| POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (July 20, 2026) – On Saturday it was wet and on Sunday the sun shone brightly at Watkins Glen International. The weather didn’t matter. On both days CD Racing drivers Matthew Brabham and Chris Dyson overwhelmed their on-track Trans Am by Pirelli competition. For both 100-mile sprint races Brabham and his #16 GYM SODA Ford Mustang started on the pole, led from start to finish, and along the way set the fastest lap of the race. Dyson, driving a partial season but coming off a strong race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway last month, scored a pair of podium finishes at the Glen – third place on Saturday and second on Sunday. Saturday, Race 1 Following an hour-long delay due to a thunderstorm, pole-sitter Matthew Brabham took the lead at the green flag, negotiating the changes in a wet but drying track to score a dominating flag-to-flag 17-second win for CD Racing. Brabham let out all the stops at the end, setting the fastest lap of the race, which gave him the pole for Sunday’s race. (That kept unbroken Brabham’s season-long now nine-race string of race pole positions.) Brabham credited his success on Saturday in part to his three championship-winning seasons in Stadium Super Trucks, including at the Glen. “I’ve had a lot of experience here in the wet, racing Super Trucks here with Robby Gordon, and also IMSA here, so I knew I had an advantage, and I feel like that showed.” Picking up where he left off last month at Road America, Brabham was again able to out-pace and outscore Paul Menard, his chief competitor for the championship. Dyson and Menard spent the last dozen laps of Saturday’s race in a head-to-head battle after both had swapped to slicks together during a full-course yellow. At multiple points, Dyson was able to get close enough to threaten the runner-up, but some traffic on the last lap fully settled the match in Menard’s favor. The two multiple Trans Am Series champions raced hard and fairly, reprising their race-long duel from 2024. “That was a good fight,” a smiling Dyson said afterwards. “And I almost had him! That’s what it’s all about right there, that kind of racing. A lot of respect out there at those speeds, but we were sure pushing hard.” Sunday, Race 2 The weather might have been the opposite Sunday of what it was Saturday, but the result was pretty much the same – Dyson domination. Under a bright sky and with temperatures in the low 70s, Brabham took the lead at the green flag and quickly pulled out a narrow but steady lead over Paul Menard, setting what turned out to be the fastest lap of the race on his fourth circuit of the legendary New York State circuit. Despite slightly easing off his pace, Brabham’s lead over Menard had expanded to 2.5-seconds by the one-third mark in the 100-mle race. “Paul only missed pole by two-tenths in good weather on Friday, so we knew he had a fast car for Sunday,” Brabham said after the race. “I was being careful with pace, and assumed he was saving his car for the last few laps, too. I thought my GYM SODA car had the edge, I figured we might have a real shoot-out at the end, especially if there was a yellow-flag restart.” As it turned out, a couple of laps before the halfway point, Menard had a flat tire. He lost a just over a minute in the pits replacing it returning to the track in fourth place, well behind Brabham and Dyson. Dyson’s race suddenly took on more urgency as the runner-up position was now his to lose. And with vital points on the line to assist Brabham’s championship run, it was a spot that the team wanted to keep. “Paul’s car had been super-fast all weekend and I knew he would be head down, in attack mode after that pit stop.” But Dyson responded by calmly making a series of his fastest race laps of the weekend, and the gap which had been narrowing to Menard steadied. “I came into this weekend just wanting to execute perfect laps and get on the podium, but when we had the chance to help Matty, I stepped it up a notch and I was really pleased that we held that gap and took second. Once again, another classic at the Glen. What a drive by Matty; the season we’re having as a team has been so memorable. I couldn’t be more proud to have the team come home with another ‘sweep’ at our New York home track.” In the end Brabham was 7.5 seconds ahead of Dyson and more than 23 seconds ahead of Menard. “It’s an honor to represent this team this year,” Brabham said. “The car has been so good and the whole Dyson crew is doing an awesome job. Fantastic to have both cars take home the 1-2 today and win the weekend.” Next Up: Canadian Tire Motorsports Park The Trans Am series was absent from Canadian Tire Motorsports Park from 2015 through 2023. CD Racing’s Chris Dyson qualified on the front row in 2024 and won the pole last year. But the second step on the podium in 2024 has been the team’s best result to date. Matthew Brabham completely dominated the 2013 Mazda Pro Series, winning 13 of the 16 races on the schedule. Two of the three races he failed to win were at CTMP. Dyson Racing has always been fast at Mosport (CTMP) and has a storied history there. Dyson noted that “we won back-to-back IMSA races in 1995 and 1996 and double wins again (with the American Le Mans Series) in 2004 and 2005. We’ve been on the podium several times since and it’s time for another win there. We will be using the next month’s break now to make sure we are fully prepared.”Click here for more on Chris Dyson Racing.Canadian Tire Motorsports Park ScheduleQualifying takes place Friday, September 4, 3:45 p.m. – 4:15 p.m. ETThe 100-mile race takes the green flag Saturday, September 5, at 2:15 p.m. Broadcast ScheduleAll Trans Am races are live-streamed on the Trans Am YouTube channel. |
