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Tony Ave sets the pace in practice

November 2, 2012

Tony Ave and his #4 Lamer/PME Engines/RPX Chevrolet Corvette finished practice with the top speed and fastest lap time out of the 27 car field. Ave’s fast lap came in at 1:19.805 and he toped his car out at 114.579 miles per hour. The two time defending champion is currently third in the points standing behind Simon Gregg and Amy Ruman. While a third consecutive championship may seem out of reach for Ave, he is a favorite to land on the podium in both events this weekend.

Current points leader Simon Gregg, in the #59 Gregg Motorsports Corvette, was right behind Ave and led a pack of TA cars, also consisting of Amy Ruman and Doug Peterson, who were all within .8 seconds of each other. Gregg will need a strong showing this weekend to retain his points lead over Amy Ruman and claim the same championship that his father, Peter Gregg, once did.

In TA2 defending champion Bob Stretch put in a class-best time of 1:28.814 and a top speed of 102.955 miles per hour. Stretch and the #06 Fix Rim Mobile Wheel Repair Chevrolet Camaro will be fending of Pete Halsmer and the #12 Ctek Battery Chargers/Motorstate/Allstar Chevrolet Camaro. Halsmer is the only driver that can catch Stretch in the points standing and the only threat to the champion claiming the title for two years in a row.

Cameron Lawrence, Halsmer’s teammate, and driver of the #11 Ctek Battery Chargers/Motorstate/Allstar Chevrolet Camaro had the third best time in the TA2 class, which consists of a season high 14 cars.

In GGT David Seuss and his Northern Light Porsche GT-3 were the pace setters with a time of 1:33.716. He’ll face stiff competition from current points leader Chuck Cassaro and the #76 Cassaro Enterprises/Midwest Council Panoz GTS as well as Tim Gray and his #60 Ryan Companies US Inc. Porsche GT-3. Gray is coming off two victories and Brainerd International Raceway and will be tested by another season-high class entry field.

The Trans Am Series will next take to the track at 3:45 p.m. EST for a qualifying session to determine the starting positions for Saturday’s race, which will be round one of the double-header finale weekend. The race on Saturday will take place at 4:00 p.m. EST and Sunday's finale will start at 12:30 p.m. EST.