LEXINGTON, Ohio – With high heat, multiple restarts, a front-to-back charge through the field that came to naught, and a recovery drive to the podium from a championship contender, the Trans-Am visit to Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course had a little bit of everything on Sunday.
Chris Dyson took the lead shortly after the midway point and pulled away to record his third Trans-Am Series presented by Pirelli victory of the season at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
The New Yorker was visibly upset after qualifying third on Saturday in the No. 20 ALTWELL CBD Ford Mustang. Sunday, he chased pole winner Tomy Drissi from the start while holding off back-of-the-grid starter Ernie Francis Jr.
But on lap 25, Francis went through the grass and needed to pit, with Dyson getting by Drissi at start/finish to take the lead. That was all she wrote, with Dyson leading the rest of the way for the ninth Trans-Am victory of his career, building his lead in the standings.
“I couldn’t be happier, we really turned it around after yesterday,” Dyson said. “I knew we had a pole car, and we just didn’t get to show it yesterday. We showed it today. I had some great battles out there. Great, clean racing with Ernie early on, and it’s always an absolute battle to go up against Drissi. It was hot; it was physical; and we had some beasts to tame here. But that’s what Trans-Am racing is all about.”
Drissi finished second after seeming to be driving a ticking time bomb throughout the race. Fire came from the rear of the No. 8 Lucas Oil Chevrolet Camaro on lap 3; the fire went out, but nine laps later he reported a mushy gearbox; shortly afterwards, he reportedly lost his taillights.
It was the third podium finish of the season for Drissi, who was the winner at Laguna Seca.
“First my rear deck lid caught fire, and I was about to pull in for the team to extinguish it, but it went out,” explained Drissi. “Then traffic caught me in the Carousel. I couldn’t go wide, otherwise I would hit (Chris) Dyson. That put me about three or four seconds behind, so after that, it was just maintaining pace so we could secure second.”
However, Drissi lost out in the drama department to Francis Jr. The 23-year-old saw his seven-year-old Mid-Ohio winning streak come to an end, but not for want of trying. Missing qualifying due to his SRX commitment at Eldora, Francis Jr. started at the tail end of the 20-car grid in the No. 98 Future Star Racing Ford Mustang.
Up to seventh on lap one, Francis needed only an additional three circuits to catch Drissi and Dyson. On lap 23, Drissi went wide in the Carousel, with Dyson and Francis going off briefly; Francis went through the grass, necessitating a pit stop to clear his grill.
Back on track, Francis was seventh, 40-seconds behind Dyson – who had just taken the lead from Drissi. He came back to challenge Simon Gregg for third. Suddenly, with six minutes remaining, Francis lost his gearing and pulled off, bringing out a race-ending caution flag. He finished ninth in TA.
“We got a really strong vibration in the car,” said Breathless Racing team owner Ernie Francis Sr. “And we lost all forward gears. We are going to keep pushing hard. This team never quits. We always do the best we can, and we are going to come back strong for Road America.”
Gregg placed third in the No. 59 Peter Gregg Foundation Camaro, completing a solid weekend that saw him qualify second – nearly winning the pole. It was the 34th podium in a career that dates back to 1997, and his first since Brainerd last season.
Gregg was followed by Ohio favorite Amy Ruman in the No. 23 McNichols Company/Corner Tech CNC Solutions Corvette.
The first of two cautions waved on lap eight when Ken Thwaits lost his brakes in turn four and went through the gravel on China Beach, impacting the wall with the front end of his No. 5 Franklin Road Apparel Camaro.
Erich Joiner led all the way for his third-consecutive XGT victory, the sixth of his career. Driving the No. 10 Good Boy Bob Coffee Roaster Porsche 991 GT3 R., he found himself battling the TA class drivers throughout the event, starting and finishing fifth overall.
Kerry Hitt finish seventh overall, first in the Masters Class, driving the No. 19 AdvancedCompositeProductsInc Cadillac CTS-V.
Justin Oakes won his third race of the season in SGT, and fourth of his career, leading all the way in the No. 11 Droneworks Corvette.
Billy Griffin finished second in the No. 14 Griffin Auto Care/Sheehans Towing Ford Mustang GT4, followed by Trans Am debutant Seth Lucas, a 15-year-old Columbus resident driving the No. 04 Audi R8 for Tony Ave.
“I was a little intimidated today, it was my first Trans Am race, and honestly I got a bit anxious,” Lucas admitted. “My whole family was here to support me. My goal is to race in Trans Am full time because this is the place to be for American Road Racing.”
While Lucas completed his first Trans Am race Sunday, on the other end of the spectrum was SGT Masters Class Winner Milton Grant, who marked a Trans-Am career milestone with his 500th career motorsports start and 47th start in Trans-Am competition.