Trans Am Series Western Championship Preview: Buttonwillow Raceway Park 2025
March 12, 2025
Buttonwillow SpeedTour
Track Facts:
Opened: 1995
Length: 2.64 Miles
Layout: 19-Turn Road Course
Entry List: View
Practice:
Saturday, March 15
10:40-11:15 a.m. PT
Qualifying:
Saturday, March 15
2:20-2:45 p.m. PT
Race:
Sunday, March 16
12:20-1:35 p.m. PT
Race Length: 38 Laps/75 Minutes
Welcome Back Western Championship
The Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli Western Championship kicks off the 2025 season at Buttonwillow Raceway Park with the Buttonwillow SpeedTour. This is the first time that Trans Am has ever visited Buttonwillow, which is located outside of Bakersfield, Calif. This weekend, 23 competitors will take on the track’s popular 2.64-mile CW14 course configuration.
TA Cup Making Debut
This weekend will see the official debut of the new TA Cup class. TA Cup utilizes high-performance spec tube-frame vehicles with silhouette bodies produced by Chris Evans Inc., owned by two-time Western Championship title winner Chris Evans, who will compete in the class himself this season. The 600 rear-wheel horsepower vehicles have been competing in the Western Championship’s XGT class since 2023, but with the growing number of current and prospective car owners, the cars are now being separated into their own class to allow for greater competition and differentiation between the single-builder cars and the production class. This weekend, the class has six entries:
Ken Thwaits, No. 9 Franklin Road Chevrolet Camaro
John Moore, No. 27 JM Environmental Ford Mustang
Michelle Nagai, No. 72 Nagai Racing/Berkeley Jet Drive Chevrolet Camaro
Ken Sutherland, No. 85 Kallberg Racing Dodge Challenger
Chris Evans, No. 92 Central Welding Supply/Pinnacle Alloys Ford Mustang
Derek Thorn, No. 08 DTR Marketing/Power Grade/PJR/CEI Ford Mustang
Ken Thwaits Returns to Competition
Ken Thwaits (No. 9 Franklin Road Chevrolet Camaro) returns to Trans Am competition this weekend following a two-year hiatus. The 2020 XGT title winner in the National Championship will be making his first-career start in the Western Championship in the new TA Cup class. Since making his last TA start in 2023, Thwaits has been heavily involved in the production of the Trans Am docuseries Road to Glory on MAVTV, which will feature episodes dedicated to Western Championship competition for the first time this season.
CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series Champions Return
Another driver returning to competition this weekend is 2023 CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series Western Championship title winner Brody Goble (No. 69 Brown Bros. Ford Lincoln Ford Mustang), who will be making his first start in the class since clinching his championship at Circuit of The Americas in November of 2023. The British Columbia, Canada native has five wins in two seasons of TA2 competition and comes into Buttonwillow with a new TeamSLR racecar.
The most recent TA2 champion, Michael LaPaglia (No. 31 Papini’s Garage/F.A.S.T. Auto/Howe Ford Mustang) also returns to the series to defend his 2024 title. LaPaglia earned his title on the strength of two victories last season and has amassed eight wins overall in the class.
Recent Buttonwillow Success
Just a few weeks ago, the SCCA Super Tour visited Buttonwillow Raceway Park, with one of the competitors in this weekend’s field finding success. CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series entrant Brad McAllister (No. 24 Periodontal Associates Ford Mustang) dominated the weekend, winning both races in the GT2 class.
Another TA2 driver with previous success at Buttonwillow is Caleb Shrader (No. 66 DIG Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro). Shrader, who is an SCCA Super Tour champion in SRF3, has won at the track in SRF3 and FE2.
Naake Motorsports Brings Stable to Buttonwillow
Naake Motorsports comes to Buttonwillow Raceway Park with a full stable of drivers, unloading four cars for this weekend’s event. The team will field Tim Lynn (No. 17 Roof Options Ford Mustang) and Cole Moore (No. 99 Moore Motorsport/JM Environmental Ford Mustang) in the CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series, and Cole’s father John Moore (No. 27 JM Environmental Ford Mustang) and Michelle Nagai (No. 72 Nagai Racing/Berkeley Jet Drive Chevrolet Camaro) in TA Cup. To prepare for the season opener, the team has undergone rigorous testing, both at the track and on the team’s in-house simulator.
National Competitors Come to California
For two competitors in this weekend’s event, Sunday will not be the first Trans Am race of the 2025 season. Barry Boes (No. 32 Accio Data/TRB Autosport Ford Mustang) and Mia Lovell (No. 40 Nitro Motorsports Ford Mustang) both started off their seasons at Sebring International Raceway a few weeks ago, competing in the season-opener of the National Championship. Boes, who won the Pro/Am Challenge championship last season, scored a runner-up finish in the class at Sebring, while Lovell finished 20th in the CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series following an early mechanical failure in her Trans Am debut. Both drivers will be competing in TA2 this weekend.
New Faces
The Western Championship will welcome several new competitors to the Trans Am Series paddock.
JD Koos (No. 12 Nicole Douglas Design Porsche GT3 Cup 991.1) will make his Trans Am debut this weekend in the XGT class. Koos comes to Trans Am from SCCA Majors, and has previously finished on the podium at Buttonwillow in both SCCA Majors and NASA.
TA2 driver Seamus McKendree (No. 20 Nitro Motorsports Ford Mustang) was the 2024 Vice Champion in the Lucas Oil Formula Car Race Series.
Simon Asselin joins the SGT class in his No. 81 Infillion Porsche 991.2 GT3 Cup.
Stein Frederic Akre (No. 98 TeamTrysil.com Chevrolet Camaro) comes to the CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series from Trysil, Norway.
Derek Thorn (No. 08 DTR Marketing/Power Grade/PJR/CEI Ford Mustang) is an experienced late model racer with 59 wins in the SLR Spears Southwest Tour Series and seven victories in the ARCA Menards Series West. He is making his debut in TA Cup.
Home Base
The Buttonwillow SpeedTour kicks off a three-race streak of Western Championship races in the state of California. Nearly half the field hails from the Golden State. Derek Thorn from nearby Bakersfield, Calif. is the most local of the 11 Californians.
CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series
Tim Lynn, No. 17 Roof Options Ford Mustang (Kentfield)
JC Meynet, No. 28 Me Myself and I Chevrolet Camaro (Woodland Hills)
Michael LaPaglia, No. 31 Papini’s Garage/F.A.S.T. Auto/Howe Ford Mustang (Murrieta)
Tim Carroll, No. 46 CRDMFG.com Chevrolet Camaro (Santa Ana)
Kyle Kelley, No. 80 UPR.com/PKK Motorsports Ford Mustang (Huntington Beach)
Viktor Czapla, No. 88 CoolBoxx Dodge Challenger (Agoura Hills)
Cole Moore, No. 99 Moore Motorsport/JM Environmental Ford Mustang (Orangevale)
TA Cup
John Moore, No. 27 JM Environmental Ford Mustang (Roseville)
Michelle Nagai, No. 72 Nagai Racing/Berkeley Jet Drive Chevrolet Camaro (Newcastle)
Derek Thorn, No. 08 DTR Marketing/Power Grade/PJR/CEI Ford Mustang (Bakersfield)
XGT
JD Koos, No. 12 Nicole Douglas Design Porsche GT3 Cup 991.1 (Murrieta)
Personal Celebrations
2023 GT champion JC Meynet is still looking for his first win since switching to the CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series last season, but he already has plenty of reasons to celebrate. Meynet’s son Charlie just graduated from Harvard’s MPA program. His other son, Daniel, was a top Supercross racer who suffered a traumatic brain injury, but has recovered and is beginning his MBA program.
