Yahoo Autos What Brent Crews’ 2023 TA2 championship means for Trans Am
When Brent Crews crossed the finish line fourth at Circuit of The Americas earlier this month, he secured the 2023 Big Machine Vodka SPIKED Coolers TA2 Series title, and at the age of 15 years, seven months and six days old, became the youngest champion in the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli’s history.
Crews’ championship signals a new era for Trans Am, putting an exclamation point on TA2’s growing youth movement, and highlighting the series as a platform for young up-and-coming drivers.
In addition to becoming the youngest champion in Trans Am history, Crews is younger than the youngest champions in the some of the most significant motorsports series in North America and around the world. Here is where he stacks up against other champions:
Trans Am Series (Brent Crews): 15 years, seven months and six days
ARCA Racing Series (Jesse Love): 15 years, nine months and 24 days
USAC (Josh Wise): 16 years
NASCAR Xfinity Series (Chase Elliott): 18 years, 11 months and 11 days
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (Erik Jones): 19 years, five months and 21 days
IndyCar (Sam Hornish): 22 years, three months and four days
Formula 1 (Sebastian Vettel): 23 years, four months and 11 days
NASCAR Cup Series (Bill Rexford): 23 years, seven months and 15 days
At the age of 14, Crews was named the 2022 Big Machine Vodka SPIKED Coolers TA2 Series Rookie of the Year following an impressive first year of competition. Also in 2022, he became the youngest race winner in series history following a victory at Road America, and claimed two more wins before the end of the year (Big Machine Music City Grand Prix, VIRginia International Raceway). With four wins en route to his championship in 2023 (NOLA Motorsports Park, Detroit Grand Prix Race 1, Road America, Watkins Glen), Crews demonstrated just how strong of a competitor he is, beating out last year’s TA2 champion Thomas Merrill and two-time champion Rafa Matos for the title.
