Dyson takes Trans Am TA pole with new track record at Watkins Glen

Chris Dyson in the No. 16 GYM WEED Ford Mustang set a new track record and captured the pole for today’s Mission Foods Watkins Glen SpeedTour at Watkins Glen International with a time of 1m42.785s. Dyson was also fastest in yesterday’s practice …

Chris Dyson in the No. 16 GYM WEED Ford Mustang set a new track record and captured the pole for today’s Mission Foods Watkins Glen SpeedTour at Watkins Glen International with a time of 1m42.785s. Dyson was also fastest in yesterday’s practice session.

“The GYM WEED car has been terrific since we got here,” said Dyson. “We tested for two days last week at VIRginia International Raceway, and that kind of got everybody back into the swing of things, especially at a fast circuit. So, to come back up here to Watkins Glen, a New York team coming to a New York track, it’s really a thrill and an honor to put the No. 16 car once again on pole here with a new track record.

We’re really happy here to be celebrating the partnership with GYM WEED and Chestnut Market. You’ll be able to buy the pear-pineapple flavor, which our colors match this weekend, at all the Chestnut Markets near you. We’re excited; it’s going to be a long race, 100 miles. We’ve got some really good drivers around us, but let’s go racing in a few hours.”

The TA/XGT/SGT/GT race will be contested today at 1:15pm ET. The race will be broadcast LIVE on MAVTV and streamed live here. The highlights show of the race will air on MAVTV on Thursday, Aug. 29 at 9:00pm ET.

TA qualifying top five:

1. Chris Dyson, No. 16 GYM WEED Ford Mustang (1:42.785)

2. Paul Menard, No. 3 Menards/Masterforce Tools Ford Mustang (1:43.265)

3. Adam Andretti, No. 17 Top Liner/Go Share Chevrolet Camaro (1:43.726)

4. Tomy Drissi, No. 8 Drissi Motorsports/Lucas/Mission Chevrolet Camaro (1:44.483)

5. Boris Said, No. 2 Ultimate Headers/Weaver Racing Dodge Challenger (1:45.108)

XGT qualifying:

1. Ricky Sanders, No. 43 BridgeHaul/Bennett/PitBoxes.com Mercedes AMG GT3 (1:57.497)

2. Danny Lowry, No. 42 Bennett/BridgeHaul/PitBoxes.com Mercedes AMG GT3 (2:01.383)

3. James Beaton, No. 82 Playtime Hot Rods & Motorsports Chevrolet Corvette (2:01.878)

4. David Hodge, No. 10 Kaizen Autosport Lamborghini Super Trofeo (2:03.164)

SGT qualifying top five:

1. Joshua Carlson, No. 36 Enseva/TC Fab/Diercks Ltd. Ford Mustang (1:55.986)

2. Kaylee Bryson, No. 02 Logical Systems Inc./Sam Pierce Chevrolet Corvette (2:00.746)

3. Don McMillon, No. 51 Salasko Racing Chevrolet Corvette (2:04.120)

4. Milton Grant, No. 55 Sentry Self Storage/Springhill Suites Porsche 991.1 (2:04.366)

5. Jenn Krpata, No. 93 I.B.E.W. Local 25 Chevrolet Camaro (2:04.484)

GT qualifying top five:

1. Chris Coffey, No. 97 Norwood Auto Italia/Traffic Grafix Maserati MC GT4 (2:02.634)

2. Joey DaSilva, No. 67 Ave Motorsports Toyota Supra (2:03.352)

3. Matt Forbush, No. 33 zignyl Toyota Supra (2:04.067)

4. Michael Saia, No. 13 KMC/Rapid Performance Mgmt./Motul Porsche 997.1 GT3 Cup (2:04.254)

5. David Hampton, No. 14 AR Motorsports/Porsche Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport (2:04.667)

Full qualifying results can be found here.