AUSTIN, Texas _—It’s been 14 months since Chris Dyson stood on the top step of the podium in the Trans Am Series by Pirelli, but on Sunday, in the championship-deciding event at Circuit of The Americas (COTA), the 48-year-old Trans Am legend will return to glory, thanks to an alternate strategy call for the No. 20 Chris Dyson Racing team.
While the championship leaders and dominant forces of the season, Paul Menard and Matthew Brabham, chose to come down pit road during a full-course caution to put on slick tires, with 12 laps to go, Dyson decided against it, and instead stayed on trac with wet-weather tires… and it paid off.
The gap between the cars on wet-weather tires and slicks was more than 10 seconds over the course of a lap around the 3.41-mile road course in Austin, Texas, giving Dyson, the only TA Class vehicle on the racetrack still on the wet tires, a huge advantage.
“Man, I was hoping it was going to rain, to be honest. I thought we were sunk because the track was drying and I thought we got to hedge the bet because Matt [Brabham] was coming in for slicks, and I just thought, the guys kept saying it was going to rain in six minutes so I was just hoping it was going to come,” Dyson said after the race. “To be honest there has been a lot of times where we went and switched to slicks and Ernie Francis did it a couple of times where he stayed out on the Pirelli wets and was able to get it home.”
“But man, we’re back in Winner’s Circle, it feels great, so proud of the guys putting the Gym Soda car [here]. What a legendary season from [Matthew Brabham] and me, just grabbing a handful of races and running competitively in the old girl here and put it in Winner’s Circle here at the end. I’m just sorry my family’s not here to enjoy it.”
Matthew Brabham, by virtue of taking the green flag on Sunday, clinched the 2026 Trans Am Series by Pirelli TA Class championship for himself and Chris Dyson Racing, over Paul Menard.
“I mean championship years are the best years of your career, so, I just can’t thank my team enough. Chris Dyson, he doesn’t get enough credit for the development he’s done on this car, himself, obviously I’ve been in it every race and he’s made this car better and better every race.”
It’s been 14 months since Chris Dyson stood on the top step of the podium in the Trans Am Series by Pirelli, but on Sunday, in the championship-deciding event at Circuit of The Americas (COTA), the 48-year-old Trans Am legend will return to glory, thanks to an alternate strategy call for the No. 20 Chris Dyson Racing team.
While the championship leaders and dominant forces of the season, Paul Menard and Matthew Brabham, chose to come down pit road during a full-course caution to put on slick tires, with 12 laps to go, Dyson decided against it, and instead stayed on trac with wet-weather tires… and it paid off.
The gap between the cars on wet-weather tires and slicks was more than 10 seconds over the course of a lap around the 3.41-mile road course in Austin, Texas, giving Dyson, the only TA Class vehicle on the racetrack still on the wet tires, a huge advantage.
“Man, I was hoping it was going to rain, to be honest. I thought we were sunk because the track was drying and I thought we got to hedge the bet because Matt [Brabham] was coming in for slicks, and I just thought, the guys kept saying it was going to rain in six minutes so I was just hoping it was going to come,” Dyson said after the race. “To be honest there has been a lot of times where we went and switched to slicks and Ernie Francis did it a couple of times where he stayed out on the Pirelli wets and was able to get it home.”
“But man, we’re back in Winner’s Circle, it feels great, so proud of the guys putting the Gym Soda car [here]. What a legendary season from [Matthew Brabham] and me, just grabbing a handful of races and running competitively in the old girl here and put it in Winner’s Circle here at the end. I’m just sorry my family’s not here to enjoy it.”
Matthew Brabham, by virtue of taking the green flag on Sunday, clinched the 2026 Trans Am Series by Pirelli TA Class championship for himself and Chris Dyson Racing, over Paul Menard.
“I mean championship years are the best years of your career, so, I just can’t thank my team enough. Chris Dyson, he doesn’t get enough credit for the development he’s done on this car, himself, obviously I’ve been in it every race and he’s made this car better and better every race.”
Derrick Carter has been a mainstay in the Trans Am Series by Pirelli’s GT Class in 2026, and thus, before even making it to Austin, Texas for the championship-decider at Circuit of The Americas, Carter had clinched the championship.
Carter (No. 24 PortableHoist.com Ford Mustang GT 500) was able to beat Casey Jones to collect his fourth GT Class victory of 2026.
]Phil Fogg, Jr. was the sole representative for the TA Cup Class in the Trans Am West Coast Championship at Circuit of The Americas (COTA), making just his second start of the year in the division.
