Racecar Engineering – September 2019

N

ostalgiamightnotquitebewhatit was,asthe

suitablyoldjokegoes,butinmotorsportthere’san

awfullotofit around,whichis partofthereason

whyhistoricracingis sopopularwithspectatorsand

competitorsalike.Butonequestionoftenariseswhenpeople

starttoponderonthereasonswhythey’resodrawntothepast,

andthatis;whycan’tracingbelikethisnow?Well,actuallyit

can.Andwhenit comestoTransAm,actuallyit is.

TransAmis a hugelyhistoricraceseriesinitsownright.

Foraround 50 years,withjusta coupleofdormantseasons

in 2007 and2008,it’sbroughtitsownbrandofmusclecar

racingtoNorthAmerica.Butarguablyrightnow– despitethe

lackoftheworksteamsthatwereoncea majorpartofthe

series– it is strongerthanever,witharound 70 competitors

spreadacrossfourclassesanda calendarthatfeaturessome

oftheUSA’smosticonicracetracks.

Presentandcorrect

JohnClagett,presidentandCEOoftheTransAmRaceCompany,

whichpromotestheseries,hasbeeninvolvedinTransAmsince

1984,exceptfora fewyearsworkinginChampCar,andsohas

a goodideaastowhyit’sthriving.‘OntheNorthAmerican

scenethere’sbeenmanyseriesthathavecomeandgone,but

TransAmis essentiallythelongeststandingprofessionalroad

racingseries,andit staysaround,’hesays.‘That’sbecauseit’s

whatAmericais about,toa certaindegree,andthat’sAmerican

muscle.Wehavea nichewherebasicallyweknowwhatwe

areandwedon’tgotoofarawayfromthoseroots.It seemsto

haveworked,butyoucan’tjusthavethat,you’vegottohavea

rulespackagethatfitsthenicheyou’regoingafter;a smartrules

packagethat’salsoanaffordablepackage.’

Thesedaysthatsmartrulespackagecatersforfourclasses,

TransAm(TA),TA2,GTSandGT.TAis theflagshipclass,featuring

openregulationsforspaceframesilhouetteracecarspacking,

andthisis thegoodbit,850bhpengines.‘Theyreallydosing

whenthey’reona racetrack,’saysClagett,oftheFordMustangs

andChevroletCorvettesthattypicallypopulatethisclass.

TAalsooffersopportunitiesforraceengineerstousetheir

skillsandflourish.‘It’snotunlimited,butit is waymorefree[than

othercategories],’saysClagett.‘So,if youwanttospendmoney

onbrakesorshocksorwhatever,thenyoucan.Andif youwant

tobuildyourownchassisfromthegroundup,youcan.Theonly

thingsthataremoreregulatedarethingslikethebodies;we

managetheapprovalprocessandhavecertainpeoplethatare

suppliersofbodies...Theotherfactorsthatwouldberegulated

byus,ofcourse,aretyres,RPMlevelsandthingslikethat.Butif

youwanttobringinyourownenginebuilder,youcan.’

YetwhileTAis whereallthetechnicalexcitementis at– and

alsothespending,thebudgetscango‘wayup’saysClagett–

it’sTA2thatattractsthemostentries,totheextentthatthisis

usuallyrunasa separateraceduringtheweekend.Butthisclass,

whichfeaturesthreetypicalmusclecarsintheshapeoftheFord

Mustang,DodgeChallengerandChevroletCamaro,is much

moretightlycontrolled.‘WeregulatealmosteverythinginTA2,’

Clagettsays.‘There’stwoprimarychassisbuilders,theengines

gothrougha homologationprocessand there are only a

handfulofenginebuildersthatareapproved [TA2 powerplants

are530bhp].Therearepricecapsona lot of the things like

shocksandbrakes,andsoit keepsthings in check.’

Allofwhichmakesit a greatsellfor competitors. ‘It does

havethedeepestfields,’Clagettsays.‘In my mind, and the

mindofmanyinmotorsport,TA2is the best bargain on the

professionalscenethatthereis.You’re buying a car at a little

over$100,000andthemaintenanceon them is very reasonable

andyoucandoa yearwithprobably$300,000 or less.’

Choicecuts

Oneareawherecostshavebeenescalating in TA2, though, is

withengines,especiallythepriceofrebuilds, and to combat this

TransAmhasnowdevelopeditsownpower unit, called the TA2

Choice.‘Wetookthatonasa challenge, to create an engine that

wouldbehalfprice,withrebuildsthat would be half of what

theyaretoday,’Clagettsays.‘Westarted that project a couple of

yearsagoandnowwe’veintroducedthe TA2 Choice engine, it

is nowoneoftheoptionsforcompetitors to buy. It’s basically

creatinga sustainableenginefuture... We’re always looking to

keepthingsasaffordableasmotorsports can be.’

BeyondthetwoTAcategoriesthe GT classes are more

familiar,forwhiletheycontainthemuscle cars that Trans Am is

famousforthereis alsoa smatteringof European GT machinery

fromthelikesofPorscheandFerrari,and the inevitable

performancebalancingthattheGTtag brings, too. That said,

BUSINESS – PEOPLE

Muscle memory

Interview – John Clagett

‘If wegaveour

competitorsa bunch

of no-namerace

tracksourentries

wouldgodown’

92 http://www.racecar-engineering.com SEPTEMBER 2019

The Trans Am TA2 class –

pictured at Laguna Seca – is

the most vibrant, with big fi elds

competing in standalone races

The president of Trans Am reveals the secrets to the US series’

long life and the reasons for its recent growth

By MIKE BRESLIN