On This Day in Trans Am History: June 9, 2013

June 9, 2021

June 9, 2013

Doug Peterson won the Finger Lakes Wine Country Classic, Round 4 of the 2013 Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli, at historic Watkins Glen International.

Peterson won in the No. 87 3-Dimensional Corvette, increasing his TA lead to 27 points over Simon Gregg in the process.

David Pintaric captured the pole in the No. 578 Kryderacing/WRP Investments, edging Paul Fix in the No. 4 Stop Flex/Lamers Corvette by two-hundredths of a second. Peterson qualified third.

Pintaric led the opening laps but retired early due to transmission problems. Fix took the lead on the fourth lap, before the New Yorker also encountered transmission trouble.

That gave the lead to Peterson, who led the rest of the race. Fix held on to give Tony Ave Racing a 1-2 finish.

“I try to be consistent throughout the race now,” Peterson said. “I want to have a consistent start, a consistent middle and a fast finish.  In the past, I’ve led a lot of races in the beginning and lost them in the end.  I try to let the race come to me now; I’m patient with it and the car—so far the results have been great.”

Fix, who won the most recent race at Lime Rock in his return to the series, was happy with second.

“I couldn’t be more happy with today; Tony Ave and Larry Beebe gave me a great car,” Fix said. “I lost third gear on lap 10 and all I had was fourth and fifth; but I was able to bring it home, so I couldn’t be more ecstatic. I love Trans Am.  I love the history of Trans Am; I wouldn’t want to race anywhere else.”

Gregg, carrying the defending champion’s No. 1 on his Corvette, took third after a long duel with John Baucom and Amy Ruman.

Cameron Lawrence led the TA2® class in the No. 11 Ctek Chevrolet Camaro, placing eighth overall. He was followed by two-time champion Bob Stretch and Peter Halsmer, also driving Camaros.

TA3 went to David Seuss, driving the No. 9 Northern Light Porsche 996 GT3.

 

Trans Am returns to Watkins Glen for a double-header Sept. 9-12.