The Australian Racing Group and management group of the TA2 Muscle Car Series have confirmed that they are well progressed through an agreement for the category to join ARG’s portfolio of racing categories at key race events in 2020. This would see the popular TA2 join ARG’s current suite of categories including the carsales TCR Australia Series, TCR New Zealand, Touring Car Masters and S5000. The TA2 management group is supportive of the potential alignment with ARG with final sign off subject to a competitors briefing session at the next TA2 series round at Winton over the August 17/18 weekend. Over 40 TA2 cars have now been sold, with the class in only its second year of national competition. The founders of the series, Peter and Moana Robinson have pitched the series to the Australian motorsport market as a low cost, modern muscle car series. It has attracted nationwide interest with drivers including Aaron Seton, Nathan Herne and George Miedecke setting the benchmark in a field of Mustang, Camaro and Dodge Challenger muscle cars. The class caters for modern V8-powered, rear-wheel drive muscle cars in a purpose-built Howe Racing Enterprises space frame chassis and a Howe Motorsport engine package developing 525 horsepower. All elements are controlled to ensure a level playing field across the board for great racing. Any potential alignment with ARG will ensure that the current category management and administration remains in situ with Craig Denyer continuing as category manager and PBR Distributions supplying the cars and componentry with on track parts support at every round. This year the category raced at the Bathurst 12 Hour as a support event, Sydney Motorsport Park with Iain Sherrin’s production car series, and featured at a number of AMRS rounds including Morgan Park and Tailem Bend. The series has three remaining rounds in 2019, with the final at Queensland Raceway in November. QUOTES Matt Braid Director, Australian Racing Group “TA2 is an exciting and emerging class with a strong passionate group of competitors, and we’re looking forward to working with them to explore further opportunities,” said Matt Braid. “We feel that TA2 can benefit from higher profile events as well as leveraging the infrastructure  that ARG has in place, while maintaining the character that the category has already established and also provide a great “V8 Modern Muscle Car” addition to supplement our TCR and TCM categories for an even better overall fan experience.” Peter Robinson Owner, TA2 Muscle Car Series “With over 40 cars now sold, we are looking to lock in an exciting calendar for next year that’s in line with our philosophy of a low cost, big reward experience for our competitor base,” said Peter Robinson. “Our initial discussions with ARG on their plans for the future have so far been very positive and it’s our plan to table all options to our competitors and seek their feedback as part of finalising our plans for 2020 and beyond. “There is no doubt that ARG with its portfolio of high quality, diverse categories and ANZ reach would be a good fit to assist in ensuring a raised profile and increased growth for TA2 while providing increased commercial and PR deliverables for competitors.”

Reigning TA2 Muscle Car Series champion Ashley Jarvis will head to the United States of America to race in the final round of the US Trans-Am Series at the Daytona International Speedway on November 14-16. The Gold Coaster will race for leading American TA2 outfit Stevens-Miller Racing in what was an opportunity presented to him as a prize pool of winning the TA2 Muscle Car Series last year. This continues the Australian TA2 series award which saw 2017 champion Russell Wright venture to the United States to race in the penultimate round of the series at the Circuit of the Americas. The opportunity to go and race in America is part of a prize pool which sees the drive partially funded by the series to the winner of the series. Stevens Miller Racing are a professional arrive-and-drive outfit in the TA2 series, with lease arrangements available to race at America’s leading race tracks throughout the year. The program for a TA2 event in America consists of practice, qualifying and one 70-minute race. The series will race on the Daytona road course, the layout which utilises all four corners of the tri-oval as well as an infield section, as used in the 24 Hours of Daytona sports car race. Jarvis won the 2018 TA2 Muscle Car Series in the Lighthouse Electrical backed Chevrolet Camaro with 10 race victories and 22 podiums, and currently sits third in the 2019 standings behind Aaron Seton and George Miedecke following Round 3 at The Bend Motorsport Park in June. Jarvis’ motorsport background consists of Midget Speedcars in Speedway, state-level Gemini and national Saloon Car racing, and is also this year contesting the Australian Production Car Series in a BMW M3 alongside his TA2 Muscle Car Series commitments. The TA2 Muscle Car Series next heads to Winton Motor Raceway for Round 4 on August 16-18. QUOTESAshley Jarvis, Driver #22 Lighthouse Electrical Chevrolet Camaro “I was presented with the opportunity to choose to race at Indianapolis, Watkins Glen, and Daytona, but for me Daytona was a no-brainer after growing up as a kid playing the Daytona USA arcade games at the cinemas, the chance to go and race there in real life is incredible.” “I’ll only have one 70 minute race compared to our four 20-minute sprint races we have in the Australian series, so that will require a different approach to the weekend. “The whole idea is to go there, soak it up and and enjoy the experience of racing at one of the world’s greatest venues of racing, and if we can go there and be semi-competitive that would be an added bonus. “I’ve been doing a lot of Production Car racing this year, so I feel that will hold me in good stead for for this race at Daytona. “We’ve been planning this trip all year, the whole family are coming and we’re going to arrive a week early and check out some of the sights of Florida.” Joe Stevens - Team Owner, Stevens-Miller Racing “It is a pleasure and an honour to work with TA2 series and drivers from around the world. Over the last two years we’ve hosted champions from Sweden and Australia. "Russell Wright drove with us at COTA last year and was quite competitive. Contact with another car dropped him to the back but prior to that he was headed to a top five finish. "We’re looking forward to having 2018 champion Ashley Jarvis in one of our cars for Daytona and expect great things from him. We know he can wheel a car and we'll give him the tools he needs to be competitive."

Trying his hand at multiple competitive racing disciplines and classes over the past 50 years, Jack Childs is showing no sign of slowing down as he prepares to make his debut in the TA2 Muscle Car Series. Having always harboured a desire to compete in road racing, the 69-year-old driver couldn’t be happier to be realising his dream after what has been a long career. But while the past half century has predominantly been made up of speedway racing, it was on the dirt circuit of Echo Valley Raceway that Childs began his racing venture at the age of 19 aboard an FJ Holden. Struggling to find the budget to compete on a regular basis, the born and bred Toowoomba local made the decision to step away from the driver’s seat, instead focusing on rugby league while taking up work at the Bellevue Hotel in Toowoomba. Jack later moved to Rockhampton  in 1972 and managed numerous pubs throughout Gracemere, Innisfail , Townsville and Rockhampton, meeting his lovely wife Christine  in Rockhampton six years later. Deciding that the time was right to get back into competitive racing, 1982 saw Jack  join the Bomber speedway class, competing regularly at Rockhampton’s Rocky and Bouldercombe Speedway where he won a Class Championship, along with the 1983 Queensland Title. Moving into the Modified Production class, Childs visited tracks such as Rocky Speedway, Toowoomba’s Hi-Tec Oils Speedway, Maryborough Speedway, Bundaberg’s Carina Speedway, Cairns International Speedway and Mac’s Speedway in Mackay until the mid to late 1990s, winning two Rocky Speedway Club Championships and scoring several podium finishes. Piloting a Ford Escort, a Holden Torana and later a Holden Commodore during this time, while also having changed professions, now managing service stations and Home improvement business instead of pubs, Childs was forced to spend some time on the sidelines in order to repair his race car after sustaining significant damage in a crash at Moranbah. However, by the time he returned, the Modified Production class had all but died out in the Rockhampton area. Not wanting to give up on his passion, Jack transitioned into the very active Super Sedan class, purchasing a car from multiple-time Queensland Champion Lindsay Hawkins, going on to win some Club Championships. Moving from Rockhampton to Maroochydore on the Sunshine Coast in 2007, now General Manager of a large home improvement company for work, Childs upgraded to a Rocket Super Sedan previously owned by Danny Smith and then getting a new rocket built , later purchasing a Dominator chassis in 2010 and then also getting a new one built and not looking back since. Participating in three National Series, which have allowed him to travel all around the country, making lifelong friendships along the way, Childs has also made the trek to Tasmania on a number of occasions to compete in the prestigious Grand National race. Retiring from speedway at the end of the 2017-18 season, Childs, who has always been a huge supporter of the sport through his business Think Money, sponsoring drivers and events, received a fitting send off at Gympie’s Mothar Mountain Speedway in May, 2018, bringing to an end what has been a memorable journey. Not quite willing to give up on competitive racing, Jack  decided that it was finally time to pursue his longstanding desire to enter the world of road racing, having been bitten by the bug around a decade ago when he competed with co-driver Dennis Rigon in the Queensland 500 at Queensland Raceway aboard a Subaru WRX, placing fourth. Completing 50 laps during a test session in a TA2 Racing car at Queensland Raceway at the beginning of this year, Childs took the plunge and purchased a car from TA2 driver Anthony Tenkate who has a new car on the way , Anthony steered the car during the recent series round at The Bend Motorsport Park in South Australia, before Jack takes ownership. Excited at the prospect of being a part of a new and growing division, Childs certainly isn’t putting too much pressure on himself, aiming simply to have as much fun as possible as he continues his racing career. He is set to make his debut in the fourth series round at Winton Motor Raceway in Victoria from August 16 to 18. Childs would like to give special thanks to his wife Christine, who has always been there to support him throughout the inevitable highs and lows or motor racing. 2019 TA2 Muscle Car Series Calendar:August 16-18 Round 4 - Winton Motor Raceway (Vic) September 27-29 Round 5 - Sydney Motorsport Park (NSW) November 1-3 Round 6 - Queensland Raceway (Qld)