Back-To-Back Trans Am Winners At Mid-Ohio

Simon Gregg

Mid-Ohio fans were treated to a special treat today as they witnessed Simon Gregg of Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, drive his No. 59 Gregg Motorsports Corvette to win his 100th start in Trans Am. It was Simon's second win in the Series, his other just two weeks ago at Lime Rock Park.

"This is fantastic," said Simon. "It's just an amazing feeling… I'm so happy for our team and the crew. Those guys deserve all the credit… they work so hard."

"The car was perfect," continued Simon. "Jim Derhaag preps the car so well and has been such a huge part of us getting to this point. I could drive the car anywhere on the track… and even though it appeared to be pretty racy early on, the car was actually faster late in the race."

Today's win moves Gregg to the top of the points standings (88) for the 2012 Championship. He replaced Doug Peterson (81) of Bonita Springs, Florida. Peterson's No. 87 3Dimensional.com Corvette suffered mechanical failure after having side-by-side contact with second place finisher, Amy Ruman. Ruman sits third in points (73).

Simon was chased most of the day by Amy Ruman from Kent, Ohio, in the No. 23 McNichols Corvette. Amy made a valiant effort in front of her hometown crowd, but as the race wore on, the car's handle slowly got away from her.

In third place, making his first appearance of 2012, was Denny Lamers of Appelton, Wisconsin, in the No. 66 McMahon Group Ford Mustang.

Defending Trans Am Champion Tony Ave from Maiden, North Carolina, [No. 4 Lamers Motor Racing Corvette] started the race from the pole, but once again suffered a mechanical issue early in the race. This is the third race in a row Ave has failed to finish.

In Trans Am 2, Bob Stretch of Arlington, Texas, enjoyed a repeat victory driving the No. 98 Fix Rim Mobile Wheel Repair Camaro. Following his win at Lime Rock, Stretch was pleased but disappointed in not having the opportunity to win against No.12 CTEK Chargers Camaro driver, Pete Halsmer. Halsmer of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, withdrew from the race Saturday citing back problems resulting from a preexisting condition.

"As much as I enjoy winning," said Bob, "I really missed racing against Pete. He's such a great competitor and it would have been nice having him back there pushing me. You always want to race and win against the best, and I hope Pete's back in the car soon. I was glad to see Pete's teammate Mike Miller finish second and have that team enjoy a strong showing. They're good competitors and great for the Series."

"The Fix Rim Mobile Wheel Repair Camaro ran great all day," Bob continued. "We seem to have it sorted pretty well. It did get a bit warm out there though… but it would have been a lot warmer with Halsmer in my mirrors!"

Mike Miller of Okemos, Michigan, driving the No. 11 CTEK Chargers Camaro finished second and Gregg Rodgers of Decatur, Texas, driving the No. 33 Pinnacle Autosports.com Camaro finished third. It was Rodgers first outing this season.

Current point standings for Trans Am 2 after three races; Bob Stretch (95), Mike Wilson (70), Tom Sheehan (61).

Two cars competed in GGT class this weekend. The class is open to cars approved by the Series to determine the potential for technical development within the Series rules.

Winning the GGT class was Jan Heylen of Tampa, Florida, driving the No. 7 3Dimensional.com Dodge Challenger. He was followed in second by Chuck Cassaro of Caledonia, Ill. in the No. 76 Cassaro Enterprises Panoz GT.

This week's race recap will air Sunday, June 17th at 6:0PM on MAVTV. Then the Trans Am Series will return to action July 1 with Round 4 at the New Jersey Motorsports Park in Millville, New Jersey.

Results from Sunday's 45 lap 101.61 mile Trans-Am Championship Trans-Am Championship Series Round 3 race, part of the Emco Gears Classic at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, with finishing position, class, starting position in parentheses, driver, hometown, car, laps and reason out (if any).

1. TA, (4), Simon Gregg, Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., Chevrolet Corvette, 45.
2. TA, (3), Amy Ruman, Kent, Ohio, Chevrolet Corvette, 45, -40.238.
3. TA, (5), Denny Lamers, Appleton, Wis., Ford Mustang, 44, -1 lap.
4. TA2, (7), Bob Stretch, Arlington, Texas, Chevrolet Camaro, 44, -1 lap.
5. TA2, (12), Mike Miller, Okemos, Mich., Chevrolet Camaro, 43, -2 laps.
6. TA2, (13), Gregg Rodgers, Decatur, Texas, Chevrolet Camaro, 43, -2 laps.
7. TA2, (11), John Atwell, Azle, Texas, Chevrolet Camaro, 41, -4 laps.
8. GGT, (18), Jan Heylen, Tampa, Fla., Dodge Challenger, 40, -5 laps.
9. TA2, (15), Mel Shaw, Voorhees, N.J., Chevrolet Camaro, 40, -5 laps.
10. GGT, (19), Chuck Cassaro, Caledonia, Ill., Panoz GT, 34, -11 laps.
11. TA2, (10), Michael Wilson, Blairstown, N.J., Chevrolet Monte Carlo, 31, -14 laps.
12. TA2, (14), Joe Sturm, Neenah, Wis., Chevrolet Monte Carlo, 23, Mech.
13. TA, (6), Jonathan Brett, Mt. Elgin, Ontario, Chevrolet Corvette, 15, Elect.
14. TA2, (8), Tom Sheehan, Bow, N.H., Chevrolet Camaro, 7, Elect.
15. TA, (2), Doug Peterson, Bonita Springs, Fla., Chevrolet Corvette, 6, Mech.
16. TA, (1), Tony Ave, Maiden, N.C., Chevrolet Corvette, 5, Drive Trai.
17. TA2, (9), Kurt Roerhig, Greensboro, N.C., Chevrolet Camaro, 1, Mech.
18. TA2, (16), Pete Halsmer, Bloomfield Hills, Mich., Chevrolet Camaro, 0, DNS.
19. TA2, (17), Cameron Lawrence, Windermere, Fla., Chevrolet Impala SS, 0, DNS.

Time of race: 1 hours, 7 minutes, 11.767 seconds.
Average speed: 90.728 mph
Margin of victory: 40.238 Seconds