Tony Ave set to return to driver’s seat for 2015 Trans Am Championship
February 18, 2015
Two-time TA Champion to ply trade in TA2 with Lamers Motor Racing
APPLETON, Wis. [February 18, 2015] - One of the modern Trans Am greats will be returning to the driver’s seat when the Trans Am Series takes to the track at The Foametix Trans Am 100 at Sebring International Raceway on Sunday, March 1st to kick off the 2015 Trans Am Championship.
After sitting out the majority of 2014 to oversee Tony Ave Racing and Doug Peterson’s title defense, Ave will now throw his hat into the ring among a record TA2 field, which he joins behind the wheel of the No. 70 Lamers Motor Racing Ford Mustang.
“Having Tony sitting on a pit box last season was a waste of talent,” said Denny Lamers, owner of Lamers Motor Racing. “His results as a team owner are fantastic, but I consider him one of the very best road racers in the country. Given that Tony has built over half the TA cars in the field it makes sense he doesn’t want to compete against his customers, I get that, but still I hope to see him behind the wheel of a TA class car in the future. However, for now David Jans (DJ) and I are proud to announce that Tony will be driving an all new Mike Cope TA2 Mustang for us in 2015.”
“I was looking for something to race in 2015,” said Ave. “I have a couple Sprint Cars in the shop that Greg Smyre drives, and I was pretty close to either building another one or doing a Dirt Late Model, when Denny and DJ came up with the idea of running in TA2. It's going to be challenging given the responsibilities I already have on the Trans Am weekends, but I love the 100 mile single driver format, and while I will miss the speed and performance of the TA class, the competition in TA2 is going to be incredible. And that’s really all I'm looking for. I will not even see the car I'm driving until I get to Sebring, but hopefully with a little luck we will be able to score some points and get off on the right foot.”
Tony Ave’s Trans Am résumé speaks for itself. The two-time TA Champion has accumulated 74 Trans Am starts since his debut in 1994, from those Ave has accumulated 16 wins, 39 top-five finishes, and 50 top-ten finishes. Ave claimed the Trans Am Championship in 2010 and 2011.
In addition, Ave currently sits 11th on the all time wins list with 16, third on the list of all time fast qualifiers with 28 poles, and holds the record for consecutive poles at 15.
Lamers Motor Racing will field four cars throughout most of 2015 with perennial contender Cliff Ebben and team owner Denny Lamers in the TA class, and Joe Ebben and Ave competing in the TA2 class.
About:
The Trans Am Series, America’s Road Racing Series, began igniting the passion of motorsports fans across the world in 1966 and has been home to some of the greatest names in road racing. Today, Trans Am continues to honor its legacy, while challenging the status quo in racing, through meaningful racing platforms and a driver-oriented focus. The Trans Am Series is operated by The Trans Am Race Company, LLC (TARC), through a five-year agreement in which TARC oversees the management and marketing of the Trans Am Series. SCCA Pro Racing sanctions Trans Am events and provides operations services to the Series.
Defending Champions include: Doug Peterson (TA), Cameron Lawrence (TA2), Ernie Francis, Jr., (TA3 American Muscle) and Jason Berkeley (TA3 International).
For more on the Trans Am Series visit www.gotransam.com, “like” Trans Am on Facebook at www.facebook.com/gotransam, or follow Trans Am on Twitter at @gotransam.
