The Mission Foods Austin Speedtour (known as the Trans-Am at COTA or Austin Speedtour or COTA Trans Am 100 or Heacock Classic from Trans-Am or The Heacock Classic) called for sponsorship reasons, is a Trans-Am Race that was held for the first time in the 2015 Trans-Am Series at Circuit of the Americas and was added as an expansion to the schedule.[1] The race is usually held on October or November in the Trans-Am Series schedule. The race is scheduled with the Sportscar Vintage Racing Association for the weekend. The West Coast Championship race has been added along the National Championship race since 2017 making Circuit of the Americas one of the tracks to host both events on the same weekend.[2] Circuit of the Americas provided the closest finish in Trans-Am history, it was in the 2018 TA2 race when Gar Robinson passed Misha Goikhberg at the COTA Muscle Car Challenge by .064 seconds.[3] There was another record made when 52 cars field the 2021 COTA TA2 race.[4] The track has been part of two championships clinching races in the TA2 class (2019 & 2021). COTA has hosted once the season finale and that was in 2021. The race is held under The Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli name, it is sanctioned by SCCA Pro Racing owned by Parella Motorsports Holdings (PMH)

Austin Speedtour
Trans-Am Series
VenueCircuit of the Americas
First race2015
Most wins (rider)Ernie Francis, Jr. (4)
Most wins (manufacturer)Chevrolet (16)

Official names and sponsors edit

  • 2015–2016: Trans-Am at COTA
  • 2017: The Trans American Muscle Car Challenge from COTA
  • 2018: COTA Muscle Car Challenge at Circuit of The Americas
  • 2019-2020: U.S. Vintage National Championship
  • 2021–2022: Heacock Classic from Trans-Am (with Austin Speedtour)
  • 2022-present: Austin Speedtour presented by Mission Foods

Winners of the Austin Speedtour edit

National Championship edit

Year Circuit Date TA Winning driver TA Winning vehicle TA2 Winning driver TA2 Winning vehicle TA3-I Winning driver TA3-I Winning vehicle TA3-A Winning driver TA3-A Winning vehicle
2015 Circuit of the Americas November 8   Amy Ruman Chevrolet Corvette   Adam Andretti Chevrolet Camaro   Fernando Seferlis Aston Martin GT4   Ernie Francis, Jr. Chevrolet Camaro
Year Circuit Date TA Winning driver TA Winning vehicle TA2 Winning driver TA2 Winning vehicle TA3 Winning driver TA3 Winning vehicle TA4 Winning driver TA4 Winning vehicle
2016 Circuit of the Americas November 5   Paul Fix Chevrolet Corvette   Dillon Machavern Ford Mustang   Tim Kezman Porsche 997   Todd Napieralski Ford Mustang
2017 Circuit of the Americas November 4   Ernie Francis, Jr. Ford Mustang   Shane Lewis Chevrolet Camaro   Jason Daskalos Dodge Viper Competition Coupe   Shane Lewis Chevrolet Camaro
2018 Circuit of the Americas November 1–3   Ernie Francis, Jr. Ford Mustang   Gar Robinson Chevrolet Camaro   Ryan Dexter Ginetta G55   Warren Dexter Ginetta G55
Year Circuit Date TA Winning driver TA2 Winning driver XGT Winning driver SGT Winning driver GT Winning driver
2019 Circuit of the Americas October 4–6   Adam Andretti   Marc Miller no entries   Ken Thwaits   Joe Bogetich*
2020 Circuit of the Americas November 6–8   Boris Said   Rafa Matos   Jason Daskalos   Lou Gigliotti   Billy Griffin
2021 Circuit of the Americas November 5–7   Matthew Brabham   Rafa Matos   Erich Joiner   Natalie Decker   Sean Young
Year Circuit Date TA Winning driver TA2 Winning driver XGT Winning driver SGT Winning driver GT Winning driver TAH Winning driver
2022 Circuit of the Americas November 4–6   Chris Dyson   Thomas Merrill   Marc Austin   Dirk Leuenberger   Chris Coffey   Adam Andretti
2023 Circuit of the Americas November 2–5   Gar Robinson   Thomas Annunziata   Xuanqian Wang   Michael LaPaglia   Chris Coffey
  Race is combined with Trans-Am West Coast Series
  Races are part of the Southern Cup

† Race is held in combination with the Trans Am West Coast Championship

* Unofficial Winner

West Coast Championship edit

Year Circuit Date TA Winning driver TA Winning vehicle TA2 Winning driver TA2 Winning vehicle TA3 Winning driver TA3 Winning vehicle TA4 Winning driver TA4 Winning vehicle
2017 Circuit of the Americas November 4   Tomy Drissi Chevrolet Corvette   Shane Lewis Chevrolet Camaro No entries   Guy Dreier Maserati GranTurismo MC GT4
2018 Circuit of the Americas November 1–3   Ernie Francis, Jr. Ford Mustang   Gar Robinson Chevrolet Camaro   Ryan Dexter Ginetta G55   Warren Dexter Ginetta G55
Year Circuit Date TA Winning driver TA2 Winning driver XGT Winning driver SGT Winning driver GT Winning driver
2019 Circuit of the Americas October 4–6   Adam Andretti   Brad McAllister no entries   Ken Thwaits   Joe Bogetich*
2020 Circuit of the Americas November 6–8   Greg Pickett   Jim Gallaugher None entered   Natalie Decker   Sean Young
2021 Circuit of the Americas November 6–7 None entered   Ken Sutherland   Erich Joiner   Cindi Lux None entered
Year Circuit Date TA2 Winning driver SGT Winning driver GT Winning driver XGT Winning driver TA Winning driver
2022 Circuit of the Americas November 4–6   Cody Powell   Michael LaPaglia   Xuangian Wang   Matt Crandall
2023 Circuit of the Americas November 2–5   Thomas Annunziata   Michael LaPaglia   Chris Coffey   Xuanqian Wang   Gar Robinson
  Race is combined with Trans-Am National Series
  COTA West Winner, Michele Abbate crossed the finish line first, but was later penalized for passing under a double yellow flag.

* Unofficial Winner

References edit

  1. ^ "Trans Am Series announces 2015 Championship Schedule". GoTransAm. Retrieved 30 December 2021.
  2. ^ "SVRA National Championships on the line at COTA". Racer. 3 November 2017. Retrieved 30 December 2021.
  3. ^ "Robinson Overtakes Goikhberg at Finish Line for COTA TA2 Victory". GoTransAm. Retrieved 30 December 2021.
  4. ^ "52 Trans Am TA2 cars set for COTA". RACER. 5 November 2021. Retrieved 30 December 2021.

External links edit