Shift Up Now Athlete Michele Abbate completed an extraordinary breakout season in 2020 with GRR Racing and earned numerous accolades in the Trans Am TA2 West Coast Series.
Abbate co-founded GRR Racing with husband Anthony Philleo and, despite the challenges of a season competing in a worldwide pandemic, the Las Vegas native turned heads everywhere she went.
Abbate became the first-ever female to finish on the podium in the TA2 at Sonoma Raceway in October. At the following event – Circuit of the Americas – the 32-year-old driver took home a second place finish. She then earned a top-five finish at every single race in the West Coast Championship, and a second-place finish overall.
To round out her 2020 season, Abbate joined BC Racing for a double-header weekend in the final round of the Trans Am National Tour. She made her debut in the National Class of Trans Am TA2 and, despite never having competed at Road Atlanta before, Abbate collected two top-15 finishes.
“This was such an amazing experience to top off a great year,” said Abbate. “It felt great to hit the top-fifteen goal I set for myself, and I came out of my national-debut weekend with newfound confidence, knowledge and abilities behind the wheel. I feel like this positioned me for my best possible season in 2021.”
Abbate is looking for a title sponsor to move to the Trans Am National Tour full-time for 2021. The GRR Racing team is working on plans for the upcoming season and hopes to have news to share soon.
