The surprise Trans Am title contender

JOSH Webster is as surprised as anyone to find himself in the thick of the National Trans Am title race as crunch time arrives.

Belated disqualifications from the Winton round applied to Garry Rogers Motorsport duo James Moffat and Lochie Dalton have turned the season on its head.

Moffat and Dalton had been one-two in the standings; they are now seventh and eighth.

Elliot Barbour holds the lead entering the penultimate round of the year, Race Sydney, which begins today. Webster is just 21 points behind.

“It was this time last year we announced our plans to contest Trans Am, I didn’t think 12 months on we’d be second in the series standings,” said Webster.

“Finishing races has been our strong suit, Dream Racing Australia has given me a good car making my job easier.”

The #200 Camaro driver is looking forward to the challenges presented by Sydney Motorsport Park – and night racing.

“I’ve had a heap of in-car to look at, so I know all the brake markers and everything, but I’ve never seen the track before,” he said.

“It will be good to get to the track and experience it, especially to see if the tyre degradation is really as bad as what has been said before. At the previous rounds we’ve always had a car that looks after its tyres well, so I think we’ll come on strong as the event progresses.

“I haven’t done any racing under lights, only road driving! It will be a new experience for me and Friday night is going to be a bit of an eye-opener.”

Webster will have an international teammate at both SMP and Bathurst: Robert Noaker.

Unlike Webster, the American does have some level of night racing experience under his belt.

“I’ve done some racing under lights, there’s a track out in California called Thunderhill that holds a 25-hour race every year and I’ve contested it two years in a row driving a Mazda MX-5,” said Noaker.

“Earlier this year I raced at Daytona, which will be a bit closer to the lighting of Sydney again in a Mazda, which is a bit different to a Trans Am.”

Trans Am practice starts today at 2:20pm AEDT.

Entry list: National Trans Am Series, Race Sydney