The Trans Am Series will host its fifth points race of the season as part of the SVRA Brickyard Vintage Racing Invitational, which will stream LIVE on FloRacing.com from Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Saturday and Sunday, June 17-18. 

The SVRA will host several classes of vintage car, vintage motorcycles, and a Pro-Am, but wedged into that already packed schedule will be Trans Am and a Mazda MX5 Cup races. 

Trans Am is well into its 13-race schedule, and after an initial win by Cliff Ebben, Victory Lane has been dominated by teenage phenom Ernie Francis Jr. This weekend, he will try to record a fourth straight win.

The season got off to a rough start for Francis. He finished just 15th in the TA class, completing 16 of the 27 laps on the famed Sebring airport/road course. Considering the fact that he was jumping into the top division from TA4, that was not overly surprising, but what he has done with his opportunity is amazing.



At the tender age of 19, Francis has three TA4 championships and has proved to be more than ready to race with the big names. 

Victories at Homestead, Road Atlanta, and Detroit's Belle Isle circuit quickly erased all memory of his inaugural struggle.

After scoring an apparently easy win at Belle Isle, Francis commented on the challenge of changing classes.

"I had to get used to how wide the car was and just how stiff the chassis was on the Grand Prix course," Francis said. "It's a big difference from the production Camaros and Mustangs I've run here before. Once we got settled down and made the adjustments, the car was just on rails from start to end." 

In his three wins, Francis has had to hold off different competitors each time. That demonstrates the competitiveness of both Francis and the series. RJ Lopez was the runner-up at Homestead, Amy Ruman at Road America, and Vincent Allegretta at Belle Isle. 

Allegretta has been the most consistent competitor with another runner-up finish to Ebben at Sebring, a fifth at Homestead, and sixth in Detroit. However, Francis' run turned into a death by a thousand cuts for Allegretta, who is slowly losing ground in the points. Francis currently trails 119 to 91.

Ruman's three consecutive top fives to start the season and a seventh at Belle Isle lands her only one point behind Allegretta. The Brickyard and eight more races give both an opportunity to close the gap.

SVRA Brickyard Vintage Racing Invitational 

Where To Watch

Indianapolis Motor Speedway
4790 W 16th St, 
Indianapolis, IN, 46222

How To Watch

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