The Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli race at Road America was one of attrition and consequences, with both mechanical failures and penalties ultimately affecting the outcome of the race. A four-time winner this year, Paul Menard led much of the 25-lap race after early contact took Chris Dyson out of contention. However, an avoidable-contact penalty moved Menard to second in the finishing order, resulting in 2023 CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series champion Brent Crews earning the victory, fighting back from engine issues and an eighth-place starting berth to win in his first-career TA start.
Dyson led the field to green in his No. 16 GYM WEED Ford Mustang after taking the pole position and got off to a great start, pulling ahead of both rows of traffic. Second-place starter Menard (No.
3 Menards/Masterforce Tools Ford Mustang) was quickly challenged by third-place Adam Andretti (No. 17 Top Liner/Go Share Chevrolet Camaro), but he maintained the second position and proceeded to chase the leader. By lap two, Menard had closed in on Dyson and dove to make the pass in Turn 8 and the two made contact, with Menard bumping Dyson’s left-rear, causing the three-time champion to spin.
Dyson was able to get moving again, but he’d fallen all the way back to the eighth position. While Menard led the field, Crews, who started in eighth place in his No. 2 Mobil 1/STEEL-IT Dodge Challenger after engine problems plagued him in qualifying, had already fought his way into the second position.
