Backing up his win at the inaugural Trans Am West race last month at Willow Springs, Tomy Drissi continued his winning ways Sunday at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California.
Driving the No. 8 Ave prepared C7 Corvette, supporting the Arthritis Foundation, Tomy was setting the pace throughout the entire weekend. A tough qualifying session placed him second on the starting grid, but that would not hold Tom back in the race.
“I had a good start,” said Tomy. It was me, Kyle Kellie and Greg Pickett in the early running. Everyone was running clean and the racing was amazing. Kyle and I were going back and forth through the infield running side by side where you can’t go side by side. It was great! Around lap 17, I saw an opportunity and moved into the lead… but two laps later, with orange cones scattered across the track, race control brought out a yellow. I had pulled out a bit of a lead, but now Kelley was filling up my mirrors.”
“We got back to green around lap 22,” continued Tomy. “It was tight.. after a little back and forth through the infield, Kyle managed to get the edge. We still had plenty of time, so I tucked back in and stayed patient.”
“I had Tony Ave in my ear for 100 miles.” said Tomy laughing. “He was the perfect passenger… the track was a challenge flag to flag and Tony did a great job of calling traffic and keeping things calm. Around lap 27, opportunity knocked and I was able to take Kyle on the inside of turn one. It wasn’t long after that, I saw him smoking and pulling off to the infield. I felt bad for him… he ran a great race. I knew Greg [Pickett] was back there… but we had a good gap between us. I focused on keeping a clean line and getting the car to the finish.”
Tomy’s No. 8 Tony Ave Racing prepped Corvette carried the colors of the Arthritis Foundation for this event. The Arthritis Foundation leads the fight for the arthritis community. The Foundation helps conquer everyday battles through life-changing information and resources, access to optimal care, advancements in science and community connections. Their goal is to chart a winning course, guiding families in developing personalized plans for living a full life – and making each day another stride towards a cure.
“I’m really happy we could get this win with the Arthritis Foundation on the car,” added Tomy. “The Foundation means a lot to my wife Lacey and I. We’ve experienced this disease, dealing with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis first hand. The Foundation provides trusted information, powerful health tracking tools and ways to connect with others. This is extremely important work and we’re proud we can be a part of it.”
“It was great seeing all our west coast friends too,” noted Tomy. “For friends and family to be able to come out and support us… and be part of the team makes the win that much better. Seriously, this is a great day and a fun win!
Next stop for Tomy will be Road Atlanta for the Trans Am Championship presented by Pirelli, May 13. Practice gets underway Friday, May 12.
Fans of the Trans Am Series by Pirelli can follow along every race weekend at www.gotransam.com, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/gotransam and on Twitter at @gotransam. Live Timing and Scoring can be found throughout all sessions on gotransam.com and on RaceMonitor.
Keep up with Tomy at http://www.tomydrissi.com or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/tomydrissi/ – Catch Tomy’s Twitter feed at https://twitter.com/tomydrissi
Tomy Drissi is an American driver and Trans Am Champion.
His driver experience includes ALMS, Trans-Am, NASCAR and Speed World Challengea
Born December 9 in Hollywood, California, Tomy owns an advertising firm that produces upcoming film displays for cinemas.
Drissi’s first racing experience in motorsports was street racing on Mulholland Drive in the Hollywood Hills.
Tomy’s professional racing career highlights include:
• 1999 Trans-Am Rookie of the Year,
• 2000 Trans-Am BBS Most Improved Driver,
• 2000 Trans-Am Crew of the Year
• 2000 Trans-Am Long Beach Champion
• 2009 Trans-Am Champion.
• 2010 ALMS (one off race) Prototype LMP1 3rd. at Mid Ohio
• 2011 saw Tomy’s return to the American Le Mans LMPC division. He scored a 2nd at Long Beach, 3rd at Lime Rock, 1st at Mid Ohio,1st at Inaugural Baltimore Grand Prix and second at Road Atlanta -Petit Le Mans.
• 2012, Drissi teamed with Bruno Junqiera for finishing 2nd at Laguna Seca, a win at Mosport (Canadian Tire Motorsports Park), 2nd at Baltimore and second at the season finale, Petit Lemans.
• 2013 NASCAR CUP/Nationwide. Best result at Mid Ohio starting 38th and finishing 19th.
• 2014 IMSA LMPC at Daytona 3rd.
• 2014 NASCAR CUP/Nationwide. Finished 19th at The Glen
• 2015 TUDOR Series. 2nd Place Rolex 24 at Daytona
• 2016 WeatherTech Series. 2nd Place Rolex 24 at Daytona
About TransAm
The Trans Am Series is America’s Road Racing Series and dates back to 1966. Throughout the years, some of the greatest names in motorsports have participated in the Trans Am Series. Names like Tommy Kendall, Mark Donohue, Peter Gregg, Bob Tullius and Wally Dallenbach, Jr. have all won multiple championships under the Trans Am name.
While Trans Am will always be dedicated to honoring its history and legacy, it is far from simply living in the past. Since the addition of the Trans Am Race Company, LLC in late 2011, Trans Am has experienced unprecedented growth as a new class based model has been implemented. Now, three distinct classes take center stage; TA, TA2 and TA3, Trans Am is positioned to power into the future, not live in the past.
The iconic Trans Am Series – America’s Road Racing Series – is operated by the Trans Am Race Company, LLC. Through a five-year agreement, the Trans Am Race Company manages the marketing rights to the series and is responsible for Trans Am Series public relations and promotions. SCCA Pro Racing sanctions Trans Am events and provides event operations services to the series.
For more on the Series visit www.gotransam.com, “like” Trans Am on Facebook at www.facebook.com/gotransam, or follow Trans Am on Twitter at @gotransam.