FRANKLIN, Tenn. — Former XGT champion Ken Thwaits reflected on a fine season for Showtime Motorsports and Franklin Road Apparel as he announced that the Franklin Road fleet will continue to establish itself among the preeminent outfits in the Trans Am Series.
“We have a new Mike Cope car coming for TA2 for 2023. We’ll have three very capable cars for next year and a seat is available,” Thwaits said. He welcomes any approaches from qualified candidates.
The Mike Cope platform has been very successful in the TA2 class of the Trans Am Series. Driver Dylan Archer is already signed up for be behind the wheel of the FPEC sponsored car while negotiations remain ongoing for the available seats with the team’s highly professional garage stable.
Former TA2 champion Cameron Lawrence who finished ninth overall in this year’s drivers championship has departed the Showtime Motorsports team, meaning there is also an opening in the No. 6 Chevrolet Camaro.
In the TA class, Thwait also announced that next season will likely be his last year driving competitively in the famous muscle car series. Thwait scored four podium finishes this year, but was narrowly denied a place in the top three of the driver’s championship despite outrunning his opponents on several occasions.
“You know as far as 2022 goes, I’m happy about how we performed. We’re the only team running a TA2 side of the garage and a TA side and that’s a big bite to take,” Thwait said. “We accomplished a lot. We didn’t win a race or lead a lap in TA2 but we won a couple of races in TA which was fantastic. We’ve made great progress in TA2 and had lots of expertise join the team so that bodes well for the future.”
Ken will race again in TA again the No. 7 car, while Justin Marks will be bidding to give the team its first TA class drivers championship.
“We’re going to give Justin our full support. Justin will be in the No. 99 Chevrolet Camaro TA1. Keith Grant will be racing a limited number of races in the No. 5 car which we will be preparing. Plus, there’s a seat in another car available for the right person. We will have three if not four cars that could be on the grid,” Thwait said. “The camaraderie of the paddock, especially the TA side, has been great.
“As far as reliability of components are concerned, we’re going to be communicating about parts. You don’t want to beat somebody because their cars keep failing. The teams work very well to support each other with continued developmental safety and performance.”
The Franklin Road name will be visible on several cars next year.