Ave leads the way once more as teams make final preparations in practice
October 10, 2015
Lewis repeats atop TA2, Lux and Napieralski pace TA3
AVONDALE, La. [October 10, 2015] – The Trans Am series took to the 2.75 mile track at NOLA Motorsports Park for practice, as teams and drivers alike made final preparations for tomorrow’s race, Round 10 of the 2015 Trans Am Championship. Leading the way for the 33-cars who elected to tackle the course one more time was Tony Ave, subbing for Doug Peterson in the No. 87 3Dimensional.com Cadillac CTS-V, setting a 1:36.849 lap time, the fastest of the weekend so far.
Ave, who will start second in tomorrow’s race, has run in the TA2 class for the majority of the season and is making a cameo return to the class he won two Championships in during the 2010 and 2011 seasons. The return has been successful thus far, with Ave showing no rust whatsoever on the Louisiana-based track.
Joining Ave atop the TA session charts was Paul Fix, polesitter for tomorrow’s race and driver of the No. 4 StopFlex.com/TheCarCoach.com, who turned a 1:37.707 lap—just off his pole time of 1:37.179. Simon Gregg, in the No. 59 Derhaag Motorsports Chevrolet Corvette, was third in the session with a time of 1:38.440.
Current TA points leader Amy Ruman, in the No. 23 McNichols Company Chevrolet Corvette, was fourth in the session with a time of 1:38.440. Come tomorrow, Ruman will start third as she looks to increase her points tally, to do so she needs to regain ground on Fix on the narrow, and high traffic, NOLA course.
Jim McAleese, in the No. 03 McAleese & Associates Chevrolet Corvette, was fifth quick in the session with a time of 1:40.272; he will join the top five in their podium pursuit and potentially his second win of the year.
In TA2, polesitter Shane Lewis and the No. 72 74 Ranch Resort Chevrolet Camaro once more led the way with a time of 1:43.123. Lewis, a rookie to the series, is yet to win a race despite multiple podium appearances—he will look to change that by capitalizing on his first career Trans Am pole.
Tony Buffomante, in the No. 34 BestLine Superior Lubricants Ford Mustang, was second in the session with a time of 1:43.404—his fastest of the weekend. Buffomante captured his first podium of the year last round at Virginia International Raceway. Now he faces the challenge of converting his ninth place start into another podium for the Mike Cope team.
Two-time defending Champion, Cameron Lawrence, in the No. 1 MOPAR Dodge Challenger, was third quickest with a time of 1:43.478; while rookie Dillon Machavern, in the No. 24 Heritage Motorsports Ford Mustang, was fourth with a 1:43.535 lap. Tommy Archer, in the No. 54 c3Controls Chevrolet Camaro, rounded out the top five of the session with a time of 1:43.628.
In TA3, Cindi Lux, in the No. 45 Lux Performance Dodge Viper, led the way for the International Group with a time of 1:47.743. Lux was followed closely by her teammate and tomorrow’s International Group polesitter Steve Streimer, in the No. 42 Lux Performance Dodge Viper, who turned a time of 1:48.606. Together, the duo will start one-two come tomorrow’s race. Current points leader Lee Saunders, in the No. 84 LandSearch LLC Dodge Viper, completed a top-three sweep for the Viper contingency with a 1:49.473 lap. Come tomorrow, Saunders can capture the International Group Championship by simply taking the green.
Todd Napieralski, in the No. 39 Tremec/SKF/Backstreet Performance Chevrolet Camaro, was the sole driver from the American Muscle Group to participate in the session and logged a 1:51.226 lap time. Napieralski will start second in the group to current points leader Ernie Francis, Jr., in tomorrow’s race.
Trans Am also held a second chance to qualify for drivers who elected to forfeit their original qualifying time for the opportunity to move up to sixth on grid. In total, three TA2 drivers elected to re-qualify: Jordan Bernloehr, in the No. 49 ProKart Indoors Chevrolet Camaro; John Atwell, in the No. 02 A&J Lap Portal Chevrolet Camaro; and Jason Kennedy, in the No. 06 New Orleans East Medical Rehab Chevrolet Camaro.
Bernloehr and Kennedy both managed to improve their times, with Bernloehr turning a 1:44.939 lap and Kennedy a 1:45.233. Bernloehr’s time was not enough to increase position on his own; however, he will be the benefactor of Atwell’s misfortune as the No. 02 moved down the charts from 12th starting position to 14th. In turn, Bernloehr moves from 14th to 13th on the grid.
Kennedy drastically improved his starting position by completing a 1:45.233 lap time, a huge increase on his 1:58.192 from yesterday’s session. Now Kennedy will start 15th, moving up from what was dead last on the 19-car TA2 grid.
Trans Am drivers will return to the track tomorrow, Sunday, October 11, as the Series holds an 8:15 a.m. warm up in preparation for the 101.75 mile, 37 lap Trans Am race for Round 10 of the 2015 Trans Am Championship.
About The Trans Am Series:
The Trans Am Series, America’s Road Racing Series, began igniting the passion of motorsports fans across the world in 1966 and has been home to some of the greatest names in road racing. Today, Trans Am continues to honor its legacy, while challenging the status quo in racing, through meaningful racing platforms and a driver-oriented focus. The Trans Am Series is operated by The Trans Am Race Company, LLC (TARC), through a five-year agreement in which TARC oversees the management and marketing of the Trans Am Series. SCCA Pro Racing sanctions Trans Am events and provides operations services to the Series.
Defending Champions include: Doug Peterson (TA), Cameron Lawrence (TA2), Ernie Francis, Jr., (TA3 American Muscle) and Jason Berkeley (TA3 International).
For more on the Trans Am Series visit www.gotransam.com, “like” Trans Am on Facebook at www.facebook.com/gotransam, or follow Trans Am on Twitter at @gotransam.
