TRANS AM: Tony Parella joins series ownership group

The Trans Am Race Company has announced that Parella Motorsports Holdings has assumed a significant ownership stake in TARC, officially seeing Tony Parella join the Trans Am Series ownership group. Parella is the CEO of both Parella Motorsports Holdings and the Sportscar Vintage Racing Association, with which Trans Am holds joint weekends throughout the year. While the move will create additional synergy on those joint weekends, Parella and Trans Am are aiming much higher.

"We're all overjoyed to have Tony joining us as we continue our momentum in Trans Am," said John Clagett, president of The Trans Am Race Company. "Tony has been a longtime friend and fan of the Series; between the existing Trans Am platform and the business acumen which Tony brings to the table I'm confident we can continue to grow the Trans Am Series and continue building an increasingly bright future for competitors, teams and fans."

The Trans Am Series and Parella Motorsports will focus integration of additional media production, marketing and sales resources into the Trans Am Series – all while continuing to build the Trans Am event platform.

"We see an opening in the marketplace for motorsports festivals on a national platform," said Tony Parella. "Fans are responding to a show with a variety of automotive designs and engine sounds in both wheel-to-wheel competition and on display. SVRA and Trans Am have tremendous cultural synergies, including drivers crossing over between the two series. All of this promotes sponsorship investment."

Parella has already seen growth in sponsorships from both premium, automotive and motorsports-related brands in SVRA, and will look to continue that momentum in the pro-racing world with the Trans Am Series and its growing platform. From the induction of The Trans Am Race Company nearly five years ago, the Trans Am Series has grown from 10 car fields to 60-plus car entries and multi-race weekends, but now both Trans Am management and Parella are ready to take the Series to the next level.

Parella's addition to the ownership coincides with a restructuring of the ownership group, with Tony Parella, through Parella Motorsports Holdings, Jim Derhaag, David (DJ) Jans and Mike Miller all holding equal shares while John Clagett now joins Simon Gregg as a minority shareholder. Tony Ave will remain as a management consultant and advisor to the TARC ownership going forward while maintaining his vast base of operations within the Trans Am paddock.

"I'm just as big of a believer in the Trans Am brand today as when we formed TARC nearly five years ago," said Ave. "I look forward to racing in Trans Am for many years to come and continuing to service our customer base in the Trans Am paddock. As my business continues to grow, it takes up more and more of my time – more than what would allow me to remain involved in the Series' ownership. However, with the new ownership structure I believe Trans Am is in the best of hands; and I'll remain heavily involved from both a technical and business standpoint going forward. I plan on running more races now, not less, and am truly looking forward to Trans Am's future."

"We have an incredible base going forward," said Clagett. "The series is full of committed partners, teams and competitors who believe in what we're building; with our new ownership structure in place we're ready to continue our momentum and keep building the Trans Am Series into one of the premier motorsport properties in North America."

The Trans Am Series will be in action at Mid-Ohio for Round 6 on Saturday, Aug. 13, for the First Energy Trans Am 100 and Pura Vida Tequila Muscle Car 100, presented by ETE Reman Transmissions.