Dyson claims win in wild TA ; Skeen cruises to pole for today's TA2 race.

Apart from the opening laps, Chris Dyson made it look easy on his way to taking the checkered flag in the TA portion of the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli on Saturday.

Starting from the pole, Dyson surrendered the lead to Tomy Drissi’s Lucas Oil Ford Mustang almost immediately. But the driver of the Altwell Ford Mustang dogged Drissi relentlessly and retook the lead on lap 11.

“This track has beaten me so many times,” Dyson says. “I’m so happy. A one-two is absolutely fantastic.”

Dyson’s teammate, Humaid Masaood in the Allgram Ford Mustang, survived an epic ride to finish second in the TA class—or so it appeared immediately after the 45-lap sprint at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.

After Dyson pulled back in front, all eyes were on what was a wild, unpredictable race for third. The players included TA drivers Masaood, Amy Ruman, Ken Thwaits, Erich Joiner of the XGT class and—ultimately—Trans Am officials.

Joiner topped XGT while Chris Evans led the way in SGT. But the final outcome was determined by the battle for that final podium spot.

Ruman and her McNichols Corvette grabbed three places in the second lap when Masaood spun—the first of the incidents that made his drive an unbridled saga—grabbing third. Ruman held the position until lap 10, when she was tagged by Ken Thwaits’ Franklin Road Apparel Chevrolet Camaro in the hairpin and spun momentarily into the gravel.

Thwaits took over third then handed it back to Ruman when he was forced to pit. But the two-time champion was pedaling gingerly.

“After he spun me, the tires went away,” she explains. “The rears were roasted.”

Meanwhile Masaood had been making up ground rapidly. His lap two incident put in at the back of the field. He quickly charged back, picking off competitors one by one, aided by a full course caution when SGT polesitter Cindy Lux’s car stalled and could not be restarted.

“That was a little bit of luck,” Masaood says. “But there’s always going to be a yellow.”

By lap 25 he was in close pursuit of Ruman. He made contact with her car coming out of turn 9 and wriggled past. Thwaits claimed fourth from Ruman and set off after Masaood. With eight laps remaining, he made a move on Masaood’s Mustang in turn 5 but lost control.

He became beached in the gravel, bringing out the second full course caution.

The driver most disappointed by the yellow was Dyson, who had pulled away from the field, 22 seconds up the road from Drissi. The field bunched up again behind the pace car, bringing Drissi and Masaood on Dyson’s tail with time running out.

“The races here are never drama free,” Dyson points out. “You can’t take anything for granted.”

By this point, almost every car was struggling with grip. “Hang on, hang on,” is how Ruman describes the late stages. Dyson had managed his rubber well and pulled away easily on the restart.

“I was just keeping the car under me,” he explains. “[Drissi] was a little aggressive at the start.”

With three laps to go, Drissi’s early pace proved costly. He got loose and gave up positions, once again shuffling the third place battle. Masaood slotted into second and Ruman third—momentarily. Coming out of the hairpin Joiner made a bold move, cutting in front of Ruman with the tail of his Porsche screaming.

“That was crazy,” Joiner says. “The tires were gone.” He managed to hang onto the car for third overall.

Some time after the podium celebration, the end results were revised. Trans Am officials handed Masaood a 40 second penalty for the incident with that left Thwaits stranded, deciding it was avoidable contact.

“I only just saw the results online a little while ago,” Ruman texted hours five hours after the checkered flag was thrown.

She was bumped up to second in TA, third overall. Joiner officially finished second overall, still first in XGT. For his effort, Drissi came in fourth. XGT driver Bob Mueller in the Octavio Tequila Porsche GT3R rounded out the top five.

Masaood was demoted to sixth. “It was tough,” he says of the day.

Skeen lead the way in TA2

Mike Skeen had an uneventful qualifying session on Saturday evening, putting his 3Diminsional Services Group Ford Mustang on pole, almost a second ahead of the field for Sunday’s TA2 race.

“The car felt amazing,” he says. “I feel really comfortable here.”

Skeen recorded a lap of 1:27.5 during the 15 minute session. Connor Mosack will start alongside Skeen in the Nic Taylor Chevrolet Camaro. Skeen’s teammate, Rafa Matos, claimed the third spot.

Salinas native Thomas Merrill will start eight in the 45-car field, driving the Bridgehaul HP Tuners Ford Mustang.

The green flag waves today, April 24, at 2pm.