| BRABHAM WINS INDY TRANS AM THRILLER & EXTENDS TITLE LEAD; ROAD AMERICA NEXT |
| POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (June 22, 2026) – CD Racing’s Matthew Brabham fought off the toughest challenge he’s faced this season, bouncing back from mechanical problems last month at Lime Rock Park to score his fifth Trans Am by Pirelli race of the season in his #16 GYM SODA Ford Mustang after a hard-fought duel with Martin Ragginger on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. As he climbed from his car, victorious, Brabham was congratulated by Rob Dyson, founder of Dyson Racing. Dyson, who next spring will be inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America, celebrated his 80th birthday Sunday with son Chris, Brabham and the rest of the team. “That was a race, I’m beat!” Brabham said while walking to the winners circle. At the end “the brakes were fading, the tires were gone. I had nothing left. (Ragginger) was driving super well.” Team owner Chris Dyson, making his second start of the season, finished fourth in his #20 GYM SODA Ford Mustang, just off the podium after his challenge to Paul Menard fell slightly short. Brabham, who won from the pole in the series’ most recent appearance at the Speedway (2023), dominated qualifying this weekend, taking his sixth consecutive pole of the season by nearly a second. “I woke up (race) morning and thought we had a good advantage on everyone,” an exhausted Brabham said following the race. “The race started and I thought we were pretty comfortable. Then when (Ragginger) started pushing I thought ‘this is on!’” Just past the halfway point of the 100-mile sprint Ragginger slipped past Brabham as the lead duo negotiated lapped traffic and for the next 14 laps Brabham was left to hound the new race leader. With six laps remaining more lapped traffic gave Brabham an opening and he took it, setting fastest lap as the white flag flew and ultimately winning by 4.4 seconds. The win at Indianapolis – his second consecutive Trans Am triumph at the Brickyard – extends Brabham’s lead in the 2026 championship over Paul Menard at the season’s halfway mark. “Thanks to Rob and Chris and all people on the team,” Brabham said. “I’m grateful for the opportunity they’ve given me.” Road America This Weekend Brabham and Ragginger will have a rematch this coming weekend in Wisconsin, as the Trans Am by Pirelli series visits Road America. CD Racing has been the dominant team at the classic four-mile road-racing circuit in 21st-century Trans Am history. Of the six most recent races, Chris Dyson when he led the team to a one-two sweep with Brabham as runner-up. “Family commitments mean I’ll be unable to defend my 2025 win,” Dyson said. “But Road America is a special place for our organization, and I know Matty is on top form and is more than up to the task of making it two straight at Road America and continuing his excellent title run. I will be there in spirit and look forward to being back in the car racing again soon.” Dyson noted that the family’s success at the historic racetrack goes back four decades. “In 1983, Dyson Racing’s first season competing at the professional level, the team’s GTO-class Pontiac Firebird finished third-overall. And that was running against the top-class GT and GTP cars in the IMSA (International Motorsports Association) Camel GT race.” Moving up to the GTP class with a Porsche 962, the team scored overall victories in 1985 and 1987. In 2012 Chris Dyson and Guy Smith took a thrilling overall victory at Road America in the IMSA American Le Mans Series race – the closest finish ever for that series. Three years later Dyson returned to the Wisconsin circuit and scored a win for Bentley in the Pirelli World Challenge event. Click here for more on Chris Dyson Racing. |