With less than 12 laps remaining in the race, while running in 5th position, Tomy Drissi’s No.8 Ave prepared Corvette took a hit in the rear shoving Tomy off track.. With his car in the gravel and off to the side, Tomy’s day at the legendary Road Atlanta track was over.
“This was a tough one,” said Tomy. “I’m not sure we had a winning car, but I’m fairly confident we could have found our way to the podium. We were running 5th and I was right on the back of the 4th place car. I’m not sure what was going on, but all weekend it seemed I was down on power… at the top end. During the race, I could catch the 4th place car through the esses… but once we’d hit the long straights, I could feel the engine lagging. I’m sure Ave’s guys will figure it out, but this was a real disappointment for us all.”
“I especially want to thank the corner and safety workers between turns 6 and 7,” noted Tomy. “Those guys were all over me the minute I came to a stop. They got me out of there in no time… but it was obvious we were out of time. Anyway, I really appreciate those guys and all the safety crews for their hard work. We couldn’t do what we do if they weren’t out there looking after us.”
Tomy’s car featured the livery for the Arthritis Foundation. 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 glad we could come back east and bring awareness to the Arthritis Foundation in Atlanta,” added Tomy. “The Foundation means a lot to our family. We have experienced this disease first hand, dealing with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis first hand. The Foundation does extremely important work and we’re proud to have them on the car and that we can be a part of it.”
“I want to put everyone on notice, though,” said Tomy. “Watch out for the No. 8 car when we hit Detroit. It’ll be all box office Hollywood when we arrive in the Motor City!”
The Trans Am Series Presented by Pirelli will return to the track next at the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear, June 2-4, for Round 4 of the 2017 Trans Am Championship, The 3-Dimensional Services Motor City 100 and 3-Dimensional Services Muscle Car Challenge.
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.