Radford Racing School in Chandler, Arizona, is debuting a Trans Am Racing program designed for novice and experienced drivers, and featuring late-model TA2 race cars from Chris Cook Performance through Tom Nelson Motorsports.
The program, which starts November 1, will be the only one of its kind offered by a driving school in the US, according to Radford, formerly the Bondurant School of High Performance Driving.
The Trans Am program was developed in collaboration with Cook, a champion NASCAR and Xfinity Series racer who has trained such top drivers as Tony Stewart, Joey Logano, Clint Bowyer and Johnny O’Connell, a four-time winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
“We’re pumped to break new ground as the only school in the country to offer this type of Trans Am racing program,” Mike Kessler, general manager of the racing school, said in a news release. “It’s a natural extension of our current courses and is a part of our expansion as a world-class high performance driving school.
“Working with Chris, we designed this program for both novice enthusiasts looking to experience the raw performance of a TA2 racecar and professional drivers who want additional training.”
The Trans Am program at Radford includes classroom time that covers the fundamentals and techniques, and students will be familiarized with the school’s purpose-built road course driving Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcats. Once accustomed to the track, each student will be fitted with a TA2 race car to complete 10 to 50 laps, depending on the individual program option.
“Each TA2 race car features a full tube-frame chassis with no electronic steering, ABS or traction control, and delivers an unmatched, raw driving experience from a 500+ horsepower engine and 4-speed manual transmission,” the Radford news release says.
“Trans Am is the fastest-growing driving series in the country,” Cook says in the release. “Earlier this month, Tom Nelson Motorsports, who is providing the TA2 racecars for our Radford Racing School program, clenched the Pirelli West Coast Championship, adding to the team’s growing presence in the Trans Am circuit.
“We’re bringing that championship spirit to Chandler, where every enthusiast will have a chance to experience the adrenaline that comes from racing a true TA2 racecar. It will also be the ideal way for pro drivers to get some invaluable training time on a legendary track at an accessible price, with world-class instructors.”
For more information about the new Trans Am Racing program at Radford, visit the school’s website.
