LEXINGTON — Paul Menard once again drove to GYM WEED Winners Circle, this time navigating his No. 3 Menards/Masterforce Ford Mustang through heavy rain to win his third-straight race and fourth of the season.
While Chris Dyson had the strategy to beat, early troubles for the three-time champion opened the door for Menard to win the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and increase his advantage in the point standings.
With a dry track before the start of the race, competitors in the TA/XGT/SGT/GT race were all starting on slick tires. However, just as the command to start engines was given, light rain began to fall over the track.
While the field made its first pace lap, Dyson made the decision to bring his No. 16 GYM WEED Ford Mustang to pit road for rain tires, sacrificing his second-place starting position for treaded tires, betting on worsening rain. And worsen, it did.
Polesitter Menard led the field to the green flag, but racing was slow going as competitors struggled to get up to speed on the slippery surface.
With grip on his side, it only took three laps for Dyson to race his way from the back and into the lead. As cars in every class began to dive to pit road for rain tires, Ohio driver Amy Ruman (No. 23 McNichols Co./Valley Automotive Group Chevrolet Corvette) went off the track surface and into the gravel trap, bringing out a full-course caution on lap five.
This allowed the remainder of the competitors on slicks to come to pit road for wets, and racing finally began in earnest when green-flag racing resumed on Lap 10. Dyson led Menard and Tomy Drissi (No. 8 Franklin Road Apparel Chevrolet Camaro) for the next five laps, but on Lap 16, Dyson’s rear locked up, taking him off the racing surface and into a tire barrier.
Despite the hard hit, Dyson was able to resume racing, but the heavy front-end damage required him to make a stop on pit road for body work. Fortunately, he was able to remain on the lead lap, but he trailed well behind once-again leader, Paul Menard, and second-place Tomy Drissi.
The three ran in that order until Lap 33, when two competitors experienced major issues simultaneously.
The No. 17 Top Liner/Go Share Chevrolet Camaro of Adam Andretti experienced an engine failure, bringing his car to a halt and oiling down the frontstretch.
Meanwhile, Drissi went off course and got stuck in a gravel trap, allowing Dyson to pass him for second place.
However, due Andretti’s inability to continue and the remainder of the TA competitors in the garage, Drissi was able to salvage the last spot on the podium. With the clock running out, Menard took the checkered flag and double yellow flags together, claiming his third-consecutive victory and fourth of 2024.
“It was a lot of fun, obviously; we wound up on top,” said Menard. “I just don’t have any experience [racing in the rain], but I learned a lot. I was running decent times, and I felt like the wetter it got, the better we were.
“But I was just learning out there; learning how to use the brake under wet conditions, and to set the car. Using the throttle is super tricky, but after running high-horsepower cars on skinny tires for years in NASCAR, you have to have an eggshell under your foot. So that wasn’t bad.
“It was all about the braking for me to gain my speed in the rain. Hats off to all these guys at 3GT. The car was so fast in the dry. I think [Chris] Dyson was a little faster than us in the wet, for sure. But we didn’t put a tire wrong, and the guys just did a hell of a job all weekend.”
News & notes
- This was Paul Menard’s third-consecutive race win and fourth of the season. He has previous victories at Sebring International Raceway, Lime Rock Park and Pitt Race.
- Menard continues to lead the TA point standings, extending his advantage to 34-points over three-time champion Chris Dyson.
- Richard Forsythe earned his third SGT win of the season.
- David Hampton earned his first-career Trans Am National Championship victory. Hampton currently leads the Western Championship standings in the GT class, and has won all five events so far this season.
Trans Am Top 5
1. Paul Menard, No. 3 Menards/Masterforce Tools Ford Mustang
2. Chris Dyson, No. 16 GYM WEED Ford Mustang
3. Tomy Drissi, No. 8 Franklin Road Apparel Chevrolet Camaro
4. Adam Andretti, No. 44 Top Liner/Go Share Chevrolet Camaro
5. Wally Dallenbach, No. 4 Ultimate Headers Ford Mustang
SGT
The SGT race was an exercise in patience, as competitors balanced right on the edge of control in the wet conditions.
First-place starter Kaylee Bryson (No. 02 Logical Systems Inc./Sam Pierce Chevrolet Corvette) was quickly passed after the green by second-place starter Lee Saunders (No. 84 LandSearch LLC Dodge Viper).
Saunders’ lead grew when Bryson, Richard Forsythe (No. 58 GSpeed/Sambuca Restaurant Chevrolet Corvette) and Milton Grant (No. 55 Sentry Self Storage/Springhill Suites Porsche 991.1 GT3 Cup) came to pit road for rain tires. Saunders opted not to make the switch, which eventually caught up to him.
On Lap 21, Bryson made her way around Saunders, followed closely by Forsythe. Bryson and Forsythe battled hard for the next two laps, with Forsythe ultimately emerging with the lead.
The following lap, Saunders found he was unable to continue on his slick tires and pulled onto pit road. As the race came to a close, Forsythe led Bryson across the line, with Grant earning the final podium spot.
“It was quite a battle, and you had to be patient in the rain,” said Forsythe. “We were just doing everything we could to not hit each other or slide off the track, because everybody around us was. So, it was not easy.
“Kaylee is a phenomenal driver; it was an amazing pole position for her. It’s such an honor to race with somebody of her caliber, with a past dirt track background like myself, actually. I have, fortunately, some rain experience in other series.
“You guys should know how thankful I am for G-Speed, Louis, Ian, Corey, Jason, Mike, Sandy, and all the background people that helped me out so much. I’m very thankful. I couldn’t do this without you, and you guys are awesome. Thank you so much.”
SGT results
1. Richard Forsythe, No. 58 GSpeed/Sambuca Restaurant Chevrolet Corvette
2. Kaylee Bryson, No. 02 Logical Systems Inc./Sam Pierce Chevrolet Corvette
3. Milton Grant, No. 55 Sentry Self Storage/Springhill Suites Porsche 991.1 GT3 Cup
4. Lee Saunders, No. 84 LandSearch LLC Dodge Viper
Quimby closes Mid-Ohio SpeedTour with F4 U.S. win
Daniel Quimby closed the weekend at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course with his second Formula 4 United States Championship (F4 U.S.) win of the season.
After starting second, Quimby (No. 24 Cruise America / MIR Raceline / FIJI Airways / GalvanizeIns Ligier JS F422) overtook the leader on Lap 1 to be able to cruise to victory.
Notes of Interest:
- Daniel Quimby earned his second-career F4 U.S. win in Sunday afternoon’s race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
- Nicolas Stati is the only driver who has finished on the podium in all five rounds of F4 U.S. competition this season.
- Pablo Benites Jr. earned his second-career podium with a third-place result in Sunday’s race at the Mid-Ohio SpeedTour.
- With a win and a second-place finish, Daniel Quimby was awarded the Omologato Perfectly Timed Move of the Race for his weekend performance, earning him a bespoke Omologato timepiece.
- Three teams were represented on this afternoon’s podium, with Atlantic Racing Team taking the win, Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport in second and Scuderia Buell finishing third.
After recording the fastest lap in yesterday’s race, Stati led the field to the green flag on the wet Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
Jumping to an early lead, he faced immediate pressure from second-place starter Daniel Quimby (No. 24 Cruise America / MIR Raceline / FIJI Airways / GalvanizeIns Ligier JS F422), who pulled next to Stati as they exited the Keyhole.
Racing wheel to wheel down the backstretch, Quimby pulled ahead as they entered Turn 4 and never looked back. Hitting his marks, Quimby slowly but steadily pulled away from his competition.
Behind him, the field initially strung out. Stati was comfortably in second, with Alex Crosbie (No. 41 Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F422) third, and Pablo Benites Jr. (No. 44 Scuderia Buell Ligier JS F422) in fourth.
After sustaining damage to his JS F422 chassis in yesterday’s race, Connor Roberts (No. 46 ApexSpeed.com / Entropy Cellars Ligier JS F422) and the Team Roberts Racing organization worked through the night repairing his car, finishing the setup just before the race began.
Despite that, he was running fifth at the race’s halfway point.
With under seven minutes left, Benites Jr. had reached Crosbie’s rear wing. Racing nose to gearbox for several minutes, Benites Jr. waited to find the right place to make the pass—ducking to the inside of Crosbie in the Carousel, he completed the pass to move into third.
On the final lap of the race, the top-three frontrunners were all within a second of each other, but it was Quimby who led the field across the finish line, with Stati in second and Benites Jr. in third.
READ MORE: Race 3 Official Results
“That was a really good race,” said Quimby on top of the podium. “I knew Nicolas [Stati] had new tires, so we tried to get as big of a gap as we could at the start, but at the end, we struggled a little bit.
“I’d like to thank my partners at Cruise America, Motorhome Republic, Crank House, Atlantic, MIR Raceline and FIJI Airways. I’d like to thank everyone at the team, my family and everyone watching at home.”
F4 U.S. takes on New Jersey Motorsports Park, July 25-28, for the New Jersey Lottery SpeedTour. Live timing and scoring can be accessed on the Race Monitor app, and additional news and updates about F4 U.S. are available on the series’ Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
