The last time Trans Am’s National Championship series took on the twisting asphalt of WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca was in 2022. On that day, Chris Dyson hoisted the TA trophy while Mike Skeen topped the 45-car TA2 field.
Both drivers are back as teams from the National series once again join the Western Championship. The 550-horsepower TA2 class runs on Saturday, with the unchained, 850-horsepower beasts of the TA class taking the green flag on Sunday.
A Ford vs. Chevy points battle is shaping up in TA. But perhaps the most intriguing storyline is in TA2, where Nitro Motorsports and its stable of talented future stars are making things difficult, even for veteran drivers.
“I expect that there will be five to seven cars that will challenge me – including my teammates,” 19-year-old Thomas Annunziata says with a confidence born not of youth, but results. “I think I can win it.”
Annunziata, driver of the no. 90 Toyota Camry, won the first two races. Last week a mechanical problem dropped him from contention, but no matter. Brent Crews – only 17 and already a TA2 champion – hopped in the no. 10 Mobil 1 Camry prepared by Nitro and led every lap at rain-soaked Sonoma.
Mia Lovell, a high school senior from Phoenix, started last at Road Atlanta thanks to an accident during qualifying. In the backup car, she tore through the field to finish 10th. At Sonoma, Lovell – who is racing in both the National and Western series – scored a podium in the latter driving the no. 40 Camry. Her pace was good enough for eighth on the National board, just behind teammates Julian DaCosta and Sam Corry, both 17.
“I’m with an excellent team,” she says. “There’s so much knowledge. We can look at [each other’s] data.”
Most have been racing since as early as 4 years old. But Lovell has been a professional driver for just three years.
Annunziata says Laguna Seca’s off-camber corners and narrow racing line test any driver. “It’s very easy to miss your marks,” he adds. “If you miss your marks, you’ll lose two-tenths.”
As for the famous Corkscrew, “It’s tricky,” Lovell observes. “You are looking at the trees to see where you are going. You have to shut up and go.”
MISSION FOODS LAGUNA SECA SPEED TOUR, Friday-Sunday, May 2-4. WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, 1021 Highway 68, Salinas. $15-$35; packages available. 242-8200, weathertechraceway.com
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