LAKEVILLE, Conn. — Paul Menard (No. 3 Pittsburgh Paints / Menards Ford Mustang) has been to victory lane in the Trans Am Memorial Day Classic at Lime Rock Park twice before, in 2024 and 2025, but the Eau Claire, Wisconsin-native probably didn’t expect to be grabbing his first win of 2026 on Memorial Day Weekend.
Menard has been locked in a season-long battle with Chris Dyson Racing and Matthew Brabham for supremacy in the TA Class of the Trans Am Series by Pirelli, but despite some close calls, had come up short in each of the first four events. However, the slippery, wet conditions of Connecticut’s Lime Rock Park paved the way for the 2011 Brickyard 400 winner to finally prevail.
After starting from the outside of the front row, Menard had to do what he called “The Rowdy Busch razzle dazzle” to get around Brabham on the outside lane, leading the opening portion of the event, until the Chris Dyson Racing driver found his groove and re-took the lead.
“Battling [Matthew] Brabham all year long, he’s got the best of us the first four races, so we had to do the Rowdy Busch razzle dazzle on the outside, and got the lead, and he had got me back and had an issue,” Menard said post-race. “The car has been fast all weekend, we’re so tight with those guys, every section goes back-and-forth, and those guys do a really good job and we’re pushing to up our game, and they’re doing the same, and the speed these TA cars are producing is incredible compared to a couple of years ago, They’re hauling ass, even compared to a couple of years ago, they’re a lot of fun, even in the rain, these cars handle great in the rain, Pirelli does a great job with the rain tires and dry tires.”
The two drivers remained in proximity throughout the opening portion of the event, as the precipitation picked up around the 1.53-mile road course, making conditions more challenging. That spirited battle between Menard and Brabham wouldn’t continue the whole event unfortunately.
With 35 laps remaining, Brabham, running, at the time, 1.732 seconds ahead of Paul Menard, slowed dramatically on the racetrack with a mechanical issue. Luckily, the Chris Dyson Racing driver was able to return to pit road without drawing a full-course yellow, but the streak of wins to start the season for the Boca Raton, Florida-native would end at Lime Rock.
“We’re pretty sure we broke the clutch,” Brabham told Racing America. “Just random, one of those things. The car was on fire, it was super fun, drifting out there in the wet, it was like Tokyo Drift out there, it was getting worse and worse, man it was a lot of fun. The guys out there are doing a good job keeping it on the track, no yellows, and unfortunately, we just broke the clutch.”
“Just one of those things, Chris Dyson Racing guys, maybe I’ll run over there [to Chris Dyson’s pit box] and get on the radio and help him with some of the lines I was using.”
Brabham didn’t even get the chance to make it to Dyson’s pit box before the No. 20 RACER / Gym Soda Ford Mustang crashed at the beginning of The Big Bend corner, destroying the front-end of his red-and-white machine, and taking him out of the race.
With Menard’s closest competitors out of the race, the former NASCAR Cup Series driver was able to scoot away and win the TA Class by a large margin, more than three laps, over Tomy Drissi, who finished in the second position in-class and fifth overall.
David Pintaric, driving his usual No. 57 Ford Mustang, also had a major problem on-track late in the race, when battling with SGT Class contender Chris Coffey going up the hill, which sent Pindaric into the tire barrier and drew the full-course caution. Although nine laps down, Pintaric still managed a podium.
