10 Days of Champions - Michael LaPaglia: CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series Western Championship

December 18, 2024

After falling just 17 points short of the championship in 2023, Michael LaPaglia piloted his No. 31 Papini’s Garage/F.A.S.T. Auto/Howe Ford Mustang to the CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series title in the Western Championship in 2024.

LaPaglia’s season started with a bang. After finishing second in Race 1 at Thunderhill Raceway Park, he took the victory in the second race of the doubleheader event.

“I couldn't be happier, coming in second yesterday and capitalizing and getting the win today in some pretty tricky conditions,” said LaPaglia following the victory. “This marks my one-year anniversary of racing TA2. I’m happy with the progress we've made, happy with everything we've learned. It's been fun. It’s a great group of guys that we race with, a great organization.”

Following an excellent points weekend in the season-opening rounds, LaPaglia suffered his worst finish of the season in Race 1 at Sonoma Raceway due to a broken upright bolt. He recovered in Race 2, scoring another runner-up finish. Trouble struck again at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, when electrical issues resulted in a 13th-place finish.

The former Motocross and Supercross racer drove to second-place finishes in both events at Portland International Raceway, then found himself back atop the podium in Race 1 at Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch.

“Everything really worked out well for us today,” said LaPaglia atop the podium. “We qualified P2, which, historically, I have been a pretty bad qualifier. It's good to start up front and just try to drive a smart race. The car was kind of going away from me there toward the end of the race, and I just tried to hold on to it. I knew Kyle [Kelley] was coming, I knew Barry [Boes] was on me, because he was riding my rearview mirror the whole time, so it was super stressful.”

Championship contender Tim Barber won Race 2 at Spring Mountain, tightening the points race, but LaPaglia’s fourth-place finish there, followed by one final podium finish at Circuit of The Americas was enough for him to earn his first-career Trans Am championship.

“Being new to road racing, and racing on four wheels, we asked a lot of questions on what to do. I want to thank all the West Coast competitors, because I asked you all a lot of questions. [The Western Championship] feels like a big family at all our races. The team worked hard all year. We learned all year, we made improvements all year long, and got better and better. I just can't thank my team enough. It feels good to represent the West Coast and win this championship. You know, we don't get to win every race, but we try damn hard, and we'll continue to do that.”