Menard takes third victory of 2025 at Lime Rock Park
For the second year in a row, Paul Menard was the victor of the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli Memorial Day Classic at Lime Rock Park. After top qualifiers Chris Dyson and Matthew Brabham faced early issues, Menard sailed smoothly to the win at the Lime Rock SpeedTour, followed by his closest points rivals Adam Andretti and Tomy Drissi.
Teammates Dyson (No. 16 GYM WEED Ford Mustang) and Brabham (No. 21 GYM WEED Ford Mustang) led the field to the green, but while Dyson had an excellent jump at the start, Brabham faced immediate issues, falling back as soon as the flag waved and being forced to retire due to electrical issues. Dyson smoothly pulled out to the lead, with Menard (No. 3 Pittsburgh Paints/Menards Ford Mustang) jumping into second and Andretti (No. 17 Top Liner Chevrolet Camaro) falling into line third. For the first nine laps, the three cars ran nose to tail, setting up what could be an exciting battle. However, that battle ended early for Dyson, as he tangled with a lapped competitor and made heavy contact with the wall.
Following a brief stop in the action for cleanup, the green flag waved on lap 13. Menard had a flawless restart, while Andretti appeared to spin his tires behind him, allowing Menard to pull ahead. Once in front of the field in clean air, Menard took off, opening up an enormous gap over Andretti. Behind them, Drissi (No. 8 Trench Shoring Co./Motul Chevrolet Camaro) and Amy Ruman (No. 23 McNichols Co./Valley Automotive Group Chevrolet Corvette) engaged in heated battle, and the two challenged each other for the remainder of the event.
With 20 laps remaining, Andretti began to slightly close in on Menard, but without a full course caution to regroup the field, Menard’s advantage was just too great. The race remained green until the checkered flag waved, and Menard crossed the finish line to claim his third win of the season. Andretti finished second, and Drissi ultimately won the battle with Ruman, taking the third and final spot on the podium. Ruman finished fourth and Dyson was scored fifth following his early retirement from the race.
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“I just had an amazing car all weekend,” said Menard. “Obviously, practice was cut short [due to rain], so we didn't get to work on it very much. It's a lot of fun coming to Lime Rock, seeing all the fans here. I wish that [Chris Dyson and I] could have battled it out; Chris and [Matthew] Brabham were going to be super quick, but they had their issues. But from then on, we were just cruising and trying to manage a gap with Adam [Andretti]. Memorial Day weekend at Lime Rock Park, we saw some awesome racing Saturday, awesome racing today.
“We thank our teams, we thank our sponsors, we thank everybody, but we wouldn't be here without the military and without everybody that puts their lives on the line every single day. Not just today, it's every day, all year long. And that's why we're here to honor them.”
XGT, SGT and GT classes
In his first National Championship race since 2021, Erich Joiner (No. 10 goodboybob Coffey Roasters Porsche 991.GT3) returned to vctory lane in the XGT class, claiming his 11th-career National win. As the only competitor in his class, his best battle of the race was against Joshua Carlson in the SGT class. Joiner ultimately came out on top, finishing fifth overall and ahead of Carlson’s sixth.
“When you're in a six-cylinder Porsche with 900-horsepower cars around you, you've got to really keep your eyes open, but we had a heck of a race with the GT cars,” said Joiner.
Joshua Carlson in the No. 36 Enseva/Diercks Ltd./TC Fab Ford Mustang cruised to victory over Dave Melnick in the No. 71 Poured Floors of N.Y. & N.J. Chevrolet Corvette. Carlson enjoyed a passionate mid-race battle against Joiner in the XGT class before crossing the finish line to capture his fifth consecutive win of 2025.
The sole competitor in GT, Maciej Tuniewicz in the No. 29 New Granite & Marble Porsche Cayman S, took the victory in his first career start in the class. The win capped off a double-duty weekend, where Tuniewicz also raced in Saturday’s CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series event.
The Trans Am Series will next hit the track at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, June 19-22, for the Mid-Ohio SpeedTour.
RACER Staff
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