Castroneves and Rossi to Run Endurance Races

Brownsburg, Ind. (November 23rd, 2020) The 2021 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season launches a new era for the No. 10 Konica Minolta team, with an entirely new manufacturer and driver lineup. Ricky Taylor returns to Wayne Taylor Racing after a three-year stint with Team Penske and will be joined by world-class sportscar veteran Filipe Albuquerque. The move to Acura for the 2021 season marks an exciting new chapter in the team’s history, fielding an Acura ARX-05 in the Daytona Prototype International (DPi) class.

2016 Indianapolis 500 Champion Alexander Rossi will compete alongside Taylor and Albuquerque for three endurance races, with three-time Indianapolis 500 Champion Helio Castroneves joining the team for the Rolex 24 at DAYTONA in January. Castroneves was Taylor’s co-driver at Acura Team Penske for the last three seasons, while Rossi joined the duo for the endurance races the past two years.

“This is an exciting time for Wayne Taylor Racing,” said team owner Wayne Taylor. “I am extremely excited about securing the three drivers that have been driving the Acura ARX-05 the past few years as well as Filipe Albuquerque who has been driving a similar car in Europe with great success. With us as a team changing manufacturers, I wanted to have consistency in the drivers and with this group, that is one thing we can tick off the list. I am very excited that Konica Minolta and, of course, CIT, are joining us again this year. It is certainly a new challenge, but I believe we have the right people and the right drivers in place to be competitive and win races. On another note, I would like to introduce Harrison Contracting as a new sponsor of the No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-05.”

Wayne Taylor Racing began in 2007 and since then has been a dominant team in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, winning three of the last four Rolex 24 at DAYTONA titles, the 12 Hours of Sebring twice and Petit Le Mans three times. The team has also achieved two IMSA Driver Championships and eight IMSA Manufacturer Titles.

Ricky Taylor returns to Wayne Taylor Racing after a successful three-year run with Acura Team Penske where the American achieved the 2020 IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship, five wins and 12 podium finishes. Taylor’s history with Wayne Taylor Racing includes one IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, one Rolex 24 at DAYTONA victory and one 12 Hours of Sebring win in his seven years of racing with the team.

“I have a lot of history with Wayne Taylor Racing,” said Ricky Taylor who has 24 wins, 57 podiums, and 28 pole positions in his IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar championship career. “I grew up with the team and they helped develop me as a driver. It was a very difficult decision to leave the team in 2017 and join Acura Team Penske, but I was able to grow more. It’s always great to go somewhere and bring value to the team, so now that I feel like when I return, I can do that. Alex, Helio and I have a lot of experience with the Arura ARX-05 and I know the team really well, it’s literally family. The addition of Filipe Albuquerque who is a world class driver and has a lot of experience driving for big manufacturers and winning of the biggest races in the world. I think we have a very strong line-up.”

Filipe Albuquerque joins Wayne Taylor Racing for the 2021 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship after a banner year as the 2020 European Le Mans Champion, LMP2 World Endurance Champion and winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The veteran sportscar driver holds one overall and one class victory at the Rolex 24 at DAYTONA.

“I am really really happy with this new project,” commented Albuquerque with six victories and 19 podiums in IWSC. “Wayne Taylor Racing is one of the best teams at IMSA, they are always at the top at every event. My motivation couldn’t be higher. Regarding my teammates I think it’s hard to have picked better ones. I fought them in the past and now they are my teammates, it takes away a lot of pressure. WTR could not have chosen better. Between us all we have won everything: IMSA, Daytona, Le Mans, ELMS, WEC, Indy500.”

Seven-time INDYCAR race winner and 2016 Indianapolis 500 champion, Alexander Rossi, joins Wayne Taylor Racing for the Rolex 24 at DAYTONA, 12 Hours of Sebring, and the season finale at the MOTUL Petit Le Mans.

“It’s a great honor to not only drive for WTR next year, but also to continue to race the Acura DPi for the three endurance races,” said Alexander Rossi who has two podiums in his five IWSC races. “On top of that, to be able to stay united with Ricky and Helio will be a huge benefit to all as we make this transition. I look forward to working with Felipe for the first time and I am excited to get to work right away in January, and hopefully we can bring home a Daytona win for HPD.”

Three-time Indianapolis 500 champion, 24-time INDYCAR race winner, and five-time IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race winner Helio Castroneves joins Wayne Taylor Racing with a clear goal to claim his first Rolex 24 at DAYTONA win.

“To be part of the WTR super team with a great group of drivers is like we are continuing what we left off from last year,” said Helio Castroneves who hopes to add a Rolex 24 at DAYTONA victory to his acclaimed resume. “Working with Ricky Taylor, Alexander Rossi and Filipe Albuquerque is just a great way to start 2021! Looking forward to working and racing with this organization with eyes on the Rolex 24 win, something they know very well!”

The 2021 season begins January 22nd at Daytona International Speedway for the annual Roar Before the 24 test, with the Rolex 24 at DAYTONA immediately following on Saturday and Sunday, January 30th and 31st.

About Konica Minolta

Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A., Inc. is reshaping and revolutionizing the Workplace of the Future™ with its expansive smart office product portfolio from IT Services (All Covered), ECM, Managed Print Services and industrial and commercial print solutions. Konica Minolta has been recognized as the #1 Brand for Customer Loyalty in the MFP Office Copier Market by Brand Keys for thirteen consecutive years, and is proud to be ranked on the Forbes 2017 America’s Best Employers list. The World Technology Awards recently named the company a finalist in the IT Software category. Konica Minolta, Inc. has been named to the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index for eight consecutive years has spent three years on the Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World list. It partners with its clients to give shape to ideas and work to bring value to our society. Konica Minolta, as title sponsor, highlights Wayne Taylor Racing’s existing lineup of partners featuring Acura, CIT, Harrison Contracting, and Honda Performance Development. For more information, please visit us online and follow Konica Minolta on Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn and Twitter.

Combined-class race sees Francis take record fourth straight-straight TA championship as Skeen wraps up TA2® title with victory, Saunders takes SGT crown

BRASELTON, GA (22 November 2020) – Chris Dyson shook off a season of frustration Sunday at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, leading all the way to capture the 2020 Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli combined five-class finale with a flag-to-flag victory.

The Championship weekend saw two days of racing, with Sunday’s 100-mile feature integrating all five classes of Trans Am competition into one thrilling event on the high-speed 2.54-mile circuit north of Atlanta.

The New Yorker led the opening 12 laps on Saturday, only to have a belt break and end his day early. Sunday, he was not to be denied. Dyson pulled away from Saturday winner Martin Ragginger at the start and held off numerous challenges. The Austrian kept the gap within one second for most of the 40-lap race, but Dyson finished strong, winning by 2.239-seconds for his second victory of the year.

“It’s been a tough year, but it’s nice to close it out this way,” said Dyson, who won the 2019 finale at Daytona. “We had to play every trick in my experience book today. It was really hard racing. Martin was on me the whole way, and I had to use every tool in the kit today with all the traffic out there. He was keeping me honest, but after yesterday, it sure feels good to go home with a win under our belt.”

Ragginger finished second in the No. 17 Gin Amade Chevrolet Camaro, and was followed across the line by his Burtin Racing teammate Tomy Drissi in the No. 8 Lucas Oil Camaro.

Ernie Francis Jr. claimed his fourth-consecutive TA championship, and seventh straight class title, with a fourth-place finish. The title win breaks Tommy Kendall’s overall record for the most consecutive Trans Am championships. Kendall won three consecutive championships in 1995, 1996 and 1997.

Francis Jr. turned around a troublesome weekend, coming from 10th to briefly hold third before losing the podium position to title hopeful Drissi. Francis Jr. beat out Drissi by 29 points in the championship standings, which will become official with the posting of official results on Wednesday.

“It was a really tough race, coming from the back,” said Francis. “Once we took the green flag we had the championship locked up. That took some pressure off of us, so we could race and have some fun out there. I was battling for the podium, but didn’t have quite enough car for that today. Maybe we’ll be back next year and take another championship.”

Boris Said spun in Turn 1 on the opening lap on cold tires, but came back through the field to place fourth in the No. 2 Weaver Racing Dodge Challenger. He was followed by Justin Marks in the No. 99 Trackhouse Chevrolet, Amy Ruman in the No. 23 McNichols Corvette and Simon Gregg in the No. 59 Derhaag Camaro.

The race had two caution periods, the first on lap 10 for the stopped fifth-place No. 10 BC Race Cars Camaro of Misha Goikhberg and a second on lap 28 for the stopped No. 16 Madison Development Mustang of Jim Gallaugher.

With full field of multi-class competition, the ensuring restarts were thrilling to the fans on hand as well as those watching the stream via the Trans Am by Pirelli Racing App.

The 43-car battle featured changes in the podium finishers in three of the four competing classes in the final four laps.

Mike Skeen put a bow on his TA2® powered by AEM championship with his second victory of the weekend in the No. 77 Liqui Moly/Turn 14 Ford Mustang.

“I know that it sounds like a broken record but I am really appreciative of Stevens-Miller Racing,” said Skeen. “They work really hard. We had a little bit of a worry after yesterday’s race and thought about not racing today to save the car. Then we decided why not, let’s go for it again. They gave me a great car. The Liqui Moly Turn 14 Distribution Mustang was on fire as usual. I had a great battle there at the start, (Thomas) Merrill was in the mix Franklin (Futrelle) was right there. We were fortunate to clear traffic and stretch our legs a little bit there at the end. It was a heck of a battle. TA2 racing is awesome. I can’t wait to do some more of it.”

Cameron Lawrence managed to poke the No. 8 3-Dimensional Camaro out front for a few laps, but Skeen was not to be denied. Lawrence finished second in class.

“It was a very exciting race, and it was good to lead some laps,” Lawrence said. “I had a good car the first half of the race, and I lost the rear tires towards the end. We tried to deal with Mike the best we could and sort through the traffic, and had another second-place finish.”

Seventeen-year-old Jett Noland wrapped up Rookie of the Year honors with his first-career podium finish in the No. 66 Nolands Roofing/Cypress Hunt Ford Mustang. The run also earned Noland the Cool Shirt Cool Move of the Race.

“I loved my first year in Trans Am, and hopefully, I will come back next year and do the same,” said Noland. “This has a stock car kind of feel, and that’s the kind of racing I come from. My end goal is to make it to NASCAR.”

Noland was followed by Keith Prociuk in the No. 9x HP Tuners/Mike Cope Race Cars Mustang, and J.P. Southern Jr., who wrapped up the Southern Cup title in the No. 61 pitrace.com Camaro.

Franklin Futrelle had another impressive run in the No. 58 Meco of Augusta/Greenville Mustang. He was in line for a podium when he pulled off with a cut tire with only two laps remaining. Also falling back in the closing laps was Rafa Matos, who placed 10th in the No. 7 Silver Hare Racing Camaro. Thomas Merrill ran second before a spin, and lost power while running fourth with seven laps remaining in the No. 81 Diehl-Merrill Racing/HPTuners Mustang.

NASCAR Hall of Famer Ray Evernham finished 16th in the No. 26 Mike Cope Race Cars Mustang.

“Yesterday was my first pro race, my first race in a professional series, and today was my first finish,” said Evernham. “It’s a thrill to be able to do it. I’ve raced for prize money before, in NASCAR modifieds in the 1980s and sprint cars from 2010-12, but yesterday was my first race in a professional series. And today was my first finish. The TA2® is a very good race car. It definitely rewards driver talent, and it penalizes drivers who made mistakes. It rewards driver ability. To me, that’s why Mike Skeen is fantastic.”

SGT had a change of leadership with two laps remaining when Justin Oakes came to the pits with a broken rear suspension after leading all the way in the No. 11 Droneworks Corvette. That gave the lead to Mark Brummond, who claimed his second victory of the season in the No. 11 Garage Door Doctor BMW M4 GT4. Adrian Wlostowski took second in the No. 96 F.A.S.T. Ford Mustang, but unofficially fell short in the battle for the championship to third-place finisher Lee Saunders in the No. 84 Landsearch LLC Dodge Viper.

“We bought this car four months ago, and we wanted an affordable series to race in,” Brummond said. “Five races, four podiums, two wins – that’s pretty good for us. (Oakes) had more motor than me, but we just stayed steady and muscled through it. We’ll be back next year.”

It was a come-from-behind race for Wlostowski.

“I had to check up at the start, spun the car and had to start from the back,” Wlostowski said. “I had a hard fight to second, and a good race to end the season. The crew worked all night to change the clutch.”

Saunders’ crew also had a long night, changing the rear end of his Viper.

“I think that was enough [for the championship],” Saunders said. “A bunch of guys came up from Lakeland to help us the last two days, and I think they swapped out everything but the driver. “It’s a hearbreak for Adrian, he’s a fantastic competitor.”

Billy Griffin wrapped up the GT season with his fourth victory, leading all the way in the No. 14 Griffin Auto Care/Sheehan’s Towing Ford Mustang. Griffin missed three races early in the season before scoring a career-first triumph in his return at Virginia International Raceway. The West Palm Beach, FL driver won the final three rounds of the season.

“It was wild, very eventful,” Griffin said. “I was in my mirrors the whole time, keeping an eye on the fast cars getting through their race. Surprisingly, I didn’t get hit once.”

John Baucom finished second in his first weekend in GT, driving the No. 86 RoadRaceParts.com Ford Mustang.

After unofficially clinching the inaugural XGT championship with his fourth victory of the season, Ken Thwaits did not compete in Sunday’s race. Josh Hill, his lone competition in the class, withdrew after sustaining left-front damage on his No. 15 Audi R8 LMS Ultra in an incident during Thursday’s test day.

Richard Grant was the TA Master winner, placing ninth, and his brother, Milton Grant, was the SGT Master winner. The Grant family has now made a combined 498 starts in Trans Am. Doug Peterson was the TA2® Master winner, finishing seventh.

Fans are welcome to see the 2020 champions officially crowned at the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli awards night. This year’s celebration will be held virtually in early December. Details on how to witness the ceremony will be announced in the upcoming days.

Full Results: www.gotransam.com/standings

Early problems sideline Francis, Dyson

BRASELTON, GA (21 November 2020) –Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta was “home sweet home” for Burtin Racing Saturday in the opening round of a season-ending Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli doubleheader weekend. Martin Ragginger edged Tomy Drissi to claim the Atlanta-based team’s second straight 1-2 finish during the SVRA Atlanta SpeedFest. (Race Results)

After Chris Dyson stormed to the lead at the start, Ragginger took advantage of Dyson’s early race mechanical issues to take the lead on lap 13 in the No. 17 Gin Amade Chevrolet Camaro and led the rest of the way in the 100-mile event, edging teammate Tomy Drissi by just 0.174-seconds at the checkered flag.

“My crew worked so hard for me to take the victory,” Ragginger said. “They deserve it more than I do. Everything went as planned. We had a good qualifying and a good race. I had quite a good lead. At the end we wanted to get a good picture of Burtin Racing 1-2 at the finish, so I slowed up. I just want to thank the whole team of Burtin Racing for giving me an amazing car, we’ve been fast all weekend, so I am looking forward to Sunday’s race.”

Burtin Racing finished 1-2 at Road Atlanta with Lawrence Loshak and Drissi in 2019.

“There are no team orders here,” said Atlanta-based car owner Claudio Burtin. “The best car and the best driver were going to win.”

With championship leader Ernie Francis Jr. retiring after only two laps, Drissi was looking to cut into a once-commanding 43-point lead.

“Ernie didn’t get hurt too bad, but we’re making it interesting,” said Drissi. “That kid, and that team, deserve everything they can get that’s good. But I don’t want it to come down to bad luck – I want to win it straight up in a fight.”

Ragginger has been the best man all weekend, leading practice and qualifying, although Dyson gave him a scare at the start. The New Yorker got the jump at the start and led the opening 12 circuits in the No. 20 Plaid Ford Mustang. Dyson spun in Turn 6 on the following lap, and retired shortly thereafter with power steering failure.

Ragginger led the rest of the way for his first overall victory and second career Trans Am triumph in four starts. He took a TA3 International class victory at the 2015 Daytona finale in his series debut.

After blowing an engine in qualifying, Francis parked his No. 98 ZF Concept Concepts Ford Mustang after only two laps with clutch problems. Entering the race with a commanding 43-point lead, Drissi now unofficially closed the gap to 31 points entering Sunday’s finale, a 100-mile race for all five classes.

“We’ve had a tough weekend, a tough year really,” Francis Jr. said. “We had a clutch issue with the car but luckily we were able to take the green flag and get a few laps in for points which helps us out. We are digging into it, going to get it all fixed up, and ready for tomorrow to try and take it home to finish this thing.”

Boris Said followed Drissi through traffic in the closing laps to take third in the No. 2 Weaver Racing/SRI Performance Dodge Challenge, finishing 1.108-seconds back at the checkered flag.

“I feel alright about a third-place finish,” commented Said. “This car was good enough to win. I just didn’t do the best job I could out there today. This is the most nervous I’ve been in a race. My son [Boris Said IV] is about to go out for his first race in a Miata, so it’s a completely different feeling for me. But, what a track. The Trans Am cars are great, 850hp around here is an unbelievable ride. It’s a blast running with these guys.”

Justin Marks took fourth in the No. 99 Trackhouse Camaro, followed by Amy Ruman in the No. 23 McNichols Company Corvette.

Kerry Hitt was the Masters winner, placing eighth in the No. 19 Advanced Composite Products Cadillac CS-V.

Dyson will start Sunday’s combined race on pole by virtue of recording the fastest race lap, 1:20.382-seconds, followed by Ragginger, Drissi and Said.

Ken Thwaits ran an uneventful race, leading all the way in XGT in the No. 5 Franklin Road Apparel Audi R8 GT3 Ultra. The win secured the inaugural XGT title, unofficially.

“You never know if you’re going to get a yellow – so you can get a rest – but not this time,” Thwaits said. “Justin Oakes and I had a good battle at the beginning, but traffic allowed me to get a gap on him. Then the TA cars started coming through, and it was give and take. I am the first XGT champion – we finished all nine races this year.”

Justin Oakes dominated SGT in the No. 11 Droneworks Corvette. After finishing third in XGT in his Trans Am debut at Circuit of The Americas, Oakes changed to an SGT-specification engine. He also secured the Cool Shirt award.

“I started racing six months ago,” Oakes said. “This was my first win, and yesterday was my first pole. It just went great. We knew our pace was fast, so we just maintained it and saved the tires in case we got a double-yellow. We had a pretty big margin, so we’re very happy with that.”

Lou Gigliotti finished second in the No. 28 G2 Performance Corvette, 31.189-seconds seconds back.

Lee Saunders entered the race with a five-point lead over Adrian Wlostowski in the SGT class. Saunders took third in the No. 84 Landsearch LLC Dodge Viper, followed by Mark Brummond in the No., 24 Garage Door Doctor BMW M4 GT4. Wlostowski took fifth in the No. 96 F.A.S.T Auto Mustang, and now unofficially trails by 10 points entering the finale.

Milton Grant was the SGT Masters winner, placing seventh in the No. 55 Sentry Self Storage Porsche 911.1 GT3 Cup.

Billy Griffin unofficially secured the GT championship with a flag-to-flag victory in the No. 14 Griffin Auto Care/Sheehan’s Towing Ford Mustang. Griffin entered the race trailing Tim Horrell by 18 points, but Horrell did not compete in the finale due to mechanical issues with his Porsche GT4 Clubsport.

“I love it [on the top step of the podium] and it gets better and better every time,” Griffin said. “This was for the championship as well. The car ran great. We had a little bit of car trouble but we fixed it last night. We were here ‘til almost midnight, but we fixed it and the car was awesome. The track was very busy. Today was the most I ever looked in the mirrors, for sure.”

In an all-Ford Mustang GT podium, Dan Schlickenmeyer made his Trans Am debut by taking second in the No. 37 Griggs Racing/Bath County Collision Ford Mustang, followed by John Baucom in the No. 86 Mustang. Baucom was running in GT for the first time after competing in TA since 2001.

Thwaits, Oakes and Griffin earned poles for their respective classes by virtue of setting the fastest race laps.

The TA2® powered by AEM will race at 4:00 p.m. ET today. All five classes will be combined in Sunday’s season finale, set top take the green flag for 40 laps, 100 miles, at noon ET.

Music City Grand Prix investors Stanton Barrett, Scott Borchetta and Justin Marks drive support for inaugural festival through Trans Am TA2® class race

NASHVILLE, TENNESEE (November 21, 2020) – The Music City Grand Prix announced today that the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli will bring American muscle to the inaugural 2021 race. Mustangs, Camaros and Challengers will be taking over the track Friday and Saturday for TA2® races during the Music City Grand Prix. The three-day festival of speed, sound, food and fun is scheduled for August 6-8, 2021 in Nashville, Tennessee.

“We are pleased to partner with Music City Grand Prix to bring Trans Am’s TA2® powered by AEM to Nashville,” said John Clagett, president, Trans Am Race Company “TA2® is our fastest-growing class which races some of America’s most iconic muscle cars side-by-side. Nashville is a great city to celebrate American muscle cars—it’s a city that embraces Americana with a touch of nostalgia while offering up high-octane entertainment—Trans Am is that too, and therefore a perfect addition to the event.”

Several of Music City Grand Prix’s investors were instrumental in bringing the Trans Am Series race to life. Stanton Barrett, American race car driver, Scott Borchetta, CEO and president, Big Machine Label Group and Justin Marks, former race car driver, will race in the event.

“The opportunity to be able to race in the first-ever Music City Grand Prix weekend in the Trans Am Series is a dream come true. Working with the Music City Grand Prix team over the last several years to bring IndyCar back to Nashville has already been very gratifying,” said Borchetta. “Now, knowing that the team and I get to be part of our hometown Grand Prix and get the chance to race through the streets (and across the bridge!) downtown, this weekend has a huge circle around it on all of our calendars!”

Music City Grand Prix has already had an opportunity to get involved with the series at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta. Today, Scott Borchetta and Justin Marks will race, with Marks in a Music City Grand Prix car, at Road Atlanta’s Trans Am Series.

“I’m excited to participate in this weekend’s Trans Am Series and, in the process, show my support for the Music City Grand Prix. As a driver, I’m dedicated to sharing my passion for racing,” said Marks. “Getting involved in Music City Grand Prix allows me to do just that while also sharing the best-in-class food, music and entertainment that my hometown serves up.”

“Having investors in our event that not only understand racing, but also participate in it is a huge benefit for our team and will be for our fans next August,” said Jason Rittenberry, COO, Music City Grand Prix. “To bring a racing series that allows them to race in Nashville is special. We can’t wait to have America’s Road Racing Series in the Music City.”

Racing fans will feel the new sound of Nashville when Trans Am joins GT Racing to bring even more speed to the NTT INDYCAR® SERIES Music City Grand Prix. If you are interested in securing your seats now before the general public, the Music City Grand Prix is offering two distinctive membership initiatives filled with fantastic annual benefits. For details, please visit www.musiccitygp.com/membership or call (615) 565-4650.

About Music City Grand Prix
Music City Grand Prix is a three-day international festival of speed and sound featuring an NTT INDYCAR® SERIES event. The event aims to create a comprehensive world-class international destination event that highlights Nashville, Tennessee, the Music City and the Mid-South region. It will include music, food, culture and entertainment centered on the speed, technology, skill and excitement of up-close urban INDYCAR racing. As a privately funded event, Music City Grand Prix is owned and operated by 615GP, LLC. More information is available at www.musiccitygp.com

About the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli
The Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli 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), and oversees the management and marketing of the Trans Am Series.

Points leader Francis suffers setback beginning season-finale weekend

BRASELTON, GA (20 November 2020) –Martin Ragginger prevailed in a seven-minute qualifying shootout to capture the pole position for Saturday’s Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli Atlanta SpeedTour race, the first half of a season-ending doubleheader at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta. (Stream Race Live)

Ragginger turned a fast lap of 1:19.557-seconds in the No. 17 Gin Amade Chevrolet Camaro fielded by Claudio Burtin. Chris Dyson briefly held the pole with a last-lap flyer of 1:19.969-seconds in the No. 20 Plaid Ford Mustang, but Ragginger regained the top spot moments later as the sun began to set at the circuit.

It was the second-career Trans Am pole for Ragginger, who was fastest in his most recent Trans Am start, in 2017 at Road America.

“The session went fast with the situation that happened in the beginning,” Ragginger said. “I hit traffic and only had one chance on the last lap to get a flyer in. The team did an amazing job on the car. Everything was working great, I just had to bring it. Tomorrow we have 40 laps, we have a good car for the distance. I am excited to go at it Trans Am style.”

Dyson was confident in his outside pole start. The 2019 Trans Am Vice Champion won from the same position in 2018 at Road Atlanta.

“I was really glad we got the session in,” Dyson said. “It was looking a bit iffy there as we were losing daylight and the track was oiled down. The track workers got the oil cleaned up as best as they could and it was good to get at least a bit of a shootout out there. My starting position is ok for tomorrow. We won from there before. It’s my first time racing against Martin. There’s a lot of depth in the front end of the field this weekend, it will be a good race.”

The session was black-flagged for 35 minutes due to oil in Turn 10 from championship leader Ernie Francis Jr., who suffered a mechanical failure on board the No. 98 ZF Custom Concepts Ford Mustang. Francis Jr. enters the weekend with a 43-point lead over Tomy Drissi. The 22-year-old South Floridian is seeking his fourth-consecutive TA class title – and seventh Trans Am championship in his seven-year career.

“I don’t really know what happened today,” Francis Jr. said. “Right on the out lap, the car just blew a hole through the side of the motor in Turn 10. I can’t really explain it. I guess that’s just on par with 2020. We have a new motor going in for tomorrow. We are starting from the back, we are going to just cruise around, work on points and focus on locking up the championship.”

Boris Said, seeking his third pole in as many 2020 starts, qualified third at 1:20.285-second in the Weaver Racing Techniques/SRI Performance Dodge Challenger. He will be joined on the second row by Drissi, 1:21.336-seconds in Burtin’s No. 8 Lucas Oil Camaro. Justin Marks and Amy Ruman will share the third row.

The Trans Am 100-mile feature will open the day before the TA2® powered by AEM race takes to the track at 4 pm ET. (Full Results)
Mike Skeen gained another three points in his bid for the TA2® championship, winning pole with a lap of 1:23.507-seconds in the No. 677 Liqui Moly/Turn 14 Distribution Chevrolet Camaro.

“The colder temperatures were great actually, it provided some great horsepower for us,” said Skeen, capturing his fifth pole of the season. “The lighting wasn’t too bad, I was just more concerned about the traffic. We had to get out there and get a pretty quick out lap and we started catching the back of the pack. That hurt a bit, fortunately, not enough to cause an extreme issue. I am happy to get through that session with no drama and kept the car clean. This puts us in the best position to keep the race clean tomorrow and sail off with the championship.”

Skeen now has a 48-point lead over Rafa Matos, who timed in second fastest, 1:24.327-seconds in the No. 7 Silver Hare Camaro.

Businessman/racer Franklin Futrelle made his Trans Am debut with a third-best lap of 1:24.424-seconds in the No. 58 B2 Motorsports Ford Mustang. The 2009 Formula Mazda National Champion, Futrelle is a veteran of open-wheel competition when his schedule permits.

Cameron Lawrence was fourth, with a quick time of 1:24.592-seconds in the No. 8 3-Dimensional Services Group Mustang, followed by Edward Sevadjian (1:25.011-seconds) in the No. 38 Big Machine Vodka/Duntov Motors Camaro.

Ray Evernham qualified 22nd for his Trans Am debut in the No. 26 Mike Cope Racing Cars Mustang, running 1:30.162-seconds. A former modified stock car racer, Evernham was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame for his work as crew chief for Jeff Gordon’s Rainbow Warriors, and car owner for drivers including Bill Elliott.

Ken Thwaits led the XGT class, running 1:25.898-seconds to claim his fourth pole of the year in the No. 5 Franklin Road Apparel Audi R8 GT3 Ultra. The bonus points were enough to clinch the class championship, provisionally.

Justin Oakes finished strong to beat out the SGT title contenders with a last-lap run of 1:27.032-seconds in the No. 11 Droneworks Corvette. Oakes finished third in the recent race at Circuit of The Americas in his Trans Am debut.

“The oil and visibility really didn’t affect our performance today, it was sitting and waiting on the grid the extra half hour,” Oakes said. “We had to go from being sedentary to performing immediately, but we pulled it together. The car feels great. The track conditions cooled off quite a bit after the sun went down over the hill. All together today was a success. Tomorrow I am looking forward to racing with all the SGT guys. We all qualified pretty close together. I want to mix it up with the SGT class and just getting in some good, close racing with some talented drivers.”

Of the SGT championship leaders, Lee Saunders ran 1:27.201-seconds in the No. 84 Landsearch LLC Dodge Viper, followed by Adrian Wlostowski, 1:27.235-seconds in the No. 97 F.A.S.T. Auto Ford Mustang. With the qualifying bonus points, Saunders enters the race with a six-point lead.

Billy Griffin scored his second-consecutive pole in GT, 1:35.017-seconds in the No, 14 Griffin Auto Care /Sheehan’s Towing Ford Mustang. With point-leader Tim Horrell missing the event, Griffin now trails by 15 points and can take the championship lead by completing half of Saturday’s race. However, he revealed that his Mustang has a broken part in its rear end which necessitated a long night for the crew for repairs.

“I was pretty confident that the track was going to be pretty good,” Griffin said. “We had a spotter watching the oil clean up, and he said the workers were doing a fantastic job. The oil didn’t hang me up as much as the cold weather. I am not used to racing in the cold. It took an extra lap for my tires to come in, so I couldn’t lay down the way I wanted to, one-two and done. We had to do one extra lap but it worked out the way we wanted. We have a broken part in the rear end so we are a little worried. We have the part coming in and we will be spending the night trying to fix it before the race tomorrow. We want to win, that’s what we came here to do. If we finish, we can win the points championship, but we want to win the race too.”

Saturday begins with the TA/XGT/SGT/GT race at 10:45 a.m. Eastern followed by the TA2® powered by AEM feature at 3:55 p.m. Eastern. The combined five-class finale will take the green on Sunday at noon Eastern. The grid for the finale will be set by fastest race laps on Saturday.

The Atlanta SpeedTour is open to fans. Tickets are available at: SpeedTour.net.

All three races will be live streamed (starting Saturday) on the Trans Am by Pirelli Racing App.