Stevens-Miller Racing’s Dodge Challenger TA2 Entry Is Moving Up In The Standings!

It’s been a while since we have talked about Trans Am racing. After the No. 40 Prefix/Stevens-Miller Racing (SMR) Dodge Challenger TA2 team, took home the TA2 championship in 2019, the team ditched the Challenger as a full-time race car in 2020. It did return to full-time status in 2021 for one driver and serve as a part-time fill-in for a few others. 

That one full-time driver (Rhett Barkau) ended up winning the Trans Am 2021 Rookie of the Year title. In a pre-race interview before the Charlotte race, the 20-year-old explained a few reasons why he runs the Challenger in the TA2 competition. He explained that his family is a bunch of Dodge fans and that the family-owned business that sponsors the car (BarkauCars.com), also is made up of two Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep®, Ram dealers in Illinois.

SMR announced back in February, that they were building a new Dodge Challenger TA2 race car with long partner Berryman Products, as a primary sponsor for the 2022 season. The car carries the company’s mascot the “Green Monster” also known as the “Chemtooler” and is fitted with new body panels from Fivestar Racing. The No. 01 BarkauCars.com / NAPA MPEC / Berryman Products Dodge Challenger, is again piloted by Barkau for the 2022 season.

Berryman Products Marketing Manager, Beau Blankenship, stated this following his comment for another year alongside SMR. “Berryman is thrilled to continue our partnership with the SMR Team. Over the years this partnership has become one of the most important in our company. The professionalism, the attention to detail, and the desire to win is what makes it so easy for Berryman to come back to SMR. We are so proud of all that the team has accomplished, and we cannot wait to see the new livery on a brand-new Dodge Challenger sporting our Chemtooler on the track in 2022.”

Made up of 12 events, the 2022 Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli National Schedule has already completed 3 events on that schedule. This means that the series will move to the West Coast for its next two races. The next stop is at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca (Trans Am Speed Fest), which takes place from April 22nd to the 24th.

Currently sitting 8th in the TA2 points standings, there is still plenty of time for Barkau and his No. 01, the BarkauCars.com / NAPA MPEC / Berryman Products Dodge Challenger team to move their way up the standings. 

If you have the chance to attend at Trans Am event, we highly recommend it. We enjoy our time in 2019, with the SMR team at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The racing is highly competitive and the TA2 division has had approximately 43 cars enter its events this year. With the only Dodge in TA2 being the SMR entry. 

It wasn’t long ago, that Dodge pledged its full factory support to the SMR TA2 program. 

Be sure to follow the SMR team on Instagram and Facebook, as well as, driver Rhett Barkau on his dedicated fan website, to get the inside scoop on the Challenger TA2 news throughout the 2022 Trans Am season.