Paul Menard’s day went from frustration to triumph at the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli Memorial Day Classic at Lime Rock Park, as he overcame pre-race technical issues to earn his second victory of the season. Menard nearly missed the grid because his car wouldn’t start on the pre-grid, but a recovery by his 3GT team allowed him to keep his fourth-place starting position. From there, raw speed and the troubles of others allowed him to take the lead early in the race and never look back, taking the checkered flag at the Lime Rock SpeedTour.
Tomy Drissi (No. 8 Franklin Road Apparel Chevrolet Camaro) started the race from the lead after earning his first pole position with his own team, Drissi Motorsports, in this morning’s qualifying session, just barely beating out three-time champion Chris Dyson (No. 16 GYM WEED Ford Mustang). When the green flag waved, Drissi smoothly pulled ahead of his competitors, while third-place starter Adam Andretti (No. 17 Top Liner/Go Share Chevrolet Camaro) made contact with Dyson in Turn 1, causing Dyson to spin and drop to last in class. Drissi held the lead for the first two laps, with Andretti challenging behind him, but by lap three, Andretti was able to make the pass and take control of the race.
Just one lap later, Drissi faded back to third, and Andretti put a wheel off the track, losing momentum and allowing Menard to take over the point position in his No. 3 Menards/Masterforce Tools Ford Mustang. Once Menard got out in front, he flawlessly ticked off the laps, opening a bigger and bigger lead over Andretti.
Meanwhile, Dyson was making blazing-fast laps to recover from his spin, and he worked his way up to fourth by lap seven. At a 15-second disadvantage behind the leaders, Dyson chipped away at the gap. On lap 23, he passed Drissi for the third position, and then put Andretti in his sights.
Menard continued to dominate out front, but Andretti fell farther behind the leader, while Dyson stalked the second-place driver. Dyson finally caught Andretti on lap 58 of 68, allowing just 10 laps for him to pursue Menard, who was still nearly 10 seconds ahead.
Although Dyson was able to cut down Menard’s advantage to six seconds, a stopped car on the track brought out the yellow flag with three laps to go, forcing the race to end under caution and preventing Dyson from making any more forward progress. Menard took the checkered flag, followed by Dyson, Andretti and Drissi. Amy Ruman, who had experienced damage early in the race in her No. 23 McNichols Co. Chevrolet Corvette, finished fifth.
“This is a great track; it’s a bucket list track for me,” said Menard. “I am just in awe of the fans here, the crowd. I’ve always heard the Lime Rock crowd was the best. There’s some great road courses in America that we get to go to because of the veterans and our military, who keep us safe. First and foremost, we get to do this and have fun, but we don’t do this without them. I got to meet a gentleman, Chris Ross over here, he’s a veteran Army Ranger. We spent some time together this weekend. There are guys like Chris all across America that live a different life, protecting us. Hats off to everyone at 3GT, they gave me a hell of a race car. On to Pittsburgh to try to do it again.”
Notes of Interest:
- This was Paul Menard’s second visit to GYM WEED Winners Circle this year. He previously won in the season opener at Sebring International Raceway.
- Tomy Drissi started from the pole for the first time with Drissi Motorsports, and for the first time since July 2021 at Road America.
- Ricky Sanders took his first victory of the season in the XGT class.
SGT’s Jenn Krpata won her first-career Trans Am race today in just her second start. She is the second woman to win in the class in 2024. Kaylee Bryson won Round 3 at NOLA Motorsports Park. - Joey DaSilva’s GT win was the first of his Trans Am career. This was his fourth-career start.
- This was a home-track victory for both Krpata (Farmingdale, N.Y.) and DaSilva (Westport, Mass.)
- Krpata’s last visit to Lime Rock Park was as a spectator at four years old.
XGT
The XGT race was a battle between Ricky Sanders (No. 43 BridgeHaul/Bennett/PitBoxes.com Mercedes AMG GT3) and 2023 champion Danny Lowry (No. 42 Bennett/BridgeHaul/PitBoxes.com Mercedes AMG GT3). Sanders had a great start to the race, and in the opening laps, he pulled ahead to a gap that was insurmountable for Lowry without a caution. Sanders led from green flag to checkers, taking his first win of the 2024 season.
“That car is just awesome,” said Sanders. “After the first practice when we got in the car, I came in and I said, ‘this is the most awesome car I’ve ever driven.’ And I’ve got to thank Danny [Lowry] for that, because I was used to driving just regular old club-style cars, and Danny has allowed me to run these really nice FIA GT3 spec cars that are just like works of art to drive. I’m really enjoying that.
“We wanted to have a better race between the two of us, but I caught a couple of holes on that very first lap and we had such a gap that we never got back together. But maybe on the next one, we’ll be able to run door to door together and see how it comes out. It’s really awesome having the Wreaths Across America people here. Having them here this weekend is just a real honor and I’m glad to be part of that program too.”
SGT
In SGT, Jenn Krpata in the No. 93 Island Trees Auto Chevrolet Camaro took the green flag leading her class, but Richard Forsythe had an incredibly fast No. 58 GSpeed/Sambuca Restaurant Chevrolet Corvette and was able to pass Krpata by lap seven. Forsythe led Krpata while Kaylee Bryson (No. 02 Logical Systems Inc./Sam Pierce Chevrolet Corvette) struggled in third following a qualifying crash that forced her to start last.
Bryson had to retire due to overheating after the race’s halfway point, so it was just Krpata and Forsythe battling for the race win. It appeared that Forsythe would wrap up the victory, but on lap 65, he suddenly lost power, coming to a stop on the racing surface. His misfortune allowed Krpata to make the pass to earn her first-career Trans Am victory, and also forced the race to end under yellow-flag conditions.
“This is insane; this is absolutely a dream come true,” said Krpata. “I can’t believe it. You know, we went from regional racing as a father-daughter team to a Trans Am winner. It’s insane. I just had to push and make it through. I actually remember coming here as a kid at four years old. It’s crazy. It’s a weird, weird feeling. We’re coming home, and it’s great to be here. I enjoy the track very much.”
GT
Joey DaSilva (No. 67 Ave Motorsports Toyota Supra) was the fastest GT qualifier and led the class for every lap of the race. Chris Coffey, who has dominated so far this season in his No. 97 Norwood Auto Italia/Traffic Grafix Maserati MC GT4, appeared to be in a position to challenge DaSilva in the end, but a lapped car in another class made contact with him and interrupted his forward progress. Coffey crossed the finish line second behind DaSilva, while Michael Saia (No. 13 KMC/Rapid Performance Management/Motul Porsche GT3 Cup 997.1) finished third.
“The first half of this race, I just tried to kill my tires as much as I possibly could to get away from this guy [Coffey],” said DaSilva. “And of course, halfway through, I start seeing him come down that front straight a little bit closer every time I crossed that finish line. So, I just counted down the laps. My driving coach kept counting them down. I was like ‘Oh no, he’s too close.’ But thankfully, that double yellow came out and solidified everything.
“It was a great run, man, thank you guys for having me. Thanks to the vets. Thank you to my parents, my daughter, my son for coming out, my father-in-law, my driving coach Roger Cody, Tony Ave, Ave Motorsports. Thank all of you guys, seriously.”