Dyson Rebounds to Win Trans Am Finale at Road Atlanta

Chris Dyson shook off a season of frustration Sunday at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, leading all the way to capture the 2020 Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli combined five-class finale with a flag-to-flag victory.

The Championship weekend saw two days of racing, with Sunday’s 100-mile feature integrating all five classes of Trans Am competition into one thrilling event on the high-speed 2.54-mile circuit north of Atlanta.

The New Yorker led the opening 12 laps on Saturday, only to have a belt break and end his day early. Sunday, he was not to be denied. Dyson pulled away from Saturday winner Martin Ragginger at the start and held off numerous challenges. The Austrian kept the gap within one second for most of the 40-lap race, but Dyson finished strong, winning by 2.239-seconds for his second victory of the year.

Dyson leads at start

“It’s been a tough year, but it’s nice to close it out this way,” said Dyson, who won the 2019 finale at Daytona. “We had to play every trick in my experience book today. It was really hard racing. Martin was on me the whole way, and I had to use every tool in the kit today with all the traffic out there. He was keeping me honest, but after yesterday, it sure feels good to go home with a win under our belt.”

Ragginger finished second in  the No. 17 Gin Amade Chevrolet Camaro, and was followed across the line by his Burtin Racing teammate Tomy Drissi in the No. 8 Lucas Oil Camaro.

Ernie Francis Jr. claimed his fourth-consecutive TA championship, and seventh straight class title, with a fourth-place finish. The title win breaks Tommy Kendall’s overall record for the most consecutive Trans Am championships. Kendall won three consecutive championships in 1995, 1996 and 1997.

Francis Jr. turned around a troublesome weekend, coming from 10th to briefly hold third before losing the podium position to title hopeful Drissi. Francis Jr. beat out Drissi by 29 points in the championship standings, which will become official with the posting of official results on Wednesday.

“It was a really tough race, coming from the back,” said Francis. “Once we took the green flag we had the championship locked up. That took some pressure off of us, so we could race and have some fun out there. I was battling for the podium, but didn’t have quite enough car for that today. Maybe we’ll be back next year and take another championship.”

Boris Said spun in Turn 1 on the opening lap on cold tires, but came back through the field to place fourth in the No. 2 Weaver Racing Dodge Challenger. He was followed by Justin Marks in the No. 99 Trackhouse Chevrolet, Amy Ruman in the No. 23 McNichols Corvette and Simon Gregg in the No. 59 Derhaag Camaro.

The race had two caution periods, the first on lap 10 for the stopped fifth-place No. 10 BC Race Cars Camaro of Misha Goikhberg and a second on lap 28 for the stopped No. 16 Madison Development Mustang of Jim Gallaugher.

With full field of multi-class competition, the ensuring restarts were thrilling to the fans on hand as well as those watching the stream via the Trans Am by Pirelli Racing App.

The 43-car battle featured changes in the podium finishers in three of the four competing classes in the final four laps.

Mike Skeen put a bow on his TA2® powered by AEM championship with his second victory of the weekend in the No. 77 Liqui Moly/Turn 14 Ford Mustang.

“I know that it sounds like a broken record but I am really appreciative of Stevens-Miller Racing,” said Skeen. “They work really hard. We had a little bit of a worry after yesterday’s race and thought about not racing today to save the car. Then we decided why not, let’s go for it again. They gave me a great car. The Liqui Moly Turn 14 Distribution Mustang was on fire as usual. I had a great battle there at the start, (Thomas) Merrill was in the mix Franklin (Futrelle) was right there. We were fortunate to clear traffic and stretch our legs a little bit there at the end. It was a heck of a battle. TA2 racing is awesome. I can’t wait to do some more of it.”

Cameron Lawrence managed to poke the No. 8 3-Dimensional Camaro out front for a few laps, but Skeen was not to be denied. Lawrence finished second in class.

“It was a very exciting race, and it was good to lead some laps,” Lawrence said. “I had a good car the first half of the race, and I lost the rear tires towards the end. We tried to deal with Mike the best we could and sort through the traffic, and had another second-place finish.”

Seventeen-year-old Jett Noland wrapped up Rookie of the Year honors with his first-career podium finish in the No. 66 Nolands Roofing/Cypress Hunt Ford Mustang. The run also earned Noland the Cool Shirt Cool Move of the Race.

“I loved my first year in Trans Am, and hopefully, I will come back next year and do the same,” said Noland. “This has a stock car kind of feel, and that’s the kind of racing I come from. My end goal is to make it to NASCAR.”

Noland was followed by Keith Prociuk in the No. 9x HP Tuners/Mike Cope Race Cars Mustang, and J.P. Southern Jr., who wrapped up the Southern Cup title in the No. 61 pitrace.com Camaro.

Franklin Futrelle had another impressive run in the No. 58 Meco of Augusta/Greenville Mustang. He was in line for a podium when he pulled off with a cut tire with only two laps remaining. Also falling back in the closing laps was Rafa Matos, who placed 10th in the No. 7 Silver Hare Racing Camaro. Thomas Merrill ran second before a spin, and lost power while running fourth with seven laps remaining in the No. 81 Diehl-Merrill Racing/HPTuners Mustang.

NASCAR Hall of Famer Ray Evernham finished 16th in the No. 26 Mike Cope Race Cars Mustang.

“Yesterday was my first pro race, my first race in a professional series, and today was my first finish,” said Evernham. “It’s a thrill to be able to do it. I’ve raced for prize money before, in NASCAR modifieds in the 1980s and sprint cars from 2010-12, but yesterday was my first race in a professional series. And today was my first finish. The TA2® is a very good race car. It definitely rewards driver talent, and it penalizes drivers who made mistakes. It rewards driver ability. To me, that’s why Mike Skeen is fantastic.”

SGT had a change of leadership with two laps remaining when Justin Oakes came to the pits with a broken rear suspension after leading all the way in the No. 11 Droneworks Corvette. That gave the lead to Mark Brummond, who claimed his second victory of the season in the No. 11 Garage Door Doctor BMW M4 GT4. Adrian Wlostowski took second in the No. 96 F.A.S.T. Ford Mustang, but unofficially fell short in the battle for the championship to third-place finisher Lee Saunders in the No. 84 Landsearch LLC Dodge Viper.

“We bought this car four months ago, and we wanted an affordable series to race in,” Brummond said. “Five races, four podiums, two wins – that’s pretty good for us. (Oakes) had more motor than me, but we just stayed steady and muscled through it. We’ll be back next year.”

It was a come-from-behind race for Wlostowski.

“I had to check up at the start, spun the car and had to start from the back,” Wlostowski said. “I had a hard fight to second, and a good race to end the season. The crew worked all night to change the clutch.”

Saunders’ crew also had a long night, changing the rear end of his Viper.

“I think that was enough [for the championship],” Saunders said. “A bunch of guys came up from Lakeland to help us the last two days, and I think they swapped out everything but the driver. “It’s a heartbreak for Adrian, he’s a fantastic competitor.”

Billy Griffin wrapped up the GT season with his fourth victory, leading all the way in the No. 14 Griffin Auto Care/Sheehan’s Towing Ford Mustang. Griffin missed three races early in the season before scoring a career-first triumph in his return at Virginia International Raceway. The West Palm Beach, FL driver won the final three rounds of the season.

“It was wild, very eventful,” Griffin said. “I was in my mirrors the whole time, keeping an eye on the fast cars getting through their race. Surprisingly, I didn’t get hit once.”

John Baucom finished second in his first weekend in GT, driving the No. 86 RoadRaceParts.com Ford Mustang.

After unofficially clinching the inaugural XGT championship with his fourth victory of the season, Ken Thwaits did not compete in Sunday’s race. Josh Hill, his lone competition in the class, withdrew after sustaining left-front damage on his No. 15 Audi R8 LMS Ultra in an incident during Thursday’s test day.

Richard Grant was the TA Master winner, placing ninth, and his brother, Milton Grant, was the SGT Master winner. The Grant family has now made a combined 498 starts in Trans Am. Doug Peterson was the TA2® Master winner, finishing seventh.

Fans are welcome to see the 2020 champions officially crowned at the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli awards night. This year’s celebration will be held virtually in early December. Details on how to witness the ceremony will be announced in the upcoming days.

Race Results

1 #20 Chris Dyson   TA
Laps Total Time Best Lap Best Time Diff Gap
Plaid Ford Mustang
40 01:01:33.857 34 01:20.823
Ford Mustang
2 #17 Martin Ragginger   TA
Laps Total Time Best Lap Best Time Diff Gap
Gin Amade Chevrolet Camaro
40 01:01:36.186 26 01:20.690 2.329 2.329
Chevrolet Camaro
3 #8 Tomy Drissi   TA
Laps Total Time Best Lap Best Time Diff Gap
Lucas Oil Chevrolet Camaro
40 01:01:38.070 34 01:20.749 4.213 1.884
Chevrolet Camaro
4 #98 Ernie Francis Jr   TA
Laps Total Time Best Lap Best Time Diff Gap
ZF Custom Concepts Ford Mustang
40 01:01:38.299 34 01:21.053 4.442 0.229
Ford Mustang
5 #2 Boris Said   TA
Laps Total Time Best Lap Best Time Diff Gap
WeaverRacing/Techniques/SRIPerf Dodge Challenger
40 01:01:48.697 35 01:21.271 14.840 10.398
Dodge Challenger
6 #99 Justin Marks   TA
Laps Total Time Best Lap Best Time Diff Gap
Trackhouse Chevrolet Camaro
40 01:01:50.473 5 01:21.528 16.616 1.776
Chevrolet Camaro
7 #23 Amy Ruman   TA
Laps Total Time Best Lap Best Time Diff Gap
McNichols Co Chevrolet Corvette
40 01:01:59.029 2 01:23.078 25.172 8.556
Chevrolet Corvette
8 #59 Simon Gregg   TA
Laps Total Time Best Lap Best Time Diff Gap
D
40 01:02:43.650 11 01:24.776 1:09.793 44.621
Chevrolet Camaro
9 #77 Mike Skeen   TA2
Laps Total Time Best Lap Best Time Diff Gap
Liqui Moly/Turn 14 Chevrolet Camaro
39 01:02:14.618 5 01:24.595 40.761
Chevrolet Camaro
10 #8x Cameron Lawrence   TA2
Laps Total Time Best Lap Best Time Diff Gap
3-Dimensional Services Group Ford Mustang
39 01:02:18.823 4 01:24.655 44.966 4.205
Ford Mustang
11 #66 Jett Noland   TA2
Laps Total Time Best Lap Best Time Diff Gap
NolandsRoofing/CypressHunt/MCR Ford Mustang
39 01:02:27.301 3 01:26.218 53.444 8.478
Ford Mustang
12 #9x Keith Prociuk   TA2
Laps Total Time Best Lap Best Time Diff Gap
HPTuners/MikeCopeRaceCars Ford Mustang
39 01:02:37.428 10 01:26.159 1:03.571 10.127
Ford Mustang
13 #61 John Paul Southern Jr   TA2
Laps Total Time Best Lap Best Time Diff Gap
pittrace.com/SouthernMotorsports Chevrolet Camaro
39 01:02:38.822 5 01:26.325 1:04.965 1.394
Chevrolet Camaro
14 #30 Richard Grant   TA
Laps Total Time Best Lap Best Time Diff Gap
Grant Racing Chevrolet Corvette
39 01:02:41.867 8 01:26.031 1:08.010 3.045
Chevrolet Corvette
15 #32 Barry Boes   TA2
Laps Total Time Best Lap Best Time Diff Gap
AccioData/SampsonRaceEngines Ford Mustang
39 01:02:44.424 3 01:27.316 1:10.567 2.557
Ford Mustang
16 #87 Doug Peterson   TA2
Laps Total Time Best Lap Best Time Diff Gap
3-Dimensional Services Group Ford Mustang
39 01:02:45.555 3 01:27.194 1:11.698 1.131
Ford Mustang
17 #97 Tom Sheehan   TA2
Laps Total Time Best Lap Best Time Diff Gap
LTK Insulation Technologies Ford Mustang
39 01:02:46.305 4 01:27.483 1:12.448 0.750
Ford Mustang
18 #57 Maurice Hull   TA2
Laps Total Time Best Lap Best Time Diff Gap
Silver Hare Racing Chevrolet Camaro
38 01:01:37.280 15 01:28.627 3.423
Chevrolet Camaro
19 #7 Rafa Matos   TA2
Laps Total Time Best Lap Best Time Diff Gap
Silver Hare Racing Chevrolet Camaro
38 01:02:26.831 7 01:25.583 52.974 49.551
Chevrolet Camaro
20 #48 Scott Borchetta   TA2
Laps Total Time Best Lap Best Time Diff Gap
BigMachineVodka Chevrolet Camaro
38 01:02:42.348 10 01:27.099 1:08.491 15.517
Chevrolet Camaro
21 #20x Michele Abbate   TA2
Laps Total Time Best Lap Best Time Diff Gap
BC Race Cars Chevrolet Camaro
38 01:02:44.122 18 01:27.338 1:10.265 1.774
Chevrolet Camaro
22 #24 Mark Brummond   SGT
Laps Total Time Best Lap Best Time Diff Gap
GarageDoorDr/DynamicAutoTune BMW M4 GT4
38 01:02:56.857 9 01:28.674 1:23.000 12.735
BMW M4 GT4
23 #96x Adrian Wlostowski   SGT
Laps Total Time Best Lap Best Time Diff Gap
F.A.S.T. Auto Racing Ford Mustang
38 01:03:01.018 11 01:28.146 1:27.161 4.161
Ford Mustang
24 #12 Drew Newbauer   TA2
Laps Total Time Best Lap Best Time Diff Gap
Berryman Products Ford Mustang
37 01:01:42.470 33 01:30.539 8.613
Ford Mustang
25 #63 Bob Lima   TA2
Laps Total Time Best Lap Best Time Diff Gap
Lima Company Chevrolet Camaro
37 01:01:50.026 6 01:30.719 16.169 7.556
Chevrolet Camaro
26 #84 Lee Saunders   SGT
Laps Total Time Best Lap Best Time Diff Gap
Landsearch LLC Dodge Viper
37 01:01:55.601 3 01:29.158 21.744 5.575
Dodge Viper
27 #6 Carey Grant   SGT
Laps Total Time Best Lap Best Time Diff Gap
Grant Racing 2 Porsche 991.1 GT3 Cup
37 01:01:56.264 4 01:30.553 22.407 0.663
Porsche 991.1 GT3 Cup
28 #55 Milton Grant   SGT
Laps Total Time Best Lap Best Time Diff Gap
Sentry Self Storage Porsche 991.1 GT3 Cup
36 01:01:55.259 15 01:32.579 21.402
Porsche 991.1 GT3 Cup
29 #11 Justin Oakes   SGT
Laps Total Time Best Lap Best Time Diff Gap
Droneworks Chevrolet Corvette
35 59:17.196 16 01:28.004
Chevrolet Corvette
30 #14 Billy Griffin   GT
Laps Total Time Best Lap Best Time Diff Gap
GriffinAutoCare/Sheehan’sTowing Ford Mustang
35 01:02:04.611 32 01:32.652 30.754 2:47.415
Ford Mustang
31 #86 John Baucom   GT
Laps Total Time Best Lap Best Time Diff Gap
BaucomMtrsprts/RoadRaceParts.com Ford Mustang
35 01:02:26.250 9 01:37.614 52.393 21.639
Ford Mustang
32 #58 Franklin Futrelle   TA2
Laps Total Time Best Lap Best Time Diff Gap
Meco of Augusta/Greenville Ford Mustang
34 55:05.438 4 01:24.751
Ford Mustang
33 #26 Ray Evernham   TA2
Laps Total Time Best Lap Best Time Diff Gap
Mike Cope Racing Ford Mustang
34 01:02:51.279 6 01:29.276 1:17.422 7:45.841
Ford Mustang
34 #81 Thomas Merrill   TA2
Laps Total Time Best Lap Best Time Diff Gap
Diehl-MerrillRacing/HPTuners/MCR Ford Mustang
31 50:49.373 4 01:24.770
Ford Mustang
35 #90 Chris Durbin   TA2
Laps Total Time Best Lap Best Time Diff Gap
Stevens-Miller Racing Chevrolet Camaro
27 44:59.085 15 01:27.551
Chevrolet Camaro
36 #16 Jim Gallaugher   TA2
Laps Total Time Best Lap Best Time Diff Gap
MadisonDevelopmentGroup/MCR Ford Mustang
26 41:54.474 15 01:28.340
Ford Mustang
37 #2x Aaron Pierce   TA2
Laps Total Time Best Lap Best Time Diff Gap
Sam Pierce Chevrolet Chevrolet Camaro
24 39:06.785 17 01:28.902
Chevrolet Camaro
38 #96 Connor Mosack   TA2
Laps Total Time Best Lap Best Time Diff Gap
M1 Racecars Chevrolet Camaro
19 28:20.535 7 01:26.112
Chevrolet Camaro
39 #10 Misha Goikhberg   TA2
Laps Total Time Best Lap Best Time Diff Gap
BC Race Cars Chevrolet Camaro
18 26:15.827 12 01:25.521
Chevrolet Camaro
40 #9 Jeff Hinkle   TA
Laps Total Time Best Lap Best Time Diff Gap
trgdatacenters.com/netdepot.com Dodge Challenger
16 23:36.437 11 01:24.753
Dodge Challenger
41 #37 Edward Sevadjian   TA2
Laps Total Time Best Lap Best Time Diff Gap
BigMachineVodka/DuntovMotors Ford Mustang
12 17:39.917 12 01:25.926
Ford Mustang
42 #28 Lou Gigliotti   SGT
Laps Total Time Best Lap Best Time Diff Gap
G2 Performance Chevrolet Corvette
5 01:05:17.473 4 01:29.148 3:43.616 47:37.556
Chevrolet Corvette
43 #26x Aaron Pierce   SGT
Laps Total Time Best Lap Best Time Diff Gap
LogicalSystems/SamPierceChevy Chevrolet Corvette
00:00 0 00:00
Chevrolet Corvette
Results are not official
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