WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. — With seven races complete heading to Watkins Glen Int’l this weekend, Paul Menard continues to lead the TA standings as he pursues his second-consecutive Trans Am championship.
With three victories and five podium finishes, the driver of the No. 3 Pittsburgh Paints/Menards Ford Mustang holds a 26-point advantage over second-place Adam Andretti (No. 17 Top Liner Chevrolet Camaro), who is the only other driver to lead the standings this year.
In third place is Tomy Drissi (No. 8 Trench Shoring Co./Motul Chevrolet Camaro), who is the only driver among the top three in points with a previous victory at Watkins Glen.
Drissi took the checkered flag in 2018 and has five podiums at the track.
One advantage Menard has going into this weekend is volumes of experience.
While the 2024 TA Champion has only taken the green flag once at The Glen in the Trans Am Series, he has made 28 starts at the track between the NASCAR Cup, Xfinity and Truck Series, tallying 2,398 laps in competition. His best finish of second in the Xfinity Series matches his result from 2024 in TA.
50 at Watkins Glen
The Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli heads to the historic Watkins Glen International for Round 8 of the season.
The Glen has been hosting the Trans Am Series since 1968, when Jerry Titus won the first event in the Over 2.0 category and Tony Adamowicz was victorious in the Under 2.0 class.
With 48 previous Trans Am races at the Finger Lakes track, Sunday’s TA/GT event will see the series take the green flag for the 50th time at the picturesque road course.
Grala Returns
The Trans Am Series welcomes back Kaz Grala to the TA paddock, as he will return to the No. 2 Overplay Games/Weaver Racing Dodge Challenger for the first time in three years.
Grala made his series debut in 2022 driving for Pancho Weaver, claiming two poles and one victory in his two starts in the series.
Since then, the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series winner has been competing in the Truck, Xfinity and Cup Series, most recently on the Chicago Street Course in Xfinity.
He also serves as a testing and reserve driver for Legacy Motor Club in the Cup Series. Between NASCAR’s top-three series and the ARCA Menards East Series, Grala has eight previous starts at The Glen, with top-five finishes in both Xfinity and ARCA East.
Glen Winners
Five competitors on the entry list for this weekend’s race have driven to GYM WEED Winners Circle at Watkins Glen International.
Chris Dyson and Rafa Matos are tied for most victories at the track of anyone entered this weekend, tallying three wins each.
Either of them could tie Peter Gregg this weekend for the most-career wins at WGI, as he holds the record after winning four times between the Under 2.0, Under 2.5, TA and Category II classes.
Watkins Glen is also home to Trans Am President Andy Lally’s sole TA victory, which he earned in 2017 in his first start in the series.
Other winners in TA entered this week are Tomy Drissi and Amy Ruman.
On A Roll
CD Racing comes into Watkins Glen with momentum after scoring back-to-back 1-2 finishes, with Matthew Brabham leading Chris Dyson (No. 16 GYM WEED Ford Mustang) at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, and Dyson claiming the top step over Brabham at Road America.
Dyson’s Road America victory was the 28th of his career, tying him with Trans Am Hall of Fame inductee Tommy Kendall for third on the list of most-career TA-class victories.
A 29th win this weekend would tie him for second with another Hall of Famer Mark Donohue. A victory for Dyson at Watkins Glen isn’t unlikely, as he has won there three times before, capturing the checkered flag in Race 1 and Race 2 at the track in 2021, and tallying another win last season.
Watkins Glen is also the site of Dyson’s first Trans Am start, as he made his series debut at the facility in 2017 as a guest driver for David Pintaric (No. 57 Kryderacing Ford Mustang).
The TA2 Battle
The CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series saw its sixth different winner in seven races two weeks ago at Road America, and with the series now past its halfway point, the championship battle is starting to take shape.
With one victory, 14-year-old Tristan McKee (No. 28 Spire/Gainbridge/SLR-M1 Chevrolet Camaro) continues to top the standings, holding a 34-point advantage over the series’ only two-time winner this year, Thomas Annunziata in the No. 90 Gazoo Racing/Nitro Motorsports Toyota Camry.
Three-time champion and a one-time winner in 2025, Rafa Matos holds the third position, 59 markers behind Annunziata.
Sam Corry (No. 70 Nitro Motorsports Toyota Camry), who earned his first-career victory earlier this season at Lime Rock Park, is fourth, 40 points behind Matos, and Julian DaCosta (No. 30 Nitro Motorsports Toyota Camry) is fifth, as the only driver inside the top five without a victory this year.
With 110 points available to the winner in each of the remaining five races, the championship battle is nowhere near decided, but the cream is rising to the top.
Building Momentum
TeamSLR has been the team to beat as of late, winning with Tristan McKee (No. 28 Spire/Gainbridge/SLR-M1 Chevrolet Camaro) at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, and Mike Skeen victorious in a TeamSLR-prepared M1 racecar at Road America.
In fact, the team swept the Pro podium in the latter event, as McKee finished second and Corey Day (No. 17 HendrickCars.com/SLR-M1 Chevrolet Camaro) finished third. Additionally, Barry Boes (No. 27 Accio Data/SLR-M1 Chevrolet Camaro) won the Pro/Am Challenge at Road America, and both Boes and McKee both sit atop the standings in their respective classes.
Big Shoes To Fill
This weekend will see Brandon Hampson get behind the wheel of the No. 26 Atlantic AutoMall/Cope Race Cars Chevrolet Camaro, an entry typically piloted by CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series champion Thomas Merrill.
A graduate of Bondurant Advanced Road Racing School, Hampson has a diverse racing background, with seat time in everything from shifter karts and Formula Fords to ARCA trucks and BMWs.
