10 things to watch for in Trans Am in 2025

With the start of the 2025 season just weeks away, there is plenty to be excited about this year in the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli. Here are the 10 things to watch for, in no particular order.

Nitro Motorsports attempting a three-peat

Nitro Motorsports has won the CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series championship the last two years, with Brent Crews becoming the youngest champion in Trans Am history in 2023, and Rafa Matos becoming the first ever three-time TA2 champion in 2024. The team will have a ton of young talent in its stable competing for the title, with Thomas Annunziata returning to the team and Boris Said Jr. and Gian Buffomante joining the organization this season.

Will Paul Menard begin another dynasty?

Since 2013, TA class championships have come in multiples, with drivers winning two, three or four titles in a row. Doug Peterson won the championship in 2013 and 2014, while Amy Ruman became the first female Trans Am champion when she won her titles in 2015 and 2016. Ernie Francis Jr. dominated for four years straight, winning from 2017 until 2020. Next came Chris Dyson, who took the trophy in 2021, 2022 and 2023. Will Paul Menard continue the streak with back-to-back championships? Only time will tell.

The GT1 Challenge

Debuting in 2025 is the GT1 Challenge. GT1 is a class that focuses on offering vehicles competing in the SCCA Club GT1 class a way to easily cross over to Pro racing in the Trans Am Series. The GT1 Challenge allows drivers to compete in a maximum of nine races per season, with their five highest points-scoring races making up their championship points total. The driver with the most points accumulated in their five best races will be recognized and awarded a championship trophy at the year-end Trans Am Awards Gala in November.

TA Cup makes its debut

Another new class this season, TA Cup will utilize high-performance spec tube-frame vehicles with silhouette bodies, which will be eligible for competition in the Western Championship, as well as in the National Championship under the GT1 Challenge. The machines are produced by Chris Evans Inc., owned by two-time Western Championship title winner Chris Evans.

Trans Am visits Barber Motorsports Park for the first time

Known as one of the most beautiful road courses in the United States, Trans Am will make its first-ever appearance at Barber Motorsports Park, October 17-19. The Birmingham, Alabama track opened in 2003 and has hosted series like IndyCar, MotoAmerica, GT World Challenge America and more. Trans Am will join a full house at the Barber SpeedTour, racing alongside SVRA, Formula Regional Americas Championship, Formula 4 United States Championship, the Ligier JSF4 Series, IGT and the Optima Ultimate Street Car Association.

Paul Tracy returns to Trans Am

Paul Tracy announced in December that he will be return to the Trans Am Series, driving for Chicago Performance and Tuning Co. for the first two events of 2025. Tracy will bring the Innovation Race Cars (IRC) GT to the paddock at Sebring International Raceway and Road Atlanta, competing in the series for the first time in five years. The IRC team first showcased the car in open testing at VIRginia International Raceway, then worked with Trans Am’s technical team to homologate the car for XGT class competition. Tracy and the team hope to expand the effort into a full-time championship run.

Can Rafa Matos become a four-time champion?

When the checkered flag waved at Circuit of The Americas, Rafa Matos became the first three-time champion in the CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series. The Brazilian driver returns to TA2 in 2025, but under a different banner. Matos joins Silver Hare Racing this season, a team he previously drove for in 2020, earning one win and six podiums in nine races. TA2’s winningest driver with 25 victories, Matos clearly has the talent to win. He’ll just need to get back up to speed quickly with the championship-caliber team.

The Trans Am Hall of Fame induction ceremony

The Trans Am Series Hall of Fame will launch on February 21 with a celebratory dinner and ceremony. The inaugural class of 18 inductees, which includes Trans Am drivers, team owners and management, will be honored at the Trans Am Series season opener in Sebring, Fla. as part of the Sebring SpeedTour weekend. The inductees will be announced soon.

The National Championship returns to Sonoma and Laguna Seca with Western Championship

After two years away from the West Coast’s most iconic racetracks, the Trans Am National Championship will return to Sonoma Raceway and WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in 2025 for combination events with the Western Championship. Combination events boast the biggest fields of the season and always make for some of the most exciting events of the year. Plus, the insane 59-foot elevation change of the Corkscrew and Sonoma’s scenic vistas provide big challenges and even bigger views.

The 2025 Young Gun class

The Young Gun Award is always one of the most exciting and competitive titles, with the highest-finishing CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series driver under the age of 25 being awarded $20,000 at the end of the season. 19-year-old Thomas Annunziata captured the 2024 CUBE 3 Architecture and Franklin Road Apparel TA2 Young Gun of the Year award and will return to compete once again for Nitro Motorsports in 2025. 21-year-old Boris Said Jr. will join Annunziata at Nitro and compete for the award, as will 16-year-old Gian Buffomante. Other anticipated contenders include Tristan McKee, Ben Maier, Carson Brown, Will Robinson and Noah Harmon, but no official announcements have been made.