While a wide variety of machinery used throughout the 45-year history of the Trans-Am Series, most followers tend to equate American pony cars with the series. In fact, one would be hard pressed to come up with examples other than those in the classic vein.

In hopes of spawning greater participation and variety within the ranks of the SCCA Pro Racing Trans-Am Series, organizers recently introduced a new TA2 class for competitors. Drawing from existing class regulations, the TA2 class comprises two subdivisions.

GT2-based TA2 cars use the GT2 rules from the SCCA Club Racing 2011 General Competition Rules, while GT-based TA2 cars draw upon on several separate sets of SCCA Regional rules that are summarized in the 2011 Pro Racing Regulations.

The season’s first race at Sebring saw six entrants in the TA2 class, with Gregg Rodgers of Southlake, TX, taking the class win in a Chevrolet Camaro. Rodgers would follow up with another TA2 win at the following round at Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, UT, though if truth be known, Rodgers was the only entrant in the TA2 class. Coaxing lower budget teams into national competition takes time.

“I’m really excited about TA2,” said Rodgers. “It’s bringing a whole different facet to SCCA Pro Racing. It’s great, the competitors are great and it’s a great recipe on the car. I’m excited for the 2011 Camaro. We just finished the thing a week ago and with zero test time we brought it to Sebring because we wanted to support SCCA Pro Racing.”

The struggle continued when the Trans Am contingent headed north of the border to Canada’s Mosport International Raceway. Bob Stretch, from Arlington, TX, was the sole participant in TA2 competition. For younger teams not having strong budgets and world-class logistical skills, such out of the way venues are a significant challenge. More teams had made it out for the third round in the series, held at Virginia International Raceway.

The TA2 rules are flexible enough to allow for widely different approaches to building race cars. Bob Stretch explained, “Our car is quite different. (Rodgers) converted an older chassis to fit his body. We went a different route by buying a new chassis that was already designed for the body. I think our way was a little bit more cost effective, but there are a lot of these cars out there.”

“There are a lot of old ASA (American Speed Association) cars and the car count could be very high because of the number of cars out there. There are a number of components that we run in this series that are widely available, so it makes it so that you can put one of these cars together relatively easy,” he added.

As the economy struggles to rebuild, there are signs that some success is being found. Getting the grass roots level racers back at the regional level is a worthy first step. While opening doors at the National level might seem a bit premature, its never too early to plan for success.