r/TransAmRacing • u/Then_Plane9346 • 16d ago
What happened to the Trans Am Series?
I’ve heard many people say how the series isn’t as popular as it used to be, but I can’t really find clear reasons as to why that is. Maybe someone who knows more can help. To be clear I’m not trying to hate as I watch Trans Am races pretty regularly and it’s a fun series, but many say that it isn’t what it used to be.
Back in the 80s and 90s, Trans Am had huge manufacturer support, was on network TV, had big sponsorship money and had elite drivers. Obviously there’s still driver talent but what made sponsors/OEMs/TV migrate away from the series? Was it just changing interests to other motorsports, cost cutting, or something else?
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u/richknobsales 15d ago
I didn’t watch it until my son in law was driving and it’s great fun and hard competition. He got a championship and his friend - who’s like another of my kids got one. Really competitive and to watch these kids like Connor Zilisch move up to IMSA Weathertech is wonderful!!
Great racing!!!!
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u/ShotgunCrusader_ 15d ago
I think it’s overshadowed a lot by IMSA, the entertainment market for Motorsports in the US is mostly spread between NASCAR, IMSA, and drag racing. I would already say NHRA is kinda on the fringe vs the other two being more mainstream and then TA kinda gets left behind
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u/ConnectNeck5859 14d ago
It had become an old guys series with a few paid drivers teams hired to try and capture championship. Younger kids like Zilisch, Crews, Annunziata and Herne came in recently and brought a little youth to it but most of the field is still hobby drivers that aren't that great. Could be a great series as the underlying car platform is pretty attractive (light weight, decent HP, no driver assists) though it's gotten more expensive to run lately. Series mgt hasn't been great recently though the series was just sold and they just hired Andy Lally as president so you may see some changes and more aggressive attempts to see some growth.
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u/ConnectNeck5859 14d ago edited 12d ago
It had become an old guys series with a few paid drivers teams hired to try and capture championship. Younger kids like CZ, Crews, Annunziata and Herne came in recently and brought a little youth to it but most of the field is still hobby drivers that aren't that great. Could be a great series as the underlying car platform is pretty attractive (light weight, decent HP, no driver assists) though it's gotten more expensive to run lately. Series mgt hasn't been great recently though the series was just sold and they just hired Andy Lally as president so you may see some changes and more aggressive attempts to see some growth.
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u/Sweet_Parsley8227 16d ago
The cost of sponsorship for the different cars and the Trans-Am series at different tracks adds up to millions of $$. And to compete against other forms of racing 🏁 like NASCAR, F1, Drag racing 🏁 is tough to do. You also have to have a lot of spectators in attendance to buy tickets to also help pay for the event. And since Covid-19 hit, it affected a lot of things.