ALTON, Va. — Chris Dyson needed to have the perfect race at VIRginia International Raceway to have a shot at claiming his fourth-consecutive title in the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli’s TA class. He started the weekend on the right foot by securing the pole in yesterday’s qualifying session, but he was plagued by issues from the moment the green flag waved. After Paul Menard claimed the lead from him on the initial start, Dyson experienced a mechanical failure on lap 7, forcing him to retire early and allowing Menard to cruise to his sixth victory of the 2024 season
Rolling to the starting line in the first position in his No. 16 GYM WEED Ford Mustang, Dyson’s troubles began when the green flag waved and he spun his tires on the start, allowing Menard to capitalize and take the lead in his No. 3 Menards/Masterforce Tools Ford Mustang. Dyson rallied after the start and defended the second position against Amy Ruman (No. 23 McNichols Co./Valley Automotive Group Chevrolet Corvette) and Keith Grant (No. 40 Drissi Motorsports/Franklin Road Chevrolet Camaro) behind him.
Dyson chased Menard for the next few circuits, but on the final turn of lap seven, the back end of Dyson’s car stepped out on him, causing him to skid off the racing surface. After limping to the paddock, the CD Racing team determined that Dyson’s machine had a broken shock absorber, forcing him to retire from the race and relegating him to a seventh-place finish in the class.
A lap-12 restart allowed second-place Grant to challenge Menard for the lead, but he was unable to complete the pass, opening the door for Ruman to get past him for second. Behind him, Grant was joined by Tomy Drissi in the No. 8 Drissi Motorsports/Lucas/Mission Chevrolet Camaro, who had raced his way through the field after a pre-race penalty forced him to start the race from the back.
While Menard handily led, the action continued behind him. On lap 19, Grant was able to get back past Ruman. A lap later, with Drissi on her rear end, Ruman spun, bringing both herself and Drissi to a temporary stop on the racetrack. Drissi was the first to recover, and he took over the third position while Ruman chased him. As the laps ticked by, the two were able to catch up to Grant, and the three were nose-to-tail in the closing laps.
Unfortunately, after taking the white flag, Grant had an issue on the racetrack, allowing both Drissi and Ruman to pass him. Menard took the checkered flag, and Drissi and Ruman followed him across the line for podium positions. Grant was fourth, and his father, Richard Grant in the No. 30 Grant Racing Chevrolet Camaro, was fifth.
“We had a great race,” said Menard in GYM WEED Winners Circle. “I hate that Chris [Dyson] had his issues. We got a good launch at the start. Chris is notorious for low air pressure, kind of sluggish starts at the beginning, but then he comes on hard at the end, so I was trying to build a gap to conserve the lead for when the tires fall off. These guys built the car twice this weekend. We just had a couple of little gremlins, and they fixed it for qualifying. The car went from uncomfortable to OK to ‘now we can go race’ after qualifying.
“It was really solid all day. We played with the sway bars just to try stuff, but really didn’t have to adjust the car at all from the inside. I can rest a little bit easier going into COTA now with points, but we’re still going to COTA to win.”