POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (August 29, 2018) – A strong second place in last weekend’s Ryan Companies Road America Classic at Road America snapped Chris Dyson’s four-race string of misfortune in the Trans Am presented by Pirelli series. Combined with a win and a second place in the first two races of the season, the podium finish at Road America also moved Dyson back into second place in the season-long chase for the Trigon Trophy that’s awarded to the winner of the series’ driver championship.
“The car has been fast and I’ve been in the hunt at every race,” said Dyson, who started from the front row at Road America. “But in the four races before this one all we had to show for it was a third-place finish at Pittsburgh. (Championship leader) Ernie Francis (Jr.) had a huge crash in practice and ran the race in a borrowed car. I’m glad he wasn’t hurt and impressed that he was able to race at all. Combined with my good result the series championship is suddenly more competitive, though Ernie still has an advantage in the points and he’ll be tough to overtake in points in the remaining four races.”
This past Saturday’s race-long battle around the 4.0-mile Road America circuit with veteran driver Boris Said Dyson rates as one of the most enjoyable in his career.
“We had a good balance on the car from the first session of the weekend,” Dyson said. “But Lawrence Loshak was phenomenally quick all weekend and we knew he was going to be really hard to beat. And while we out-qualified Boris to get on the front row, I knew he had big straight-line speed and around Road America that is a distinct advantage.”
At the green flag Said muscled past for second and Dyson said he resolved to keep the pressure on the leaders during the early laps. Loshak was sidelined with a mechanical issue, which left the battle between Said and Dyson.
“I spent a few laps trying to figure out how Boris and I stacked up against each other,” Dyson said. “I was better in the braking zones and the high-speed corners but he had the edge on the straights. Boris’s rear tires were starting to go off and I could see his car was getting loose. But Boris is smart and cagey and while he raced clean, he did what he needed to keep me behind. My hat’s off to Boris and the Pancho Weaver team. It was a tremendous win for them and we had lots of folks come by afterwards to tell us how much they enjoyed watching the two of us battling for the win. These kind of head-to-head dogfights are what make Trans Am what it is and why as drivers we race.”
The strong result on the Wisconsin road circuit follows on an equally encouraging experience in his second-ever USAC Silver Crown outing in the Bettenhausen 100 at the Illinois State Fairground the week before and puts Dyson in a positive state of mind as he prepares for the final outing of his rookie season in the Silver Crown series this weekend in the Ted Horn 100 on the one-mile dirt oval at the Duquoin State Fairgrounds.
At Springfield Dyson qualified 29th in the 43-car field and then raced his way into the 100-mile feature in a 12-lap “last-chance” race. He started the feature 28th and raced all the way up to 13th at the finish, taking the Wilwood Brakes award.
“Springfield was a blast,” Dyson said. “It is a legendary mile oval and it lives up to all the billing. I was probably a little conservative learning the track but it’s a place that demands respect. The track was heavy with moisture early on and was pretty dynamic all day. In the main event the car was fantastic. The leading three came through and I just focused on following them as they marched through the field. We were able to make up a lot of positions that way and I was happy with the finish and with how much we learned.”
Looking ahead to Sunday evening’s race, Dyson noted that “Duquoin should be very interesting. It’s not called the Magic Mile for nothing and I am really looking forward to my fourth-ever Silver Crown race. At the same time, I’m sorry that there are no more dirt races after Sunday.”
The Duquoin race marks the seventh of eight straight weekends where Dyson is racing in the Trans Am or Silver Crown. The Trans Am race at Watkins Glen International follows Duquoin and then Dyson has a week off before the Trans Am series resumes at Virginia International Raceway on September 21.
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