Trans Am Season Opener Goes To Menard
SEBRING, Fla. — Paul Menard kicked off the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli season in a similar fashion to his 2024 championship-winning season: with a victory at Sebring Int’l Raceway.
After starting the race from the pole, he led the first five laps before being passed by 2023 CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series champion Brent Crews. However, a late mechanical issue by Crews put Menard back in the point position, allowing him to claim his first win of the season.
Notes of Interest- This was Paul Menard’s second-consecutive victory at Sebring. He kicked off his 2024 championship-winning season with a victory at the track last year.
- Brent Crews led the most laps in today’s event, but was forced to retire early due to a transmission issue. He ultimately finished seventh in class.
- Three-time champion Chris Dyson earned a DNF in the season opener, experiencing a hard crash on lap 12.
When the green flag waved to start the season, Menard (No. 3 Pittsburgh Paints/Menards Ford Mustang) shot ahead of his competitors, who battled behind him. Third-place Adam Andretti (No. 17 Top Liner Chevrolet Camaro) quickly made the pass on Chris Dyson (No. 16 GYM WEED Ford Mustang) for second on lap one, and the following lap, Crews, who started fifth, surpassed Tomy Drissi (No. 8 Trench Shoring Co./Motul Chevrolet Camaro), Dyson and Andretti for the runner-up spot.
Crews’ No. 70 Nitro Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro showed incredible speed, and by lap six, he was battling side-by-side with Menard, ultimately taking over the lead.
On lap 12, the double yellow was displayed as Dyson, who had been holding the fourth position, experienced a mechanical failure that resulted in a hard impact with the wall, ending his day. Racing resumed on lap 18, and despite a challenge from Menard on the start, Crews once again pulled out into the lead. Unfortunately, just two laps later, Crews experienced an issue with his transmission, forcing him to pull off the racing surface and retire from the event.
Menard took back the lead, followed closely by Andretti, Amy Ruman (No. 23 McNichols Co./Valley Automotive Group Chevrolet Corvette), Humaid Masaood (No. 21 allgram Ford Mustang) and Tomy Drissi (Tomy Drissi, No. 8 Trench Shoring Co./Motul Chevrolet Camaro). Despite challenges from Andretti, Menard was able to hold the point position until the checkered flag waved. Andretti finished second, while Ruman took the final podium position. Drissi made his way around Masaood in the final laps, taking fourth, while Masaood finished fifth.
“Today was eventful,” said Menard. “I had a fast car all weekend. We finally put it all together for qualifying and had the track position to start up front and lead some laps. Brent Crews was just really, really quick, and after five laps, he ran us down. We had a little battle and he got by me clean. Then, Adam [Andretti] started running me down. We got that caution and it kind of saved me from him. We had short-run speed; we’ve got to work on a little long-run speed, but we know what we’ve got to do.
“I’m really proud of the guys. We had two cars this weekend and the guys busted their tails all weekend long, bouncing back and forth between Brandon Jones and myself and keeping us running strong. It’s so great to be back at Sebring. Hell of a way to start the year.”
XGTThe XGT class put on a great show, with Paul Tracy (No. 10 Race Cars For You Innovation IRC GT) leading from start to finish in his class debut. It was not without challenge, however. Billy Griffin (No. 14 Griffin Auto Care Mercedes AMG GT3) and Danny Lowry (No. 42 Bennett/BridgeHaul/Pitboxes.
Once in the runner-up spot, she was able to challenge Tracy in the final laps, but he held her off, taking the victory. Bryson finished second, and Griffin finished third. Lowry took the fourth spot, and Mustafa Bakir (No. 68 Mustafa Bakir Racing Porsche 992 GT3 R) finished fifth.
“Today was great,” said Tracy. “Thanks to the guys from IRC for inviting me out here to come test this car for them. We’re really just trying to get it up to speed and get used to it and see how it performs at these Trans Am races.
“What a great event Tony Parella has put on. He’s built this series up, and you see the amount of cars here and the enthusiasts and the people racing everything from the big TA cars all the way down to the sportsman stuff, and it’s just great to see. We’re looking forward to Road Atlanta.”
SGTThe SGT class finished just as it started, with Joshua Carlson (No. 36 Enseva/Diercks Ltd./TC Fab Ford Mustang) leading the event from green to checkers. Lee Saunders (No. 84 Landsearch LLC Dodge Viper) ran second for most of the event, but following the mid-race restart, Patrick Utt (No. 49 RaceQuip/Driven Racing Oil Chevrolet Camaro) was able to pass him for the runner-up position. Not long after, hard racing led to a spin by Utt, putting him back in third. However, when he crossed the finish line third, Utt scored his first ever Trans Am podium.
“We took away the neon and then we start winning, so I would say I think that added a few horsepower,” said Carlson, who was asked if his new livery was responsible for his victory in the season opener. “I’m very happy to be able to win this race and dominate through most of the weekend. We had a good baseline going into this week and we built off of it and were able to secure the win.
“Thank you to Enseva for coming back on board this year. I wouldn’t be able to race without the support my family. Hopefully, we can develop this car a bit more to run up front the rest of the season. Congratulations to Patrick Utt on his first Trans Am podium.”
GTThe GT race also finished the way it started, but the action was exciting from beginning to end. 2024 class champion Chris Coffey (No. 97 Traffic Grafix/Chill Out Motorsports Maserati MC GT4) led from the moment the green flag waved, but Mike Fitzpatrick (No. 89 89x Motorsports Aston Martin GT4) was right on his tail, chasing him lap after lap. Fitzpatrick was unable to make the pass, allowing Coffey to take his first win of the season. Fitzpatrick finished second, and Colin Cohen (No. 38 Norwood Auto Italia/Traffic Grafix Maserati MC GT4) finished third.
“That race was pretty awesome. This guy right here [Mike Fitzpatrick] kept me honest from start to finish. We were basically nose-to-tail the whole way, it was absolutely incredible. I can’t thank my crew enough, Mike and Xavier. We worked all night last night and we tried a setup change and wound up damaging the car in the process.
“We didn’t know what we had to start the race, and thankfully, we got it right back to where it was. I need to thank my wife Morgan and my son Sam, and Colin Cohen, who makes all of this possible. I’m glad to start the year off right.”
GT1As the only competitor in the GT1 Challenge this weekend, Jon DeGaynor would undoubtedly finish first, but he diced it up in the large field around him, racing Ron Fellows’ former car, the No. 04 Speed Dream’n Racing Ford Mustang, cleanly to earn the victory.
“Well, first, I want to thank my father and the team for all their support,” said DeGaynor, who was also running SVRA in multiple classes this weekend. “Two races right back-to-back with the Devon, and then this. It’s really a pleasure to be here with the new class, and hopefully, we can get a lot more cars here. It was a great weekend. I didn’t have anything for the new cars or even some of the XGT cars, but I hope we put on a good show for the crowd and made Ron Fellows proud.”
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