Traveling to Las Vegas, Nevada with a shot at both the TC America TCA Rookie-of-the-Year and overall series championship, Tyler Maxson checked off both boxes on his to do list. Needing a good result and some luck to be able to secure a both titles, Maxson closed the weekend with a pair of third place results, adding to his 2019 podium total, and was able to take both the Rookie-of-the-Year and TCA Championship by four points.
“It is always a good weekend when you can leave with a pair of trophies as well as two more designations to add to my resume” explained Maxson, who is now the youngest champion in TCA history. “We had one bad weekend, and that nearly killed us in the championship. The Copeland Motorsports guys worked their tails off all year long, and I am happy to bring them this honor. They deserve it.”
Friday morning started off with trouble for Maxson as a broken transmission in the one and only practice session on the day sent his Copeland Motorsports crew scurrying to get his Mazda MX-5 ND2 car ready for qualifying that afternoon. Finishing in time to start the session, Maxson made it on track but was the victim of an untimely red flag.
“The red flag came out just as we started our flying lap, and I had to immediately abort,” added Maxson. “Unfortunately, we were unable to go back green, and I had to start in row four for Saturday’s first race of the weekend.”
Working hard to drive forward in race one and salvage a good result, Maxson drove to a fourth-place result on track when the checkered flag flew. Leveling up one position following post-race penalties, Maxson was awarded a third-place result, keeping his championship hopes alive.
Race two on the weekend would go green Sunday afternoon with Maxson only 11 markers in arrears of the current point leader. Mathematically with a shot at the championship, everything would need to go his way. As the fastest driver consistently all year and a drive to succeed, the Georgia resident was awarded with some luck from the racing gods. Pushing hard to add his second podium result of the weekend, Maxson garnered just enough points to claim the TCA Championship.
The Copeland Motorsports driver added, “I did not know exactly what was needed to win the title. I knew that if I finished ahead of my competition, it would help, but did not know the exact point difference. To come away with the TCA Championship by only four points, as well as the Rookie of the Year award is an amazing feeling. The only sad part about all of this is that the season is over, but I can’t wait to start testing for 2020.”
Tyler Maxson would like to thank Copeland Motorsports, Mazda Motorsports and Four Seasons Auto Wash for all of their help, support and hard work throughout the 2019 season.
For more information on Tyler Maxson, please contact RTD Media and Management at Info@RaceTechDevelopment.com or visit him online at www.TylerMaxsonRacing.com.
Photo Credit: Red Case Photography