# 59 Simon Gregg wins shortened race at Mid-Ohio
Simon Gregg in his customary # 59 Derhaag C7 was leading when the scheduled 45 lap race went double-yellow with 7 laps to go. Starting third, Gregg made the best of misfortunes that befell # 36 pole winner Cliff Ebben (Mustang) and # 23 Ohio native Amy Ruman C6 that stuck in gear after stop to repair a flat tire just 1 lap into the race. She managed to finish 10th.
Ohio native # 57 David Pintaric finished 2nd in his Tony Ave C7 Corvette. Car was re-bodied as a Cadillac CTS-V during the schedule break by Kerry Hitt’s Advanced Composite Products. With no official sponsorship, the marketing exposure of the stars & stripes livery ranks right up there with GM funded 2 car WC Caddy GT3 program.
It was a good day for the Caddys as # 19 Kerry Hitt finished 4th.
Here is what happened after # 50 Paul Fix went off track. In a hurry to rejoin the race, drove opposite direction looking for spot to turn around. It happened to be at a blind crest uphill approach to turn 11. His car was collected on re-entry by the # 33 TA 4 Camaro of Tim Herbert and the # 12 TA Mustang of Todd Peterson. Watch video. With all cars immobilized and time running out from a previous full-course caution (laps 14 - 22) the race came to an end on lap 38.
New venture to expand Trans Am Series
An entity called Parella Motorsports Holdings has purchased a share of the Trans Am Race Company. The plan is to step up marketing and sales to make the Trans Am Series bigger and better. For example last November the series made no special effort to publicize Amy Ruman in national media as the first woman driver to win a major road racing championship. TV talk show, print & online exposure pretty much lost. Maybe this year?
Back to Parella, known for his business acumen, we look for entertainment, car shows, auctions, new venues and the like that have drawn bigger crowds by turning certain vintage events into motorsports festivals.
Parella reportedly now has an equal interest among “legacy” Trans Am owners Jim Derhaag, David Jans and Mike Miller. John Clagett, CEO and Simon Gregg also acquire minority interests. Tony Ave is special consultant.
Leading Corvette vintage racers Jody O’Donnell and Peter Klutt have already made the jump for rides in TA2.
Trans Am photos courtesy of Chris Clark
