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Elkhart Lake, WI - August 11, 2020 - A fine points weekend in the fourth round of the 2020 Trans Am presented by Pirelli Championship season at Road America, August 8, propelled the 2012 Trans Am Champion Simon Gregg into the top three of the Drivers Championship for the first time this season, a testament to his consistency and tenacity. Simon now has 89 Championship points, 5 points ahead of Chris Dyson in 4th place.
The weekend began well for Simon in the No. 59 Derhaag Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro with some very respectable times and he qualified in P6 with a clock of 2:09:251. He spoke to our reporter after the session and reflected on his efforts and why times seem to be a little slower at Road America than they were in the past.
“The lap times at this track don't seem to be what they used to be, and that's down to the age of the track surface, but people are running faster on the straight,” stated Gregg. "Thanks to the team for the change in the engine as it had a minor water leak - we had to sit out the previous practice session.”
The straight at Road America does indeed give the 850bhp muscle cars a chance to stretch their legs as Simon pointed out, "There's a radar trap here at Turn 5 and that says speeds are in the 175mph range which is good." Reflecting on his position just behind the pace he added, "There are three teams setting the standard for speed right now and my goal is to catch up with them. I like to come to this track and it’s fun to be racing out here more than once a year - the SVRA event a few weeks ago was great and now we’re back enjoying this awesome venue again!"
The race started early on Saturday morning and there was immediate drama. One driver's misfortune is another's gain in motorsports and when the race went green, Amy Ruman stalled on the false grid allowing Simon to slot immediately into P5 in the running order. She took the green to the pit road but broke the transmission and was towed to the paddock without completing a lap. Simon picked up another place when Tomy Drissi, who had been running third, spun on the final lap allowing Simon to pick up another place. In the end he was only narrowly denied a podium finish as he explained afterward, "I almost got third but slowed on the white flag by accident - I thought it was the checkers! I was third when the white flag came out and almost beat the local pro Cliff Ebben."
The points Simon picked up at Road America mean he is now in third overall in the Drivers' Championship with the new Chevrolet Camaro improving all the time. The next scheduled opportunity for the Trans Am racers is at Watkins Glen next month and we all hope that that event will indeed go ahead.
Download the new Trans Am App and watch the race events live from the Google PlayStore or Apple.
Trans Am Series and team news about Simon Gregg can be found at gotransam.com. Keep up with Simon personally on the Simon Gregg Facebook page.
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