Herne, 22, is back in action with FAST Auto Racing, a squad he’s previously driven for in the US as part of a tie-up with chassis manufacturer Howe Racing.
While he’s raced Mustang and Camaro-bodied Howe TA2 chassis on US soil before, this time he’ll be aboard a brand-new Toyota Camry.
The Camry body debuted in TA2 in the US this year and has proven the car to beat.
Howe is the control chassis supplier for Australian TA2 racing but is one of three builders in the USA, making Herne a valuable commodity for developing and showcasing the product.
Two-time Australian Trans Am Series winner Herne raced full-time in the US in 2023 and made select appearances last year.
“I think this will be the most competitive we’ve ever been,” Herne told Speedcafe before flying out of Australia.
“I haven’t driven the car yet, but from a few things they’ve changed with the way they go about tech, it takes away a lot of the shock magic that some of the other cars had when I was racing there in ’23 and ’24.
“Not only that but we’ll be in the Camry that is the body to beat at the moment. It’ll be the first Howe Racing Camry actually driven. It’ll be interesting to see how the Howe chassis goes.”
Herne had hoped to race in the US earlier this year but has been busy with local commitments, competing in the Trans Am Series and fielding a customer car in TA2.
He hopes to be back in the US for the season finale at the Circuit of the Americas on October 30-November 2.
“We do COTA every year to try and sell cars, really. As Chas (Howe) always says, you’re only as good as your last race,” explained Herne.
“To get the Howe car at the front in the last round is important because it’s generally when the teams are looking at where to buy the next car.
“I think this weekend is going to go well, but it’s a bit of a test of some new stuff ahead of COTA. That’s when we’ll try and put the show on.”
Herne first came onto the Howe radar when he was racing in the Australian series in 2020 and suffered oil surge issues at Bathurst.
“They didn’t think we’d get enough lateral load out of the Hoosier tyre for it to be a problem for us,” Herne explained.
“It was the first time they had that issue, so they asked who the hell was driving the car to be able to do that! I was 17 at the time and that’s when Chas started paying attention to what was going on in Australia.
“When I first came to race in America at COTA [in 2022], they gave me a bit of a ‘Frankenstein’ car. It was a car that’d had more hits than Elvis, it’d ended in the fence more times than it’d crossed the line.
“They’d cut it up, made a few changes to the front-end and gave it to me as a test to see what I thought. Obviously Chas liked the feedback and we went full-time in ’23 before I came back to Australia in ’24.”
Herne competed at Watkins Glen during that 2023 season, sharing the podium with current NASCAR rising star Connor Zilisch.
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