Nashville, TENNESSEE – August 8, 2021 – The inaugural running of the Music City Grand Prix in Nashville, Tennessee on August 7 proved a typically attritional encounter with the race interrupted by yellow flags under the bright southern sun bringing down the heat. Billed as the Big Machine Vodka presents the Franklin Road Apparel Classic this was in fact Round 8 of the 2021 Trans Am presented by Pirelli Championship.
It featured a huge 37 car entry for the race, which was run on Saturday in support of the Indycar feature providing a spectacular weekend of racing and music. A well healed field of drivers were competing with the stage set on the streets of Nashville located around the Nissan Stadium and crossing the Cumberland River bridge.
New Hampshire’s Tom Sheehan went into the weekend in P8 overall in the TA2 Drivers’ Championship and with eyes on big race in Nashville – the newly created street circuit meant getting accustomed to the layout.
As the race settled down through the early laps, Tom’s No. 97 LTK Insulation Technologies Ford Mustang moved up to P23 by lap 11 before getting a completely flat tire heading out of the stadium section Turn 3. The LTK Mustang nursed back to the pit stall, over both lengths of the bridge with a shredded left rear tire, for an unscheduled green flag pit stop. The stop was marred due to leaving the pit box with pit equipment. Adding a stop-go as a result of the infringement in the pit lane dropped Tom two laps to the leaders.
On exiting the pits, Tom focused forward with the remaining laps on the board. On Lap 18 he lifted back up to P24. Then up to P22 he registering the LTK Mustang’s fastest time on Lap 30. The early troubles would be mitigated by late race cautions, the result of a number of retirements as the new circuit showed it’s teeth under the hot Nashville sun.
At the final restart Tom was up to P18 before the final green enabled him to gain another place and he was up to P17, his finishing position at the checkered flag. Although understandably frustrated by the way the race panned out, the 9 points Tom picked up for his finishing position lifted him one place in the Drivers’ Championship table to P7 with four rounds to go.
“Racing with the flat tire was just bad luck, we didn’t put a wheel wrong, it’s just part of the sport I love. Nashville was a fantastic event and I’m very fortunate to be part of it. The guys made a fast stop under green and got me out with a new left rear – but we left the pits with the jack post. We had to come in and serve a stop-and-go that would seal our fate. Hate it for us – that’s racing,” stated Tom after the race.
Next up for Tom and the Trans Am roadshow is a double-header weekend at the legendary Watkins Glen in upstate New York, September 10 – 12. Two races are being staged at The Glen and will consist of all-classes in what is always a hugely popular weekend.
Keep up with Trans Am driver Tom Sheehan on social media – Facebook page is Damon Racing, Instagram @TomSheehanTA97 and Twitter @TomTA2_97.
For more information on LTK Insulation Technologies please visit the website online at https://ltkinsulationtechnologies.com/
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