WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. – With the Trans-Am Series presented by Pirelli TA2 season winding down, every lap matters, even in qualifying.
The TA2 presented by AEM class drivers felt that urgency on Friday afternoon as the field of American muscle machines were flat out from the drop of the green flag.
By the time the checkered flag flew on the 20-minute session, the top-five drivers were only separated by seven tenths of a second with the front three rows claimed by a mix of TA2 class veterans and rookies.
Not only fighting against his competitors, Rafa Matos was also fighting off an illness, but the defending champion didn’t let that keep him down as he captured his fourth pole of the 2019 season. Driving the No. 88 3Dimensional Services Group Chevrolet Camaro, Matos was able to eclipse TA2 points leader Marc Miller by seven hundredths of a second with a fast time of 1:51.197 seconds on his third flying lap.
“I had a rough night trying to recover from this sickness,” Matos said. “We are doing everything we can to recover points from Marc (Miller). We are getting better every day. Every point counts. We need to get pole position point, the fastest lap of the race point and the win, all while hoping that Marc doesn’t have a good result, but this thing is far from over.”
Feeling the pressure from other drivers right from the start, Miller in the No. 40 Prefix/Stevens-Miller Racing Dodge Challenger drove hard from the green to the checkered in qualifying, but stayed focused on the big picture to claim another front row start, just 0.070 of a second adrift of Matos.
“Qualifying is one of those times where we should be spread out and not around each other, but today that just wasn’t the case,” Miller explained. “I got passed more in qualifying than I did in any of the three sessions just on the out lap. Things got a little haywire out there. Guys were really trying to push themselves and the track limits. While a lot of the guys were racey, we were a little bit more methodical and got a couple good laps in and were just shy of pole position.”
The 2016 NASA Eastern States Spec Miata National Champion Tyler Kicera is making his professional motorsports debut in TA2 class competition, wheeling the No. 4 Carbotech Brakes Kicera Motorsports Ford Mustang. While Kicera is new to the TA2 class, he has a lot of experience on the 3.4-mile, 11-turn circuit. Kicera claimed the track record at Watkins Glen in a Spec Miata on his way to his 2016 title.
Kicera’s first outing in TA2 was bittersweet. The Pennsylvania-native set the third fastest time of the day on the opening lap with a time of 1:51.500-seconds, but incidental contact with another car in Lap 2 wrecked his front end and his chance of taking pole.
“The opening lap was pretty full on,” said Kicera. “I thought we would go out and warm the car, but the other guys ahead of me kind of went, so I figured I probably needed to follow suit being the new guy. I got a really good first lap in and then got mixed up with some people, and ruined my shot at pole. It’s frustrating that we sit P3 on the grid and have to spend a lot of time this evening to try to make the race tomorrow.”
Sharing second row is another top contender, Thomas Merrill. Returning to the No. 81 Skip Barber Ford Mustang, Merrill slid into a P4 start his first time driving the Big Diehl Racing prepared TA2 car at Watkins Glen.
“These things are awesome to drive around Watkins Glen,” Merrill said. “This place is super fast, super smooth and flying these things through the chicane is a special experience.”
Scott Lagasse Jr. in the No. 92 SLR/Fields Racing/M1 Racecars Chevrolet Camaro rounded out the top five.
Outfitted in a BC Race Car, 17-year-old Kent Vaccaro made his mark in the TA2 class, driving the No. 25 BC Race Cars Chevrolet Camaro. Piloting a car with a roof for the first time, the open-wheel young gun finished just outside the top-five in sixth place with a fast time of 1:52.302.
“It was a tremendous day,” Vaccaro beamed after his first qualifying session. “I got comfortable with the car pretty quickly. My coach told me today to lick the stamp and send it, and that’s exactly what we did. BC Race Cars gave me a fast car this weekend, and I was able to showcase that in qualifying. I’m used to running open wheel cars for around 30-minutes per session. The heat and extended track time in the car are things that I’ve had to get used to, but the Cool Shirt really makes a difference.”
NASCAR K&N Pro Series East driver Ty Gibbs session was cut short after breaking a right lower ball joint on his No. 26 Mike Cope Racing machine entering the first turn of The Loop, placing him in Row 4 for Saturday’s 100-mile race.
“Breaking the ball joint ruined our qualifying session,” Gibbs said. “We only got two laps in and will start seventh. Mike Cope Racing gave me a really good car and we will kill it in the race tomorrow.”