Paul Menard kicked off the 2025 Trans Am Series season in the same way he wrapped up his 2024 championship campaign: with a victory at Sebring International Raceway. Starting from pole position, Menard led the first five laps before being overtaken by 2023 CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series champion Brent Crews. However, a late mechanical issue sidelined Crews, allowing Menard to regain the lead and claim his first win of the season.
When the race began, Menard (No. 3 Pittsburgh Paints/Menards Ford Mustang) quickly shot to the front, while third-place Adam Andretti (No. 17 Top Liner Chevrolet Camaro) moved into second on lap one, passing Chris Dyson (No. 16 GYM WEED Ford Mustang). On the second lap, Crews, starting from fifth, made his way past Tomy Drissi (No. 8 Trench Shoring Co./Motul Chevrolet Camaro), Dyson, and Andretti to take second. Crews’ No. 70 Nitro Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro showed remarkable speed, and by lap six, he was battling side-by-side with Menard for the lead, eventually taking over at the front.
A mechanical failure on lap 12 brought out the double yellow flag as Dyson, holding fourth, crashed into the wall and was forced to retire. Racing resumed on lap 18, and despite Menard’s challenge, Crews managed to reclaim the lead. However, just two laps later, Crews experienced transmission issues, forcing him to retire from the race.
Menard reclaimed the lead and held it until the checkered flag, despite pressure from Andretti. Andretti finished second, while Amy Ruman (No. 23 McNichols Co./Valley Automotive Group Chevrolet Corvette) secured the final podium spot. Drissi moved past Humaid Masaood (No. 21 allgram Ford Mustang) in the final laps to finish fourth, with Masaood taking fifth.
“It was an eventful day,” said Menard. “I had a fast car all weekend. We finally put everything together for qualifying, which gave us the track position. Brent Crews was incredibly fast, but after five laps, he caught up to us and passed me cleanly. Then Adam started catching me. The caution helped me out a bit, and we had good short-run speed, though we still need to work on our long-run performance. I’m proud of the team. We had two cars running strong all weekend, and it feels great to start the year like this at Sebring.”
The XGT class delivered an exciting race, with Paul Tracy (No. 10 Race Cars For You Innovation IRC GT) dominating from start to finish in his class debut. Tracy, who started from the pole, faced strong competition from Billy Griffin (No. 14 Griffin Auto Care Mercedes AMG GT3) and Danny Lowry (No. 42 Bennett/BridgeHaul/Pitboxes.com Mercedes AMG GT4), who ran second and third for the first half of the race. However, a mid-race caution bunched up the field, allowing Kaylee Bryson (No. 02 Logical Systems Inc. Chevrolet Corvette) — who had started from the back due to pre-race tire changes — to make an aggressive move on the restart. Bryson jumped up to second and challenged Tracy in the final laps, but Tracy held her off to secure the win. Bryson finished second, and Griffin took third. Lowry finished fourth, with Mustafa Bakir (No. 68 Mustafa Bakir Racing Porsche 992 GT3 R) rounding out the top five.
“It was a great day,” said Tracy. “Thanks to IRC for inviting me to test this car. We’re working to get it up to speed and see how it performs in these Trans Am races. It’s a fantastic event, and I’m looking forward to Road Atlanta.”
In the SGT class, Joshua Carlson (No. 36 Enseva/Diercks Ltd./TC Fab Ford Mustang) led from start to finish, securing the win. Lee Saunders (No. 84 Landsearch LLC Dodge Viper) held second for most of the race, but after a restart, Patrick Utt (No. 49 RaceQuip/Driven Racing Oil Chevrolet Camaro) passed him for the runner-up spot. However, Utt spun shortly after and finished third, earning his first Trans Am podium. Carlson joked about his new livery, “We took away the neon, and then we started winning, so I think that added a few horsepower. I’m really happy with the win, and thanks to Enseva and my family for the support.”
The GT class race also ended as it started, with 2024 class champion Chris Coffey (No. 97 Traffic Grafix/Chill Out Motorsports Maserati MC GT4) leading from start to finish. Mike Fitzpatrick (No. 89 89x Motorsports Aston Martin GT4) stayed close behind, but Coffey held on for the win. Fitzpatrick finished second, and Colin Cohen (No. 38 Norwood Auto Italia/Traffic Grafix Maserati MC GT4) finished third. Coffey expressed his gratitude, saying, “It was a great race. Mike kept me honest the whole way. I can’t thank my crew enough for getting the car back to where it needed to be.”
In the GT1 Challenge, Jon DeGaynor, the only competitor in the class, raced cleanly in Ron Fellows’ former car (No. 04 Speed Dream’n Racing Ford Mustang) to secure the victory. DeGaynor thanked his father and team for their support, saying, “It was a pleasure to be here with the new class. I hope we put on a good show for the crowd.”
An encore presentation of the race will air Sunday night on SPEED SPORT 1 at 10:00 p.m. ET.
