Chris Dyson was flawless at the Mission Foods Watkins Glen SpeedTour, claiming the pole with a record-breaking lap and leading every single circuit in his No. 16 GYM WEED Ford Mustang. However, TA points leader Paul Menard was never far behind, relentlessly chasing Dyson with less than a car length between them. After a stunning battle, Dyson ultimately drove to GYM WEED Winners Circle, claiming his second victory of the season at Watkins Glen International.
When the green flag waved, Dyson had a skillful start, smoothly sailing out into the lead. Second-place Menard (No. 3 Menards/Masterforce Tools Ford Mustang) was briefly challenged by Adam Andretti (No. 17 Top Liner/Castrol Chevrolet Camaro), but he maintained his spot and immediately closed in on Dyson. Although Menard was mere hundredths of a second behind, he was unable to do more than creep up to Dyson’s rear quarter panel. The two continued to battle while Andretti re-entered the mix on lap 18, closing in on the two leaders and making the fastest laps on the racetrack. Andretti was tight on Menard’s tail on lap 22, poised to challenge for second while making his fastest lap of the race, when his car suddenly jerked off the racing line, thwarted by a cut tire. While Andretti limped to pit road, Tomy Drissi (No. 8 Drissi Motorsports/Lucas/Mission Chevrolet Camaro) took over the third podium spot.
As the laps clicked down, Menard kept peeking to either side of Dyson’s machine, but was unable to set up a pass. The two were so equal in speed, with Dyson best in some sections of the track and Menard fastest in others, that there was no way to gain an advantage. Although Menard fought until the checkered flag, Dyson crossed the finish line to take the victory, followed by Menard and Drissi. Boris Said (No. 2 Ultimate Headers/Weaver Racing Dodge Challenger) scored fourth at the finish, followed by Amy Ruman (No. 23 McNichols Co./Valley Automotive Group Chevrolet Corvette). Ruman had started seventh and engaged in hard-fought battles with Said and Keith Grant (No. 40 Drissi Motorsports/Franklin Road Chevrolet Camaro) to claim the final spot in the top five.
“What an event for us; the car was fantastic,” said Dyson. “We’ve got these new colors on our GYM WEED Ford Mustang here, and it was fast right off the truck. We’ve been away for two months, and it was great to get back here; it’s such a fantastic track. We just had a phenomenal race the whole way. [Menard] never let up once, and we just had to keep pushing. That’s the kind of racing that this series can put on, when it’s head-to-head like that. It is just very memorable. I’m so grateful to have my family up here. Some friends from home came up. I’m just proud to take another win home from here. These wins don’t come easy, and today is no exception. I’m just very grateful. I feel really blessed by the opportunity, and I’m really thankful for the team and the job they did.”
In his first-career XGT start, David Hodge in the No. 10 Kaizen Autosport Lamborghini Super Trofeo took the green flag last in class, with Ricky Sanders (No. 43 BridgeHaul/Bennett/PitBoxes.com Mercedes AMG GT3) starting in first, followed by Danny Lowry (No. 42 Bennett/BridgeHaul/PitBoxes.com Mercedes AMG GT3) in third. Hodge worked his way into the second position by lap three, and spent the next 11 laps chasing down Sanders, claiming the lead on lap 14. Once he took the point position, he never looked back, claiming his first-career Trans Am victory. Lowry ultimately crossed the finish line second, and Sanders finished third.
“It’s my first time here at Watkins Glen,” said Hodge. “I had some goals coming up here, and I had to learn some hard lessons on Thursday. All the boys at Kaizen Autosport got the car put back together and she held up all weekend, so getting first place still makes it a good run. I want to thank everyone at Kaizen Autosport. They had to work their butts off to get us here, to get this car put together and keep it running all weekend. There’s a lot of pieces that are coming together and we made it all work.”
[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1479]
Joshua Carlson in the No. 36 Enseva/TC Fab/Diercks Ltd. Ford Mustang started the race with the lead, but after finding that his tires were out of balance, he struggled with his handling and lost the first position to Kaylee Bryson (No. 02 Logical Systems Inc./Sam Pierce Chevrolet Corvette) on lap 11. The next lap, Lee Saunders (No. 84 LandSearch LLC Dodge Viper) got around Carlson and set his sights on Bryson. Bryson continued to lead until lap 28, but she was not without challenge from Saunders, and the two battled hard for the final half of the race. Unfortunately, Bryson began to run out of fuel on the final lap, which allowed Saunders to pass her for victory. She was still able to salvage a second-place finish, and Carlson crossed the finish line in third.
“First of all, I’d like to thank God for this beautiful day and for this country we live in,” said Saunders. “I’m really, really sad that Richard Forsythe couldn’t be with us today. I want to dedicate this one to him. He was a great guy, a fierce competitor. And it’s a shame; life is short. You’re not guaranteed the next day, so pray hard. I want to thank both my competitors up here, Josh [Carlson] and Kaylee [Bryson]. What a weekend. I think Kaylee and I battled for 15, 20 laps. It was super clean. I think we were beside each other two or three times. And if it wasn’t for her fuel issue, we probably would have never gotten it. We’ll take a win any way we can. I want to thank my crew at KSR. We’ve got Eddie here today. Kevin’s at home. I want to thank my wife, Tina, and the two boys. Thanks to Trans Am for putting this together. I love Watkins Glen, it’s just a fantastic, fantastic venue.”
Chris Coffey started the race up front in his No. 97 Norwood Auto Italia/Traffic Grafix Maserati MC GT4 but lost the lead to Joey DaSilva in the No. 67 Ave Motorsports Toyota Supra by the conclusion of the first lap. Coffey lost another position to David Hampton in the No. 14 AR Motorsports/Porsche Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport on lap two, but Coffey worked his way back into second by lap four. From there, it was up to Coffey to chase down DaSilva. The two had a heated battle, with Coffey finally earning the lead again on lap 23. The two continued to run nose to tail, challenging each other until the final lap. Ultimately, it was Coffey who crossed the finish line with the victory, followed by DaSilva. Matt Forbush in the No. 33 zignyl Toyota Supra earned the final podium position in his first-career Trans Am start.
“I was exhausted after racing against Joey DaSilva; I had to go ten tenths the whole time,” said Coffey. “I’ve got to thank [TA2 driver] Josh Hurley; he’s been warning me about tire failures in the Bus Stop, because he had a tire failure yesterday, and I had to give it everything. I mean, I had to sacrifice the courage and everything, and I thought for sure I was going to get a puncture just to stay with this guy. I can’t thank Trans Am and Joey enough. This guy’s driving is absolutely incredible. When I’d make a move on him, he’d leave room, when he was making a move on me, I’d leave room. It was absolutely gentleman racing, and I wish this guy would show up at every single race.”
The highlight show of Sunday’s race will air on MAVTV on Thursday, August 29 at 9:00 p.m. ET.
The Trans Am Series TA/XGT/SGT/GT classes will next hit the track at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park next weekend, August 29-31.
*Pending technical protest