Driving the No. 8 “War for the Planet of the Apes” Corvette,Tomy Drissi finished 4th in the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli, Trans Am Speedway Showdown in the series’ debut at the iconic Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS), This was the Series’ first appearance in 51 years in Indianapolis, the “Racing Capital of the World.” The weekend’s racing was contested on the IMS’ 2.439-mile Grand Prix road course.
Tomy started the weekend driving the Ave prepared No. 8 Mustang. The team spent two practice sessions chasing down a “gremlin.” Rather than risk qualifying, the team decided to switch to a back up car, a Corvette, to use in qualifying and the race.
“We’re not sure what the issue was with the Mustang,” said Tomy. “We just all agreed it would be better to get it back to the shop and figure it out there. The weekend schedule was just to short to mess around. We’ve had plenty of experience with the Corvette, so the decision to qualify it was a simple one.”
“The car was pretty decent right off the trailer,” added Tomy. “We qualified 6th and went back to work on the setup for the race.”
“In the race, I got a good clean start and the car was fairly stable,” Tomy continued. “We ran through the first 10 or 15 laps patiently and looked for an opening, ultimately moving up to third. After a pretty long caution period we were able to take the restart in second place. The car wasn’t the fastest… but it was definitely a car we could put on the podium. With about nine laps to go, I had an issue with the throttle not responding. It resulted in a spin which allowed the third and fourth place cars to get by relegating us to fourth. It was a tough break, but we finished the day fourth. Honestly, it’s disappointing, but we finished well considering where we were at the beginning of the week.”
Following the race, Tomy was involved in an altercation instigated by a crew member from a lower division team. The incident resulted in Tomy being excluded from the final results. Tomy is awaiting the formal notice of the infraction from the Series. At that time, he will work with Series officials to reach an outcome that is in the best interest of all.
War for the Planet of the Apes – In the July 14 release, Caesar (Andy Serkis) and his apes are forced into a deadly conflict with an army of humans led by a ruthless colonel (Woody Harrelson). After the apes suffer unimaginable losses, Caesar wrestles with his darker instincts and begins his own mythic quest to avenge his kind. As the journey finally brings them face to face, Caesar and the colonel are pitted against each other in an epic battle that will determine the fate of both of their species and the future of the planet.
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.