Pair of Top-10s for TeamSLR in the Music City

Veteran Road Racer Jordan Bupp Finishes Sixth in TeamSLR Debut, TA2 Rookie Thad Moffitt Comes Home Eighth on Downtown Street Circuit

Overview

Date: Aug. 5, 2023

Event: Big Machine Music City Grand Prix (Round 9 of 13)

Series: Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli

Division: Big Machine Vodka Spiked Coolers TA2 Series

Location: Streets of Nashville, Tennessee

Layout: 2.17-mile, 11-turn temporary circuit

Format: 46 laps or 75 minutes

Weather: Partly cloudy, mid-80s

Winner: Connor Zilisch of Silver Hare Racing

TeamSLR:

• Jordan Bupp – Started 9^th, Finished 6^th (Running, completed 38/38 laps)
• Thad Moffitt – Started 19^th, Finished 8^th (Running, completed 38/38 laps)
• Justin Marks – Started 8^th, Finished 19^th (Running, completed 37/38 laps)
• Dillon Machavern – Started 10^th, Finished 28^th (Accident, completed 23/38 laps)
• Chris Liesfeld – Started 18^th, Finished 30^th (Electrical, completed 19/38 laps)

Noteworthy:

• Veteran road racer Jordan Bupp made his first start of the season after being diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma late last year and completing treatment early this year. He was credited with today’s COOLSHIRT Cool Move of the Race Award for his smooth and steady drive from ninth to sixth..
• With today’s third-place finish by two-time series champion Rafa Matos of Peterson Racing, M1 Racecars has been represented on the podium at all nine races this season. Jade Buford of Big Machine Racing earned a third-place finish at the previous round July 9 at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. Matos led all 45 laps June 25 at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington to give M1 Racecars its second win of the season and third pole position. TeamSLR’s Dillon Machavern joined Matos on the Mid-Ohio podium with his third-place-finish there. M1 Racecars swept the podium at the season-opening race at Sebring (Fla.) International Raceway Feb. 26 with the race-winning Matos, his Peterson Racing teammate Austin Green in the runner-up position, and TeamSLR’s Connor Mosack finishing third after qualifying on the pole and leading 20 of the 27 race laps. Matos scored back-to-back third-place finishes in rounds two and three at NOLA Motorsports Park in Avondale, Louisiana (March 11), and Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta (March 26), respectively, also earning the pole at the latter event. Mike Skeen drove his Peterson Racing entry to a runner-up finish May 27 at Lime Rock Park in Lakeville, Connecticut. At the Detroit street-race doubleheader June 3-4, Matos scored the runner-up finish in the Saturday race while TeamSLR’s Thad Moffitt finished second in the Sunday race.
• In TA2 qualifying earlier today, M1 Racecars entries scored six of the top-10 positions on the starting grid, led by Matos (fourth) and Buford (fifth). Green qualified seventh, followed by a trio of TeamSLR drivers to round out the top-10 – Justin Marks (eighth), Bupp (ninth) and Machavern (10^th).

Jordan Bupp, Driver No. 27 SLR/M1 Racecars Chevrolet Camaro:

“What a weekend. I couldn’t have asked for anything better. The car was good off the trailer, it was good at the start of the race, good halfway through, and even with me tagging the wall a couple of times, it still went straight and I still was able to finish sixth. Really, really just had to be there at the end, it’s always the name of the game. Thanks to TeamSLR and M1 Racecars for providing such a good car and such a good atmosphere, such a good team. I can’t wait to further my journey with the guys and just keep going and see if I can’t keep getting them get some more points for the championship. I couldn’t have asked for a better weekend.”

Thad Moffitt, Driver No. 43 Safety-Kleen/Victory Impact Chevrolet Camaro:

“We did a good job of keeping our nose clean, kind of the same deal as at Detroit. We didn’t hit anything and passed cars when we could. The car was really fast today, probably the best it’s ever felt at the end of one of these deals. Most of the time when we get to the end of these things, it’s kind of like I’m just hanging onto the position I’ve got, trying not to lose anymore, and this was a race where we were eighth at the end and I felt like I could get more. You just take what you can get in these street courses, don’t hit anything, and come away with a top-10 and some points after everybody else wrecks.”

Justin Marks, Driver No. 8 Trackhouse/SLR-M1 Racecars Chevrolet Camaro:

“We had probably an eighth-or 10^th-place car. It was tight, or something happening in the front end that kept it from being super quick to contend for the win. So I was sitting back a little bit, kind of biding my time because these races can come back to you. And then I think we ran over something and got a flat left-rear tire, so I had to pit and went a lap down and then it was just about finishing at that point. So that was a bummer, but it was cool to have the Tootsies car here in Nashville – I saw a lot of fans were cheering for it. But still, a bad day at the racetrack is better than a good day at work.”

Dillon Machavern, Driver No. 17 Heritage Automotive/Unifirst SLR-M1 Racecars Ford Mustang:

“The car was actually really good. I was still learning the track every lap and the car was starting to pick up some speed and I was starting to find some places where there was a lot of grip. The start went really well, I picked up a couple of spots right off the bat early, on the outside of (turn) nine. It was a little bit chaotic because one of the cars that was supposed to start ahead of me fell back on the pace lap and then suddenly came zooming up through the field, so that shook things up a little bit because he was full pace right away, going to the green flag. But otherwise, the car was good. We were slowly learning, picking up speed, but unfortunately we got damaged on a restart, which is too bad because I think we had a fast TeamSLR car today.”

Next Up

The Big Machine Vodka Spiked Coolers TA2 Series competitors have a month-long reprieve before next taking to the track for the 10^th round of the 2023 calendar Sept. 8-10 at historic Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International. The Watkins Glen SpeedTour commences Friday, Sept. 8, with a pair of TA2 open test sessions on the 3.4-mile, 11-turn road course. Official TA2 practice is set for the morning of Saturday, Sept. 9, with qualifying late that afternoon. The 30-lap, 75-minute TA2 race is set for 11:05 a.m. EDT Sunday, Sept. 10, with live television coverage provided by MAVTV, and live-streaming video coverage by the Trans Am Series and SpeedTourTV channels on YouTube.

-TeamSLR-