National Trans Am Series rookie Josh Webster has proven that staying clear of trouble can go a long way to becoming a serious threat to title frontrunners.
The 21-year-old has emerged as a frontrunner in the overall points tally, after managing to steer clear of carnage in a highly competitive season.
In doing so, Webster is one of the few drivers to have not picked up a single DNF in 2023.
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Despite only four top 10 finishes in 16 races this year, the Tasmanian sits fourth in the overall standings with 770 points and is in reaching distance of a remarkable top three finish with only two rounds remaining.
His best result came in the opening round of the season at Race Tasmania by finishing eighth during his debut round at his home circuit.
Since then, Webster has managed to fill the final position in the top 10 on two occasions, before recording his second-best finish of the year with ninth in the final race at Queensland Raceway.
With the end of his rookie season in sight, Webster was happy with his performances and was pleased to be able to stick to his goal of keeping the car in one piece.
“Keeping clean, staying out of trouble and chipping away at it has always been the plan for this year, we are happy with how we have gone,” Webster said.
“Jumping from a Hyundai straight into a Trans Am has been challenging, especially since I am new to most of the tracks we compete at. It makes it challenging to get results, but we have been starting to find some pace as of late.
“I am definitely pinching myself with where I am in the title race, we set out to be in the top 10 and potentially knocking on the door of the top five at best, we would have considered that a good year.
“Now currently sitting in fourth with two rounds to go, it exceeded our expectations, that’s for sure.”
Looking ahead to the upcoming Race Sydney round in November, Webster will continue with the same mindset he has had all year and continue to take in the lessons along the way.
“Everything is the same going forward, nothing changes,” Webster added.
“It’s still my rookie year, so if we can continue to stay out of trouble and pick off some positions in the process, we would be pretty wrapped with that.
“Sydney will be a brand-new track for me, hopefully we will tee up a test day beforehand, but it will also be my first-time racing under lights.
“This year is just a huge learning process, I like to see this as my apprenticeship year and if mistakes happen, we can learn from it.”
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National Trans Am Series will feature under the lights at Sydney Motorsport Park for Race Sydney on 3-4 November.