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Michelle Nagai Wins Overall in Sonoma Race 1, Tim Barber Gets Second TA2 Win of 2024

April 20, 2024

Steve Goldman Wins TA, David Hampton Wins GT

SONOMA, Calif. (April 20, 2024) – With a record turnout of competitors this weekend at the Sonoma SpeedTour, Race 1 for the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli’s Western Championship at Sonoma Raceway was a wild one, starting out with a multi-car incident on lap one and ending with a timed finish. Michelle Nagai in the No. 72 Nagai Racing/Berkeley Jet Drive Chevrolet Camaro survived the attrition in her class to lead XGT before making a mid-race pass to ultimately win the race overall. Tim Barber in the No. 33 DIG Motorsports Ford Mustang dominated a huge field in the CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series, leading every lap in the class and the first 20 circuits overall, with both he and Nagai earning their second victories of 2024.

Notes of Interest

Michelle Nagai won her second XGT race of the season, winning in Race 1 of the season opener at Thunderhill Raceway Park.
This was Tim Barber’s second victory of 2024. He also won Race 1 at Thunderhill. This is only Barber’s second event weekend back in action since 2005, when he raced in Trans Am’s GTA class.
David Hampton has won every GT race so far this season, earning his third victory today on his birthday.
Steve Goldman also earned his second win of 2024 in the TA class.
The race results today were identical to those in Race 1 at Thunderhill

XGT:
XGT cars dominated the weekend’s practice and qualifying sessions, claiming the first four starting positions for today’s event. However, trouble hit many of the class’s participants early. After the wave of the green flag, the top-four XGT competitors battled hard going into Turn 2. Polesitter Will Rodgers (No. 12 Central Welding Supply Ford Mustang) immediately broke an axle, allowing Xuanqian Wang to take the lead, but Wang got loose on cold tires and lost control of his No. 22 AURALIC North America Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO, crashing into the tire barrier. Dylan Lupton (No. 79 Lupton Excavation Ford Mustang) also sustained damage in Turn 2, suffering a critical parts failure, which took him back to the garage. Michelle Nagai in the No. 72 Nagai Racing/Berkeley Jet Drive Chevrolet Camaro was the only one of the top-four starters to make it through the melee, maintaining the lead for the class but losing the overall point position to TA2’s Tim Barber. Nagai closely trailed Barber for the next 20 laps before finally taking the overall lead. Once she had clean air in front of her, she was able to open up a solid margin over him. The field closed up due to a full-course caution in the closing laps, but when green-flag racing resumed on lap 31, Nagai had no trouble maintaining her lead and taking the overall victory.

“We've got to give it up to the good Lord, we'll start there,” said Nagai on the podium. “Thank you, God, for this beautiful day, for keeping us safe. We all came out of this pretty darn good. Next is going to be Jefferson Racing and Chris Evans. The reality of it is that the track paving is incredible. The Trans Am Series out on the West Coast is starting to get it. I mean, we are getting it. We had so many cars out here this weekend. So come on, guys. Keep coming out. Step up. Get an XGT car. Let's do it.”

XGT Results:
1. Michelle Nagai, No. 72 Nagai Racing/Berkeley Jet Drive Chevrolet Camaro
2. Tim Rankin, No. 5 TCR IT Solutions Ford Mustang
3. Dylan Lupton, No. 79 Lupton Excavation Ford Mustang
4. Chris Evans, No. 92 Central Welding Supply Ford Mustang
5. Will Rodgers, No. 12 Central Welding Supply Ford Mustang

CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series:
Tim Barber in the No. 33 DIG Motorsports Ford Mustang took the green flag first in the CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series and fifth overall, but after making his way through the kerfuffle in Turn 2 on lap one, he emerged as the overall race leader. He held the point position for the next 20 laps before being overtaken by Nagai for the race lead, but Barber’s position in class never wavered as he held off an enormous field of fast TA2 competitors. For much of the race, Barber was defending against Michael LaPaglia in the No. 31 Papini’s Garage/F.A.S.T. Auto/Howe Ford Mustang, but on lap 23, LaPaglia fell off the pace with a broken upright bolt. Brad McAllister (No. 2 Straumann and Zimbis Ford Mustang) took second from LaPaglia, but he suffered a battery issue one lap later, which took him out of contention. Michele Abbate in the No. 30 GHOST/Nitro Motorsports Ford Mustang then gained control of the second position after running in the top five for the entire race. Barry Boes was next in the No. 32 Accio Data/TRB Autosport Ford Mustang, but he experienced a hard crash into the tire barrier, bringing out the final full-course yellow of the race on lap 25. When green-flag racing resumed, Kyle Kelley in the No. 80 PK+k Properties/UPRacing.com Ford Mustang slid into the third podium spot, which was a tremendous accomplishment after he took the green flag from the 24th position. He was followed by Troy Ermish in the No. 38 Ermish Racing Ford Mustang, who started 27th, and Tim Lynn in the No. 71 RoofOptions Ford Mustang, who started 14th, giving them both well-earned top-five finishes.

“First, I’ve got to thank Jeremy at DIG Motorsports, as well as Dan and Dave; it’s small crew, but they're knocking it out of the park,” said Barber. “Thanks to the CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series. This is an awesome series. The speed these cars achieve for the cost value is amazing. It's all about tire management with the new surface out here at my home track. There have been a lot of changes to the car this weekend, I'm glad we've managed to keep it together. We're still kind of chasing it, and we haven't had a session where we don't change a bunch of things, but it worked out.”

CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series Top Five:
1. Tim Barber, No. 33 DIG Motorsports Ford Mustang
2. Michele Abbate, No. 30 GHOST/Nitro Motorsports Ford Mustang
3. Kyle Kelley, No. 80 PK+k Properties/UPRacing.com Ford Mustang
4. Troy Ermish, No. 38 Ermish Racing Ford Mustang
5. Tim Lynn, No. 71 RoofOptions Ford Mustang

CoolBoxx Coolest Move of the Race:
Kyle Kelley, No. 80 PK+k Properties/UPRacing.com Ford Mustang

GT:
David Hampton in the No. 14 AR Motorsports Porsche Cayman GT4 CS MR was able to stay far ahead of Kevin Michaels in the No. 98 Killer Shrimp Restaurant Chevrolet Corvette for much of the race, with Hampton starting 20th and Michaels starting 26th. However, both drivers worked their way through the field and were running 12th and 13th as the laps wound down. Unfortunately for Michaels, his Corvette lost its ABS in the final laps of the race, taking him out of contention and allowing Hampton to win his third race of the season on his birthday.

“Well, we affectionately call my car the Pesky Porsche for a reason,” said Hampton. “I try to make this thing go as fast as I can and to do all that I can. I’ve got to thank my team, the AR Motorsports guys, all the spotters, my wife that shows up diligently for me. She's so dedicated; it's awesome. This has just been a fantastic day. And the guys out there were awesome. I think everybody drove clean. There was a lot of stuff going on, but that's the way it goes. Just a fun day.”

GT Results:
1. David Hampton, No. 14 AR Motorsports Porsche Cayman GT4 CS MR
2. Kevin Michaels, No. 98 Killer Shrimp Restaurant Chevrolet Corvette

TA:
As the only TA-class car in today’s race, Steve Goldman in the No. 13 LIG Racing Chevrolet Corvette did not have much difficulty taking the checkered flag, but the fact that he took the green flag was, in itself, an accomplishment. After losing his transmission in testing, Goldman missed practice and qualifying while he and his team worked through the night and morning to be able to start today’s event. Beginning the race in the last position, Goldman worked his way up to 17th overall to claim his second TA win of the season.

“First of all, huge thanks to Connor, John, and Tim,” said Goldman atop the podium. “We pulled the better part of an all-nighter fixing the transmission because we had a dog here that blew up. Luckily, we had some parts. Just being out there was quite an accomplishment, so I don't feel that bad being on the podium alone. Big shout-out to the quality of all these drivers; best field I've ever been a part of. Just really impressive, all the drivers and all the crews. Thanks for letting me run with you guys. Another shout-out to all the folks at Trans Am. Ben [Cissell] and everybody who just does such a great job. Look at this location and this weather; what more can you ask for? Lastly, I just want to thank all my Bay Area friends and family that came out and are flying the LIG Racing Colors. Thank you all very much. I appreciate it.”

TA Results:
1. Steve Goldman, No. 13 LIG Racing Chevrolet Corvette

Final Details:
Full race results can be found here.

Race 2 of the Sonoma SpeedTour is tomorrow at 11:20 a.m. PT. Teams will have the opportunity to practice from 8:10-8:35 a.m. PT and the starting grid will be set by fastest times in Race 1.