Three famous racing surnames will join a 13-car grid for the third round of the PROMAXX Performance Exhausts TA2 Muscle Car Northern Series powered by Atlantic Oils with Dalton Ellery, son of former Supercars racer Steve Ellery, set to make his TA2 debut this weekend at Queensland Raceway.

Ellery joins 18-year-old Nash Morris and 16-year-old Jett Johnson on the grid, sons of former Supercar drivers Paul Morris and Steve Johnson respectively.

It marks an on-track reunion of sorts for Ellery and Morris, who grew up as kids in the paddock while Steve Ellery raced for Paul Morris in the Supercars Championship in 2006 and 2007.

Ellery will steer a Ford Mustang that was driven to victory by Aaron Seton in the 2019 TA2 Muscle Car Series. The #8 Mustang has been leased from Craig Harris of Harris Racing, and will be prepared by the team behind Beric Lynton’s production car outfit.

The 25-year-old Gold Coaster started racing go-karts when he was seven, and raced karts on and off for the last 18 years. He jumped in a race car for the first time at the Norwell Motorplex in 2019 and took part in some driver training sessions, and also sampled a Hyundai Excel at the end of that year.

The Ellery’s moved into production cars in 2020 through family friend Beric Lynton, and has shared a BMW M3 with his younger brother Tristan in the Queensland Production Car Series this year including a clean sweep at the latest round at Morgan Park in August.

Ellery also teamed up with Tristan and father Steve in this years Bathurst 6 Hour, and placed fifth in the outright Class X in their M3.

On Saturday, Ellery will bounce between his TA2 and the production car, while Anthony Tenkate is also on double duty in TA2 and the Trans-Am Series.

Nash Morris will race a brand-new Mustang after taking delivery on Tuesday this week, and joins a three-car Norwell Motorplex stable alongside the Mustangs of Chris Pappas and Karl Begg.

After a second-place finish at the first Northern Series round in June, John McLaughlin returns to the grid this weekend in his Mustang, while Russell Wright is also back in action with a rebuilt front-end following a clash with Chris Pappas in Race 1 at the second round in August.

Kubota Racing’s Matt MacKelden also returns to the grid this weekend for the first time since 2019.

After clean-sweeping the last round in August, Johnson leads the Northern Series by nine points ahead of Russell Wright, with Chris Pappas a further 30 points behind.

The event format will see cars first hit the track for general practice on Friday. A single 10-minute official practice session will take place on Saturday morning, followed by a 10-minute Qualifying session and the first 12-lap sprint race in the afternoon. Three more 12-lap races will be held on Sunday.

QUOTES Dalton Ellery - #8 Ford Mustang

“We’re racing in the Production Car series at the moment in Queensland and we’ve been trying to do more national stuff but all of that’s fallen through this year due to the pandemic.

“When they changed all the ARG rounds to go along with Bathurst they dropped the production car round this year, so we’ve been looking at options to get there potentially for the 1000.

“One of the categories involved down there will be TA2, it’s always been a category I’ve wanted to be involved in, it’s a great class with good competition history so we started to look around at what was available. We found Craig Harris and we took his opportunity straight away to use his second car and it all came about pretty quickly in the last week.

“We’ll head to Queensland Raceway this weekend just to see how it all goes and then assess what happens after that.

“I grew up with Nash at the race track back when my Dad raced with Paul Morris in Supercars, my grandparents are really close with the Morris’ so I’ve known Nash forever and some of my earliest memories at the track were with him. Obviously Jett was born a bit later than us but I know Jett really well and race against him on the simulator

“It’s going to interesting to see how we all go when we’re racing against each other for the first time! I’m really looking forward to it, they’re both really credible racers so I think it’ll be a great weekend of racing.

“The Morris’ really sold us on the class, I saw them race in Sydney earlier this year when they did the night race and I saw them there and thought, ‘these things are awesome and I need to get into one of these one day’.

“Nash has done a lot of laps in the TA2 and Jett’s still getting going but shown he is very fast as well, so if I can get close to them I’d be happy, Chris Pappas has done a fair bit as well so if I can get in and around those guys I’ll be happy for our first weekend.

“We’ve being thrown in the deep end a bit, we’ve done zero laps in the car, I’ve only sat in one of these once at Sydney at the start of the year. I’ve never driven on a slick tyre or a left-hand drive car with a four-speed gearbox on the right-hand side. so there’s a lot of different challenges to tackle but it will be a good learning curve and it definitely will benefit me in the future.

“I’ll be racing the production car in the endurance round on Saturday along with the TA2, so that’ll be a big day between both cars but I can’t wait to get out on track.”

ENTRY LIST 2021 PROMAXX Performance Exhausts TA2 Muscle Car Series powered by Atlantic Oils Northern Series, Round 3 - Queensland Raceway, October 23/24

PRO, #5 Matt MacKelden (QLD), Ford Mustang - Kubota Racing PRO, #8 Dalton Ellery (QLD), Ford Mustang - Harris Racing MASTERS, #9 Warren Wadley (QLD), Ford Mustang - Wadley Developments MASTERS, #10 Peter Robinson (QLD), Dodge Challenger - PBR Distributions/Wagner Corp PRO, #17 John McLaughlin (QLD), Ford Mustang - myraceprofile.com MASTERS, #20 Adam Hargraves (QLD), Chevrolet Camaro - Local Search Racing PRO, #40 Karl Begg (QLD), Ford Mustang - motorsportsales.com.au MASTERS, #55 Russell Wright (QLD), Ford Mustang - Wright Property Developments MASTERS, #66 Robert Leonard (QLD), Chevrolet Camaro - Access Linemarking Equipment MASTERS, #69 Anthony Tenkate (QLD), Ford Mustang - Tenkate Plant Hire PRO, #88 Chris Pappas (QLD), Ford Mustang - Wealthrite PRO, #94 Nash Morris (QLD), Ford Mustang - Norwell Motorplex PRO, #117 Jett Johnson (QLD), Ford Mustang - Full Throttle BBQ

SCHEDULE PROMAXX Performance Exhausts TA2 Muscle Car Series powered by Atlantic Oils Northern Series, Round 2 - Queensland Raceway, August 21/22

FRIDAY General Practice

SATURDAY 10:00am - Practice (15 minutes) 12:05pm - Qualifying (10 minutes) 3:15pm - Race 1 (12 laps)

SUNDAY 9:25am - Race 2 (12 laps) 11:25am - Race 3 (12 laps) 2:15pm - Race 4 (12 laps)

Bathurst 1000 champion Paul Morris is the latest name to join the growing TA2 grid in Australia, acquiring a Ford Mustang to add to the 60-strong national car count.

Morris first dabbled in TA2 competition by fielding his 18-year-old son Nash in a Ford Mustang owned by Karl Begg, and also prepares a car for Gold Coaster Chris Pappas through his Norwell Motorplex outfit.

Now, Morris has purchased his own team car, taking delivery in preparation for Nash to race this weekend in the third round of the Northern Series at Queensland Raceway.

Nash Morris scored a race win on debut in the PROMAXX Performance Exhausts TA2 Muscle Car Series at Sydney Motorsport Park in March this year, and scored a podium in the National Trans-Am Series’ last outing at Sydney in May. He also leads the TA2 Southern Series after a strong performance at Phillip Island earlier this year.

After welcoming the 50th TA2 car in the country last year, Morris’ arrival on the grid comes as the car count has rocketed up over 60 cars across all states in Australia, as the category expands its national and state-level footprint.

Whilst the national series has been put on hold this year due to COVID-induced interstate border restrictions, the TA2 Muscle Car Series has continued at a regional level.

17-year-old rookie sensation Jett Johnson leads the PROMAXX Performance Exhausts TA2 Muscle Car Northern Series powered by Atlantic Oils after two rounds at Queensland Raceway, with the third round coming up this weekend on 23-24 October at the Ipswich circuit.

The TA2 Southern Series is looking to resume at Winton Motor Raceway on 12-14 November, before supporting the Bathurst 1000 on 30 November-5 December.

QUOTES Paul Morris - Norwell Motorplex team owner

“I just love the concept that Peter Robinson and the team at TA2 have come up with. These cars are the real deal and the perfect place for someone like Nash to develop his skills and race hard in a relatively low-budget environment,” Morris endorsed.

“I just hope no one changes the specs on these cars over the next few years as they are just perfect the way they are. Fast, competitive, cost-effective to race, easy to repair and totally-controlled so no team can get a technical advantage.

This is why guys like Aaron Seton, Nathan Herne, Chris Pappas, Jett Johnson and now Nash have jumped on board. It’s the best motorsport bang-for-buck around.”

16-year-old Jett Johnson has clean swept the second round of the PROMAXX Performance Exhausts TA2 Muscle Car Northern Series, powered by Atlantic Oils.

Following his maiden circuit racing victory in Race 1 yesterday, Johnson put the metal down and cantered away to win the final three races of the weekend, by margins of 3.7 seconds, 2.1 seconds and a massive 7.5 second margin in the final.

Starting third, Pappas got the jump on Wright off the start of the first race of the day before Wright regained second place under brakes into Turn 3 and remained second.

After he was caught up in the first lap incident in Race 1, Adam Hargraves made up six spots from the rear of the grid to finish fourth from Karl Begg, Peter Robinson and Murray Kent.

Wright dropped back to fourth in Race 3, as Chris Pappas scored his personal best race finish in second. Karl Begg climbed two spots to score his first podium race result on his series debut.

Wright encountered a slave cylinder issue in Race 4 and dropped further back the field again, as Pappas maintained second place.

Murray Kent and Karl Begg battled for fourth position before the pair clashed on Lap 8 as Begg tagged Kent’s Camaro into a spun on the run out of Turn 3. Begg crossed the line fifth before he was handed a 30-second post race penalty for his part in the incident.

Johnson took his fourth win from as many races to win the round over Pappas and Wright, and take the lead in the PROMAXX Performance Exhausts TA2 Northern Series standings by nine points over Wright.

The PROMAXX Performance Exhausts TA2 Muscle Car Series is targeting a return to Wakefield Park Raceway in New South Wales on October 22-24 pending changes to state border closures.

QUOTES

Jett Johnson, driver - #117 Full Throttle BBQ Ford Mustang

“I’m really happy with how the weekend went,” said Jett Johnson.

“From the first practice session we rolled out I knew we were on for a good weekend, the car was on rails and I knew it was up to my to conserve the tyres, conserve the car and not make any mistakes.

“I knew we had a chance to run up the front, but I never would have thought we would came away with pole and all four race wins, so it’s been a great weekend.

It’s been great to have the support of my family and friends this weekend, as well as all our partners on the car that make this possible, including Full Throttle BBQ, Pirtek, Signwayz, SS Media, Beaurepaires Beenleigh, APW Wentworthville, Fineline Fabrications and R&T Pumps.”

The TA2 Muscle Car Series has welcomed a new partnership for this weekend’s second round of the PROMAXX Performance Exhausts TA2 Northern Series - powered by Atlantic Oils.

Established in 1997, Atlantic Oils is a proudly Australia independently-owned company providing high-quality engine oils and lubricants for the automotive, industrial, agricultural and mining sectors.

With a combined knowledge of over 100 years of technical excellence in the lubricants industry, Atlantic Oils specialises in the production of high-performance latest-specification oils and lubricants, and possess the ability to innovate and meet changing industrial needs with custom products.

Also possessing its own fleet of trucks, Atlantic Oils is able to offer an efficient product delivery system surpassing that of its competitors.

Founded in 2016, the TA2 Muscle Car Series is one of the fastest growing motorsport series in Australia, with grids of V8 Ford Mustang, Chevrolet Camaro and Dodge Challenger muscle cars entertaining race fans across the country.

Catering for club-level racers through to aspiring professionals, the series has attributed its growth and success from a focus on cost control, strict technical regulations, promotion of close competition and driver talent.

The series heads to Queensland Raceway this weekend for the second round of their northern series. Ten cars will hit the track headlined by 16-year old Jett Johnson, the third-generation racer of the famous Johnson motorsport family.

The PROMAXX Performance Exhausts TA2 Muscle Car Northern Series - powered by Atlantic Oil will have four races across two days of action this weekend.

QUOTES

Daniel Saleh, Queensland State Manager - Atlantic Oils

“Atlantic Oils is proud to team up with the TA2 Muscle Car Series. As an Australian-made muscle product supporting a fantastic Muscle Car series, we look forward to continuing to grow with the TA2 Muscle Car Series well into the future.”

Craig Denyer, Manager - TA2 Muscle Car Series

“It’s great to welcome another partner onboard that shares our vision of being the best bang-for-buck motorsport category in Australia, and sees the value of promoting their fantastic product to the motorsport audience.”

“Like TA2, Atlantic Oils is performance driven with a strong customer focus and we are looking forward to growing this partnership over the next few rounds.”

16-year-old Jett Johnson has scored his first circuit racing win of his career from pole position in Race 1 of the PROMAXX Performance Exhausts TA2 Muscle Car Northern Series powered by Atlantic Oils at Queensland Raceway today.

The third-generation of the Johnson racing dynasty scored his first PWR Pole Award earlier in the day by six-thousandths of a second from Russell Wright, with Chris Pappas impressing in third from Murray Kent.

Johnson made a strong start before carnage unfolded behind him. Front-row starter Wright was tagged and spun by Pappas at Turn 1, with Adam Hargraves collecting Wright on the way through.

The race was ‘cancelled’ (Queensland Raceway’s equivalent of a red flag) as teams hurried to patch up the damaged cars of Wright and Pappas before the race was restarted, with Hargraves unable to rejoin the action.

The race was restarted and reduced to ten laps, as Johnson got the jump on Wright again and was never headed from there, setting the fastest lap of the race at a 1:14.0933 on Lap 5.

His grandfather, three-time Bathurst 1000 winner and five-time Touring Car Champion Dick Johnson watched on as Jett took the chequered flag by 1.5 seconds from Wright and Pappas, aided by his Supercars race-winning father Steve Johnson and his Team Johnson squad.

Elsewhere in the pack, Kent slid off the track at Turn 2 and dropped back to seventh, before re-passing Peter Robinson and Karl Begg on his way back to fourth place.

Begg and Anthony Tenkate engaged in a close battle for fifth, before Tenkate experienced a brake issue and spun off at Turn 3 on Lap 8 and brought his race to an end.

Johnson, Wright, Pappas rounded out the podium, followed by Kent and Begg who finished in the top five on debut. Peter Robinson, Warren Wadley and debutant Rob Leonard completed the eight finishers in the field.

QUOTES

Jett Johnson, driver - #117 Full Throttle BBQ Ford Mustang

“I’m stoked to get my first race win today,” said Jett Johnson.

“It felt incredible to take that chequered flag, and to have my Grandpa here and my whole family here watching on the pit wall means so much to me.

“I was a bit nervous at the start when Rusty [Wright] was all over me, but after we restarted it was all good from there.

“I just tried to conserve myself, didn’t burn up the tyres, didn’t burn up the brakes and just tried to save everything for the final three races to come tomorrow.”