Marks makes it exciting at Road America
Photo by courtesy of Trans Am
You’ve got to hand to Justin Marks. The Brentwood, Tennessee driver knows how to make a race exciting.
In all of his years racing in IMSA, World Challenge and NASCAR Xfinity Series at Elkhart Lake’s Road America, Marks had never stood on the podium
But after setting a track record in qualifying on Friday, Marks looked to be a strong favorite to win Saturday’s Denny Lamers Tribute 100 Trans Am Championship presented by Pirelli race.
Especially since his lap of 2:01.527 around the newly repaved 4.048-mile Road America circuit was nearly 2-seconds quicker than fellow front-row starter Chris Dyson.
But that advantage quickly slipped away as Marks was passed by Dyson’s Gym Weed Ford Mustang on the first of the race’s 25 scheduled laps.
“It was not without some drama, that’s for sure.”
“It was not without some drama, that’s for sure. I’ve got to do a little bit of a better job firing off in these cars on the starts and restarts,” said Marks, whose Trackhouse Chevy Camaro filled Dyson’s mirrors until finally completing a pass going into turn six on lap 9.
“Chris got by me at the start and I just kind of pressured him into making a mistake.’
Three laps later, David Pintaric and Amy Ruman spun off into the turn one gravel trap. While Ruman was able to quickly drive away, Pintaric had a more difficult time getting back on track. Once he did get going again, his Mustang experienced an engine issue, dumping all of its fluids from the turn The Kink (turn 11) through Kettle Bottoms to Canada Corner.
The ensuing cleanup required a black flag, sending everyone back to pit lane.
When the race restarted on the lap 16, it was like deja vu all over again for Marks.
“On the restart, man, I almost went around (at turn 3). Chris got by me, Boris (Said) got by me. I knew that time was ticking away, so I had to get aggressive at that point.”
Photo courtesy of Trans Am
And did he ever. In less than a lap, Marks went from third to first, passing Said coming out of Canada Corner and then Dyson in turn 1.
“You know, for the first couple of laps, we were all kind of running off line because of all the speedy dry that was down there. Really, I got by Boris just because he made a little bit of a mistake and I was able to clear him. Boris and I have done so much racing together, he’s a super, super hard racer.
“After that, I just set my sights on Chris. Had to make a move quick because I did’t want to keep following people through that speedy dry. It’s nice when there’s no one in front of you, and that’s it.”
Photo courtesy of Trans Am
Because of the long track cleanup, the race became a timed-event, finishing just one lap short of the advertised distance, with Marks coming home 3.869-seconds clear of Dyson. Said, who looked like a contender in the early going, faded at the end, his Dodge Challenger finishing more than six-seconds behind Dyson in third.
“These guys at ECC gave me a great car. It was a close battle for a while. I think if we didn’t have that black flag, I think Chris’s tires were going away, but he got that chance to cool them down, that gave him a little advantage over us. I was really going to go for it, but going down into Canada Corner it was really tough with all that speedy dry. It was still a fun race, we kept them honest.
“This is just a great place to come race. Can’t stop thinking about Denny Lamers. He was a fixture here at every Trans Am race since I started racing here in 1993 in Trans Am. He was great guy. I was hoping he would be riding with me and getting me to pass those guys but I guess he was busy upstairs, watching.”
For Marks, it was more exciting than he wanted it to be, but in the end, it all worked out.
“Awesome, awesome race car. Super, super fast. Great to be in victory lane here at Road America. One of my top three favorite race tracks, great fans, great part of the country, so it’s all good.”