Matthew Brabham Holds Off Paul Menard for TA Victory at Road Atlanta
March 15, 2026
The 2026 Trans Am Series Presented by Pirelli campaign is off to a fantastic start for Matthew Brabham (No. 16 Gymweed Ford Mustang) and Chris Dyson Racing, who after another dominating performance, will stand on the top-step of the podium at Road Atlanta.
A native of Boca Raton, Florida, Brabham continued to pad an impressive stat line in Sunday’s TA Class event at the 12-turn, 2.54-mile road course in Braselton, Georgia, leading every single lap en route to his 10th career Trans Am victory, in just 18 starts.
Brabham’s Gymweed-sponsored machine has been dominant throughout the entire season, thus far, but this weekend at Road Atlanta, the multi-faceted driver had to deal with former NASCAR Cup Series driver and Trans Am champion Paul Menard (No. 3 Pittsburgh Paints / Menards Ford Mustang), who kept the No. 16 honest throughout the 40-lap contest.
As the season progresses even further, Brabham is well aware that Menard is going to be a major challenger for the former Indianapolis 500 starter.
“The guys did a fantastic job, the Gymweed car was fast all weekend. I think we were the car to beat, and Paul [Menard] made improvements throughout the whole weekend,” said Brabham. “At the end of the race there, I was pushing, and I couldn’t pull away like I felt I could at Sebring. So, Paul Menard and those guys did a great job closing the gap, and I think they’re going to get closer and closer all year.”
When the checkered flag dropped, Paul Menard was able to close within a second of Brabham, the race-winner, but couldn’t quite make the charge.
“So cool to race a track like this, a lot of history, 60 years of Trans Am, all of the sponsors, Gymweed and Chris Dyson Racing, and obviously the series, I mean it’s a fun series to be a part of and these guys are awesome.”
Tomy Drissi (No. 8 Trench Shoring Chevrolet Camaro) completed the podium for the second event of 2026, after a hard-fought battle with Adam Andretti (No. 17 Top Liner / Service Partners Chevrolet Camaro) in the final laps of the event. After several near-disaster moments, Drissi slipped through on the inside of Andretti in Turn 12 with three laps remaining, leaving the road racing veteran to drive away for his first podium since Canadian Tire Motorsports Park last August.
Kaylee Bryson (No. 2 LSI / Team Weaver Racing Dodge Challenger) rounded out the top five.
David Pintaric (No. 57 Bird’s Eye View Project Ford Mustang) and Martin Ragginger (No. 7 Top Liner Chevrolet Camaro) both, at times, were running in position to collect a podium finish on the afternoon, but suffered separate issues (albeit, at the same time). Pintaric had a mechanical issue and was dropping oil, while Ragginger crashed into the tire barrier in Turn 7.
After a penalty in qualifying cost him his fastest lap time on Saturday, Jim Guthrie (No. 62 Guthrie’s Garage Ford Mustang) rebounded and triumphed against Cole Moore (No. 32 Chris Evans Race Cars / JM Environmental Ford Mustang) in the TA Cup Challenge event at Road Atlanta.
Guthrie and Moore traded the lead back-and-forth several times over the course of the 40-lap contest, until the No. 62 was able to get clear of Moore, the inaugural TA Cup Challenge winner at Sebring, and drove away to a half-second lead at the checkered flag.
“I’ll tell you what, Cole [Moore] made it tough,” Guthrie said. “That was a lot of fun. The most fun I’ve had racing in a while. He was a little slower in Turns 11 and 12 than I was, but he was better getting off Turn 5 than I was, so I just had to get him when he was and get ahead.”
Phil Fogg, Jr. (No. 67 Chris Evans Race Cars Ford Mustang) was also in the battle for the TA Cup victory with Guthrie and Moore, until the No. 67 got turned around while battling with TA Class driver Kaylee Bryson and getting turned around.
Ken Thwaits (No. 9 Franklin Road Apparel Chevrolet Camaro) and Matt Crandall (No. 08 Avant Garde Collection Ford Mustang) rounded out the top-five.
TAC Class Race Results:
#62 Jim Guthrie – Guthrie’s Garage Ford Mustang
#32 Cole Moore – Chris Evans Race Cars / JM Environmental Ford Mustang
#67 Phil Fogg, Jr. – Chris Evans Race Cars Ford Mustang
#9 Ken Thwaits – Franklin Road Apparel Chevrolet Camaro
#08 Matt Crandall – Avant Garde Collection Ford Mustang
Billy Griffin (No. 14 Griffin Auto Care Mercedes Benz AMG GT3) will be credited as the XGT Class winner in Sunday’s Trans Am Series Presented by Pirelli event at Road Atlanta, but it was a difficult day for the West Palm Beach, Florida-native.
Griffin was running solidly inside the top-10 overall in Sunday’s 40-lap event, when he drove wide and crashed on Lap 18. Although, the No. 14 would stay on the racetrack and finish in 17th-place, but two laps behind the overall race-winner, Matthew Brabham.
“We had a lot of fun, I was having a great time with Kaylee [Bryson], Jordan [Bupp], and [Cole Moore], great battle, it was so much fun,” said Griffin. “We went down into Turn 10 and I got tapped in the butt and got spun around, and kind of ruined my fun for the afternoon. So, on the restart I let everyone go play the race, and I went out and laid a flyer down.”
It's Griffin’s 13th Trans Am victory, and his third in the XGT Class.
XGT Class Race Results:
#14 Billy Griffin – Griffin Auto Care Mercedes Benz AMG GT3
Chris Coffey (No. 97 Traffic Grafix / NAI Racing / GTE Eng Ferrari 458 Challenge) collected a landmark 20th Trans Am victory at Road Atlanta on Sunday, triumphing in the SGT Class over Zach Arnold (No. 72 Arnold Machine Porsche GT3 Cup) and Patrick Utt (RaceQuip / Driven Racing Oil Chevrolet Camaro).
“It was fantastic. It was a great race, everyone was respectful out there,” said Coffey. “There weren’t any troubles or anything like that, so I just really appreciate these guys and everything that the Trans Am Series does. My crew Xavier and Alex.”
Milton Grant (No. 15 Sentry Self Store / Springhill Suites Porsche 992) and Dana Blackhurst (No. 30 The Chandler School Ford Mustang) rounded out the top-five.
SGT Class Race Results:
#97 Chris Coffey – Traffic Grafix / NAI Racing / GTE Eng Ferrari 458 Challenge
#72 Zach Arnold – Arnold Machine Porsche GT3 Cup
#49 Patrick Utt – RaceQuip / Driven Racing Oil Chevrolet Camaro
#15 Milton Grant – Sentry Self Store / Springhill Suites Porsche 992
#30 Dana Blackhurst – The Chandler School Ford Mustang
Jordan Bupp (No. 11 Hamilton Safe & Security Systems Chevrolet Camaro), a native of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, has returned to Victory Lane in the Trans Am Series Presented by Pirelli GT1 Challenge event at Road Atlanta, keeping himself out of trouble to bring home a second win of 2026, by finishing top 10 overall.
Bupp had some competition in this weekend’s event at Road Atlanta in the form of Brent Goforth, which in the end was a great thing, as the No. 11 had an engine issue in Friday’s test session. Goforth’s team was able to help Bupp get things together so that both drivers could start the race and battle it out.
“Brent [Goforth] did a great job in his first race this weekend. Had a great time, had a little bit of adversity, lost a motor in the test, so thanks to Brent and his team we got it together,” Bupp said post-race. “I want to thank God, and my father for putting this all together, the wonderful team at Bupp Motorsports and Flo Tech Racing Engines, and happy to have NextGen on the car this weekend. It’s nice to get another win back-to-back.”
Goforth finished runner-up in the class, but ended up 18th overall at Road Atlanta, after spending most of the event just a couple of seconds behind Bupp throughout the entire 40-lap contest.
GT1 Challenge Race Results:
#11 Jordan Bupp – Hamilton Safe & Security Systems Chevrolet Camaro
#98 Brent Goforth – Big Dog Racing Chevrolet Camaro
Derric Carter (No. 24 PortableHeist.com Ford Mustang GT 500) is back in Victory Lane in the GT Class of the Trans Am Series Presented by Pirelli, after an interesting weekend for the Davenport, Iowa-native.
“I’m happy just to be here,” Carter said post-race. “It’s been a year’s worth of work trying to figure out how to make a [Ford Mustang GT 500] compete in a 100-mile race, and I’m just happy to be out here. Aspirations are to move up to SGT at some point, and I just want to see what I can come out here and do with these guys, and those guys run hard for the full 70 minutes.”
Carter was credited with a 16th-place finish overall in the event, finishing two laps behind overall race-winner Matthew Brabham. In the closing laps, though, it was a mechanical issue that likely set the No. 24 back even further in the pack than he ran throughout the event.
“I had some mechanical issues right there at the very end with the restart, and I was looking at my temps getting up to 350 [degrees] for my oil and I’m like, I’m gonna finish and it’s gonna blow up.”
GT Class Race Results:
#24 Derric Carter – PortableHeist.com Ford Mustang GT 500
Next up for the Trans Am Series Presented by Pirelli is a doubleheader at Sonoma Raceway from April 23 to 26, with TA Series and CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series events happening on both Saturday, April 25 and Sunday, April 26.
