10 Days of Champions - Chris Coffey: GT National Championship
December 19, 2024
In his first full season of competition, Chris Coffey dominated the Trans Am Series National Championship’s GT class. Tallying eight victories in ten races and never finishing off the podium, Coffey’s speed, consistency and hard work wrenching both of his Norwood Auto Italia team’s racecars paid off with the Trans Am GT title.
Coffey’s season started on top, with the Texas native leading the most laps in his No. 97 Norwood Auto Italia/Traffic Grafix Maserati MC GT4 to drive to GYM WEED Winners Circle at Sebring International Raceway.
“It feels amazing,” said Coffey. “The first thing I have to do is thank Colin Cohen. I absolutely couldn't be here without him. He signed me up to run a full season this year, so I'm looking forward to the next race already. I want to thank my wife and my crew, Alex and Xavier. This is the first time I've had an actual crew with me, so this is absolutely amazing.”
Coffey followed up the season-opener with two more victories, winning at both Road Atlanta and NOLA Motorsports Park. Following a second-place finish at Lime Rock Park, Coffey was once again on the top step of the podium at the series’ second-ever event at Pittsburgh International Race Complex. The victory didn’t come easy, however, as he worked non-stop overnight and throughout the morning of the race to repair crash damage on his teammate Colin Cohen’s No. 38 Norwood Auto Italia/Traffic Grafix Maserati MC GT4. The hard work paid off, though, as he stood on the podium next to Cohen, who finished second.
“Yeah, it was no big deal, really,” Coffey said with a laugh. “I got about four hours of sleep last night, and worked literally until the car was on the grid. I stopped and took a shower while the guys were warming the car up, got dressed, immediately got in the car, and put it on the grid. I’ve really got to thank the guys that are here to help me: David Rice and Xavier Willis. I can't believe they let me scream at them for 12 hours straight last night. I'm ready for a nap.”
After a second-place finish at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Coffey saw checkered flags for the remainder of the season, winning at Road America, Watkins Glen International, VIRginia International Raceway and the season finale at Circuit of The Americas.
“When I first started running with Trans Am, I just really wanted to just try to be competitive, and didn't really think about running up front or anything like that,” said Coffey. “I wanted to have fun and race with guys I could go door-to-door with. But, you know, I've been pretty successful this year, winning the championship. That's been incredible; being a National champion in a professional racing series, it's like a dream come true.”
“I absolutely love racing in Trans Am; I plan to come back again next year, not only for myself, but we're hopefully going to have a third car, to help expand the class,” Coffey continued. “I really look forward to running next year again, and seeing if we can put together another championship run. I'd love to see more GT4 cars come out. You know, we have some older cars; we haven’t been without our own growing pains, keeping these older cars on the track. But the newer cars, the older cars, it doesn't really matter, and with GT4 regulations the way they are, everybody can be competitive. So, the guys that have older cars don't need to be worried about not being able to be competitive. I think I've proven that point by winning a championship. I just absolutely love the Trans Am Series and I can't wait for the season to start next year.”
