Sunday
Jul032022
JULY 6, 2022
Sunday, July 3, 2022 at 01:28PM 
(Logan Riely/Getty Images)
It was a dogfight between two drivers, pure and simple. It was Tyler Reddick (No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet) who outdueled pole winner Chase Elliott (No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet) in the intense mano-a-mano battle in Sunday’s Kwik Trip 250 at Road America. The victory was Reddick’s first in the NASCAR Cup Series, making him the fifth first-time winner this season. As the 13th different winner this year, Reddick reduced the Playoff bubble by one position. With seven races left before the cutoff race at Daytona, there are currently three playoff positions available on points. Reddick’s victory bumped 10th-place finisher Kevin Harvick below the Playoff cut line. Elliott dominated the first two stages but didn't win either one, choosing to pit before the end of the runs to preserve track position. And on the final green-flag pit stop on Lap 44 of 62, Elliott narrowly beat Reddick off pit road to start the last green-flag run, but Reddick kept Elliott in his sights. “I definitely knew he was fast, but we could stay with him on the long run, which told me if we cycled through that last... that pit sequence, we’d be close or get around him (on pit road), (and) we’d have a great shot. Didn’t quite get around him. We were within reach. Thankfully, just waited for the right opportunity and was able to take advantage of it in Turn 6.” Indeed. Reddick closed on Elliott on Lap 46 and outbraked the No. 9 Chevrolet into Turn 5, getting the nose of his No. 8 Chevrolet beside the left rear quarter-panel of Elliott’s car. Reddick pulled even up the hill into left-hand Turn 6 and cleared Elliott off the corner. Elliott fought back through Turns 7 and 8, but Reddick pulled clear in the Carousel. At the time, the pass was for third place, given that Denny Hamlin and Harrison Burton still had pit stops to make. On Lap 47 Reddick overtook Burton for the lead and gradually pulled away in the closing laps. He crossed the finish line 3.304 seconds ahead of Elliott and 21.138 seconds ahead of third-place finisher Kyle Larson (No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet). Watch the race highlights here. (Thank you to Reid Spencer/NASCAR Wire Service)
(Logan Riely/Getty Images)
The victory was Tyler Reddick’s first in the NASCAR Cup Series, making him the fifth first-time winner this season.
It was a dogfight between two drivers, pure and simple. It was Tyler Reddick (No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet) who outdueled pole winner Chase Elliott (No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet) in the intense mano-a-mano battle in Sunday’s Kwik Trip 250 at Road America. The victory was Reddick’s first in the NASCAR Cup Series, making him the fifth first-time winner this season. As the 13th different winner this year, Reddick reduced the Playoff bubble by one position. With seven races left before the cutoff race at Daytona, there are currently three playoff positions available on points. Reddick’s victory bumped 10th-place finisher Kevin Harvick below the Playoff cut line. Elliott dominated the first two stages but didn't win either one, choosing to pit before the end of the runs to preserve track position. And on the final green-flag pit stop on Lap 44 of 62, Elliott narrowly beat Reddick off pit road to start the last green-flag run, but Reddick kept Elliott in his sights. “I definitely knew he was fast, but we could stay with him on the long run, which told me if we cycled through that last... that pit sequence, we’d be close or get around him (on pit road), (and) we’d have a great shot. Didn’t quite get around him. We were within reach. Thankfully, just waited for the right opportunity and was able to take advantage of it in Turn 6.” Indeed. Reddick closed on Elliott on Lap 46 and outbraked the No. 9 Chevrolet into Turn 5, getting the nose of his No. 8 Chevrolet beside the left rear quarter-panel of Elliott’s car. Reddick pulled even up the hill into left-hand Turn 6 and cleared Elliott off the corner. Elliott fought back through Turns 7 and 8, but Reddick pulled clear in the Carousel. At the time, the pass was for third place, given that Denny Hamlin and Harrison Burton still had pit stops to make. On Lap 47 Reddick overtook Burton for the lead and gradually pulled away in the closing laps. He crossed the finish line 3.304 seconds ahead of Elliott and 21.138 seconds ahead of third-place finisher Kyle Larson (No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet). Watch the race highlights here. (Thank you to Reid Spencer/NASCAR Wire Service)
(Logan Riely/Getty Images)The victory was Tyler Reddick’s first in the NASCAR Cup Series, making him the fifth first-time winner this season.
(Photo by Joe Skibinski/Penske Entertainment)
A wild and chaotic day at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course wasn’t enough to stop Scott McLaughlin, who scored his second NTT INDYCAR SERIES win of the season Sunday in The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Presented by the All-New 2023 Civic Type R. Driving the No. 3 Team Penske Odyssey Battery Chevrolet, McLaughlin held off reigning NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Alex Palou in the No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing NTT DATA Honda over the final 17 laps, beating him to the finish line by 0.5512 seconds. It was the second time this season these two drivers have finished in that order; they also did so in the season-opening race in St. Petersburg, Florida, when McLaughlin won his first series race. “This is amazing,” McLaughlin said. “I’m really proud of the (Team Penske crew). The car they gave me was a little hard to drive toward the end. I would love to make it a little bit easier for myself, but I’m super proud of them. You’re thinking about fuel (at the end of the race), but thankfully Chevy gave us great fuel mileage and drivability off the restarts that allowed me to get a bit of a gap from Palou.” 2014 NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Will Power (No. 12 Team Penske Verizon Chevrolet) rallied from the 21st starting spot and a Lap 1 spin in Turn 9 to finish third for his fourth podium finish of the season. The 80-lap race was treacherous compared to past NTT INDYCAR SERIES races at the track. There were six cautions for 17 laps, more than the previous five Mid-Ohio NTT INDYCAR SERIES races combined. The 2021 race and Race 2 of the 2020 doubleheader each featured two stoppages, while Race 1 of the 2020 doubleheader and the events in 2019 and 2018 did not have any. McLaughlin’s third podium of the season and Palou’s fourth allowed them to close in on the NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship. Marcus Ericsson held his points lead with a sixth-place finish in the No. 8 Ridgeline Lubricants Honda, but he is now just 20 points ahead of Power. Josef Newgarden is third, 34 points back. Palou rose to fourth in the standings, just 35 points back. McLaughlin jumped two positions to seventh in the standings, 69 points back of Ericsson, the winner of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge. While McLaughlin’s surge in the championship standings will be beneficial down the road, the three-time Australian V8 Supercars champion was basking in the glory of scoring his first NTT INDYCAR SERIES win with his parents, Wayne and Diane, in attendance. The couple came to the United States in May for the “500” and reunited with their son for the first time in two and a half years. This was the first race they’ve seen him win in this series. “Oh, I really wanted to get a win here with mom and dad for the first time,” McLaughlin said. “To have mom and dad here on America’s weekend is awesome.” The NTT INDYCAR SERIES takes a week off before heading to Toronto for the first time in three years due to restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Honda Indy Toronto will take place Sunday, July 17 at 3 p.m. (ET), live on Peacock Premium and the INDYCAR Radio Network. Watch the Mid-Ohio race highlights here. (Thank you to INDYCAR Media)
(Michelin Motorsport)
Renger van der Zande’s opportunistic run through late-race traffic produced an unexpected victory for himself and Sebastien Bourdais Sunday in the Chevrolet Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park. Van der Zande guided the No. 01 Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac V Performance Academy Cadillac past Oliver Jarvis in the leading No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian Acura DPi with 10 minutes remaining in the 2-hour, 40-minute event when Jarvis was inadvertently blocked in Turn 3 by a GTD Pro competitor. Once in front, van der Zande pulled away to win by 3.509 seconds to claim the third victory of the season for the No. 01 Cadillac. The victory, which was the 10th in IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship competition for Bourdais and the 17th for van der Zande, came as a surprise to both veteran drivers. Bourdais qualified the No. 01 Cadillac fifth fastest, and the experienced Frenchman admitted that he struggled to come to grips with the fast and tricky CTMP circuit on his first visit. Then both drivers grappled with what they described as an intermittent and unpredictable problem with the Cadillac’s power steering. “This race wasn’t going to be ours,” said van der Zande, who completed 123 laps of the 11-turn, 2.459-mile road course located 60 miles northeast of Toronto. “We changed the car around completely after the warm-up practice this morning and didn’t know what to expect. The changes worked, but the power steering failed, and that was the toughest part of today." “I knew I needed traffic to get by, so it was maximum attack, full risk,” he added. “I thought, ‘This is the time to go,’ and it worked.” Watch the race highlights here. (Thank you to John Oreovicz/IMSA Wire Service)
A wild and chaotic day at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course wasn’t enough to stop Scott McLaughlin, who scored his second NTT INDYCAR SERIES win of the season Sunday in The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Presented by the All-New 2023 Civic Type R. Driving the No. 3 Team Penske Odyssey Battery Chevrolet, McLaughlin held off reigning NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Alex Palou in the No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing NTT DATA Honda over the final 17 laps, beating him to the finish line by 0.5512 seconds. It was the second time this season these two drivers have finished in that order; they also did so in the season-opening race in St. Petersburg, Florida, when McLaughlin won his first series race. “This is amazing,” McLaughlin said. “I’m really proud of the (Team Penske crew). The car they gave me was a little hard to drive toward the end. I would love to make it a little bit easier for myself, but I’m super proud of them. You’re thinking about fuel (at the end of the race), but thankfully Chevy gave us great fuel mileage and drivability off the restarts that allowed me to get a bit of a gap from Palou.” 2014 NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Will Power (No. 12 Team Penske Verizon Chevrolet) rallied from the 21st starting spot and a Lap 1 spin in Turn 9 to finish third for his fourth podium finish of the season. The 80-lap race was treacherous compared to past NTT INDYCAR SERIES races at the track. There were six cautions for 17 laps, more than the previous five Mid-Ohio NTT INDYCAR SERIES races combined. The 2021 race and Race 2 of the 2020 doubleheader each featured two stoppages, while Race 1 of the 2020 doubleheader and the events in 2019 and 2018 did not have any. McLaughlin’s third podium of the season and Palou’s fourth allowed them to close in on the NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship. Marcus Ericsson held his points lead with a sixth-place finish in the No. 8 Ridgeline Lubricants Honda, but he is now just 20 points ahead of Power. Josef Newgarden is third, 34 points back. Palou rose to fourth in the standings, just 35 points back. McLaughlin jumped two positions to seventh in the standings, 69 points back of Ericsson, the winner of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge. While McLaughlin’s surge in the championship standings will be beneficial down the road, the three-time Australian V8 Supercars champion was basking in the glory of scoring his first NTT INDYCAR SERIES win with his parents, Wayne and Diane, in attendance. The couple came to the United States in May for the “500” and reunited with their son for the first time in two and a half years. This was the first race they’ve seen him win in this series. “Oh, I really wanted to get a win here with mom and dad for the first time,” McLaughlin said. “To have mom and dad here on America’s weekend is awesome.” The NTT INDYCAR SERIES takes a week off before heading to Toronto for the first time in three years due to restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Honda Indy Toronto will take place Sunday, July 17 at 3 p.m. (ET), live on Peacock Premium and the INDYCAR Radio Network. Watch the Mid-Ohio race highlights here. (Thank you to INDYCAR Media)
(Michelin Motorsport) Renger van der Zande’s opportunistic run through late-race traffic produced an unexpected victory for himself and Sebastien Bourdais Sunday in the Chevrolet Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park. Van der Zande guided the No. 01 Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac V Performance Academy Cadillac past Oliver Jarvis in the leading No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian Acura DPi with 10 minutes remaining in the 2-hour, 40-minute event when Jarvis was inadvertently blocked in Turn 3 by a GTD Pro competitor. Once in front, van der Zande pulled away to win by 3.509 seconds to claim the third victory of the season for the No. 01 Cadillac. The victory, which was the 10th in IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship competition for Bourdais and the 17th for van der Zande, came as a surprise to both veteran drivers. Bourdais qualified the No. 01 Cadillac fifth fastest, and the experienced Frenchman admitted that he struggled to come to grips with the fast and tricky CTMP circuit on his first visit. Then both drivers grappled with what they described as an intermittent and unpredictable problem with the Cadillac’s power steering. “This race wasn’t going to be ours,” said van der Zande, who completed 123 laps of the 11-turn, 2.459-mile road course located 60 miles northeast of Toronto. “We changed the car around completely after the warm-up practice this morning and didn’t know what to expect. The changes worked, but the power steering failed, and that was the toughest part of today." “I knew I needed traffic to get by, so it was maximum attack, full risk,” he added. “I thought, ‘This is the time to go,’ and it worked.” Watch the race highlights here. (Thank you to John Oreovicz/IMSA Wire Service)
(IMSA)
Jon Bennett and Colin Braun seem unbeatable at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. “I just really enjoy this place,” Braun said. “It’s one of my favorite tracks, and things just kind of seem to flow our way when we come here.” That proved to be the case again this year, as the duo combined to claim the Le Mans Prototype 3 (LMP3) class victory in the No. 54 CORE autosport Ligier. It was their fifth IMSA win at the Canadian facility. The No. 36 Andretti Autosport Ligier JS P320 shared by Jarett Andretti and Gabby Chaves was fastest in qualifying, and the No. 74 Riley Motorsports Ligier manned by Gar Robinson and Scott Andrews led for the first 90 minutes of the 2-hour, 40-minute race. But the Andretti car was delayed in the pits, and the No. 74 suffered a crash, leaving Bennett and Braun an uncontested run to the finish. They won by 2.753 seconds over Andretti and Chaves, with Ari Balogh and Garrett Grist taking third in the No. 30 Jr III Motorsports Ligier. The next round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship for prototype classes (DPi, LMP2, LMP3) is the IMSA Sports Car Weekend at Road America, August 4-7. The GT classes are in action at Lime Rock Park July 15-16 for the FCP Euro Northeast Grand Prix.
(Michelin Motorsport)
The plaid Pfaff Porsche finished the race where it started – at the head of the class. In the Canadian team’s return to its home track, Pfaff Motorsports extended its points lead in GTD PRO with a nearly perfect flag-to-flag victory by Mathieu Jaminet and Matt Campbell in the No. 9 Porsche 911 GT3R. Jaminet, who won the Motul Pole Award on Saturday, started Sunday’s Chevrolet Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park up front. He surrendered the lead briefly with 1 hour 6 minutes left in the two-hour 40-minute race when he pitted after a 53-lap stint. Not long after, the No. 9 Porsche was back in front. "It’s extremely special,” Campbell said. “To come away with a victory like that is super special. (The team) put so much effort and work into this one race. We’ve had so many supporters and fans here this weekend. It’s been fantastic to see.” After Jaminet’s stop, Campbell took over and brought the No. 9 to the line 1.434 seconds ahead of the No. 3 Corvette Racing Chevrolet Corvette C8.R GTD co-driven by Jordan Taylor and Antonio Garcia. (Thank you to Jeff Olson/IMSA Wire Service)
(Michelin Motorsport)
(Michelin Motorsport)
The incredible return to racing continues for Robert Wickens of Bryan Herta Autosport after he was paralyzed in a crash four years ago. The racer - with co-driver Mark Wilkins - won his second consecutive race. This was a special moment for the Canadian pair competing at CTMP and for Wickens, whose first child was born this week. Murillo Racing took the overall victory in GS with Jeff Mosing and Eric Foss driving a Mercedes-AMG.
(Michelin Motorsport)The plaid Pfaff Porsche finished the race where it started – at the head of the class. In the Canadian team’s return to its home track, Pfaff Motorsports extended its points lead in GTD PRO with a nearly perfect flag-to-flag victory by Mathieu Jaminet and Matt Campbell in the No. 9 Porsche 911 GT3R. Jaminet, who won the Motul Pole Award on Saturday, started Sunday’s Chevrolet Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park up front. He surrendered the lead briefly with 1 hour 6 minutes left in the two-hour 40-minute race when he pitted after a 53-lap stint. Not long after, the No. 9 Porsche was back in front. "It’s extremely special,” Campbell said. “To come away with a victory like that is super special. (The team) put so much effort and work into this one race. We’ve had so many supporters and fans here this weekend. It’s been fantastic to see.” After Jaminet’s stop, Campbell took over and brought the No. 9 to the line 1.434 seconds ahead of the No. 3 Corvette Racing Chevrolet Corvette C8.R GTD co-driven by Jordan Taylor and Antonio Garcia. (Thank you to Jeff Olson/IMSA Wire Service)
(Michelin Motorsport)For Roman De Angelis, Maxime Martin and the No. 27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3, the first sign things were going their way came in Turn 1 on the opening lap. That’s when the pole-sitting GTD No. 12 Lexus RC F GT3 was collected by the spinning No. 33 Sean Creech Motorsport LMP3. The Lexus sustained significant damage, forcing lengthy repairs that ended in a last-place finish in the GTD class. The No. 12’s misfortune opened the door for De Angelis, Martin and the No. 27 Aston Martin that started second in class to forge ahead and win the GTD race. But not without drama. Martin had Philip Ellis in the No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 on his bumper over the final hour, the margin of victory but 0.493 seconds. “It was very tough. The Mercedes was quite big in my mirrors, for sure,” Martin said after the Belgian took home the third win of his IMSA career. “At the end, it was really close. The Mercedes behind was so fast, but a win is a win; we’ll take it. It’s fantastic for the whole team.” Ellis, racing for the first time at CTMP, gave it his all but couldn’t find a way past the Aston Martin. “It’s a very flowing track but as it’s so flowing it’s super hard to overtake as well,” Ellis said. “I feel like I could have had a little bit of pace on the Aston in front. I wasn’t really close enough to put a dive on him or make a move on him, so I basically had to wait and try to pressure him into a mistake, but Maxime never did. Have to be happy with P2 this time.” The No. 27’s win gives the team back-to-back victories on consecutive weekends following their June 26 triumph in the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen. Sunday’s race awarded points only for the IMSA WeatherTech Sprint Cup and not the overall season championship, but it didn’t lessen the sweetness for De Angelis and Martin. (Thank you to Mark Robinson/IMSA Wire Service)
(Michelin Motorsport)The incredible return to racing continues for Robert Wickens of Bryan Herta Autosport after he was paralyzed in a crash four years ago. The racer - with co-driver Mark Wilkins - won his second consecutive race. This was a special moment for the Canadian pair competing at CTMP and for Wickens, whose first child was born this week. Murillo Racing took the overall victory in GS with Jeff Mosing and Eric Foss driving a Mercedes-AMG.
(Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images))
Carlos Sainz (No. 55 Scuderia Ferrari) has claimed his first Formula 1 victory at a sensational British Grand Prix at Silverstone. The Spaniard finished ahead of Sergio Perez (No. 11 Red Bull Racing) and Lewis Hamilton (No. 44 Mercedes-AMG Petronas). The key to Sainz’s victory was a late Safety Car caused by Esteban Ocon (No. 31 BWT Alpine F1 Team) retiring from the race, and Sainz then attacked teammate Charles Leclerc (No. 16 Scuderia Ferrari) on fresh tires at the restart to claim P1 and check out for his first win on his 150th Grand Prix start. The action was frantic in the final laps, however, with Perez – who’d dropped to P16 after a pit stop, having had contact at the early race restart following a red-flag stoppage – coming out on top in a thrilling fight with Hamilton and Leclerc to take an unlikely P2. Hamilton, meanwhile, delighted the crowd with fastest race lap and his second straight podium and 13th at Silverstone - an all-time record at a single venue - in P3. Watch the race highlights here. (Thank you to F1 Media)
Carlos Sainz (No. 55 Scuderia Ferrari) has claimed his first Formula 1 victory at a sensational British Grand Prix at Silverstone. The Spaniard finished ahead of Sergio Perez (No. 11 Red Bull Racing) and Lewis Hamilton (No. 44 Mercedes-AMG Petronas). The key to Sainz’s victory was a late Safety Car caused by Esteban Ocon (No. 31 BWT Alpine F1 Team) retiring from the race, and Sainz then attacked teammate Charles Leclerc (No. 16 Scuderia Ferrari) on fresh tires at the restart to claim P1 and check out for his first win on his 150th Grand Prix start. The action was frantic in the final laps, however, with Perez – who’d dropped to P16 after a pit stop, having had contact at the early race restart following a red-flag stoppage – coming out on top in a thrilling fight with Hamilton and Leclerc to take an unlikely P2. Hamilton, meanwhile, delighted the crowd with fastest race lap and his second straight podium and 13th at Silverstone - an all-time record at a single venue - in P3. Watch the race highlights here. (Thank you to F1 Media)
(Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli)
Kaz Grala (No. 2 Technique Chassis/STEEL-IT/Weaver Dodge Challenger) won the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli TA class race at Road America from the pole in only his second-career series start. After mechanical issues at Mid-Ohio took him out of contention while running up front in his series debut, Grala dominated all day at Road America, leading every lap to take Round 8 of the Trans Am season. For the second weekend in a row, Grala earned the Motul Pole Award and set a new track record. Grala quickly pulled ahead at the start, attempting to put distance between himself and the field of cars behind him. At the end of lap one, second-place Chris Dyson (No. 20 CDR ALTWELL Ford Mustang) was given the black flag for jumping the start, forcing him to make a pass-through penalty on pit road. This dropped Dyson down to the 11th position and allowed Grala to put an even larger gap between himself and Paul Menard (No. 5 Franklin Road Apparel/Menards Camaro), who moved into second. Grala was able to maintain his lead, despite losing his gap on the field twice due to full-course cautions, and he continued to hold back Menard and third-place Thomas Merrill (No. 21 CDR allgram Mustang). The black flag would not stop Dyson from contending for the win, as by lap 17 the defending champion had picked off the cars in his path, working his way back past everyone but Grala, taking over the second position and setting his sights on the leader. Dyson was unable to reach Grala, however, and with just two laps remaining, Menard fought his way past Dyson once again, taking over second place. With rain beginning to fall on the racetrack, the last two laps were precarious, and the drivers delicately made their way around the 4.048-mile road course for the final circuits. The rain was heavy by the time the checkered flag waved, with Grala earning the win, followed by Menard and Dyson. Merrill finished fourth, and Grala’s teammate Boris Said (No. 79 ECC/Anchor Bolt and Screw/Weaver Dodge Challenger) finished fifth. “That race really threw a little bit of everything at us,” said Grala on the podium. “We had restarts, we had dry conditions, we had wet conditions; it was great. I’m really excited for Pancho Weaver and our sponsors Technique Chassis and STEEL-IT to be able to put this car in Victory Lane. Last week, we had a chance to win and we ended up having a mechanical issue take us out, so to be able to come back here, get redemption, and be able to put these guys in Victory Lane was really special. These Trans Am cars are awesome, they are so much fun and so fast. I hope I get to run some more of these this year.” “Well, today was a long day,” said Dyson. “We raced the NASCAR Xfinity Series race right before the Trans Am race, so I had to get ready and ramped up for this race. We had an unfortunate penalty against us at the start and I had to do a drive-through penalty, so we had to start really rolling from the back. Fortunately, the car was flying. The ALTWELL Mustang was absolutely brilliant to drive. We set the fastest lap, caught back up, and we got another shot at the win with the yellows. I think things would have been a little different without the penalty and the weather conditions. I think we would have been right up there with Kaz fighting until the end. Paul and Kaz put on a great race and we had a great battle throughout, so this is Trans Am racing at its best. You saw us all bring it home despite the challenging conditions, and we gained some valuable championship points. We’re going to carry that momentum with us to Watkins Glen.” (Thank you to Trans Am Media)
Kaz Grala (No. 2 Technique Chassis/STEEL-IT/Weaver Dodge Challenger) won the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli TA class race at Road America from the pole in only his second-career series start. After mechanical issues at Mid-Ohio took him out of contention while running up front in his series debut, Grala dominated all day at Road America, leading every lap to take Round 8 of the Trans Am season. For the second weekend in a row, Grala earned the Motul Pole Award and set a new track record. Grala quickly pulled ahead at the start, attempting to put distance between himself and the field of cars behind him. At the end of lap one, second-place Chris Dyson (No. 20 CDR ALTWELL Ford Mustang) was given the black flag for jumping the start, forcing him to make a pass-through penalty on pit road. This dropped Dyson down to the 11th position and allowed Grala to put an even larger gap between himself and Paul Menard (No. 5 Franklin Road Apparel/Menards Camaro), who moved into second. Grala was able to maintain his lead, despite losing his gap on the field twice due to full-course cautions, and he continued to hold back Menard and third-place Thomas Merrill (No. 21 CDR allgram Mustang). The black flag would not stop Dyson from contending for the win, as by lap 17 the defending champion had picked off the cars in his path, working his way back past everyone but Grala, taking over the second position and setting his sights on the leader. Dyson was unable to reach Grala, however, and with just two laps remaining, Menard fought his way past Dyson once again, taking over second place. With rain beginning to fall on the racetrack, the last two laps were precarious, and the drivers delicately made their way around the 4.048-mile road course for the final circuits. The rain was heavy by the time the checkered flag waved, with Grala earning the win, followed by Menard and Dyson. Merrill finished fourth, and Grala’s teammate Boris Said (No. 79 ECC/Anchor Bolt and Screw/Weaver Dodge Challenger) finished fifth. “That race really threw a little bit of everything at us,” said Grala on the podium. “We had restarts, we had dry conditions, we had wet conditions; it was great. I’m really excited for Pancho Weaver and our sponsors Technique Chassis and STEEL-IT to be able to put this car in Victory Lane. Last week, we had a chance to win and we ended up having a mechanical issue take us out, so to be able to come back here, get redemption, and be able to put these guys in Victory Lane was really special. These Trans Am cars are awesome, they are so much fun and so fast. I hope I get to run some more of these this year.” “Well, today was a long day,” said Dyson. “We raced the NASCAR Xfinity Series race right before the Trans Am race, so I had to get ready and ramped up for this race. We had an unfortunate penalty against us at the start and I had to do a drive-through penalty, so we had to start really rolling from the back. Fortunately, the car was flying. The ALTWELL Mustang was absolutely brilliant to drive. We set the fastest lap, caught back up, and we got another shot at the win with the yellows. I think things would have been a little different without the penalty and the weather conditions. I think we would have been right up there with Kaz fighting until the end. Paul and Kaz put on a great race and we had a great battle throughout, so this is Trans Am racing at its best. You saw us all bring it home despite the challenging conditions, and we gained some valuable championship points. We’re going to carry that momentum with us to Watkins Glen.” (Thank you to Trans Am Media)
Editor's Note: You can access previous issues of AE by clicking on "Next 1 Entries" below. - WG