keith Grant in the No. 40 Showtime Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro is coming off a podium finish at Sebring and will be racing in the TA class against his father Richard Grant in the No. 30 Grant Racing Chevrolet Corvette. Richard’s brother, 2022 SGT Champion Milton Grant, will be making his second start of the season in his No. 55 Springhill Suites/Sentry Self Storage Porsche 99.1 following a second-place run at NOLA. Milton’s son Carey Grant will make his first start of 2023 in the No. 6 Grant Racing 2 Porsche GT3 Cup. Carey finished second to his father in the 2022 SGT championship.
Lux a survivor thanks to CheckIt4Andretti
March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, and the Trans Am paddock has more than one survivor of colon cancer. In 2017, Cindi Lux was speaking to competitor Adam Andretti about his brother John’s battle with colon cancer. Andretti insisted that Lux get checked, and when she did, doctors discovered stage 3 colon cancer. Lux endured six months of chemotherapy, and just a few weeks after her last treatment, she was racing at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The SGT racer just reached the milestone of five years cancer free, and credits Andretti and his family’s foundation, CheckIt4Andretti, with her survival. For more information, visit CheckIt4Andretti.org.
An empty space
With a list of 26 entrants in Saturday’s Bennett/BridgeHaul Classic, there is one notable name you won’t find on the starting grid. Back-to-back polesitter Justin Marks’ No. 99 Trackhouse Chevrolet Camaro is missing from the entry list due to Marks’ previous commitments with his NASCAR Cup Series team.
1. Matthew Brabham
2. Justin Marks
3. Chris Dyson
4. Ken Thwaits
5. Tomy Drissi
1. Danny Lowry
2. Nathan Byrd
3. Chris Evans
4. Randy Hale
5. Matt Crandall
1. Lee Saunders
2. Ricky Sanders
3. Kaylee Bryson
4. Milton Grant
5. Aaron Pierce
1. Billy Griffin
2. Michael Attaway
Complete Standings: View
Crews earns fourth career win before age of 15
14-year-old Brent Crews in the No. 70 Franklin Road Apparel Ford Mustang earned his fourth-career Trans Am victory in the series’ last outing at NOLA Motorsports Park two weekends ago. Crews became the youngest winner in the history of Trans Am at 14 years, three months and four days old at Road America in 2022 and went on to score victories at the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix and VIR before the season concluded. With his birthday approaching on March 30, Crews has just one more chance to score another victory before turning 15.
Young Guns on top
At NOLA Motorsports Park two weeks ago, four of the top-five finishers and eight of the top-10 finishers were Young Gun drivers under the age of 24. Champions Rafa Matos and Thomas Merrill were the only drivers over age 24 in the top 10. In addition to Young Gun Brent Crews winning the race, 17-year-old Thomas Annunziata in the No. 90 Nitro Motorsports Ford Mustang won the pole for the event, 20-year-old two-time Australian Trans Am champion Nathan Herne in the No. 29 CUBE 3/Berryman Ford Mustang finished second, 23-year-old Dylan Archer in the No. 4 FPEC Chevrolet Camaro earned his career-best finish of seventh in his 14th start, and 14-year-old Ben Maier in the No. 75 Gel Blaster/Silver Hare Racing Camaro earned a top 10 (10th) in just his second-career start.
While two-time TA2 champion and veteran Matos currently leads the point standings, seven of the top 10 in the points are Young Guns, meaning that the young drivers in the Big Machine Vodka SPIKED Coolers TA2 Series will be fighting for the championship, not just the $20,000 Young Gun Award.
Is Road Atlanta for veterans?
Will age come into play this weekend at Road Atlanta? While the Young Guns have been making their presence known in 2023, the only drivers in this weekend’s TA2 field who have previous wins at Road Atlanta are more than 40 years old. 42-year-old Rafa Matos in the No. 88 3-Dimensional Services Group Ford Mustang and his team owner, 72-year-old Doug Peterson in the No. 87 3-Dimensional Services Group Ford Mustang, both have two victories at the 2.54-mile circuit (though Peterson’s two wins came in the TA class). 44-year-old Adam Andretti in the No. 41 Ultimate Headers Chevrolet Camaro has one victory at the track.
Machavern hungry for victory
Dillon Machavern in the No. 17 Heritage Automotive/Unifirst SLR-M1 Chevrolet Camaro returns to the track after illness prevented him from participating in the race at NOLA Motorsports Park two weeks ago. He has finished third in all three of his Trans Am starts at Road Atlanta (2016, 2017, 2019), but has earned victories at the track in other series.
Machavern won the GTD class in the 2019 Petit Le Mans, as well as last year’s IMSA Challenge Series season finale. He also won in 2014 in a Lamborghini Super Trofeo Series race.
TA2 news & notes
Two drivers in this weekend’s TA2 race will be making their first-career Trans Am start:
Rob Clifton, No. 58 Meco of Augusta Ford Mustang
Eric Clayton, No. 71 Ray Skillman Auto Group Chevrolet Camaro
Thomas Merrill used the off week between NOLA Motorsports Park and Road Atlanta to race in the Porsche Deluxe Carrera Cup North America at Sebring International Raceway, running two races for Nolasport Racing in the 12 Hours of Sebring weekend.
1. Rafa Matos
2. Brent Crews
3. Connor Zilisch
4. Evan Slater
5. Thomas Merrill
1. Brent Crews
2. Connor Zilisch
3. Evan Slater
4. Austin Green
5. Nathan Herne
1. Austin Green
2. Nathan Herne
3. Taylor Gray
4. Thad Moffitt
5. Ben Maier