The PROMAXX Performance Exhausts TA2 Muscle Car Series framed by Hytek is back in action this weekend for Round 3 of the national series and the TA2 Southern Series at Winton Motor Raceway near Benalla, Victoria.

18 cars make up the entry list, with Round 2 winner Josh Haynes looking to carry the momentum after his round win at The Bend over series leader Jett Johnson.

Johnson holds a 38 point lead over Zach Loscialpo and John McLaughlin in the series standings with Haynes back in 11th after his first round was plagued by mechanical issues.

Johnson heads to Winton fresh off a Supercars evaluation day in a Shell V-Power Racing Mustang with Dick Johnson Racing, the team owned by his Australian Touring Car champion and Bathurst winning grandfather Dick Johnson.

McLaughlin, who scored two race wins at the last round at The Bend is missing from the field after selling his car to Victorian teenager Jackson Rice.

Rice, 18, hails from Albury and after racing go karts as a junior he stepped up to TA2 in the Trans-Am Australia series with the Dream Racing Australia squad this year. DRA stablemate Kyle Gurton makes his return to the TA2 Muscle Car Series this weekend fresh off a Supercars evaluation day with Erebus Motorsport at Winton earlier this week.

Gurton, 23, works full time with the Blanchard Racing Team in Supercars alongside his racing commitments. With experience in Formula Ford and Carrera Cup to his name, Gurton heads to Winton looking for valuable seat time in his TA2 Muscle Car Series return to bolster his Trans-Am campaign after placing fifth in last year’s series.

Series front-runners Murray Kent, CXC Racing’s Dylan Thomas and IES Motorsport’s Graham Cheney head to Winton in a tight battle for what will be effective third in the championship with McLaughlin’s absence, while Michael Coulter also returns to action in the Kobelco Mustang.

Mark Crutcher leads the Masters Series by five points from Nicholas Bates and Paul Hadley. with Chris Sutton, Michael Rowell, Peter Robinson, John Holinger, Jason Hassett and Rob Leonard completing the grid for Round 3.

Cars first hit the track for three 20-minute practice sessions on Friday, followed by a 20 minute qualifying session and two 12 lap races on Saturday, and two final 12 lap races on Sunday.

All of Sunday’s action will be live streamed on the TA2 Racing facebook page, with post-produced highlights airing on free-to-air channel 7Mate following the event.

QUOTES

Josh Haynes, driver #17 Elvin Group Chevrolet Camaro

“It was unreal for everyone to get over to The Bend and have good pace and have some good battles with John McLaughlin and Jett Johnson, it was a pretty cool experience and to get my first win the TA2 Series was not just unreal for me but for the whole team. We’re a small team who have put in a lot of work so it meant a lot for us.

“The standards between the drivers has been unreal, as you could see in Race 3 between Jett and I, it was close hard racing, we touched a few times but nothing too serious and you can still come out of the race with a good result and look back at it with some good memories.

“Sydney was hard and then The Bend was a great round for us so I’ve just got to stay consistent for the rest of the season and keep bagging good points and keep chipping away and hopefully get further up the front and by the end of the year be closer to the podium which is the aim.

“I came down to Winton four years ago when I was 14 in the Nissan Pulsar, so it’s been a change since then in the car and driving, so how we approach the weekend will be fairly different but really looking forward to getting on track.”

Kyle Gurton, driver #2 Micale Cabinets/Nuveau Group Ford Mustang

“The evaluation day with Erebus here at Winton was amazing. To drive my dream race car, the reality of it is still settling in, but driving something with that raw pace was incredible compared to a TA2 car.

“My journey in Trans-Am has been very up and down, as the pace improved in the field it’s really come down to the real minute one-percenters in the setup of the car, so the big thing for us is focussing on those and finding more pace from them, but our experience has been really positive as a whole in the series.”

“The idea for this weekend for us is to learn a bit more about the car and figure out a setup direction, obviously we don’t want to affect the championship that’s currently going on but depending on what happens whether it’s wet or dry we’ll just aim to keep our nose clean and work on getting our Dream Racing Australia cars quicker.”

SCHEDULE 2022 PROMAXX Performance Exhausts TA2 Muscle Car Series framed by Hytek Round 3 - Winton Motor Raceway, June 10-12

Friday Practice 1 - 10:45am (20 minutes) Practice 2 - 1:45pm (20 minutes) Practice 3 - 4:35pm (20 minutes)

Saturday Qualifying - 10:20am (20 minutes) Race 1 - 12:20pm (12 laps) Race 2 - 3:00pm (12 laps)

Sunday Race 3 - 10:40am (12 laps) Race 4 - 2:15pm (12 laps)

ENTRY LIST 2022 PROMAXX Performance Exhausts TA2 Muscle Car Series framed by Hytek Round 3 - National Series & Southern Series, Winton Motor Raceway, June 10-12

PRO, #2 Kyle Gurton (QLD), Ford Mustang - Micale Cabinets/Nuveau Group MASTERS, #3 Rob Leonard (QLD), Chevrolet Camaro - Access Line Marking MASTERS, #4 Mark Crutcher (NSW), Ford Mustang - Crutcher Developments MASTERS, #10 Peter Robinson (QLD), Dodge Challenger - Wagner Corporation PRO, #11 Michael Coulter (NSW), Ford Mustang - Kobelco/Sydney Truck and Machinery MASTERS, #15 Michael Rowell (QLD), Ford Mustang - Pacific Petroleum/Carroll Tyres PRO, #17 Josh Haynes (NSW), Chevrolet Camaro - Elvin Group/Gulf Oil PRO, #21 Zac Loscialpo (NSW), Chevrolet Camaro - Tempest Solutions/Excelerate Motorsport MASTERS, #23 John Holinger (VIC), Chevrolet Camaro - Holinger Racing MASTERS, #24 Nicholas Bates (NSW), Ford Mustang - Nicholas Bates Motorsport MASTERS, #26 Jason Hassett (VIC), Chevrolet Camaro - Hass Pumps MASTERS, #37 Jackson Rice (VIC), Ford Mustang - Delatite - Ovens Ford MASTERS, #50 Paul Hadley (NSW), Chevrolet Camaro - Illawarra Engineering Services PRO, #51 Graham Cheney (NSW), Chevrolet Camaro - Illawarra Engineering Services MASTERS, #68 Dylan Thomas (NSW), Ford Mustang - Sensational Kitchens/CXC Racing PRO, #74 Murray Kent (QLD), Chevrolet Camaro - Retro Motorsport/Fit Flask PRO, #117 Jett Johnson (QLD), Ford Mustang - NAPA Auto Parts MASTERS, #321 Chris Sutton (NSW), Ford Mustang - Motofit

The PROMAXX Performance Exhausts TA2 Muscle Car Series framed by Hytek is proud to announce it has joined forces with XS Injectors, a Melbourne Company now part of the Cooldrive family, in a two year arrangement as the “Official Injector” for the McLaren race engine that powers the growing series. 

After two years and over 3,000 hours of product development, coupled with a combined 45 years of performance fuel injector experience, XS Injectors have been designed to revolutionise flow testing and data matching and are the most accurate injector sets available. More than 6,500 flow points are recorded on each injector and the sets are matched within 1% for fuel flow rate and 2% for injector dead time. 

“XS Injectors are excited to be partnering with the TA2 Muscle Car series and are proud to see the competitors race with the world’s most accurate fuel injectors. High performance and attention to detail is in our DNA, it has been a pleasure to work with the TA2 category to develop a fuel injector solution that meets the high demands of the TA2 competition,” explained Simon Richards, Performance Fuel Injectors for CoolDrive Auto Parts.

Added Mathew Nilsson, Business Development Manager - Performance for CoolDrive Auto Parts, “I’ve been around Motorsport a long time, and its fantastic to see the series grow so quickly and offer such a great bang for buck for all competitors at every level. We are proud to be part of it.”

The TA2 engines are built by McLaren Engineering in the United States, and deliver 525 hp in the Howe Motorsport built PBR-spec chassis. The cars arrive in Australia as a turn key race car with excellent spares, back up and on-track service from Queensland based PBR Distributions, featuring current bodied Ford Mustang, Chev Camaro and Dodge Challenger race cars with limited aero and low grip Hoosier tyres to promote close racing.

“With the right treatment our engines are built to last up to three seasons, therefore we need components that are manufactured to that performance and reliability level. Given that each injector set is supplied with individualised tuning data and all are matched, we are guaranteed of the best all round performance from the moment you hit the start button,” said Cameron Sendall, the TA2 Technical Manager. “And it’s a bonus they are an Australian company that we can support as well.”

The TA2 Muscle Car Series is a six round national series which has also expanded regionally this year with the launch of TA2 West for competitors in Western Australia, plus additional Northern and Southern regional series to cater for the growing number of competitors on the East Coast alongside international expansion to New Zealand. It’s anticipated there will be close to 100 TA2 cars in Australia by the end of this year.

Round 3 of the PROMAXX Performance Exhausts TA2 Muscle Car Series framed by Hytek heads to Winton Motor Raceway in Victoria this weekend headlining the Australian Motor Racing Series (AMRS) on June 10-12pm, with Sunday’s action to be live streamed online with post-produced highlights on 7Mate.

2022 PROMAXX Performance Exhausts TA2 Muscle Car Series framed by Hytek leader Jett Johnson experienced his first ever laps in a Supercar in a historic moment at Queensland Raceway on Monday.

Alongside his Supercars race-winning father Steve and multiple Bathurst and championship-winning grandfather Dick, Jett took part in an evaluation day in a Shell V-Power Racing Ford Mustang for the team which bears the name of his grandfather, Dick Johnson Racing.

The three generations of Johnson took to the Ipswich circuit first thing on Monday morning, with Dick leading Steven and Jett out onto the Dick Johnson Straight at Queensland Raceway, before an evaluation later in the day.

All sporting the iconic #17, the family were extremely proud to share this moment together. 

“It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity which was presented by Ryan Story, who has all these great ideas,” said Dick.

“It was something special, and for me, seeing how Jett has been the last week or two, hanging out to get into the car, it was something special.”

Dick Johnson Racing Team Principal Ryan Story credited Jett’s efforts in the TA2 Muscle Car Series to earn his opportunity in the Supercar.

“Jett has got the opportunity today to do a driver evaluation day and that’s something he has earned, and the way he has earned that has been through all of the efforts that he’s been doing with his TA2 car,” explained Story.

“I mean he’s had many wins and great successes and has come along in leaps and bounds.

“He’s a very mature young man and someone we are very proud of as a team, and I know how much his grandfather and grandmother are proud of him, and Steve is still such an instrumental part in everything we do.”

For Jett, it was his first Supercars outing ahead of a Shell V-Power Racing Team evaluation day, and the significance of the moment wasn’t lost on the 17-year old.

“I think it was made that much more special that it was all three of us together,” said Jett.

“It was a little bit hard at first to take in because I was looking around and it didn’t quite hit me at first. It was something I’m never forgetting.”

“I think the biggest thing for me is just going to be not doing anything silly today, just going out and working with the guys on what to do, what to improve on, and just roll around and do some laps and try to learn the car a little bit,” he said.

Johnson also explained the differences to his regular #117 NAPA Auto Parts TA2 Ford Mustang: “It’s different in the sense that obviously all of the layout inside the car and right-hand drive. The tyre is different, the motor is different, everything is completely different, but at the same time, it feels familiar as well, driving it. It’s a bit of a weird feeling to be honest.”

Johnson currently holds a 38-point lead over Tempest Solutions Camaro driver Zach Loscialpo in the 2022 PROMAXX Performance Exhausts TA2 Muscle Car Series framed by Hytek ahead of Round 3 at Winton Motor Raceway on June 10-12.

18-year old rookie Josh Haynes has scored his first TA2 race and round win at The Bend Motorsport Park on a day where John McLaughlin and Josh Haynes shared the other two race wins in the PROMAXX Performance Exhausts TA2 Muscle Car Series framed by Hytek.

Race 2 saw John McLaughlin go back-to-back with a narrow victory over Haynes, Dylan Thomas, Johnson and Aaron Tebb.

321 Motorsport’s Chris Sutton climbed up ten spots from 17th to seventh to earn the Hyperco Hard Charger Award.

Johnson got the holeshot off the start of Race 3 to go from fourth to the lead at Turn 1 as McLaughlin dropped back to fourth. Johnson and Haynes gapped the field and battle for the lead throughout. Johnson held off Haynes right up until the last lap when Haynes got a good run out of Turns 15 and 16 as Johnson defended on the inside into the final two corners. Haynes got under Johnson as he ran deep at Turn 17 and took the lead down the inside into the final corner to take the win by two-tenths of a second, with Thomas only another tenth behind on the line.

Former touring car racer Dean Lindstrom scored a personal-best finish of sixth in Race 3 and won the Circo Masters Class on his debut weekend in the series.

Johnson redeemed himself in the final race, taking a commanding four-second win from Haynes and Thomas. McLaughlin was fourth in the final race but his earlier race wins saw him secure second outright and also the fastest lap in all four races. Thomas meanwhile placed third in all four races but ended fourth on points for the round.

Mark Crutcher moved up from 12th to sixth ahead of Murray Kent and Lindstrom, while Brad Schomberg ended a strong debut by charging from 15th to ninth in the finale.

CXC Racing’s Dylan Thomas won the Wilwood Big Braker Award, while Waltec Motorsport’s Aaron Tebb won the Bowden’s Own Best Presented Award.

Jett Johnson now leads the series on 413 points from Zach Loscialpo, who had a consistent weekend in the top ten, and McLaughlin.

Round 3 of the 2022 PROMAXX Performance Exhausts TA2 Muscle Car Series framed by Hytek heads to Winton Motor Raceway on 10-12 June.

QUOTES

Josh Haynes, driver #37 Elvin Group Camaro

“This place is unreal, just to be here and come all this way and learn the track, but to come away with the round win it’s been incredible.

“I can’t thank the team enough, there have been a lot of hard yards over the past couple of months to be here, so really happy to reward them with this result.”

Jett Johnson, driver #117 NAPA Auto Parts Mustang

“The last race felt like a bit of redemption. It’s been an unreal weekend, the racing has been awesome and all we needed was to bank points and keep things straight so I’m pretty happy with our performance leaving here.

“I’m really happy with how the weekend went and we’re already looking forward to the next round at Winton.”

John McLaughlin, driver #17 MyRaceProfile.com Mustang

“We came out punching early on and maybe we used the best of our tyres a bit early.

“We still had the fastest lap in every race so the car was fast, it was just a matter of getting the best out of it at the start of the races which we struggled a bit with and lost track position but came home strong in most races.”

John McLaughlin scored his third career TA2 race win with a narrow victory over Josh Haynes in Race 1 of Round 2 of the PROMAXX Performance Exhausts TA2 Muscle Car Series framed by Hytek at The Bend Motorsport Park.

PWR Pole-sitter Jett Johnson dropped to third off the start as Haynes took the lead from McLaughlin into Turn 1. 

Seperate incidents at Turn 1 sent a number of cars scrambling in the midfield. Michael Coulter and Graham Cheney clashed which saw the former pull the Kobelco Mustang off into the infield and retire from the race. There was also a concertina involving Lachlan Granger, Chris Sutton, Jason Hassett and debutant Brad Schomberg which turned Schomberg around and sent him into the pit lane for a quick repair job.

CXC Racing’s Dylan Thomas passed Johnson for third on Lap 3 when Johnson went deep into Turn 6 allowing Thomas to take the position on the exit.

Haynes lead the opening four laps before coming across a slowing Brad Schomberg on the exit of Turn 16, this saw McLaughlin close in on Haynes heading into the final section before he ran wide at the penultimate corner, allowing McLaughlin to take the lead and hold on for the win.

Elsewhere in the pack, Mark Crutcher was a major beneficiary of the opening lap melee, making up eight positions to 12th after starting at the back due to car troubles in qualifying, while Graham Cheney charged up to 11th after being caught up in the Lap 1 incident.

Full results remain provisional while Granger is under investigation for a driving infringement and a breach of the tyre regulations.

The PROMAXX Performance Exhausts TA2 Muscle Car Series framed by Hytek returns for Races 2, 3 & 4 tomorrow at The Bend Motorsport Park, which will be live streamed on the TA2 Racing Australia facebook page.

QUOTES

John McLaughlin, driver #17 myraceprofile.com Ford Mustang.

“Really happy to win the first race of the weekend here for my first time at The Bend.”

“Haynes is super quick, I was chasing him for the first half of that race, I could see I had a bit more pace in certain areas but in other areas he would pull away, so it was a bit of a see-saw battle the whole time.” 

“Once we came around on that lapped car, it kind of baulked Josh a little bit and he defended into the next corner which was fair play but then he ran wide on exit which opened the door for me to get by and I was able to pull a little gap on him from there.”