Franklin, TENNESSEE – July 13, 2021 – A total of 20 drivers have competed in the 2021 Trans Am presented by Pirelli Championship season TA Class, so for “rookie” Ken Thwaits to be sitting in P5 in the Driver Championship after six races is a remarkable achievement. Driving the No. 5 Franklin Road Apparel Chevrolet Camaro for a first full season, the 2020 XGT Champion’ haul of 106 Championship points is a credit both to the driver and the team behind the car.
Ken and the Showtime Motorsports crew would be heading to Brainerd International Raceway in ever better shape were it not for two extremely unfortunate freak occurrences that blighted his runs in the recent races at Mid Ohio and Road America. At the former track, Ken was lucky to emerge unscathed when brake failure ended his race prematurely while in Wisconsin, a piece of rival Simon Gregg’s car became lodged in Ken’s front grill, forcing him to pit and lose valuable time and places.
Still, Ken is an optimist and very much a man who looks forwards rather than back, and he was clearly excited about returning to the scene of a terrific result for the team in 2020 as he explained when we spoke to him this week, “Last year at Brainerd was one of my best experiences of the year. It was the first time I’d ever been there, we won our race in the Xtreme GT Class and finished in P5 overall, beating several TA Class competitors.”
“The competition is obviously much tougher up in TA and the cars are beasts but we’re having a lot of fun and not doing too badly. We have a clean, fast car to go to war with again and I’m really looking forward to it.”
The Minnesota circuit has been a favorite with Trans Am fans since the now legendary days of Paul Newman. The second annual Jed Copham Memorial Race is back this year with a new addition to the lineup, Formula 4 racing. As a fan of all formats of motorsports, Ken was pleased to discover the track will be busy all weekend with the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli sharing the road course while the Bracket Drag Racing Series is on the dragstrip. The event honors the track’s late owner and part-time Trans Am driver, Jed Copham.
The Trans Am Series has a long and rich history at BIR that dates back to 1969. Featuring professional drivers from throughout the country, the Series includes five classes of racing: TA, TA2, XGT, SGT and GT, with classic muscle cars like Mustangs, Corvettes, Camaros and Challengers that fly around the 2.5-mile Competition Road Course. The schedule has practice and qualifying sessions on Saturday, followed by qualifying and a pair of 100-mile, 40-lap final races on Sunday.
Learn more about the Showtime Motorsports team partner, Franklin Road Apparel, at franklinroad.com and showtimemotorsports.net. Keep up to date with the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli at gotransam.com.
Check out the Showtime Motorsports Facebook page: facebook.com/showtimemotorsp/ and @ShowtimeMotorsp on Instagram.
About Showtime Motorsports:
The Showtime Motorsports brand includes Ken Thwaits’ racing team and racecars, and an outstanding classic Camaro collection. Showtime Motorsports brings together a dynamic staff who employ diverse talents and share a passion for cars, racing and caring for clients like they are our own family members.
