Pickett to miss Sonoma, site of his first Trans Am win
Image by Seth DeDoes
share
tweet
email
By:
Trans Am June 15, 2019 8:30 AM
Veteran Greg Pickett, currently second on the all-time number of starts list, has withdrawn from the Trans Am Presented by Pirelli West Coast Championship series round at Sonoma Raceway this weekend.
“Very sad I’m missing it,” said the Crystal Bay, Nev., driver who made his Trans Am debut back in the mid-1970s. “I consider Sonoma my home track, and I have enjoyed success there going all the way back to 1978 and my first Trans Am win. We’re just not quite recovered from the unexpected engine program problems that prevented us from competing at Fontana and Laguna Seca earlier this season. Our engine failures were massive and virtually destroyed both of our engines. Finding the hard pieces, mid-season, to fix the problem quickly has proven next to impossible.”
“I wish all the competitors this weekend at Sonoma the very best of luck, and appreciate the continued efforts of John Clagett and Tony Parella, and their entire Trans Am staff and organization, on re-energizing this great racing tradition on the West Coast. The dramatically improved car count this weekend proves their efforts are paying off. Sunday will be a very exciting race. Race fans don’t miss it!!”
More Trans Am!
Pickett’s withdrawal means West Coast points leader Simon Gregg (Derhaag Motorsports Chevrolet Corvette) loses his primary TA-class sparring partner. But the Florida driver faces strong local competition from Michelle Nagai of Loomis, Calif. (Berkeley Jet Drive Corvette) and Michael Fine from West Sacramento (Architectural Glass Systems Camaro) among others.
Today’s qualifying session start at 3:05 p.m. PT (TA/SGT/GT) and 3:25pm (TA2), the action culminating on Sunday with a 100-mile (or 70 minutes, whichever comes first) mixed-class feature starting at 12:45 p.m. PT.
Fans are invited to a tour of the Trans Am West Coast paddock from 10:30-11:30 a.m. on Saturday where drivers will be available for autographs and cars will be on display for photos. Live timing and scoring is available at GoTransAm.com or on the Race Monitor app.
Greg Pickett,
Sonoma Raceway,
Trans Am