Keith Grant Debuts for Showtime Motorsports with Podium Spot in Virginia
October 11, 2022
Alton, VIRGINIA – October 10, 2022 - In his inaugural race for Showtime Motorsports, Keith Grant scored a runners-up spot in the prestige TA class race Sunday afternoon at Virginia International Raceway. The race result comes the day after the double-top-ten finish the team achieved with Cameron Lawrence and Dylan Archer in the TA2 race. But while the team was celebrating, it was a bittersweet experience for team principal Ken Thwaits, who is chasing the runners-up spot in the TA driver championship. The likeable Tennessean endured a luckless weekend that saw him exit the TA Class race in the opening stages.
Grant arrived in Virginia and quickly got to grips with the 850 BHP behemoth that is a TA1 car and he posted impressive times all weekend. Keith recorded a lap of 1:46:023 in the No. 5 Franklin Road Apparel Showtime Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro in practice. Team boss Ken Thwaits was right behind him in 1:46:929. Grant then posted 1:46:081 in difficult conditions for qualifying with an impressive P3 on the starting grid.
Although the headline of the race itself would have to be Matthew Brabham's last-to-first drive in the ALTWELL Mustang, it could scarcely have gone much better for Grant who took advantage of Championship winner Chris Dyson's retirement to claim P2 on the podium.
We spoke to Keith after the race, and he'd clearly had a tremendous experience with a result to match, "The weekend was great. I really enjoyed running with Showtime. Ken gave me a great car. Jeremy [Chief Mechanic] was on the car the whole time. I didn't have to do any engineering. It was a great overall effort."
Ken on the other hand was unlucky all weekend, with several factors hindering his progress. The No. 7 Showtime Motorsports Franklin Road Apparel Chevrolet Camaro was parked in the middle of the pack starting P9 on the grid. Ken had a challenging position on track for the start with drivers getting bottled up and tight going into Turn 3. There was contact that involved multiple cars. That incident caused him to leave the track with only a few minutes on the clock into the feature race. He recounted the catalogue of problems to our trackside reporter.
"We had a suspension failure in the first session and then we had a nose problem in the second session, so we were playing catch up all weekend. When we got to qualifying, the conditions were so dark that you couldn't see the track and it was dirty. Not qualifying well leads to what just happened [the incident]. Better luck next time!"
Three out of four excellent finishing positions must be regarded as a success for the team and Ken himself is a truly optimistic and resilient guy. He'll be leading the team when the muscle car series returns at Circuit of The Americas in early November and is already making plans for 2023. With teams like Showtime around, the future for Trans Am looks very bright indeed.
TV Broadcasting for this weekend is as follows:
TA2 - Oct 12, 7:00p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network
TA2 (Encore Presentation) - Oct 13, 12:30 a.m. ET on CBS Sports Network
TA/XGT/SGT/GT - Oct 13, 8:00p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network
TA/XGT/SGT/GT (Encore Presentation) - Oct 14, 12:30 a.m. ET on CBS Sports Network
About Showtime Motorsports:
The Showtime Motorsports team is based in Franklin Tennessee and is the power behind the Franklin Road Apparel brand. Showtime is responsible for preparing the cars for the track and keeping Ken Thwaits' outstanding classic Camaro collection in tip top condition. Showtime Motorsports have now entered cars in both the TA and TA2 classes in the legendary Trans Am muscle car series with growing success. Showtime has a dynamic, passionate and hugely talented staff of professionals dedicated to success and excellence both on and off track.
