From announcing new brands being eligible for Trans Am presented by Pirelli’s growing production-based classes (SGT and GT), to having several cars on display at prominent locations and having a strong driver and team representative presence at the show, the Trans Am Series is making a huge splash at the 32nd annual Performance Racing Industry trade show.
The PRI Trade Show, held in Indianapolis Dec. 12-14, is the epicenter of new racing technology with 1,100 exhibiting companies, and with more than 20 Trans Am partners promoting its program, the Trans Am Series footprint at the show is one of the largest in recent years.
The Trans Am Race Company is sharing booth space with SVRA, located in the Aisle 7000 Corridor near the PRI Service Desk and adjacent to the “Yellow” Hall. Trans Am Race Company’s John Clagett (President), Aaron Coalwell (Series Technical Director) and Ricky Brooks (TA2 Technical Director) are in attendance to answer any questions regarding the 2020 season.
Stevens-Miller Racing (SMR) brought Trans Am’s TA2 ® presented by AEM category to the forefront of PRI with cars and equipment featured in the Sunoco Fuels, PREFIX, Liqui Moly and Howe Racing Enterprises exhibits.
“PRI is extremely important to the racing industry — from Formula 1 to Karting — it’s all here,” SMR Owner Joe Stevens said. “Our chassis builder, engine builder, component suppliers, as well as the fuel and lubricants we use in our SMR cars, are exhibitors, and for the last two years we’ve done everything we can to support both them and Trans Am at this show. We were thrilled to have been asked by Trans Am’s fuel supplier Sunoco (booth 325) to have a car in their exhibit. We did a special one-off wrap on our 2019 Howe Camaro that uses our sponsor Berryman Products unique component graphic. It’s come out really cool and will be a real show-stopper for sure.
“Liqui Moly is attending for the first time (booth 6000) and will be distributing their 2020 calendars featuring our No. 77 Liqui Moly Mustang that finished second in the 2019 championship, driven by Dillon Machavern,” Stevens continued. “PREFIX will be making their second appearance at PRI (booth 3260) and will be featuring their TA2 CHOICE engines. Howe Racing Enterprises is in their 35th year of participating at PRI (booth 5049) and will have their new 2020 TA2 Camaro on display.
“As a team, we know how important it is to support our sponsors and we know how important it is to support The Trans Am presented by Pirelli and TA2 powered by AEM. With the announcement of 10 of the 13 rounds being live-streamed in 2020, we and our sponsors are working hard to get the word out on what we consider to be the best bang for the buck and the best competition in American Road Racing.”
On Thursday, the Trans Am Series revealed a new option for the 2020 Super GT class with Ligier Automotive North America. The new Ligier JS2 R had a successful maiden season in Europe in 2019 and will make the transition to North America to run alongside Lamborghini, Porsche, Ford, Chevrolet and other strong racing brands in SGT.
“We are excited to bring this latest Ligier GT car to North America and the Trans-Am series”, said Max Crawford, President of Ligier Automotive North America. We are confident the Ligier JS2 R will be a strong performer in the SGT class. If you want to showcase your brand, you race in Trans Am. We can’t wait to see our Ligier JS2 R in action in 2020.”
The new addition to the field represents the latest example of a focused push by the Trans Am Series to make the category more attainable for new teams and drivers, and a continued effort to grow the SGT grid. The entire package, which includes a set of Pirelli tires and spec Ford engine, is set at $112,000.
“Since Trans Am first launched the initiative to grow the category to include production-based race cars, we’ve seen fantastic growth in our SGT Class and anticipate that to continue,” said Trans Am Company President John Clagett. “SGT seems to have struck a positive chord with a lot of racers, as there is a wide range of eligible cars that can race with Trans Am now. Having Ligier join that group is yet another great option for our drivers and teams to consider, and we are thrilled/excited to continue to grow this part of the Trans Am paddock.”
Adam Andretti’s Circuit of the Americas race-winning Poncho Weaver Dodge Challenger is also on display in the SRI Performance booth (1841).
The PRI Show is an annual must-go-to tradition for many Trans Am competitors. It’s a great place to see all the new offerings from hundreds of motorsports vendors serving the road racing sector. Many Trans Am partners have booths at the show:
Booth Partner
325 Sunoco Race Fuels
811 Wilwood Disc Brakes
1041 Pro-System Inc.
1301 Tilton Engineering
1401 Intercomp
1438 COOLSHIRT Systems
1625 Penske Racing Shocks
1645 Quarter Master
1925 Ford Performance
2101 AEM Perf. Electronics
2425 Five Star Bodies
2606 Katech, Inc.
2715 ACP & Stahl Headers
2809 Marwin Sports
3260 Prefix Corp.
3710 EMCO Gears
4601 BBS
4926 Speedcom
5049 Howe Racing Ent.
7014 SVRA / Trans Am
7186 SCCA
Fans can keep up with the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli at the PRI Show by following the series Instagram Story hosted by TA2 ® West Coast driver Michele Abbate at @gotransam.
About Me: Adam has been a race fan since the first time he went through the tunnel under the Daytona International Speedway almost 30 years ago. He has had the privilege of travelling to races all across the state of Florida (as well as one race in Ohio), watching nearly everything with a motor compete for fame and glory, as well as participating in various racing schools to get the feel of what racecar drivers go through every week. Adam has spent the last three years covering motorsports for Examiner.com., where he had the opportunity to see the racing world from behind the scenes as well as the grandstands. He invites everyone to follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and Google Plus, and looks forward to sharing his enthusiasm for all things racing with the readers of SpeedwayDigest.com.Be sure to tune in for his weekly sports talk program, Thursday Night Thunder, where he discusses the latest in motorsports news with drivers, crew members, and fans. The show takes place every Thursday at 8:00 pm EST on the Speedway Digest Radio Network.
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