ELKHART LAKE, Wisc. — The Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli race at Road America was one of attrition and consequences, with both mechanical failures and penalties ultimately affecting the outcome of the race. A four-time winner this year, Paul Menard led much of the 25-lap race after early contact took Chris Dyson out of contention. However, an avoidable contact penalty moved Menard to second in the finishing order, resulting in 2023 CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series champion Brent Crews earning the victory, fighting back from engine issues and an eighth-place starting berth to win in his first-career TA start.
Dyson led the field to green in his No. 16 GYM WEED Ford Mustang after taking the pole position and got off to a great start, pulling ahead of both rows of traffic. Second-place starter Menard (No. 3 Menards/Masterforce Tools Ford Mustang) was quickly challenged by third-place Adam Andretti (No. 17 Top Liner/Go Share Chevrolet Camaro), but he maintained the second position and proceeded to chase the leader. By lap two, Menard had closed in on Dyson and dove to make the pass in Turn 8 and the two made contact, with Menard bumping Dyson’s left-rear, causing the three-time champion to spin. Dyson was able to get moving again, but he’d fallen all the way back to the eighth position.
While Menard led the field, Crews, who started in eighth place in his No. 2 Mobil 1/STEEL-IT Dodge Challenger after engine problems plagued him in qualifying, had already fought his way into the second position by lap three. Dyson, on a mission to return to the front of the field, began to pass his TA competitors, and by lap 11 he had driven up to fourth. However, Dyson faced even more adversity, as he lost voltage in his car on lap 13. Dyson pulled off the racing surface, and despite a tireless effort by CD Racing crew, he was unable to return and relegated to finishing last in the TA class.
A few laps later, the Camaro of third-place Andretti began to pour smoke due to a left-front tire rub. Andretti quickly came to pit road for a tire change, but his new tire also smoked. The team determined that a nose brace had broken, leading to bodywork causing the rub, and Andretti was forced to retire to the paddock. This led to Amy Ruman (No. 23 McNichols Co./Valley Automotive Chevrolet Corvette) taking over the third position, and behind her, Tomy Drissi (No. 8 Drissi Motorsports/Lucas/Mission Chevrolet Camaro) and teammate Don Yount (No. 7 Drissi Motorsports/Franklin Road Chevrolet Camaro) battled for the fourth position.
As the laps clicked down, Menard had opened an insurmountable lead over Crews, and he took the checkered flag in the first position. Crews and Ruman followed, with Yount ultimately taking fourth and Drissi finishing fifth. After the race, Menard was issued a 42-second penalty for avoidable contact, dropping him back to the second position, and Crews was awarded his first-career TA win.
“These TA cars [really are the most fun to drive],” said Crews in GYM WEED Winners Circle. “I just want to thank Pancho Weaver and all the guys over at Weaver Racing Concepts for getting this thing back on track. I don’t know if everybody knows, but yesterday, we had a whole motor swap. The guys stayed up pretty much all night and then got up super early this morning to get this thing fixed up. So, I’m just happy to be here racing. I had a great time. I want to thank my dad for helping me be here; he did a great job spotting today. I just want to say thanks to all my sponsors. Thank you to Mobil 1 Racing and STEEL-IT and all the guys that are on that racecar. They did a great job. Thank you to everybody at Toyota Racing for helping me be here. I’m looking forward to the next one.”