Crews wins in return to Trans Am TA2 at Sonoma

Nitro Motorsports continued its amazing 2025 run in the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli’s CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series, winning its third race in as many rounds. It was 2023 champion Brent Crews in the No. 10 Mobil 1/Nitro Motorsports Toyota Camry who took the checkered flag at Sonoma Raceway, leading from start to finish while enduring multiple cautions and a wet finish.

Crews was granted the first starting position after yesterday’s qualifying session was canceled, which resulted in the starting grid being set by practice speeds. When the green flag waved, Crews easily pulled out to the lead, while third-place starter and Nitro Motorsports teammate Thomas Annunziata (No. 90 Gazoo Racing/Nitro Motorsports Toyota Camry) overtook second-place starter Rafa Matos (No. 57 Concord American Flagpole/SHR Chevrolet Camaro) for the runner-up spot. Fifth-place starter Tristan McKee (No. 28 Spire/Gainbridge/SLR-M1 Chevrolet Camaro) also fired off strong, advancing to third by the conclusion of the first lap.

A crash brought out the full-course yellow on lap two, and when racing resumed, Crews led Annunziata, McKee, Matos and Carson Brown (No. 8 PayCafe/Ebb Logistics/SLR-M1 Chevrolet Camaro) to the start/finish line. The restart saw heavy competition between Crews and Annunziata, but Crews was able to hold his ground. Another caution slowed the field on lap seven, with competitors seeing the green flag again on lap 13. The top three began to pull away from pack, with McKee stalking Annunziata after the start. Brown made his way around Matos by lap 14, and the top-five remained the same until lap 18, when Annunziata suddenly dropped out of the running order due to a broken rear end, heading to pit road, which allowed Sam Corry (No. 70 Nitro Motorsports Toyota Camry) to enter the top five.

Matos made his way around Brown on lap 20, just before a Pro/Am Challenge driver experienced an engine failure, dropping oil on the racetrack and causing another competitor to crash into the tire barrier. The cleanup was extensive, and further complicated by rain starting to fall over the track. Unfortunately, green-flag racing was not able to resume, and the checkered flag waved after the allotted 75 minutes. Crews was followed by McKee, Matos, Brown and Corry across the finish line.

“Today’s race was really good,” said Crews. “I just want to thank everybody at Nitro Motorsports for bringing me another hot rod. I feel like every time we come to these things, we have a really good shot to win, and I’m just grateful to be able to show up when I can and get in a fast race car like I had today.

“It really sucks we couldn’t go green there at the end, but I feel like it was the right decision. Driving in the wet with oil on the racetrack wasn’t a good idea. Great job to Tristan and Rafa here, I’m glad to be standing beside them.”

Pro/Am class

Barry Boes in the No. 27 Accio Data/SLR-M1 Chevrolet Camaro handily captured the victory in the Pro/Am class, leading from start to finish, with Jared Odrick (No. 100 Black Underwear/CoolBoxx Chevrolet Camaro) and Keith Prociuk (No. 9 HP Tuners/Cope Race Cars Ford Mustang) crossing the finish line behind him.

“I was looking back and watching what Odrick was doing because he was the next guy in Pro/Am,” said Boes of his Pro/Am competition. “I really had to keep my eye on a lot of cars back there. I knew that Odrick was pushing. I knew that he was getting faster every lap that we were out there and that he was going to be coming. If we’d gotten back to green-flag racing, I would have seen him again. I love running with both these guys. Thank you so much to Accio Data and M1 Racecars and TRB Autosport for helping me be where I am today.”

Western Championship

Barry Boes (No. 27 Accio Data/SLR-M1 Chevrolet Camaro) started first in the CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series Western Championship, running for points in both Western and the Pro/Am Challenge this weekend. He took the green flag in front of Mia Lovell (No. 40 Nitro Motorsports Toyota Camry), who was also competing in National, 2024 champion Michael LaPaglia (No. 31 Papini’s Garage/F.A.S.T. Auto/Howe Ford Mustang), Tim Carroll (No. 46 CRDMFG.com Chevrolet Camaro) and Kyle Kelley (No. 80 UPR.com/PK+k Motorsports Ford Mustang). Meanwhile, 2023 champion and Buttonwillow Raceway Park winner Brody Goble (No. 69 Brown Bros. Ford Lincoln Ford Mustang) started 38th overall and 15th in class after receiving a penalty for missing the driver meeting.

After the wave of the green flag, Lovell quickly passed Boes to take the lead, while the rest of the top five remained the same through the first two yellow flags. What did change, however, was Goble’s position, as he needed only seven laps to race up to the sixth position. When racing resumed on lap 13, Lovell got caught in traffic, dropping back to third in class, while Goble cracked into the top five on lap 14. Goble passed Lovell one lap later, claiming third. Boes led LaPaglia, Goble, Lovell and Carroll until the yellow flag was displayed on lap 20. Unfortunately, while under yellow, LaPaglia experienced low fuel pressure, dropping to the rear of the field. Green-flag racing was unable to resume, so when the checkered flag waved, it was Boes who took the victory. Goble’s amazing recovery earned him a second-place finish, and Lovell secured the final podium spot. Carroll and Kelley took the remaining positions in the top five.

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