On This Day in Trans Am History: June 10, 2012
June 10, 2020
June 10, 2012:
Simon Gregg made his 100th career start in the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli a memorable one. Following up his first career triumph in the previous race at Lime Rock Park, Gregg won at Mid-Ohio in the No. 59 Gregg Motorsports Corvette.
Tony Ave captured the pole in the No. 4 Lamers/PME Engers/PRX Corvette and led the opening four laps. He eventually lost drive and retired after completing 22 circuits.
Amy Ruman then took over and led three laps in the No. 23 McNichols Corvette before being passed by Gregg. Gregg then paced the final 37 laps, taking the checkered flag 40.238-seconds ahead of Ruman.
“Mid-Ohio and Lime Rock Park are two historic tracks that have been around forever and everyone loves going to,” said Gregg. “They both require a good-handling car that doesn’t go away in a hot race today. That’s what I had today. It came down to me and Amy – it was close until the end – but I gradually wore her down. I only qualified fourth, but I picked a lap time that I could run with over and over. That’s how I roll.”
It was his final victory of a season which saw him score nine-consecutive podium finishes en route to the championship. It was also the second of his four career triumphs.
Denny Lamers took third, one lap down in the No. 66 McMahon Group Ford Mustang.
Bob Stretch led the TA2® category, placing fourth overall in the No. 98 Fix Rim Mobile Wheel Repair Chevrolet Camaro, one lap ahead of Mike Miller in the No. 11 Ctek Chargers Camaro.
Pete Halsmer – TA2® winner in the season opener at Mosport – failed to start in his No. 12 Camaro. Missing the race proved costly as he finished second in the championship, 23 points behind Stretch.
Competition also included the Global GT class (GGT), introduced in the final race of the 2011 campaign. Jan Heylen won the class in his lone start of the season in the No. 7 3Dimensional.com Dodge Challenger. It was the first victory for Dodge in Trans-Am competition since 2001.
This was the first Trans Am at Mid-Ohio since 2009 but only the second race since 2002. The event also kicked off a streak of consecutive appearances to the circuit on Steam Corners Road in Lexington that will be continued on June 27.
Cover photo by Mark Windecker: Simon Gregg in winning action at Mid-Ohio in 2012
