POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (July 5, 2021) – Chris Dyson bounced back from a frustrating qualifying session to score a convincing Trans Am by Pirelli race victory at Road America. Dyson, the defending race winner and series point leader, started third in his #20 ALTWELL CBD Ford Mustang, shadowing early leaders Boris Said and Tomy Drissi early in the race before seizing the lead on a restart three laps before the midpoint of the 25-lap (100-mile) sprint race.
Dyson maintained a narrow but consistent lead for the remainder of the race, including a second restart, scoring his third consecutive 2021 National Trans Am victory by an 8.829-second margin after Said and Drissi tangled in the final corner of the race while battling hard for the runner-up position.
“My strategy on the restarts was to drive as hard as I could to establish a gap,” Dyson said. “And then maintain a two or three second lead so neither Tomy nor Boris was able to attack. They are both super aggressive drivers and everyone wanted to win this one. That in combination with the challenging track conditions today made it a tough task. I took some risks out there but it paid off.”
The victory was an emotional one for Dyson. “This was a great day for the team and for our effort to win the championship,” Dyson said following the race. “For me this was one for the ages. Coming on the Fourth of July, in front of a huge crowd and on the 50th anniversary of the first Trans Am race at Road America, it means so much to me. Road America is the ultimate driver’s track, and in my opinion the current Trans Am car, with so much horsepower and no high-tech handling aids, is the ultimate driver’s car.”
Dyson noted that because there were so many different types of cars racing on different tires, the racing surface was in a very low-grip condition over the weekend. “As a team we focused on getting the best possible balance between the car’s handling in low-speed and high-speed corners. I was using all the tools at my disposal during the race.”
Dyson’s victory – his fourth of the six National races run so far this season (and fifth in total) – extends his championship point lead to 23 over Drissi as the season moves into its second half.
Smith Scores Podium Finish
Driving the #21 Thetford Ford Mustang, Dyson’s long time sportscar racing teammate and good friend Guy Smith narrowly missed making it a 1-2 CD Racing finish, falling just a just a half-second short of overtaking runner-up Said at the checkered flag. “Guy did a phenomenal job this weekend,” Dyson said. “He had just one day in the car, but Guy’s such a professional that he was able to get up to speed quickly and drove an excellent race. It was just like old times to stand up there and spray champagne together on the podium today.”
Qualifying Frustration
The race result was a pleasant contrast for Dyson with Saturday’s qualifying session, where another competitor’s engine failure left part of the track undrivable and led to an early conclusion to an already brief scheduled session.
“I knew we had a car with the speed to take our third straight Road America pole and the three points that go with it,” Dyson said. “I was in the midst of a good lap when the session was black flagged. I never had a chance for a real flyer. At that point, rather than letting it get us down, we just started working really hard on getting the best possible race car. That effort paid off for us on race day.”
After a week off, the Trans Am series is at Minnesota’s Brainerd International Raceway July 16-18, for the season’s seventh event of the 11-race schedule.
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