Justin Marks Earns Second Win of 2023 in Competitive Denny Lamers Tribute 100 at Road America

Jul 09, 2023

Chris Dyson Gets Runner-Up Finish, Boris Said Finishes Third

ELKHART LAKE, Wis. (July 8, 2023) - Justin Marks earned his second win of the season in the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli, claiming the top step on the podium at Road America. Marks engaged in a tight battle with Chris Dyson and Boris Said for much of the race, but at the end, no one could compete with his No. 99 Trackhouse Chevrolet Camaro’s speed, earning him the victory in the Denny Lamers Tribute 100.

Starting from the pole for the fourth time this season, Marks led the field to green, but second-place starter Dyson in the No. 16 GYM WEED Ford Mustang and third-place Said in the No. 79 ECC/Anchor Bolt & Screw Dodge Challenger both got off to great starts. Said immediately jumped into the second position ahead of Dyson, but Dyson leapfrogged them both by Turn 3, taking the lead. Dyson paced the field for the first eight laps as the top three remained within less than a second of each other, and the trio pulled away from the field behind them. After running in Dyson’s shadow and making repeated attempts to pass, Marks was able to close the deal, taking over the point position on lap nine.

Once Marks had clean air in front of him, his Trackhouse machine came to life, opening up a four-second lead in front of Dyson and Said. He maintained that gap until a full-course yellow slowed the field on lap 12. The caution was brought out when Amy Ruman in the No. 23 McNichols Co./Valley Automotive Corvette and David Pintaric in the No. 57 Kryderacing Ford Mustang made contact, with both cars spinning into the Turn 1 gravel trap. While Ruman was able to free herself and continue on, Pintaric was stuck and required a tow. Oil on the track following the incident required extensive cleanup, forcing competitors to come to a stop on pit road under black-flag conditions.

Racing was able to resume on lap 16 with Marks in the lead, but the Tennessee native went wide into Turn 3, which allowed Dyson and Said to pass him for first and second. However, Marks recovered quickly, picking off both Dyson and Said and reclaiming the lead. Once again, the clean air allowed Marks to drive away, and this time, he never looked back. Marks took the checkered flag with a significant gap behind him; Dyson crossed the finish line second, and Said rounded out the podium with a third-place finish. Ruman captured a fourth-place result, and Tomy Drissi in the No. 8 Lucas Oil Ford Mustang rallied from early troubles to finish fifth.

“My car was really, really good today; big thanks to all of my guys,” said Marks in GYM WEED Victory Lane. “This is an awesome racetrack. I love coming to this side of the country and seeing all the fans here. I’ve gotten to race here in IMSA, World Challenge and Xfinity, and I’ve always wanted to win here, so I’m really excited that it happened today. That’s three wins in a row for this Trackhouse brand and hopefully we can keep doing it tomorrow in Atlanta. It was really nice to race against both of these guys; we can race hard, and we can all race clean. Overall, it was just a good day for us.”

Notes of Interest:This was Justin Marks’ second win of 2023. His first of the season was at Lime Rock Park in May.

Marks’ Trackhouse Racing NASCAR team has won the last two races in the NASCAR Cup Series, scoring victories at Nashville Superspeedway and the Chicago Street Course, and he extended the brand’s streak in his Trackhouse-branded Chevrolet Camaro fielded by Showtime Motorsports.

Marks started from the pole position for the fourth time this season. He has more Motul Pole Awards than any other competitor this year.

Chris Dyson has scored a podium finish at every race since NOLA Motorsports Park in March. His second-place finish extends the two-time champion’s lead in the standings.

TA Top Five:1. Justin Marks, No. 99 Trackhouse Chevrolet Camaro2. Chris Dyson, No. 16 GYM WEED Ford Mustang3. Boris Said, No. 79 ECC/Anchor Bolt & Screw Dodge Challenger4. Amy Ruman, No. 23 McNichols Co./Valley Automotive Chevrolet Corvette5. Tomy Drissi, No. 8 Lucas Oil Ford MustangTA Masters Award:Boris Said, No. 79 ECC/Anchor Bolt & Screw Dodge ChallengerCOOLSHIRT Cool Move of the Race: Justin Marks, No. 99 Trackhouse Chevrolet CamaroSerck Precision AwardDanny Lowry, No. 42 Bennett/BridgeHaul/Pitboxes.com Mercedes AMG GT3XGT:With his only competitor withdrawing due to mechanical issues prior to the race, Danny Lowry in the No. 42 Bennett/BridgeHaul/Pitboxes.com Mercedes AMG GT3 ran competitive lap times and cruised to victory, finishing sixth overall and claiming the XGT win.

“Today felt really good, and I’ll tell you what, a lot of the credit goes to the folks at Road America,” said Lowry on the podium. “They have done one heck of a job with the racetrack. It’s an incredible racing surface, it’s beautiful, and I’ve loved every minute of it. The entire weekend was fantastic, the facilities are great. I’d like to thank Trans Am for putting on this show; you guys have done a wonderful job. It’s always fun to race in the series and come out here to compete with these gentlemen. We had a lot of fun today. I’d like to thank my buddy Ricky Sanders, BridgeHaul, and Bennett Racing. And thank you to my wife back home, who lets me come out and do this thing.”

XGT Results:1. Danny Lowry, No. 42 Bennett/BridgeHaul/Pitboxes.com Mercedes AMG GT3SGT:Lee Saunders in the No. 84 LandSearch LLC Dodge Viper was a force to be reckoned with again this weekend, scoring his fifth win of the season. He started the race from the point position and nearly led from start to finish, only facing brief challenges from Ricky Sanders in the No. 18 BridgeHaul/Bennett/Pitboxes.com Porsche 991.1 GT3 Cup. Josh Carlson in the No. 36 Enseva/TC Fab/Diercks Ltd. Ford Mustang had an impressive Trans Am debut, finishing third behind Sanders. Milton Grant in the No. 55 Springhill Suites/Sentry Self Storage Porsche 991.1 earned the Masters Award for his fourth-place finish. Milton’s son Carey Grant in the No. 6 Grant Racing 2 Porsche suffered a hard crash in Turn 1 on lap one, which resulted in a last-place finish.

“First of all, I want to thank God for a beautiful day and for keeping us safe,” said Saunders. “I’m really happy that Carey [Grant] is okay; that was real scary going into Turn 1. I want to thank my wife for keeping everything together this weekend. I was told I don’t thank her enough and I don’t. I want to thank KSR, they gave me a great car. The car was on rails today, it was really good. Thank to everyone at Trans Am for putting this on, and Ricky [Sanders] for racing us clean. He got around me and he had a good look at us there in Turn 5. Thanks to the fans for coming out, you guys are awesome.”SGT Results:1. Lee Saunders, No. 84 LandSearch LLC Dodge Viper2. Ricky Sanders, No. 18 BridgeHaul/Bennett/Pitboxes.com Porsche 991.1 GT3 Cup3. Josh Carlson, No. 36 Enseva/TC Fab/Diercks Ltd. Ford Mustang4. Milton Grant, No. 55 Springhill Suites/Sentry Self Storage Porsche 991.1 GT3 Cup5. Carey Grant, No. 6 Grant Racing 2 Porsche 991.1 GT3 CupSGT Masters:Milton Grant, No. 55 Springhill Suites/Sentry Self Storage Porsche 991.1 GT3 Cup

GT:GT also experienced a withdrawal prior to the green flag, leaving Michael Attaway in the No. 91 Bennett/BridgeHaul/Pitboxes.com Audi R8 to carry the torch for the class. Attaway earned his second race win of 2023 and his fifth podium of the season.“I’d like to thank Ricky Sanders, Danny Lowry, and Pitboxes.com,” said Attaway. “I also want to mention the local guys that came up here this weekend. There’s a lot of them, and they’ve done great this weekend.”

GT Results1. Michael Attaway, No. 91 Bennett/BridgeHaul/Pitboxes.com Audi R8

Final Details:Full official race results can be found here.

The replay of today’s race will air on MAVTV on Thursday, July 13 at 9:00 p.m. ET.

The Trans Am Series TA/XGT/SGT/GT classes return to the track on September 7-10 at Watkins Glen International.