Paul Menard drove his Forgeline-equipped no.3 Masterforce Tools Ford Mustang to a TA class victory, at the Trans Am Memorial Day Classic at Lime Rock Park, becoming the first repeat winner of the 2024 season and further extending his lead in the season points championship.
Paul qualified fourth on the grid, but almost missed the start, when a technical issue on the pre-grid prevented his engine from starting. Fortunately, a quick response from his 3GT team resolved the issue and allowed him to start with the rest of the field.
When the track went green, polesitter Tony Drissi took an early lead, while incidental contact spun the second-place qualifier Chris Dyson off track, allowing Adam Andretti to move into second place. Andretti captured the lead from Drissi on lap three, but surrendered his lead to Paul Menard on lap four. From that point onward, Paul never looked back, and had a 6-second margin over Chris Dyson (who had battled his way back through the field to second place), when a full course caution forced the race to end under yellow.
“This is a great track; it's a bucket list track for me,” said Menard from the podium. “I am just in awe of the fans here, the crowd. I've always heard the Lime Rock crowd was the best. There's some great road courses in America that we get to go to because of the veterans and our military, who keep us safe. First and foremost, we get to do this and have fun, but we don't do this without them. I got to meet a gentleman, Chris Ross over here, he's a veteran Army Ranger. We spent some time together this weekend. There are guys like Chris all across America that live a different life, protecting us. Hats off to everyone at 3GT, they gave me a hell of a racecar. On to Pittsburgh to try to do it again.”
Congratulations to Paul and the entire 3GT Racing team, and thank you for the trust that you’ve placed in Forgeline!
Paul qualified fourth on the grid, but almost missed the start, when a technical issue on the pre-grid prevented his engine from starting. Fortunately, a quick response from his 3GT team resolved the issue and allowed him to start with the rest of the field.
When the track went green, polesitter Tony Drissi took an early lead, while incidental contact spun the second-place qualifier Chris Dyson off track, allowing Adam Andretti to move into second place. Andretti captured the lead from Drissi on lap three, but surrendered his lead to Paul Menard on lap four. From that point onward, Paul never looked back, and had a 6-second margin over Chris Dyson (who had battled his way back through the field to second place), when a full course caution forced the race to end under yellow.
“This is a great track; it's a bucket list track for me,” said Menard from the podium. “I am just in awe of the fans here, the crowd. I've always heard the Lime Rock crowd was the best. There's some great road courses in America that we get to go to because of the veterans and our military, who keep us safe. First and foremost, we get to do this and have fun, but we don't do this without them. I got to meet a gentleman, Chris Ross over here, he's a veteran Army Ranger. We spent some time together this weekend. There are guys like Chris all across America that live a different life, protecting us. Hats off to everyone at 3GT, they gave me a hell of a racecar. On to Pittsburgh to try to do it again.”
Congratulations to Paul and the entire 3GT Racing team, and thank you for the trust that you’ve placed in Forgeline!