SEBRING, Fla. — The Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli is set to kick off the season at the site of its inaugural race in 1966, Sebring Int’l Raceway, as part of the Sebring SpeedTour.
The challenging 3.74-mile track has hosted 29 previous Trans Am races and has served as the season-opener for the series every year since 2013.
This weekend, Sebring will host more than 60 cars between the TA/GT race and the CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series, in addition approximately two dozen Historic Trans Am cars in the HTA races.
Watch Trans Am at Sebring LIVE on SPEED SPORT 1.
Prior to race action, Friday will see the inaugural class of the Trans Am Hall of Fame inducted during a celebratory dinner at Sebring. The new Trans Am Hall of Fame was announced in November to honor the longest-running professional road racing series in North America.
The inaugural class consists of 18 legendary drivers, team owners and series officials: John Clagett, Wally Dallenbach Jr., Mark Donohue, Chris Dyson, Ron Fellows, George Follmer, Ernie Francis Jr., Paul Gentilozzi, Dan Gurney, Parnelli Jones, Tommy Kendall, Roger Penske, Greg Pickett, Scott Pruett, Willy T. Ribbs, Jack Roush, Amy Ruman and Bob Tullius.
Three of the inductees will be on track this weekend: Wally Dallenbach Jr., (No. 4 Ultimate Headers Ford Mustang), Chris Dyson (No. 16 GYM WEED Ford Mustang), and Amy Ruman (No. 23 McNichols Co./Valley Automotive Group Chevrolet Corvette). Paul Gentilozzi will also be in the paddock as the owner of 3GT Racing.
Storylines
- Lyn St. James will serve as the Grand Marshal for this weekend’s Sebring SpeedTour.
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Five Trans Am Series drivers have been named recipients of the Parella Motorsports Holdings (PMH) Powering Diversity Scholarship, assisting them as they continue their careers in North America’s longest-running professional road racing series.
After winning last year’s SGT Championship, Kaylee Bryson (No. 02 Logical Systems Inc. Chevrolet Corvette) will move up to the faster XGT Class with Sam Pierce Racing. Two-time TA champion Amy Ruman (No. 23 McNichols Co./Valley Automotive Group Chevrolet Corvette) will mentor several of the younger drivers, as she once again returns to the Trans Am Series’ TA class with her family-owned Ruman Racing team.
In Trans Am’s CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series, Silver Hare Racing’s Rafa Matos (No. 57 Concord American Flagpole/SHR Chevrolet Camaro) will serve as an additional mentor for the younger members of the PMH Powering Diversity Scholarship class after winning last year’s TA2 championship. Nitro Motorsports teammates Julian DaCosta (No. 30 Nitro Motorsports Ford Mustang) and Tyler Gonzalez (No. 10 Nitro Motorsports Ford Mustang) will both utilize support from the scholarship to fight for podiums and search for their first wins in the TA2 Series.
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- Of the 23 competitors driving in this weekend’s TA/GT race, nearly half of the of the entrants are former champions, with 11 past title winners responsible for 20 championships taking the green flag in Sunday’s race.
Past TA champions are defending title winner Paul Menard (No. 3 Pittsburgh Paints/Menards Ford Mustang), Wally Dallenbach Jr. (No. 4 Ultimate Headers Ford Mustang), Tomy Drissi (No. 8 Trench Shoring Chevrolet Camaro), Chris Dyson (No. 16 GYM WEED Ford Mustang) and Amy Ruman (No. 23 McNichols Co./Valley Automotive Group Chevrolet Corvette), while CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series champion Brent Crews (No. 70 Nitro Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro) will compete for the TA title this year.
Danny Lowry (No. 42 Bennett/BridgeHaul/Pitboxes.
Lee Saunders (No. 84 LandSearch LLC Dodge Viper) returns to SGT as a past champion, and Chris Coffey (No. 97 Traffic Grafix/Chill Out Motorsports Maserati MC GT4) looks to defend his GT title.
Tomy Drissi enters the season hoping to extend a four-race podium streak, which he has held since the series visited Watkins Glen (N.Y.) Int’l last year. He also drives into the new season with two new partners, Trench Shoring Company and Motul, in addition to welcoming back Franklin Road Apparel.
Drissi has four top-five finishes in the last five years at Sebring, with a best finish of second in 2020. Drissi’s No. 8 Trench Shoring Chevrolet Camaro will compete alongside teammate Keith Grant at Sebring, who will pilot the No. 5 Trench Shoring Chevrolet Camaro. Grant scored his first TA class podium at Sebring as a rookie in 2023, and finished fifth in last year’s event.
Drissi is also pulling double duty this weekend, competing in Historic Trans Am. He’s piloting the No. 1 Chaparral Racing Chevrolet Camaro. Driven and built by Jim Hall, Drissi’s is one of only three of these cars that were built, and the only one known to still exist.
Past Sebring Winners
13 drivers in this weekend’s field have previously driven to GYM WEED Winners Circle at Sebring International Raceway. Lee Saunders in the SGT class has the most Sebring victories by far, with seven wins dating back to 2014.
TA
Paul Menard, No. 3 Pittsburgh Paints/Menards Ford Mustang: 2024
Wally Dallenbach Jr., No. 4 Ultimate Headers Ford Mustang: 2023, 2022 (TAH)
Chris Dyson, No. 16 GYM WEED Ford Mustang: 2022, 2021
Amy Ruman, No. 23 McNichols Co./Valley Automotive Group Chevrolet Corvette: 2015
XGT
Danny Lowry, No. 42 Bennett/BridgeHaul/Pitboxes.
Billy Griffin, No. 14 Griffin Auto Care Mercedes AMG GT3: 2022 (GT)
SGT
Lee Saunders, No. 84 LandSearch LLC Dodge Viper: 2024, 2023, 2020, 2019, 2016 (SGT) 2015, 2014 (TA3-I)
GT
Chris Coffey, No. 97 Traffic Grafix/Chill Out Motorsports Maserati MC GT4: 2024
CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series
Thomas Merrill, No. 26 HP Tuners/Franklin Road/Cope Ford Mustang: 2021
Mike Skeen, No. 48 CUBE 3/Franklin Road/SLR-M1 Chevrolet Camaro: 2020
Rafa Matos, No. 57 Concord American Flagpole/SHR Chevrolet Camaro: 2023, 2022, 2019
Doug Peterson, No. 87 3-Dimensional Services Group Ford Mustang: 2014, 2013 (TA)
CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series Pro/Am Challenge
Barry Boes, No. 27 Accio Data/SLR-M1 Chevrolet Camaro: 2024
In addition to those who have won in the Trans Am Series, Roberto Sabato (No. 61 6th Gear Garage Ford Mustang) has won at Sebring in IMSA’s L2 class, and Matt Griffin (No. 67 Griffin Concrete Construction Chevrolet Camaro) has won at the track in SCCA.
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