Chris Dyson Tops Practice, Breaks Track Record to Win Third-Consecutive Pole at Sonoma Raceway

April 29, 2022

Practice and qualifying are complete for the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli’s TA/XGT/SGT/GT Mission Foods 100 at Sonoma Raceway tomorrow. Chris Dyson had a perfect day, topping the practice charts in his No. 20 ALTWELL Ford Mustang and being awarded his third pole in a row with a track record-breaking time.

Dyson’s 1:33.006 was enough to lead practice ahead of Tomy Drissi, who was second in his No. 8 Lucas Oil Ford Mustang with a lap time of 1:33.371. Drissi was followed by Greg Pickett in the Western Championship TA class, who made a time of 1:33.804 in his No. 6 ALTWELL Ford Mustang. Humaid Masaood was fourth in his No. 21 allgram Ford Mustang with a time of 1:35.880, and Ken Thwaits rounded out the top five in his No. 7 Franklin Road Apparel Camaro with a 1:36.315.

Cindi Lux was the fastest of the SGT cars in her No. 45 Black Rock Coffee Dodge Viper with a 1:45.695, and Mike Sheehan was the fastest XGT entry in his No. 73 Ferraris Online LLC Lamborghini Gallardo GT3 with a 2:06.191.

Full practice results can be found here.

Today’s qualifying session saw Dyson earn his fourth Motul Pole Award of 2022 and third in a row when he recorded a lap time of 1:32.506, breaking the previous track record of 1:32.923.

“This was a terrific session for us, breaking a track record again here at one of my favorite tracks in North America,” said Dyson of Sonoma Raceway. “It’s just an absolute thrill to be representing the Pickett family and the ALTWELL brand. I think we’re going to have tough competition tomorrow, but I feel confident about the car we’ve got in race trim. We’re going to try to hang on to this advantage and try to get out front and stay there all day tomorrow. I’m just so blessed and proud to have the Trans Am National series out here at such a great international venue.”

Second in qualifying was Drissi with a 1:33.729, followed by Thwaits with a 1:34.343 and Pickett close behind with a 1:34.548. Dyson’s CD Racing teammate Masaood was fifth with a best time of 1:35.597. Amy Ruman suffered a mechanical issue with her No. 23 McNichols Co. Corvette, forcing her to miss the qualifying session.

Michael LaPaglia’s No. 31 Papini’s/Johnson Tuning/FAST Ford Mustang was the fastest SGT entry in qualifying, also setting a new track record with a time of 1:42.408. Sheehan was the top XGT car with a 1:58.333.

Full qualifying results can be found here.

The TA race will be contested on Saturday, April 30 at 1:05 p.m. PT/4:05 p.m. ET. Free live coverage begins at 12:30 p.m. PT/3:30 p.m. ET at www.youtube.com/TheTransAmSeries.