Yahoo Autos Adam Andretti scores first Trans Am win for Burtin chassis at Road Atlanta
Adam Andretti earned a 45th birthday present with a victory at the Mission Foods Road Atlanta SpeedTour in one of the closest finishes the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli has ever seen. Driving a Burtin Racing-designed chassis, Andretti started second and took over the lead when Chris Dyson slid through a competitor’s oil on lap 11. Andretti dominated in his nearly-perfect No. 17 Top Liner/Go Share Chevrolet Camaro, but Dyson mounted an incredible comeback from seventh place to cross the finish line just 0.159s behind Andretti in the Bennett/BridgeHaul Classic.
This was the first win for the Burtin Racing chassis, which made its debut at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2023.
Dyson started the race from the pole in his No. 16 GYM WEED Ford Mustang and showed impressive speed after the wave of the green flag, initially opening a one-second lead over Andretti. However, Andretti was able to slowly reel Dyson back in, closing the gap to as little as 0.2s while the TA cars navigated lapped traffic. On lap 11, Wally Dallenbach in the No. 41 Ultimate Headers Ford Mustang, who was running eighth in class at the time, experienced a sudden engine failure, dropping oil on the racetrack before retiring to the paddock. When Dyson hit the spot of the engine failure, he slid through the dropped oil, resulting in a spin that relegated him to the seventh position.
Following a full-course caution for cleanup, Andretti controlled the class, followed closely by Paul Menard in the No. 3 Menards Ford Mustang and Tomy Drissi in the No. 8 Franklin Road Apparel Chevrolet Camaro. Menard tailed Andretti, while Dyson had a prolonged battle with sixth-place Amy Ruman in the No. 23 McNichols Co. Chevrolet Corvette. Dyson finally got around Ruman on lap 24, while Andretti and Menard opened up a large gap in front of Drissi and the other TA competitors. Unfortunately, Menard pulled off the racing surface before crossing the line on lap 25 due to a power failure, which forced him to retire.
With Menard out of contention, Andretti’s lead over second opened substantially. Boris Said in the No. 2 Weaver Racing Dodge Challenger made his way to second-place Drissi and the two engaged in a battle for position. Unfortunately, the two cars touched and Drissi lost traction and spun, dropping back to sixth in class.
Now around Ruman, Dyson continued his campaign to the front, making his way up to third. Meanwhile, second-place Said closed the gap on Andretti, cutting more than 10 seconds down to less than two, while posting faster and faster lap times. With only one lap remaining, Said drastically slowed, as a carburetor issue affected his fuel mileage and he had to coast to the finish line with no gas. Without Said in front of him. Dyson made an amazing charge in the final turns, closing a four-second disadvantage down to a mere 0.159-seconds by the time the checkered flag waved over the photo finish. Andretti and Dyson were followed by Keith Grant (No. 40 Drissi Motorsports/Showtime Chevrolet Camaro), Said and Ruman.
“Those who know me, friends, family, fans, know that I’m usually not speechless,” said Andretti. “I decided to sit in the car for a moment to reflect, because you don’t get to do this all the time. These wins are special; they don’t come around every day. This is proof. This is everyone in our group living out their dream.
“I’m the one sitting behind the wheel, but Claudio Burtin had a dream to build and design his own race car and win with it in the Trans Am Series. Damon [Lockhart] had a dream to fabricate this car from the ground up, and it’s now a winner in the Trans Am Series. Terry [St. Martin]’s dream has come true. He’s been working with this group since its beginning, and he, too, watched this develop from the ground up. I can’t leave out the support of my wife, Tabitha, and all my family at home. There’s a lot to be proud of here with this group. The Top Liner/Go Share Camaro didn’t miss a beat. I got to a point that I could manage the race; I haven’t been able to do that ever in my Trans Am career, and they gave me that. I’m very humbled. Thank you to everybody, thanks to all the fans.”
It was Andretti’s first TA class win since 2019 at Circuit of The Americas.
Andretti had a previous victory at TA2 win at Road Atlanta in 2014.
TA Top Five:
1. Adam Andretti, No. 17 Top Liner/Go Share Chevrolet Camaro
2. Chris Dyson, No. 16 GYM WEED Ford Mustang
3. Keith Grant, No. 40 Drissi Motorsports/Showtime Chevrolet Camaro
4. Boris Said, No. 2 Weaver Racing Dodge Challenger
5. Amy Ruman, No. 23 McNichols Co. Chevrolet Corvette
TA Masters:
Boris Said, No. 2 Weaver Racing Dodge Challenger
EMCO Gears Lap Leader:
Adam Andretti, No. 17 Top Liner/Go Share Chevrolet Camaro
XGT saw a great battle unfold between Danny Lowry in the 42 Bennett/BridgeHaul/Pitboxes.com Mercedes AMG GT3 and Shannon Herford in the No. 51 NAPM Inc. Mercedes AMG GT3 Evo, with Lowry ultimately going from spin to win. Lowry started the day leading the class, but Herford quickly passed him on the first lap. Then, on lap five, Lowry spun, allowing Herford to put distance between himself and Lowry. Fortunately for Lowry, the full-course yellow on lap 11 closed up the field, and when the race went green on lap 18, Lowry was able to follow closely on Herford’s bumper for the next 16 laps. On lap 34, Lowry made his way back around Herford, defending the lead until the checkered flag waved.
“That was a lot of fun,” said Lowry. “I knew it was going to be a tight race, because this is Shannon [Herford]’s home track, my home track, and Ricky Sanders’ home track. We started the race and Shannon was much faster than I was from Turn 1 through Turn 3, down through the esses. He put pressure on me. I pushed it a little bit too hard through the top of the hill, and I spun the car and let Shannon get away from me. Luckily, we had the yellow, which allowed me to catch back up. I worked with some traffic and put some pressure on, and everything turned my way. It was fantastic running with these guys. I had a lot of fun today. I’d like to thank my Bennett family that’s here for the Bennett/BridgeHaul Classic. Thank you to Tyler Hoffman for putting the strategy out there that helped us out, and Jason Howell, who gave me a good car today. Thanks, guys.”
XGT Results:
1. Danny Lowry, No. 42 Bennett/BridgeHaul/Pitboxes.com Mercedes AMG GT3
2. Shannon Herford, No. 51 NAPM Inc. Mercedes AMG GT3 Evo
3. Ricky Sanders, No. 18 BridgeHaul/Bennett/Pitboxes.com Audi R8 GT3
The SGT class saw a three-way battle between Joshua Carlson (No. 36 Enseva/TC Fab/Diercks Ltd. Ford Mustang), Milton Grant (No. 55 Sentry Self Storage/Springhill Suites Porsche 991.1 GT3 Cup) and Richard Forsythe (No. 58 GSpeed/Sambuca Restaurant Chevrolet Corvette). Carlson led the class for the first 29 laps, but his tires lost the grip he required to maintain the point position. This allowed both Forsythe and Grant, who had been running their own close battle all day, to get around the young driver, with Forsythe taking the top spot on the podium.
“Well, we were working on the car all throughout the week, progressing, and I’ve never been here before, so I was learning from Eric Foss, who is an amazing teacher,” said Forsythe. “My amazing GSpeed crew backed me up and produced a Swiss timepiece that just kept ticking off those laps, it never failed. I can’t thank GSpeed enough. Milton [Grant] kept me honest, and Josh [Carlson] kept me honest down [in Sebring]. We had an amazing progression up through the field. We didn’t know how we were going to do, since I only qualified third. I love the facility and this great crowd. Thank you very much.”
SGT Results:
1. Richard Forsythe, No. 58 GSpeed/Sambuca Restaurant Chevrolet Corvette
2. Milton Grant, No. 55 Sentry Self Storage/Springhill Suites Porsche 991.1 GT3 Cup
3. Joshua Carlson, No. 36 Enseva/TC Fab/Diercks Ltd. Ford Mustang
4. Kaylee Bryson, No. 01 Logical Systems Inc./Sam Pierce Chevrolet Corvette
5. Jenn Krpata, No. 93 Island Trees Auto Chevrolet Camaro
The GT class belonged to Chris Coffey in the No. 97 Norwood Auto Italia/Traffic Grafix Maserati MC GT4 from start to finish. Starting first in class, he was able to keep Jeff Lindstrom in the No. 41 Griffin Auto Care/Sheehan’s Towing Ford Mustang behind him for the entire event, claiming his second-consecutive win in the class.
“I like the racetracks that have shorter straightaways, for sure, especially in a slower car. It was pretty exciting, that’s for sure. But I want to thank Colin [Cohen]. Unfortunately, he couldn’t make the start due to a little incident we had in testing this week, but I really wish he could have been out there. All of this is thanks to him. I’ve got to thank my crew, Xavier and Alex, two of the best guys in the paddock. And I’ve definitely got to thank my wife and son, Morgan and Sam. I love you.”
GT Results:
1. Chris Coffey, No. 97 Norwood Auto Italia/Traffic Grafix Maserati MC GT4
2. Jeff Lindstrom, No. 41 Griffin Auto Care/Sheehan’s Towing Ford Mustang
Full official race results can be found here.
The highlight show of today’s race will air on MAVTV on Thursday, March 28 at 9:00pm ET.
The Trans Am Series TA/XGT/SGT/GT classes next hit the track at the NOLA SpeedTour at NOLA Motorsports Park, April 11-14.
