Showtime Franklin Road Plan Three Car Assault on "America's Home for Racing"

March 17, 2022

Showtime Motorsports will head to Charlotte Motor Speedway this weekend, March 19 – 20, for Round 2 of the 2022 Trans Am presented by Pirelli Championship season. The Showtime Motorsports Franklin Road Apparel team will field prominent competitors in both the senior classes. The Tennessee based team have already notched a P3 and a P4 this season while both the professionalism and dedication of Ken Thwaits' outfit, and the quality and speed of the drivers Ken has picked, mean we can fully expect them to be near the top of the leaderboard again at the North Carolina track.

Spearheading the assault on the podium at the track known as "America's Home for Racing" in the TA Class are team principal Ken Thwaits and alongside him, former NASCAR driver Paul Menard. The two enjoyed differing fortunes the last day at Sebring where Ken made it onto the third step of the podium, but Paul's race was blighted by unfortunate mechanical issues.

The competition at the top end of Trans Am is always fierce but Showtime has been making steady inroads into the elite section of the Trans Am paddock and will be looking for another substantial points haul at Charlotte. We spoke to Ken ahead the trip out to North Carolina and he was very upbeat.

"We're taking three cars to Charlotte and we're looking forward to it," said Ken, who has made a considerable investment in Trans AM over the last few years, something paralleled by its resurgent status and growing interest.

"All three of us drivers - that's Paul, Cameron and myself - want to win and have the tools to do so. If we can't win, we want to be on the podium. None of us are strangers to success and now that the team is getting settled, we'd like to think we go there in good shape. Trans Am is a very tough environment, but you know what they say: When the going gets tough, the tough get going!"

Ken has also been in the headlines this week with the announcement that the popular comedian and broadcaster Adam Carolla will be driving for Franklin Road at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca next month, "It really is all systems go at the moment!"

Former TA2 Champion Cameron Lawrence will be behind the wheel of the No. 6 Franklin Road Apparel Chevrolet Camaro in TA2. Lawrence finished just off the podium in P4 in a huge field at Sebring and looks sure to be involved at the business end of the race again.

Paul Menard, driving the No. 5 Franklin Road Apparel Chevrolet Camaro and Ken, driving the No. 7 Franklin Road Apparel Camaro, will get their first taste of the track at 11:10 a.m. on Friday morning for testing with another session the same afternoon at 3:00 p.m. Official practice is at 11:10 a.m. on Saturday morning with qualifying at 3:25 p.m. that afternoon – all times are in Eastern. The TA Class race is at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, March 20. Qualifying for the TA2 Race is in two groups from 2:20 p.m. on Friday afternoon with the race at 12:40 p.m. on Saturday, March 19.

Charlotte Motor Speedway is a motorsport complex located in Concord, North Carolina, 13 miles outside Charlotte. The complex features a 1.5-mile quad oval track that is probably best known for hosting NASCAR racing, including the prestigious Coca-Cola 600 on Memorial Day weekend, and the Bank of America Roval 400.

The speedway itself is now 62 years old, having been built in 1959 by Bruton Smith. It is considered the home track for NASCAR with many race teams located in the Charlotte area. The track is owned and operated by Speedway Motorsports with Marcus G. Smith (son of Bruton) as track president.

This weekend’s races from the Charlotte ROVAL will air on CBS Sports Network the week following the event. TA/XGT/SGT/GT will air on Friday, March 25 at 7:30 p.m. ET, while TA2 will air on Saturday, March 26 at 2:30 p.m. ET. 

Billed as the Charlotte SpeedTour, fans can get tickets through this link:
https://speedtour.net/st/?lib=product&pid=631&cat=16

If unable to attend the racing in person, fans can watch all the action on the Trans Am Series channel here: https://youtube.com/c/TheTransAmSeries

Have a look at our team's partner and flagship clothing line and all our Franklin Road Apparel here: https://www.franklinroad.com/search/trans+am/

Visit the team’s website for Showtime Motorsports showtimemotorsports.net. Learn more about the Showtime Motorsports team partner, Road Apparel, at franklinroad.com and keep up to date with the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli at gotransam.com. #GoTransAm

Check out the Showtime Motorsports Facebook page: facebook.com/showtimemotorsp/ and @ShowtimeMotorsp on Instagram.

About Showtime Motorsports:

The Showtime Motorsports brand includes Ken Thwaits' racing team and racecars, and an outstanding classic Camaro collection. Showtime Motorsports brings together a dynamic staff who employ diverse talents and share a passion for cars, racing and caring for clients like they are our own family members.