Trans Am Series Western Championship Event Preview: Sonoma Raceway 2024
April 17, 2024
Sonoma SpeedTour
Buy Tickets Here
Track Facts:
Opened: 1968
Length: 2.52 Miles
Layout: 12-Turn Road Course
Entry List: View
Practice:
Friday, April 19
5:35-6:00 p.m. PT
Sunday, April 21
8:10-8:35 a.m. PT
Qualifying:
Saturday, April 20
8:10-8:35 a.m. PT
Races:
Race 1
Saturday, April 20
1:00-2:15 p.m. PT
Race Length: 40 Laps/75 Minutes?
Race 2
Sunday, April 21
11:20 a.m.-12:35 p.m. PT
Race Length: 40 Laps/75 Minutes?
Breaking Records
The Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli’s Western Championship heads to wine country for the Sonoma SpeedTour at Sonoma Raceway. With 34 entries, this weekend’s doubleheader will have the largest field ever for a standalone Western Championship event. The Western Championship has come a long way since its inaugural season in 2017 when it hosted only four races with fields averaging about 13 competitors. In fact, when the West Coast series visited Sonoma Raceway for the first time in 2018, the race included only 14 entrants.
A New Sonoma
This year, teams will face an all-new Sonoma surface, as the 2.52-mile circuit completed a repave back in February. Teams will have two optional test sessions on Friday to learn track’s new characteristics before the first official practice on Friday evening.
Keeping It Cool
This weekend, the Trans Am Series will unveil a new award on the podium as it welcomes a new sponsor to both the Western Championship and National Championship. The Cool Boxx Coolest Move of the Race will debut at Sonoma Raceway to highlight a cool racing moment such as a great pass, awesome save or display of sportsmanship. Cool Boxx is owned by Matthew Rivkin and Viktor Czapla, Western Championship competitors in the CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series, and produces iceless driver cooling systems. The winner of the Coolest Move will be awarded with one of the company’s Cool Boxx vests. The presentation will take place during the final podium of the Western Championship’s doubleheader weekends, and after the TA2 race at National Championship or combination events. Learn more about Cool Boxx’s products at coolboxx.la.
Nitro Goes West
Last weekend at NOLA Motorsports Park, Nitro Motorsports earned its first National Championship win of 2024 with Rafa Matos after dominating the podium in the first two races of the season. This weekend, the team heads west with two of its National Championship competitors. PMH Powering Diversity Scholarship recipient Michele Abbate will pilot the No. 30 GHOST/Nitro Motorsports Ford Mustang, coming fresh off a Pro/Am podium finish at Road Atlanta.17-year-old Young Gun Gio Ruggiero will get behind the wheel of the No. 8 Nitro Motorsports Ford Mustang after making his Trans Am Series debut at Sebring International Raceway in February.
New Sponsor for Accardo Jr.
This weekend, CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series driver Bob Accardo Jr. will debut a new sponsor on his No. 39 Chevrolet Camaro. Verbal AUTISM Pro is an app that has recently launched to revolutionize how individuals with autism communicate and connect with the world. The user-friendly mobile application has been developed by a series of experts to provide accessible, effective and affordable support to the non-speaking autism community. It is available for both Apple and Android. Learn more at www.verbalautism.com.
Golden State Entries
This weekend’s entry list boasts 15 drivers from the state of California. One driver, Thunderhill Race 1 winner Tim Barber, calls the city of Sonoma home, while Tim Lynn is from nearby Kentfield. Others, such as Michelle Nagai, Dylan Lupton, John Moore, Troy Ermish and Bob Accardo Jr. are all from less than two hours away from the Wine Country track.
TA2
John Moore, No. 17 Naake-Klauer Motorsports Ford Mustang (Loomis)
Matthew Rivkin, No. 21 Cool Boxx Chevrolet Camaro (Santa Rosa Valley)
JC Meynet, No. 28 B-Bar Ranch/Killer Shrimp Chevrolet Camaro (Woodland Hills)
Michael LaPaglia, No. 31 Papini’s Garage/F.A.S.T. Auto/Howe Ford Mustang (Murrieta)
Tim Barber, No. 33 DIG Motorsports Ford Mustang (Sonoma)
Troy Ermish, No. 38 Ermish Racing Ford Mustang (Tracy)
Bob Accardo Jr., No. 39 Verbal AUTISM Pro Chevrolet Camaro (Livermore)
Tim Carroll, No. 46 CRDMFG.com Chevrolet Camaro (Santa Ana)
Tim Lynn, No. 71 RoofOptions Ford Mustang (Kentfield)
Kyle Kelley, No. 80 PK+k Properties/UPRacing.com Ford Mustang (Huntington Beach)
Viktor Czapla, No. 88 Cool Boxx Dodge Challenger (Agoura Hills)
Jacob Yesnick, No. 97 McLeod/Sidley Austin Ford Mustang (Rancho Palos Verdes)
XGT
Michelle Nagai, No. 72 Nagai Racing/Berkeley Jet Drive Chevrolet Camaro (Newcastle)
Dylan Lupton, No. 79 Lupton Excavation Ford Mustang (Elk Grove)
GT
Kevin Michaels, No. 98 Killer Shrimp Restaurant Chevrolet Corvette (Malibu)
Past Sonoma Winners
There are four drivers competing at Sonoma Raceway who have previously stood on the top step of the podium at the California track. Greg Pickett has the most victories, winning six times in the Western Championship and three times in the National Championship.
TA
Greg Pickett, No. 6 Pickett Racing Ford Mustang
Western Championship: 2023, 2022, 2020 Races 1-3, 2018
National Championship: 1984 Race 1 and Race 2, 1978 (Category II)
TA2
JC Meynet, No. 28 B-Bar Ranch/Killer Shrimp Chevrolet Camaro: 2023 (GT)
XGT
Will Rodgers, No. 12 Central Welding Supply Ford Mustang: 2023
Chris Evans, No. 92 Central Welding Supply Ford Mustang: 2022 (SGT)
Greg Pickett at Sonoma
Greg Pickett in the No. 6 Pickett Racing Ford Mustang is a legend in the Trans Am Series, as the only driver to win a race in six different decades. The 77-year-old holds one National Championship title, claiming the 1978 Category II championship, in addition to two TA class titles in the Western Championship (2017, 2020). Pickett has a long history of success at Sonoma Raceway, and is by far the winningest driver at the track of anyone entered this weekend. Pickett has an impressive six wins at Sonoma Raceway in the Western Championship, including a sweep at the track in 2020 when scheduling changes resulted in three races being contested that season. Pickett’s Sonoma success goes all the way back to 1978 when he won at the track on his way to becoming that season’s Category II champion.
Trans Am Debuts
This weekend will see the Trans Am Series debut of Dylan Lupton, an XGT entry in the No. 79 Lupton Excavation Ford Mustang. The Elk Grove, California native comes to Trans Am primarily from the world of NASCAR, racing in the Cup, Xfinity and Truck Series, as well as the ARCA Menards Series and ARCA Menards Series West. Lupton has three previous starts at Sonoma Raceway in Cup, Xfinity and ARCA West, with a best finish of second in ARCA West in 2021.
John Moore in the No. 17 Naake-Klauer Motorsports Ford Mustang is also making his first start in the series. From Loomis, California, he is another ARCA West alum, and has a previous start at Sonoma Raceway in the NASCAR Southwest Series.
STANDINGS
TA
1. Steve Goldman (115)
1. Greg Pickett (115)
TA2
1. Michael LaPaglia (209)
2. Troy Ermish (191)
3. Ken Sutherland (184)
4. Tim Lynn (173)
5. Barry Boes (172)
XGT
1. Rick Wright (164)
2. Michelle Nagai (156)
3. Tim Rankin (139)
4. Rob Gordon (133)
5. Will Rodgers (92)
GT
1. David Hampton (100)
