Back in the #8 Burtin Racing GoShare Camaro, Tomy Drissi returns to Portland International Raceway for the Trans Am West Series race, July 27-29. No stranger to the historic raceway, Tomy won the 2009 Trans Am Rose Cup Classic driving his Jaguar XKR. He went on to win the 2009 Trans Am Driver’s Championship.
Ironically, that win came over Tomy’s friend and Trans Am West nemesis, Greg Pickett. Pickett had spent 16 laps chasing down Tomy’s pole sitting Jag. Tomy recaptured the lead on lap 28, while Pickett ultimately blew up his XKR engine on the front straightaway on lap 44. Todd Harris went on to finish second and Trans Am stalwart, Tony Ave, finished third.
“That was a great race,” Tomy recalled. “We had a good car all weekend… but Greg was wicked-fast and as we all know, he’s an incredible competitor. Had Greg not gone up in smoke, it would have been a two car battle down to the last lap. We’d have been close… I mean stupid close. I know we’d have been rubbing on each other. It was going to be him or me… I hated what happened, but that’s racing and we were certainly happy to take the win.”
In 2017, the roar of Trans Am machinery was heard on Portland’s 1.927-mile surface for the first time since the Trans Am race in 2009. Though Tomy was not able to attend the 2017 event, Greg Picket went on to win, becoming the first Trans Am driver to claim victory in five decades. His win was the 18th of his career and his 183rd start. Pickett’s unparalleled career in Trans Am, features wins coming in five consecutive decades: the 70s, 80s, 90s, 2000s, and 2010s.
While Tomy currently leads the Driver’s Championship, Pickett will most likely be stalking him again at Portland. The two have one of the friendliest rivalries in racing.
“Greg is one of the nicest guys in the sport,” said Tomy, “and I love racing with him. You always come into these situations wanting to win, but if you take second place to Greg, you know you’ve have had a good day racing against one of the best.”
“We’ll be at the top of our game for the weekend,” added Tomy. “The Burtin Racing crew are notorious for putting a well prepared car on the grid and we’re confident we can dial in the right setup for Portland. It’s a fun track and a great track for racing. It’s got an old-school feel to it and it’s perfect for these Trans Am cars. It’s going to be a great show!”
The action get’s underway with practice and qualifying on Saturday with the Trans Am feature race taking the green flag Sunday at 11:05AM PST. The race will be 51 laps or 75 min. (100.47 miles).
GoShare’s Mission is to make the delivery of big-box items as easy and convenient as a click away from the purchase transaction. GoShare’s Vision is to own the last-mile delivery of big-box items utilizing the largest network of trucks and vans in the world. As consumers demand faster delivery for their products, retailers and wholesalers must adapt and deliver products like never before. The dedicated team at GoShare has been working diligently these past three years to develop modern transportation solutions for businesses which sell bulky items including furniture, mattresses, appliances, electronics, and more. GoShare has successfully created a platform to seamlessly connect truck & van owners with retailers who need help with the cumbersome and ungrateful task of delivering goods from store to home, “The last mile.”
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
• 2017 Three wins in the Trans Am Series
• 2017 WeatherTech Series. 1st Place Motul Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta