The Trans-Am Series presented by Pirelli is a sports car racing series held in North America. Founded in 1966, it is sanctioned by the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA). Primarily based in the United States, the series competes on a variety of track types including road courses and street circuits. Trans-Am is split into the TA and TA2 classes for silhouette racing cars, while its production classes are the GT (grand touring), SGT (super grand touring), and XGT (extreme grand touring).
It was known as the CRC Chemicals Trans-Am Championship (1981–1983), the SCCA Budweiser Trans-Am Championship (1983–1984), the SCCA Bendix Brakes Trans-Am Championship (1985–1987), the SCCA Escort Trans-Am Series (1988) the SCCA Liquid Tide Trans-Am Tour (1991), the SCCA Tide Trans-Am Tour (1992), the NTB Trans-Am Series (1998), the BFGoodrich Trans-Am Series (1999–2000), the Trans-Am Series for the BFGoodrich Cup (2001–2002), the Motorock Trans-Am Tour for the BFGoodrich Cup (2003), the Motorock Trans-Am Series (2004), and the Muscle Milk SCCA Trans-Am Series (2009).
The Trans-Am Series was created in 1966 by Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) President John Bishop. Originally known as the Trans-American Sedan Championship, the name was changed to the Trans-American Championship for 1967 and henceforth.[1] The series has in fact gone by at least twenty different names through the years. Some were linked to sponsors, some not.[2] It has evolved over time from its original format as a Manufacturers' Championship series for modified passenger sedans and coupés to its current form as a Drivers' / Manufacturers' Championship Series that is open to GT style racecars. Champion drivers have been officially recognized, and Drivers' Championships awarded since the 1972 season.[3] The series was cancelled after 2006 but was revived in 2009, using SCCA GT-1 based cars.[4]
Over the years, the series has raced on a variety of different types of race tracks (Permanent and temporary road courses / street circuits / airport circuits) all over the country, as well as at venues in Canada, Mexico, and even San Juan, Puerto Rico in 2003. Since 2015, Trans Am has been a national series (Continental U.S. only), racing at tracks primarily throughout the East Coast, South, and Midwest. In 2017, the new stand-alone West Coast Championship was added to the Trans-Am Series. Currently, there are six races on the schedule, two of which are joint, or "shared" races with the national Championship series, in which drivers from both championship series race together in the same races, but only earn points in the championship series that they are entered in. The Trans Am series also awards the Northern Cup and Southern Cup which give points in certain races of the national series for competitors who do not run the full season.
Current series format
Tire suppliers and presenting sponsor
In 2017, Pirelli became the exclusive tire supplier (replacing Hoosier Racing Tire) and presenting sponsor for the Trans Am Series, and all classes use Pirelli P ZERO radial ply racing slicks.[5] The change from bias ply tires to Pirelli P ZERO radial tires has been very well received, and has resulted in faster average speeds and improved lap times in all four classes.[6]
Schedules
In late 2016, the Trans Am Race Company (TARC) announced that after a long absence, the Trans Am Series would return to the West Coast with the 2017 Trans Am West Coast Championship, partnering with the Sportscar Vintage Racing Association (SVRA).[7] The West Coast Championship Series consists of a separate 3 race competition, plus one round that is shared with the Trans Am Championship Series at Circuit of the Americas. (3 permanent road courses / 1 temporary road course)
For 2017, the schedule was reorganized, with five race venues (Homestead-Miami Speedway, Road Atlanta, Watkins Glen, Virginia International Raceway, and New Jersey Motorsports Park) receiving new dates, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway being added, and Louisiana's NOLA Motorsports Park being dropped.
For 2018, the Brainerd, MN and New Jersey Motorsports Park races were dropped, and a race at the Pittsburgh International Race Complex was added for the TA, TA3, and TA4 classes only. There are now 12 race venues on the Trans Am ChampionshipSeries schedule (8 permanent road courses / 3 temporary road courses / 1 temporary street circuit), with the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear race[8] being open to TA2 class cars only. There are actually 13 actual races on the schedule, as the TA2 cars race twice in Detroit.
For 2018, the West Coast Championship's race at Willow Springs, CA was dropped, Sonoma, CA was added, and a shared race at INDY was added, expanding their series to a separate 3 round competition, plus two shared races (3 permanent road courses / 2 temporary road courses).
The schedule for 2019 continues to be 12 races long (including two "shared events" with the West Coast Championship Series), but the mid-April Homestead, Florida race date changes to an early May event at Weathertech Raceway, Laguna Seca, California—the first time the series has raced there since 2004. The early August Pittsburgh race was also dropped, having been replaced by the Memorial Day Motorsports Festival at Connecticut's Lime Rock Park, the first time the series will have raced there in three years, and it will be the thirtieth time overall. Additionally, the Indianapolis race weekend moves from mid-June to early August, and the "shared" Circuit of the Americas (COTA) race weekend moves from early November back to early October. The Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear moves from early June to May 31—June 2, just four days after the event at Lime Rock Park ends. The season finale at Daytona International Speedway moves up one week to mid-November.
On the 2019 West Coast Championship schedule, the season is one race longer (6), and opens a couple of weeks earlier at Willows, California's Thunderhill Raceway Park. The shared event at Laguna Seca takes place in early May, with Sonoma moving from early June to mid-June, replacing the shared event at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The shared event at Circuit of the Americas (CoTA) moves from early November to early October.
For 2020, the season finale at Daytona was dropped due to unresolvable scheduling conflicts, and after a two-year absence, the race at Brainerd, Minnesota was reinstated to honor the late Jed Copham, the track's co-owner and part time Trans Am Series driver. The season's grand finale in both series will now be the shared event at Circuit Of The Americas (CoTA), with that race being moved from October to November. The Indianapolis race is the only event that is open to all competitors who are registered to race in the Trans Am Championship series, or either of the regional sub-championship series. In the West Coast Championship series, the season will start one month earlier (mid-March) at Sonoma Raceway, which will for the first time ever also hold a second race in late August to make up for the Auto Club Speedway race being dropped. Other than this and minor reordering, the schedule remains at six races, with Laguna Seca as the other shared event with both series racing together.
On March 17, 2020, the Road Atlanta round was forced to be postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak. This was the start of a series of postponements and cancellations that lead to a revised schedule being announced on April 7, 2020. In this schedule, the Detroit round was dropped reducing the series to an 11-round championship. Unfortunately the planned restart of the series at Indianapolis Motor Speedway was also postponed with a new date for the track still to be determined and the series resuming at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course instead. The rounds at Watkins Glen and Lime Rock Park were the final casualties of the outbreak with late cancellations leading to double headers at Virginia International Raceway and Road Atlanta.
In 2021, for the first time since 2017, the series will return to Homestead-Miami Speedway. Trans-Am will also be having its first ever race at the newly renovated Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval and a TA2-only round at the inaugural running of the Music City Grand Prix on the streets of Nashville. No double-headers are scheduled to return following their appearances in 2020; however, all tracks that were featured on the preliminary 2020 calendar are scheduled for 2021 as well. For the first time in series history, Trans-Am instituted a drop-round system where competitors can choose to drop their two worst round results including non-appearances that took place before August 1.
Car classifications
Tube-frame / silhouette body
TA
Vinnie Allegretta's Chevrolet Corvette C7
TA class cars are high-performance Grand Touring race cars with a tubular chassis and a Cadillac CTS-V, Chevrolet Camaro (Gen 6), Dodge Challenger (Gen 3), or Ford Mustang (Gen 6) full-scale replica body built by Advanced Composite Products or Derhaag Motorsports. All body types are eligible from the first year of production of the street car to five years after production ends. After each body model's full eligibility ends, each body will be partially eligible for an additional five years, and may be used in up to five races per year of eligibility. Cars may use a single-element rear wing. (Older body styles may continue to be used in the West Coast Championship, Northern Regional Cup, and Southern Regional Cup for an additional 10-years after partial-eligibility for the National Championship has ended. Cars using a Trans Am approved body model with bodies from alternate manufacturers that are approved to run in the SCCA Club GT1 class may be approved to run in the West Coast Championship, Northern Regional Cup, or Southern Regional Cup on a case-by-case basis.)
Power comes from overhead valve (two per cylinder), pushrod, naturally aspirated, carbureted (single 4-barrel) 366 cubic inch (5.99 L) V8 engines producing 850+ horsepower.[9][10] The minimum base weight is 2,780 pounds. Current rules[11] allow for the use of leaded gasoline, whereas all other classes except XGT must use unleaded gas. Automatic transmissions are prohibited, and manual transmissions must have no more than five forward gear ratios, as well as a functional reverse gear. Sequential shifting transmissions are permitted, as well as commercially available No-Lift Shift (NLS) systems, and also "auto-blip" RPM matching systems for downshifting. Traction Control systems or devices that function independently of the driver are strictly prohibited, as is ABS (Anti-skid Braking System).
TA2
Cameron Lawrence gave Dodge its first ever Trans Am Series Championship in 2014
TA2 class rules specify a tubular chassis built by Howe Racing Enterprises, Mike Cope Racing, M-1 Motorsports, or Meissen Enterprises, and a Chevrolet Camaro (Gen 5 & 6), Ford Mustang (Gen 5 & 6) or Dodge Challenger (Gen 3) body (full-scale replica) built by either Five Star Racing Race Car Bodies[12] (Gen 6 Camaros / Mustangs), or Howe Racing Enterprises (all other eligible cars). The minimum base weight (including driver and any driver gear) for all cars is 2,830 pounds. The costs of shock absorbers, brake calipers & pads, and wheels are controlled, and no titanium or carbon fiber components are allowed. Only the driver's seat and Derhaag single plane rear wing may be constructed using carbon fiber. TA2 is currently Trans Am's most popular class among competitors and has been exported internationally to Europe, Asia and Australia.
TA2 engines are similar to TA engines, except that they must be supplied by a Trans Am Approved and Certified Engine Builder/Rebuilder, and use fuel injection rather than a carburetor, as well as a Trans Am certified inlet restrictor plate, as maximum power is limited to 490 HP and 447 lb-ft of torque. Engines must comply with all TA2 engine regulations, and are sealed by the builder/rebuilder. As per current rules, "Nothing may direct or force air to the filter or housing." Transmissions must be commercially available, "H pattern" manual units with four forward gear ratios (1:1 fourth gear ratio, and no overdrive) and a reverse gear. Sequential shift mechanisms are not allowed, nor are shift-without-lift mechanisms. Traction Control devices or systems that function independently of the driver are strictly prohibited, as is ABS (Anti-skid Braking System).
Production based
XGT
New for 2020, the Xtreme Grand Touring (XGT) class will be used for former FIAGroup GT3 cars whose homologation has expired under SRO and FIA regulations. During the 2019 Indianapolis Motor Speedway round, an Audi R8 whose GT3 homologation had expired was placed in the SGT class. After Trans Am Series officials and owners of former GT3 cars that could not be raced in a GT3 series following the expiration of the car's GT3 homologation had discussions, the series' officials announced that for the 2020 season, the "Xtreme Grand Touring" class will be part of the series. All original period-correct GT3 specifications will be enforced, and the series intends for 2016 and earlier cars that have had expired homologations to participate.[13]
SGT
Cars such as this Porsche 991.2 are strong competitors in the SGT class
This class is intended to be a place for "... sports cars, grand touring cars, performance coupes, and performance sedans, all with their varying engines and drivetrain layouts..." to race. Unlike GT class cars, the current rules allow them to compete at a higher level of vehicle preparation. Some engines are required to have restrictor plates, for the purpose of equalizing performance.[14] SGT class cars must be of a number of different specified domestic or foreign makes, models, and year of manufacture, from American "muscle cars", such as Chevy Corvettes and Camaros, Dodge Challengers and Vipers, and Ford Mustangs to European exotics like Aston Martins, Ferraris, Ginettas, Ligiers, McLarens, Mercedes-AMGs, Lamborghinis, Maseratis, Panozes, and Porsches, as well as Asian exotics, such as Acura NSXs. Eligible cars up to fifteen years old will now be able to race in the series, and for five years after that, partially eligible cars will be able to race in up to six races per year of eligibility. Standard body appearance must be maintained, including the OEM grille and badge. Aftermarket or OEM rear wings are allowed. As with GT, Tube frames are not allowed, but roll cages are mandatory. Minimum Vehicle Base Weights may be changed for the same purpose.
GT
2017 Champion Brian Kleeman's 2018 Ford Mustang
This class complies more with the classic Trans Am standards of "the glory era", and is the entry-level class of the three production-based classes within the Trans Am Series. "All vehicles must be production based, whether mass-production or limited-production, or a "kit car" that matches the look and performance of the GT class, and is available to the general public" (including 'track specific' models),[15] such as Ford Mustangs, Chevrolet Camaros, Dodge Vipers, Nissan 350Zs, Porsche Caymans, or Mercedes-AMGs, and many more. The class is intended to be a competition between late model, nearly stock, high-performance cars, and as the introductory level for Trans Am Series beginners to start racing. As with the SGT class, there is a fifteen-year period of full eligibility, and a five-year period of partial eligibility for eligible makes and models where a maximum of six races may be run. OEM rear spoilers/wings may be used. As with SGT, some engines are required to have approved restrictor plates, for the purpose of equalizing performance.[14] Minimum Vehicle Base Weights are adjusted depending on optional components used.
Championships and awards
Originally, Manufacturers' Championship points were awarded in all classes to the top 6 finishing positions of each make of car: 9-6-4-3-2-1. Beginning in 1972, the SCCA instituted a Drivers' Championship that would be based on overall finishing position from 1st through 10th places: 20-15-12-10-8-6-4-3-2-1. Beginning in 1990, the top 25 finishers were awarded points as follows: 30-27-25-23-21-19-18-17-16-15-14-13-12-11-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1-1.
Currently, Manufacturers' Championship points are earned in exactly the same manner as they were originally. (*Vehicles must be classified as finishers to score Manufacturers' points.) Final point standings ties will be decided by which manufacturer has more wins, second-place finishes, etc., as necessary to determine the winner.
Series Champions in each of the four competition classes are determined based on points accumulated during the season. Drivers' Championship points are awarded as follows: At each race, after Qualifying has been completed, 3 points are awarded to the First Qualifier, 2 to the Second Qualifier, and 1 to the Third Qualifier. The top 24 finishers in each class, at each race are awarded points as follows: 30-27-25-23-21-20-19-18-17-16-15-14-13-12-11-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2. All other finishers are awarded 1 point, provided the driver is classified as a starter. After the first green flag lap of a race, 1 point is awarded to any driver leading a lap in class, as well as 1 point for leading the most laps in class for each race. "In the event qualifying was not held due to any reason, Drivers Championship points will not be awarded." (A driver must be classified as a starter to score Championship points.)
The West Coast Championship Series operates just like the national championship. Points earned at shared events only count toward the series that the driver / team is currently entered in. If a race counts toward more than one championship series, a driver wishing to earn points for more than one championship must formally enter each series.
After the results of each race are "final", the COOLSHIRT Systems "Cool Move of the Race" Award (If applicable, it is given to the outstanding driver of the race, and the "move" could also be a 'move up through the field'.), pitboxes.com Crew Award, and Traq Gear Crew Chief Award are given out.
Series Champions are awarded the brand new for 2017 Trigon Trophy (sponsored by 3-Dimensional Services Group, and custom designed by longtime partner Crystal Sensations).[16] According to The Trans Am Race Company, LLC President John Claggett, "The base is shaped as a "D"... The crystal is essentially 3 sided... thus... the Trigon Trophy reflects the sponsorship. And yes... They are beautiful." The Trans Am Series' traditional colors are red and black, and Pirelli's color is yellow, with The Trigon Trophies incorporating those design elements.
2018 introduced the Northern Cup and Southern Cup Regional sub-championships for teams that either do not wish to, or cannot run the entire race schedule, and have run a limited number of races in the past. There are very specific requirements for entry into the regional championships, as they are intended to allow drivers to try competing in the series before committing to running the full schedule of events. A driver / team may earn points in one or both championship series, or either the Northern or Southern Cup sub-championship series, but not in both a sub-championship series and also a championship series.
Also new for 2018 is the Master's Championship, which is intended to recognize drivers still actively competing on the racetrack who are over 65 years of age. Again, the points schedule for driver's championship points will be used. The highest finishing Master's Championship driver in each class will be recognized during the podium ceremony after each race. At the end of the year, the top three Master's Championship drivers in each regional series will be recognized at the series awards banquet.
Rookie of the Year winners in each class are also determined by points accumulated during the season.
New for 2018 is the Trans Am Team Championship, with points being awarded to each car/car number. Multiple drivers may compete in the same car / car number in order to earn points towards the Team Championship. The number of points earned follows the same methodology as in the Driver's Championship (according to finishing position), but as the rule book states, "In addition to the points earned on-track, teams will be judged by several factors that embody a professional team and help promote, and improve, the Series".
For the 2021 season, the Trans Am Series in partnership with the Sports Car Club of America created the Pro/Am Challenge.[17] The Pro/Am Challenge allows SCCA drivers to compete in Trans Am using the 2021 SCCA road racing rulebook for their cars, making the transition back and forth between the SCCA Road Racing program and Trans Am much easier. This secondary championship is open to all five Trans Am classes and the primary SCCA classes that fit into these Trans Am classes are GT1, GT2, GTX, T1, T2, T3 and STO. The various cars are balanced into the correct Trans Am class with minor weight and restrictor changes. The Pro/Am Challenge requires competitors to compete in the two specific Pro/Am Challenge rounds and pick four other Trans Am Series or West Coast Trans Am Series races in which they will earn points. Points are awarded using the same system as the main Trans Am Series championship.
*See current rule book for complete information on all Trans Am Series rules and regulations.
NOTE: In 1980, the Sports Car Club of America retroactively named an overall drivers' championships for all pre-1972 seasons, using the points system of the time to calculate drivers' championships. The SCCA and the Trans-Am Series now recognise these drivers as series champions. [27]
The Trans-Am Series has used tube-frame / silhouette cars, similar to the original IMSA GT Series, since the early 1980s, with heavy emphasis on GT cars. The SCCA Pro Racing World Challenge and Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge racing series, run by the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA), and the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA), respectively, utilize modified production-based cars, sports cars, and touring cars, similar in spirit to the Trans-Am Series since the 1980s. With the rise of these other series, Trans-Am saw decreased attention from the media, however, Speedvision did occasionally cover Trans-Am races.
Trans-Am an international series outside USA, Trans Am Australia.[28]
Current season
