| POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (June 26, 2024) – Defending Trans Am Series champion Chris Dyson capped a dominating weekend in #16 GYM WEED Ford Mustang with a flag-to-flag from pole position win in Sunday’s 100-mile sprint race at Watkins Glen International. It was Dyson’s third pole and second win this season and his third career Watkins Glen Trans Am victory. He took both ends of the 2021 doubleheader on his way to the first of his three straight Trans Am titles. “This was a great day for us,” Dyson said after climbing from his car at the Winners Circle, surrounded by his family and CD Racing teammates. “The guys gave me a phenomenal race car. The work we put in last week in testing really paid off. And it’s really wonderful to be able to share this with my family.” Not that it was an easy race for Dyson. He grabbed the lead going into the first turn and held it through two yellow-flag restarts, but Dyson’s 0.767 margin over Paul Menard at the checker was his widest of the race. While racing under the green flag Dyson never held more than a 3/10ths-second lead over Menard at the start/finish line. Most laps the gap was less than 2/10ths. “Paul and I raced each other hard but clean all day,” Dyson said. “Paul is an experienced veteran and he has a very fast car. He pressed me the whole way. I never blocked him, but I knew I had to drive a perfect race, including on those restarts. He tested me almost every lap in Turn 1, but we both gave each other racing room. I knew if I made even the slightest mistake and gave Paul an opening, he’d go for it.” Dyson made no mistakes and Menard never got a shot at the lead. This weekend marked Dyson’s 25th career victory and put him 4th on the list of all-time Trans Am winners. Matos’ Defends TA2-Class Lead With Podium Finish Rafa Matos’ closest competitor for the TA2 championship, Thomas Merrill, won Saturday’s race at Watkins Glen. But a late race charge to third place in his Concord American Flagpole Ford Mustang meant that three-time 2024 race winner Matos maintained his substantial lead in the TA2 title race. “We didn’t quite have a winning car today,” Matos admitted after the race. “But it was good enough to get us onto the podium, so we didn’t lose much to Thomas, who drove a great race.” Matos’ dominant position in the season-championship standing is in part due to his consistent top finishes. In the six races the two-time TA2 class champion hasn’t won this season, he’s only finished off the podium once. Next Up: Canadian Tire Motorsports Park The Trans Am series will be racing this weekend at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park for the first time since before Chris Dyson began contesting the series full-time in 2018. But the legendary Ontario circuit, formerly known as Mosport Park, has figured large in Chris Dyson’s career and in the history of Dyson Racing, with multiple IMSA American Le Mans Series wins at the venue to their account. “Mosport is a place that just takes your breath away as a driver,” Dyson noted. “It is very fast and very demanding. But also very rewarding to lap quickly. The team and I have loved racing there over the years and reconnecting with our Canadian fans. It has been a while since we have competed there (2015’s Pirelli World Challenge) and I’m excited to be coming back. The TA and TA2 classes will race together for the first time this season at the Canadian circuit. “The speed differential between the TA and TA2 cars is significant,” Dyson said. “Managing lapped traffic will be an additional challenge for drivers in both classes. And at this track there is little margin for error.” |
