Nathan Herne Set for US TA2 Return at Watkins Glen

Current Trans Am Cup Series leader 2021/2022 Champion Nathan Herne has announced his return to race in the USA, which will take place at the famed Watkins Glen Circuit and will once again be at the controls of a Toyota Camry bodied TA2 across the July 16-19 weekend. 

Herne, has started 2026 in fine form dominating the opener at Bathurst and again finding the podium in Darwin, is no stranger to the US TA2 scene but said this time he’s taking his Australian engineer Jonas Rutherford who he attributes much of his 2026 success to. 

“Jonas came from work experience with me last year at Sandown, which happened to be probably our worst round ever in Trans Am,” said Herne. 

“He came to me with a spreadsheet after the weekend and told me about all the areas we were lacking and at first I was a little bit offended but then I thought back and he was pretty spot on with all his points.” 

Herne will be steering the Toyota Camry he raced last year but the Chev Camaro has tasted plenty of success in 2026 with up and coming NASCAR drivers being placed into the category as the emphasis on road course skills is becoming ever more important. 

Herne has the support of Chaz Howe the builder of the TA2 cars currently seen in action in the Australian TA2 and Trans Am Cup Series but will also have limited team members with which to work on the car he affectively calls “The Prius”. 

“Chas has been full of support for Jonas to come over with me so I don’t think we’re going in with one hand tied behind our backs at all and I definitely think we have a shot for a win,” said Herne. 

TA2 and Trans Am Cup Series Category Manager Matt MacKelden said it was great see Nathan getting another crack at the US series given his success here and it reiterated that if that’s the pathway that someone wants to follow, Nathan is proving it’s a legitimate option.

“We firmly believe that if Australia is your chosen pathway, TA2 and Trans Am offer a legitimate stepping stone to Super 2 and beyond but if the US is the direction you want to go, achieving success here definitely puts you in good stead for the switch stateside, said MacKelden. 

“Trackhouse driver Connor Zilisch raced in the TA2 Series in 2023 winning five races before heading to Truck and Xfinity and is now a super competitive driver in NASCAR so we’d love to see Nathan find success and potentially get on the radar of some teams.”