Trans Am Notes: Dallenbach’s Last Hurrah

STEAM CORNERS, Ohio — Round six of the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course will mark the final start for Trans Am Hall of Fame inductee Wally Dallenbach Jr.Dallenbach will pilot the No. 4 Ultimate Headers Ford Mustang for team owner John Cloud, who will also participate in his final event this weekend. Known for his exceptional driving skills and charismatic personality, Dallenbach Jr. made an impression in his first full-time season, earning the 1984 rookie-of-the-year honors.
Impressing legendary team owner (and fellow Hall of Fame inductee) Jack Roush and the Ford Motor Co., Dallenbach Jr. was brought into the Roush Protofab stable in 1985, where he captured five victories and the championship, edging teammate Willy T. Ribbs.
At 22 years old, he became what was then the youngest Trans Am champion. He followed that up with another title the following season, winning the championship by a huge margin while racing a Chevrolet Camaro.
Dallenbach Jr. earned his first and only TA class victory at Mid-Ohio in 1985, the season he captured his first title. He attempts to take the checkered flag 40 years later in his final event. He has one other victory at Mid-Ohio in TAH in 2023.
100 Starts
Adam Andretti (No. 17 Top Liner Chevrolet Camaro) will hit a tremendous milestone when he takes the green flag at Mid-Ohio this weekend, tallying what will be his 100th start in the Trans Am Series.
Andretti made his Trans Am debut in 2013, starting off in the CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series in the No. 44 Engineered Components Camaro for ECC Motorsports. He scored his first-career wins in TA2 in 2014, scoring victories at Road Atlanta, Mid-Ohio and VIRginia International Raceway that year.
Andretti made his first start in the TA class in 2015, and his first win in the class came in 2019 at Circuit of The Americas driving the No. 44 Anchor Bolt & Screw/SRI Performance/ECC Dodge Challenger. In total, Andretti has eight-career wins (two in TA, five in TA2 and one in TAH), with the most recent coming at Road Atlanta in 2024 in the TA class. Andretti is the 21st driver to reach 100 starts in the series.
Mid-Ohio History
The Trans Am Series has been racing at Mid-Ohio since 1967, with competitors taking the checkered flag 50 times in 58 years. The first event was won by Jerry Titus, who was also the fastest qualifier in that event. This weekend will see nearly 50 competitors take the green flag among the TA/XGT/SGT/GT/GT1 classes and the CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series.
The facility has seen a number of improvements since Trans Am last visited Ohio, including an extensive update around Turn 4 and the replacement of safety barriers and fencing in multiple places around the track.
Past Winners
There are 10 drivers on this weekend’s entry list who have driven to GYM WEED Winners Circle in the Trans Am Series at Mid-Ohio. CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series driver Rafa Matos has the most victories at the track of anyone entered this weekend, tallying three wins.
Other Mid-Ohio winners in action in the TA class will be Paul Menard, Wally Dallenbach, Chris Dyson and Adam Andretti. In addition to Matos, Thomas Merrill has a pair of wins in the TA2 division, while Barry Boes is a past winner in Pro/Am Challenge. Milton Grant has won in the SGT class and Todd Napieralski and Chris Coffey own GT triumphs at Mid-Ohio.
Home Track Winner?
Two-time TA champion and Trans Am Hall of Fame inductee Amy Ruman (No. 23 McNichols Co./Valley Automotive Group Chevrolet Corvette) and her family-owned Ruman Racing team will be coming home this weekend at Mid-Ohio, which is located less than 90 miles from her hometown of Stow, Ohio.
Currently fourth in the standings, Ruman has made 14 starts at her home track, but has never made it to the top step of the podium at Mid-Ohio, earning a best finish of second at the facility in 2012.
Back To Back?
Fresh off his win at Lime Rock Park, Paul Menard (No. 3 Pittsburgh Paints/Menards Ford Mustang) heads to Mid-Ohio to defend his 2024 victory in the rain at the Ohio track.
Menard continues to lead the point standings in the TA class, holding a 20-point advantage over second-place Adam Andretti. Although he already knows what it takes to stand on the top step of the podium at Mid-Ohio, if he needs advice, he need look no further than 3GT Racing team owner and Trans Am Hall of Fame inductee Paul Gentilozzi, who scored victories at the track in 1998, 1999 and 2001.
Drissi Fast
Tomy Drissi (No. 8 Trench Shoring Co./Motul Chevrolet Camaro) comes into Mid-Ohio third in the TA standings and with a lot of past speed at the Midwest track. Drissi earned a podium last year, finishing third, and has a best Trans Am finish of second, which he achieved in 2021.
The Californian has been the fastest qualifier at Mid-Ohio several times, including three consecutive poles from 2013-2015, and most recently in 2021. Drissi has stood on the top step of the podium at the track once, earning an American Le Mans Series LMPC win at Mid-Ohio in 2011 alongside Kyle Marcelli.
Welcome Back
For the first time since 2019, Aaron Quine returns to the Trans Am Series to make his debut in the TA class. Quine previously made 11 starts in the CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series between 2014 and 2019, earning a best finish of fifth at Mid-Ohio in 2014.
The Wadsworth, Ohio native will pilot the No. 2 Weaver Concepts/Mobil 1 Dodge Challenger for Pancho Weaver. Quine is quite familiar with his home track, previously serving as an instructor at the facility. He also has one NASCAR Xfinity Series start at the track in 2019. Quine will be doing double duty this weekend, also racing in Jim Heck’s 1964 Corvette in SVRA’s Group 6.
Car Debut
This weekend’s race at Mid-Ohio will mark the Trans Am debut of the Howe HR6 road course car. Announced at the Performance Racing Industry show in December, the new 2,600-pound, 400-horsepower V6 racecar is a collaboration between Howe Racing Enterprises and Turn Key Motorsports.
Three drivers will pilot the new machine in the GT class this weekend: Rich Rinke (No. 11 Xineering Howe HR6), Jack Rinke (No. 12 Sadev Howe HR6) and Todd Napieralski (No. 39 Synergy Composites Howe HR6). Napieralski knows what it takes to win at Mid-Ohio, earning the victory in 2013 in what was then called the TA3-A class.