{"id":2833,"date":"2021-12-05T17:04:00","date_gmt":"2021-12-05T17:04:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/CBMiT2h0dHBzOi8vd3d3LnNwZWVkc3BvcnQuY29tL3Nwb3J0cy1jYXJzL2ltc2EvY2hyaXMtZHlzb24taXMtYS10cmFucy1hbS1jaGFtcGlvbi_SAQA"},"modified":"2021-12-05T17:04:00","modified_gmt":"2021-12-05T17:04:00","slug":"chris-dyson-is-a-trans-am-champion-speed-sport-speed-sport","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/?p=2833","title":{"rendered":"Chris Dyson Is A Trans-Am Champion – SPEED SPORT – SPEED SPORT"},"content":{"rendered":"

POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. \u2013 Perseverance paid off for Chris Dyson this year.<\/span><\/p>\n

After coming close for the last three years, Dyson brought home the Trans Am Series championship following an outstanding season.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Poughkeepsie, N.Y., driver won seven of the opening 10 races in the No. 20 ALTWELL CBD Ford Mustang, clinching the title with one race remaining.<\/span><\/p>\n

While Dyson missed the season finale at Texas\u2019 Circuit of The Americas to concentrate on family matters, late substitute Matthew Brabham took a dramatic last-second triumph to give the team its eighth victory.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWinning the championship was massive for me, personally, on a few levels,\u201d Dyson said. \u201cTrans Am has been one of the linchpins of America road racing for decades, and to be alongside some of the great champions \u2013 many of whom I saw racing as a kid \u2013 it\u2019s hard to put into words how meaningful it is, being considered a Trans Am champion.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Dyson raced in Trans Am for the first time in 2017 and ran the full schedule in \u201818, winning at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta among five podium finishes.<\/span><\/p>\n

He finished third in the 2018 championship behind Ernie Francis Jr. and Lawrence Loshak.<\/span><\/p>\n

Dyson enjoyed the transition to the Trans Am race cars having come from top-level LMP1 and LMP2 (675) Prototype sports cars in ALMS, SRP and Daytona Prototype in Grand-Am.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIn all the forms of racing I\u2019ve been able to compete in, I raced in cars at the top of the tree for their respective style of racing,\u201d Dyson said. \u201cI think when it comes to GT-level racing, the Trans Am cars are hands-down the most monstrous cars you could possibly be racing. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe actual driving is so rewarding in the Trans Am cars because there are no driver aids,\u201d Dyson added. \u201cThe cars demand a lot of you as a driver, and reward precision and aggression. There\u2019s a nuance between the two that\u2019s endlessly fascinating and challenging.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The 2019 campaign saw him win races at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Connecticut\u2019s Lime Rock Park and Daytona (Fla.) Int\u2019l Speedway, including a second-place finish in the final standings, only 15 points behind Francis Jr.<\/span><\/p>\n

The pandemic-jumbled 2020 season saw him take third behind Francis Jr. and Tomy Drissi, while winning at Road America and the season finale at Road Atlanta.<\/span><\/p>\n

His 2021 season started off on an ominous note, when Dyson spun during qualifying, changed tires and had to start 12th at the back of the TA grid for the opening race at Sebring. Gunning for an eighth-consecutive Trans Am crown, Francis Jr, won the pole in track-record speed and led virtually all the way before being passed by Dyson, who won the race on the final lap.<\/span><\/p>\n

After taking fifth at Road Atlanta and Laguna Seca, Dyson added victories at Lime Rock, Mid-Ohio and Road America, placed third at Brainerd, and ended his season by sweeping the Watkins Glen doubleheader and clinching the title with a victory at VIR.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere were so many highlights and some very memorable races,\u201d Dyson said when asked about his personal highlights of the championship campaign. \u201cObviously, winning the opening race at Sebring from the last starting position on the last lap against a guy like Ernie France Jr. \u2013 who\u2019s one of the best-ever Trans Am racers \u2013 was really satisfying and a great way to start the season.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAlso, winning at home \u2013 we swept our home races,\u201d he added. \u201cWinning at Lime Rock in the rain was very rewarding, and going up to Watkins Glen and taking both ends of a doubleheader. To win at the two tracks I\u2019ve considered home my whole career was tremendous, and those results put us in a great position to close the championship at VIR.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWinning this year was particularly special because we did it with a great partnership with Greg Pickett \u2013 who himself is a Trans Am legend \u2013 and to come in and showcase the ALTWELL CBD brand for most of our victories this year was particularly satisfying,\u201d Dyson continued.<\/span><\/p>\n

For 2022, expect to see Dyson back in action in Trans Am.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cRight now, our priority is to come back and defend our Trans Am championship, and hopefully build on what we\u2019ve done so far,\u201d he said. \u201cI know the competition is not going to rest easy, and we\u2019re already eagerly preparing for 2022.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. \u2013 Perseverance paid off for Chris Dyson this year. After coming close for the last three years, Dyson brought home the Trans Am Series championship following an outstanding season. The Poughkeepsie, N.Y., driver won seven of the opening 10 races in the No. 20 ALTWELL CBD Ford Mustang, clinching the title with one race remaining. While Dyson missed the season finale at Texas\u2019 Circuit of The Americas to concentrate on family matters, late substitute Matthew Brabham took a dramatic last-second triumph to give the team its eighth victory. \u201cWinning the championship was massive for me, personally, on a… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2833","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-connecticut-cbd-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2833","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2833"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2833\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2833"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2833"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2833"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}