The final round of the 2022 Trans Am National Tour Championships presented by Pirelli was held at the iconic Circuit of the America’s track in Austin, TX. Boasting the largest TA2 field in Trans Am history, the 53 cars would take the green flag on Sunday and the TA2 championship was still up for grabs.
The Grr Racing team joined forces with the Showtime Motorsports x Franklin Road Apparel crew for the weekend as the campaigned their #130 GHOST Energy TA2 Camaro in its debut for the National Tour series. You can now watch the exciting race recap – brought to you by Showtime Motorsports – here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLwIYS5Ji1c&t=43s
“We are excited to see how our car stacks up against the National Tour field,” Crew Chief Anthony Philleo shared. “With its new Andrews transmission and Katech engine Michele will have the chance to see how she stacks up after being out of this chassis for the year.
Abbate qualified 38th out of the 53 cars while the team helped dial her car in. “We were fighting a tremendous push, and team owner Ken Thwaits graciously offered a new shock package for us to try. A massive change in the right direction which allowed us to get it even better for the race”, Michele explained.
Michele drove a strategic and clean race, minimizing mistakes and capitalizing on passes where possible. She suffered from a hard hit going into turn 10 from the #57 car, but was able to drive through the damage earning the P25 position, officially.
“It was a very hot race for me, as I lost my driver cooling, but the cautions really helped me keep my composure as well as stay hydrated with my GHOST Hydration”, she admitted. Her finishing position awarded her a 21st place finish out of 76 drivers in the TA2 Category. She finished the season with 7 top 20 finishes with 8 out of the 12 tracks being her first time there. Abbate also earned two hard charger awards for passing the most cars in the field, one at Mid-Ohio and the other at VIR. Lastly, Michele was the recipient of two of the 3 Trans Am Fan Favorite awards, including the Best Looking Race Car and Best Helmet Design Awards.
“I am so proud of our results in my first year in the Trans Am National Tour series; I am very grateful for the opportunity to be chasing this dream and I think finishing the season just outside the top 20 shows that I have potential for success,” Michele shared. The BC Race Cars team provided an excellent platform for me throughout the year and they provided me everything I needed to have a great shot at success at each race this year. I learned a ton and got to learn some more about our older chassis with the Franklin Motorsports team here at COTA. I am working hard on our 2023 plans and hope to return to the best road racing series in America, Trans Am”, she smiled.
You can keep up with Michele during the off-season by following her on her social media channels at @M1cheleAbbate and also by downloading the Grr Racing app, available on all Android devices! Click here
