Aaron Pierce Corvette edged out in daunting conditions at Watkins Glen

Through fog and drizzle, Aaron Pierce led the SGT class in his # 26 C6 LSI Corvette.

Then with the checker flag waving, he lost grip in the last turn allowing Lee Saunders in the # 44 Landsearch LLC Dodge Viper to slip past for the win.

LSI teammate and sponsor Larry Bailey in the # 02 C6 Corvette opted to sit it out the treacherous conditions.

Limited visibility also set back Amy Ruman in her # 23 C7 Corvette.  The track was rain soaked with intermittent heavy rain showers and no chance of drying out during the race. Teams went out on wet tires, their rain setups, and not much visibility. There was lots of action throughout the field, with Ruman trading positions and advancing to fourth on a great re-start during the first part of the race. A few laps later, the rain increased, and she hit some heavy water running across the track in turn 6 heading down the chute. The front brakes locked up and she slid off the track into the wall. Ruman was able to get the car off the wall and continue to pit lane, but the car sustained significant damage and she was unable to continue the rac 

“Everyone knows I don’t really like racing in the rain, but today I was really running well. I had some great battles with Drissi and Fix, the rain setup was working well, and I was confident we could stay up front. Unfortunately, I overshot the braking zone and once I locked up in the wet, I was just a passenger. The car sustained tremendous damage and I feel terrible for the team. They have a lot to fix, but we all know the risk goes up in these treacherous conditions. I truly wish it was a dry race because I think we would have had a fast car. The guys will get to work right away so we can try and make VIR next month”, exclaimed Ruman.

# 5 Justin Marks, owner of the NASCAR Trackhouse team was the surprise winner surviving three re-starts to hold off series leader # 20 Chris Dyson who clinched his second consecutive TA championship.

# 30 Richard Grant also chose not to start.

These 3 Corvette contenders looked a lot better before Sunday.

 The Trans Am Speed Tour finishes up at VIR on Oct 6-9 and CoTA on Nov 3-6.

 Photos provided by Rich Martin and Chris Clark.