Championship race takes shape as Trans Am heads to New Jersey
June 13, 2015
MILLVILLE, NJ. (June 09, 2015) – As the Trans Am Series heads to New Jersey Motorsports Park for the Weekend of Thunder presented by MPT Industries, Round 5 of the 2015 Trans Am Championship, it continues what has been a marquee year for America’s Road Racing Series, setting track records and series records for entries and featuring some of the best competition the Series has seen in recent memory.
The wave of momentum travels with Trans Am into this coming weekend, with 47 entries declared for the event— the largest ever for Trans Am at the New Jersey based track and nearly double last year’s entry. Likewise, a multitude of drivers will look to harness some momentum of their own, as the Series nears the mid-point of the season and title races begin to take some semblance of shape.
Once more, Trans Am competitors will be given two platforms to showcase their talent, the MPT Twelve Lubricant & Penetrant 100, featuring the TA2 class, and the MPT Fuel Systems Cleanse 100, featuring the TA and TA3 classes, both independent 101.25 mile, 45 lap, races.
With 22 entries, the TA2 class has been once more awarded its own race and the opportunity to showcase one of racing’s hottest platforms and commodities.
Despite finishing tenth at Lime Rock Park, Cameron Lawrence, in the No. 1 MOPAR Dodge Challenger, is still very much in control of the TA2 standings, courtesy of his three back-to-back wins to kick off the 2015 season. Now, in his pursuit of a third consecutive Championship he’ll eye an opportunity to regain position atop the podium at a track where he was victorious in 2014.
Challenging Lawrence for the coveted position will be 21 other drivers, including Tony Ave, Dillon Machavern and Adam Andretti. Ave, in the No. 70 Lamers Motor Racing Ford Mustang, is hot off his first TA2 victory at Lime Rock Park—a veteran of the TA class and two-time Champion, Ave has rattled off impressive win streaks of his own throughout his Trans Am career; if he follows Lime Rock with a similar result, Ave may join Lawrence and others in the Championship discussion.
Adam Andretti, in the No. 44 Engineered Components Company Ford Mustang, has demonstrated the speed to challenge Lawrence throughout the year, capturing pole at the past two events and consistently turning laps at the top of the charts. However, Andretti has suffered mechanical issues over the past two races eliminating him from the podium discussion—something that if all goes well, he’ll look to right at New Jersey where he finished second last year.
Also, another young talent has risen through the TA2 ranks bursting onto the scene immediately in his rookie year—Dillon Machavern, driver of the No. 24 UniFirst/ PPG Ford Mustang. Currently second in the points and first in Rookie of the Year standings, Machavern has finished the last three races in second place and seems more than well primed to take that next pivotal step up the podium to capture his first TA2 win.
In the TA class, Paul Fix, in the No. 4 Stopflex.com/TheCarCoach.com Chevrolet Corvette, and Amy Ruman, in the No. 23 McNichols Company Chevrolet Corvette, seem set on a collision course. Both drivers are yet to miss the podium and are currently one-two in the points, with Ruman edging Fix 128 to 116. Fix is hot off a win at Lime Rock; Ruman won three to open the season and rallied to the podium after being forced off track on the first lap at Lime Rock—it’s a constant back and forth between the two drivers, and a battle that may only now be heating up.
Heading into New Jersey, the advantage seems to be Ruman’s—she captured the overall victory here in Trans Am’s past two appearances, 2014 and 2012. A third victory in a row on the Millville track would go a long way toward continuing her pursuit of a Trans Am Championship. Fix, however, remains an unknown entity at the track as it is his first Trans Am appearance at New Jersey, but he’s been consistent throughout the year and that’s not a trend many would favor breaking anytime soon.
One way or another, one driver, Fix or Ruman, will have to settle for less at New Jersey; and with both eyeing the top spot and the security of a points lead headed into the next round, the two drivers should put on quite a show as they work to out duel each other.
Joining Ruman and Fix near the front of the pack will be long time front-runner Cliff Ebben, in the No. 36 Stumpf Ford/ McMahon Group Ford Mustang, two-time defending Champion Doug Peterson, in the No. 87 3Dimensional.com Chevrolet Corvette, and Simon Gregg, in the No. 59 Derhaag Motorsports Chevrolet Corvette—each always a threat to podium, Peterson in particular. 2015 may not have begun in the fashion that Peterson wanted, but the veteran is all too aware there are plenty of chances at redemption throughout the remainder of the season.
In TA3, two respective Champions will look to repeat their 2014 performances at New Jersey, with both Jason Berkeley, in the No. 67 BMG Management Chevrolet Corvette, and Ernie Francis, Jr., in the No. 98 Breathless Performance Chevrolet Camaro, ready to add to their points and title defenses with victories.
Berkeley, defending his International Group crown, will more than have his hands full with the duo of Randy Mueller, in the No. 0 Epic Motorsports/MCM Holdings BMW M3, and Michael Camus, in the No. 08 Epic Motorsports/MCM Holdings BMW M3, as the horsepower of Berkeley’s Corvette is faced with the nimble BMW platform. Mueller and Camus are coming off a one-two finish at Lime Rock where the team successfully ousted the rest of the field, save Berkeley who finished third, off the podium. TA3 veteran Russ Snow, in the No. 20 Guardian Services/AiM Sports Chevrolet Corvette, should be expected to factor into the podium mix as well.
Francis, also coming off a Lime Rock victory, will once again have to contend with front-runner Todd Napieralski, in the No. 39 Tremec/SKF/Backstreet Performance Chevrolet Camaro, and also a slew of relative newcomers in Preston Calvert, Mike Geldart and Dave Ricci. Francis began the year with a few hiccups, but has since steadied the ship with back-to-back victories—he’ll aim for his third this coming weekend.
Official Trans Am Sessions will commence on Saturday, June 13, with TA2 practice at 9:50 a.m., followed immediately by the TA and TA3 classes at 10:21. Sessions will resume in the afternoon with “Fast Five” qualifying at 1:45 p.m. with each class receiving its own respective qualifying session. A second practice will follow with TA2 at 4:20 p.m. and TA and TA3 at 4:35 p.m. along with the second chance to qualify at 4:50 p.m.
The Trans Am Series will hold two races at New Jersey Motorsports Park on Sunday, June 14, beginning with the MPT Twelve Lubricant & Penetrant 100, featuring TA2, at 11:50 a.m. and culminating with the MPT Fuel Systems Cleanse 100, featuring TA and TA3, at 3:10 p.m. to complete Round 5 of the 2015 Trans Am Championship.
