Practice and qualifying are in the books for the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli Western Championship event at Thunderhill Raceway Park. For the second year in a row, Roy Fulmer IV won the Big Machine Vodka SPIKED Coolers TA2 Series pole with a blistering lap, laying down a time of 1:45.459 in his No. 86 Fulmer’s Auto Body/Caulk Lok Chevrolet Camaro. After winning the pole in 2022, Fulmer went on to dominate in the race, winning in his first-career Trans Am start.
“Qualifying was great; Dad got the car set up really well, and all I had to do is go out there and throw down some quick laps,” said Fulmer after qualifying. “This is definitely one of my favorite tracks. I’ve run hours and hours here. I’m actually the youngest ever to run the 25 Hours of Thunderhill at just 13 years old. I did the 25 Hours four or five years in a row, so I have tons of track time here. I love running this track in the TA2 car, I would definitely recommend this car to anyone. I hope one day the Western series can be as big as the National series.”
JC Meynet, who makes his first ever Trans Am start this weekend, was the fastest of the GT cars in his No. 28 Killer Shrimp Racing Corvette.
“Qualifying right now was my first time ever running the Pirelli slicks; I didn’t know how they were going to work, and they were great,” said Meynet. “It took until the end of the third lap before I could let myself forget about them, but by the fourth lap, they were working good and I knocked some good times down. I know I could have gone even faster if I leaned on them harder, but I didn’t want to take too much of a risk. This is my first time in Trans Am, but I’ve been racing my whole life in one thing or another. Hopefully tomorrow I can get away from the other GT cars and then manage the gap; we should be able to do that.”
TA2 Qualifying Top Five:
1. Roy Fulmer IV, No. 86 Fulmer’s Auto Body/Caulk Lok Chevrolet Camaro (1:45.459)
2. Michael LaPaglia, No. 31 Papini’s Garage/F.A.S.T. Auto Ford Mustang (1:48.152)
3. Greg Tolson, No. 38 GT Auto Lounge Chevrolet Camaro (1:48.505)
4. Tim Lynn, No. 17 RoofOptions Ford Mustang (1:48.719)
5. Tim Carroll, No. 46 Carroll Racing Development Dodge Challenger (1:49.549)
GT Qualifying:
1. JC Meynet, No. 28 Killer Shrimp Racing Chevrolet Corvette (1:50.060)
2. Xuanqian Wang, No. 22 AURALIC Racing McLaren 570S GT4 (1:53.175)
3. Kevin Michaels, No. 98 Killer Shrimp Restaurant Chevrolet Corvette (1:54.188)
4. David Hampton, No. 14 AR Motorsports Porsche Cayman GT4 CS (1:56.669)
TA Qualifying:
1. Steve Goldman, No. 13 LIG Racing Chevrolet Corvette (1:53.825)
Full official qualifying results can be found here.
TA2 Practice 1 Top Five:
1. Roy Fulmer IV, No. 86 Fulmer’s Auto Body/Caulk Lok Chevrolet Camaro (1:48.454)
2. Michael LaPaglia, No. 31 Papini’s Garage/F.A.S.T. Auto Ford Mustang (1:50.913)
3. Ricky Leigh, No. 09 1909 Gastropub Temecula, CA Chevrolet Camaro (1:51.162)
4. Tim Carroll, No. 46 Carroll Racing Development Dodge Challenger (1:51.251)
5. Tim Lynn, No. 17 RoofOptions Ford Mustang (1:51.252)
GT Practice 1:
1. Xuanqian Wang, No. 22 AURALIC Racing McLaren 570S GT4 (1:56.103)
2. David Hampton, No. 14 AR Motorsports Porsche Cayman GT4 CS (2:00.185)
Full practice 1 results can be found here.
TA2 Practice 2:
1. Tim Carroll, No. 46 Carroll Racing Development Dodge Challenger (2:10.800)
GT Practice 2:
1. Xuanqian Wang, No. 22 AURALIC Racing McLaren 570S GT4 (2:06.421)
2. David Hampton, No. 14 AR Motorsports Porsche Cayman GT4 CS (2:07.798)
Due to rainy conditions, only three cars participated in Practice 2. The results sheet can be found here.
The race will be contested on Sunday, March 5 at 12:50 p.m. PT.
