2023 Track to the Title: Will Rodgers, Western Championship XGT Champion

December 14, 2023

XGT’s Will Rodgers made an impressive 2023 showing in his No. 32 Chris Evans Race Cars & Design Ford Mustang since joining the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli’s Western Championship at Sonoma Raceway and earning the overall race win from the pole in his series debut.

After his breakthrough introduction to Trans Am, Rodgers won the next three races he entered (WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, Portland International Raceway Race 2 and Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch) with two more overall race victories in the all-class events. En route to his first Trans Am championship, Rodgers has shown the impressive speed of Chris Evans’ XGT cars. Evans, the 2022 SGT Western Championship title winner, also fielded the No. 72 Nagai Racing/Berkeley Jet Drive Chevrolet Camaro for Michelle Nagai, who won Race 1 of the Portland Doubleheader.

“I’m really happy to have locked up the West Coast championship this year,” said Rodgers. “Funny enough, I hadn’t planned on running this year until I met Chris Evans at Road America when he was there for the National side of things. Jeff Jefferson runs his program, and Jeff and I have been close for a long time. I used to race with him in K&N years ago. Jeff saw the opportunity for me to come in to show the capability of these XGT cars, show why they’re so great for the series and can really fill a void. I’m honored to be able to do that, and obviously do so well to win the Western Championship title. I’m just really thankful for that opportunity and happy for these Chris Evans Racing guys. Without them, I wouldn’t be here having this much fun.”

In addition to his Western Championship efforts, Rodgers made two starts in the National Championship this season, doing double duty at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course by racing in both his XGT car, a race which he won from the pole, and in the Big Machine Vodka SPIKED Coolers TA2 Series.  In 2024, Rodgers will return to TA2 in the National Championship, driving the No. 6 Ford Mustang for Godwin Motorsports.