TRANS AM SERIES
LIME ROCK PARK | LAKEVILLE, CONN. MAY 24-27, 2019
Finishing out the TA-class
podium were Ernie Francis Jr.,
who recovered from an early race
setback to claim a hard-fought
second place, and Josh Hurley.
The race group featured
three classes of competition,
with SuperGT and GT machines
sharing the track with the
high-horsepowered TA class
entries. And, in a perfect balance
of battling competitors, while
watching for the TA traffic in his
mirrors, Fall Line Motorsports
driver Mark Boden went
flag-to-flag in the SGT class
race for his first win of the
season in his Beverage Flavors
International/Porsche 991 GT3
Cup. Meanwhile, Steven Davison
also ran a near-perfect race
in his Davinci Plastic Surgery/
Aston Martin Vantage to score
the GT class victory.
WALK IN THE PARK
(LEFT) Chris Dyson made quick work of his Trans
Am race at Lime Rock Park, going flag-to-flag for
his first TA win of the season. (RIGHT) Laguna
Seca winner Thomas Merrill made it two in a
row in TA2 after a hard fought battle. (BOTTOM
RIGHT) Mark Boden made it look easy in SGT.
Machavern tried to pass Merrill
on the uphill. His attempt was
unsuccessful as he dropped
two wheels off track, allowing
Merrill to cross the stripe about
a half a second before him.
“Thomas is good at making
his car wide and big, and he
really worked that traffic well,”
Machavern pointed out. “The
Stevens Miller Liqui-Moly Mustang
was awesome all weekend, but
Thomas just bested me on the last
lap in qualifying and really the same
thing happened at the end of the
race. I think we had the fastest car
at the end, we had some passing
opportunities, but Thomas just
knew how to make his car big.”
Two days later, on Monday,
May 27, when the TA, SGT, and
GT cars took to the historic
circuit, the tone changed to that
of a Cinderella story, as Chris
Dyson claimed the Trans Am
presented by Pirelli TA-class
victory in his Plaid Ford Mustang.
Starting from the pole, Dyson
never surrendered the lead
to claim his first TA victory
of the season following 100
miles of flat-out racing, but this
came just days after Dyson
suffered a crash in sprint car
competition, leaving him unsure
of whether he’d be competing
in the Trans Am race at all.
“To think, two days ago I was
laying in a hospital bed, not
knowing if I was going to make it
here,” said Dyson after the race.
“I told my dad they were going
to have to tie me to this bed if
they’re going to keep me from
racing in Lime Rock. Luckily, I was
cleared to race because this might
be my biggest career win. It’s so
special to see all my friends and
family members waving as I drive
by – it’s just a fantastic feeling.”
gap. On the restart, the pair of
Mustangs raced through the
tight, fast turns of the 1.53-mile
circuit. With time ticking down,
“ Two days ago I was
laying in a hospital bed,
not knowing if I was
going to make it here”
CHRIS DYSON
