Trans Am Series Western Championship Preview: WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca 2024
May 1, 2024
Mission Foods Laguna Seca SpeedTour
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Track Facts:
Opened: 1957
Length: 2.238 Miles
Layout: 11-Turn Road Course
Entry List: View
Practice:
Friday, May 3
9:45-10:10 a.m. PT
Sunday, May 5
9:15-9:40 a.m. PT
Qualifying:
Friday, May 3
3:50-4:15 p.m. PT
Races:
Race 1
Saturday, May 4
12:30-1:45 p.m. PT
Race Length: 45 Laps/75 Minutes
Race 2
Sunday, May 5
11:20 a.m.-12:35 p.m. PT
Race Length: 45 Laps/75 Minutes
Living La Vida Laguna
The Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli’s Western Championship heads to WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca for the Mission Foods Laguna Seca SpeedTour, the third and final California doubleheader on the 2024 schedule.
Event title sponsor Mission Foods will be on site all weekend with product samples, including their Racing Style Tortilla Chips, and Saturday’s Trans Am race will be presided over by Mission Foods CEO Juan Gonzalez, who will give the command to start engines.
On Sunday, May 5, fans and competitors alike will be able to celebrate Cinco de Mayo with performances by the Alisal High School Folklórico Dance Group. The students will also be giving the command to start engines prior to Sunday’s green flag.
Past and Present
In addition to seeing 24 present-day Trans Am cars battling it out on the racetrack in Saturday and Sunday’s doubleheader races, fans of the series can also enjoy racing by Historic Trans Am, which is the featured marque at this weekend’s event. The field consists of original racecars which competed in the series between 1966 and 1972, all restored to their former glory.
LaPaglia on Top
Last year’s runner up in the CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series championship Michael LaPaglia currently leads the point standings in the class following a fantastic start to the 2024 season. The driver of the No. 31 Papini’s Garage/F.A.S.T. Auto/Howe Ford Mustang has a nine-point advantage over Tim Lynn in the No. 71 RoofOptions Ford Mustang following two second-place finishes (Thunderhill Raceway Park Race 1, Sonoma Raceway Race 2) and a victory in Thunderhill’s Race 2. While LaPaglia hopes to leave Laguna Seca atop the standings, he will have to stay ahead of Lynn, who has a 2021 victory at the Monterey County track. LaPaglia is the highest-finishing TA2 driver from the 2023 Laguna Seca race with a third-place result. Lynn finished directly behind him last year in fourth.
Troy Ermish Living the Dream
As a teenager, Troy Ermish remembers watching the Trans Am Series on television and thinking it was the coolest racing series in the world. “I remember saying then that I wanted to be a Trans Am driver,” he recalls. This weekend, Ermish is not only driving in Trans Am’s CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series in his No. 38 Ermish Racing Ford Mustang, but currently sits fourth in points after scoring three top-five finishes in four race starts this season.
Trans Am won’t be the only thing on Ermish’s mind at the Mission Foods Laguna Seca SpeedTour. The 2023 SVRA Professional Mechanic of the Year is also one of the top builders of Datsun 510 racecars in the B Sedan Series, a series which he now directs.
Laguna Locals
This weekend’s entry list tallies 13 drivers from the state of California. The drivers closest to the Monterrey area are Troy Ermish, Bob Accardo Jr., and Tim Lynn, who are all from within a few hours of the track.
XGT
Michelle Nagai, No. 72 Nagai Racing/Berkeley Jet Drive Chevrolet Camaro (Newcastle)
GT
Kevin Michaels, No. 98 Killer Shrimp Restaurant Chevrolet Corvette (Malibu)
TA2
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)
Past Laguna Winners
There are four drivers competing this weekend in the Mission Foods Laguna Seca SpeedTour who have tasted the thrill of victory at the Salinas track.
TA
Steve Goldman, No. 13 LIG Racing Chevrolet Corvette: 2021
XGT
Chris Evans, No. 92 Central Welding Supply Ford Mustang: 2022 (SGT)
TA2
JC Meynet, No. 28 B-Bar Ranch/Killer Shrimp Chevrolet Camaro: 2023 (GT)
Tim Lynn, No. 71 RoofOptions Ford Mustang: 2021
Trans Am Debut
This weekend, Caleb Shrader will be making his first-career Trans Am start in the No. 99 DIG Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro in the CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series. The Oregon native comes to Trans Am from SCCA, in which he has previously won at Laguna Seca, driving in Spec Racer Ford and Formula Enterprises. In addition to racing in Trans Am, this year Shrader will be competing in the ARCA Menards Series West and the SCCA Super Tour.
STANDINGS
TA
1. Steve Goldman (165)
2. Greg Pickett (115)
TA2z
1. Michael LaPaglia (350)
2. Tim Lynn (341)
3. Ken Sutherland (332)
4. Troy Ermish (327)
5. Tim Barber (314)
XGT
1. Michelle Nagai (355)
2. Tim Rankin (333)
3. Will Rodgers (286)
4. Rick Wright (250)
5. Chris Evans (237)
GT
1. David Hampton (220)
2. Kevin Michaels (110)
