Justin Oakes clinches SGT title and Amy Ruman showed up when it counts in Trans Am Doubleheader at Watkins Glen
The Trans Am series hosted a Saturday/Sunday doubleheader at Watkins Glen that included the event scheduled a week earlier at Mosport that was cancelled by strict Canadian border controls imposed in response to the resurgence of the Delta virus.
The format consisted of 100-mile sprint races on Saturday and Sunday that brought together all classes (TA, TA2, XGT, SGT) making a single start on the 3.4-mile course. The typical agenda was separate races for TA and TA2.
After missing practice on Saturday to fix a mechanical problem, 2-time champion # 23 Amy Ruman was relegated to ninth in her class on the grid. She avoided trouble and inherited fourth by the end.
But there’s more! Officials then awarded Ruman third place due to a controversy near the end of the race resulting in penalties levied on drivers ahead of her.
# 30 Richard Grant had one of his better outings for fifth in TA and 20th overall.
# 4 Paul Fix (a top veteran from nearby Buffalo) did not make the start as a late entry in Tony Ave’s TA Corvette.
Points leader # 11 Justin Oakes won the SGT class and finished 17th overall, mixing it up with of a pack of TA2 cars. GSpeed, headed by Louis Gigliotti, turned a street stock 2008 C6 ZO6 into a state-of-the-art race car that complies with the rules.
Newcomer Randy Hale was a welcome sight, appearing in the # 31 ex-Marsh Racing Whelen Grand Am Series Corvette circa 2013. He was a distant 2nd in the XGT class and 28th overall with hopefully better performance to come.
In Sunday Action, # 23 Amy Ruman finished 4th, nipped at the end in a heated battle by # 21 Guy Smith, a Brit driving Dyson Racing’s second team Mustang.
TA contenders # 98 Ernie Francis Jr overheated (dropped fan belt); and # 8 Tomy Drissi (damaged suspension & tire) hit the guardrail exiting turn 4.
# 11 Justin Oakes won again for his sixth time this season to clinch the SGT title. Twenty-two-year-old wannabe Natalie Decker, to the delight of her Instagram fans, made a late charge in her # 29 Audi R8 GT3 spec car.
Oakes had nothing but praise for his GSpeed team. “My coach Jason Heart is incredible at getting me comfortable with the tracks and up to speed. It’s my first year in the series, it’s a brand-new car and I had a lot of learning to do. We’ve done great and I couldn’t be happier.”
Chris Dyson, fresh off winning Saturday’s race, beat Boris Said, edging closer to his first TA title.
In a stretch during the mid-to late 1970s, the fabled Six Hours of the Glen featured Trans Am Corvettes racing among FIA international sports cars. This 1977 photo shows # 9 John Huber leading # 80 Nick Engels through the uphill esses.
Photos thanks to Richard Martin, Chris Clark and Joe Cali
