Clarington, ON – The Trans Am Series raced at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (CTMP) for the second straight year after the historic track returned to the tour’s schedule in 2024. Paul Menard successfully defended his overall win, while a pair of Canadians also grabbed class victories. The series’ race report is below, along with video interviews and photos from Inside Track.
Paul Menard Earns Second Canadian Tire Motorsport Park Victory, Tristan McKee Maintains Points Lead with Third CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series Win of 2025
By Trans Am Series
The Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli returned to CTMP and was once again met with exciting battles and results affecting championship hunts. In the TA class, defending champion Paul Menard scored his second-consecutive win at the Bowmanville, ON track, while rookie Tristan McKee tallied his third TA2 victory in four races. Toronto-born Roberto Sabato found vindication at his home track, winning in the TA2 Pro/Am Challenge after an early crash took him out of contention last season. Finally, Ontario native James Beaton earned the win in the XGT class with his second-consecutive victory in the class.
Notes of Interest:
- Paul Menard earned his fifth victory of the 2025 season and his second-consecutive CTMP win, extending his points lead in the TA class.
- Tristan McKee padded his points lead with his third victory of 2025. McKee also tops the Rookie of the Year and Young Gun Award standings.
- With 15-year-old McKee, 17-year-old Sam Corry and 21-year-old Tyler Gonzalez in the top three, the average age of the CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series podium was 17.6.
- Nitro Motorsports claimed second through fifth in TA2.
- Roberto Sabato scored his second-consecutive victory after taking the checkered flag at Watkins Glen International last month. Sabato was born in Toronto and his team, 6th Gear Garage, is based in the area.
- James Beaton, who hails from Manotick, ON, claimed the victory in XGT, and also earned his second checkered flag in a row after winning at Watkins Glen.
- Many competitors on the podium paid their respects to Pro/Am Challenge competitor Barry Boes, who passed away last week in an aviation accident.
TA Class
Polesitter Chris Dyson controlled the start of the race in his No. 16 Ford Mustang and showed incredible speed as he led the first six laps. Unfortunately, a tire issue required a pit stop the following lap, and he relinquished the lead and dropped to the back of the TA class. From there, last year’s winner Paul Menard (No. 31 Ford Mustang) took over the point position. Behind him, Adam Andretti (No. 17 Chevrolet Camaro) remained tight on his bumper, closing in to attempt the pass multiple times, but he was unable to close the deal.
A late-race restart caused commotion for the TA competitors in the front of the field, as a miscue resulted in both Dyson and Tomy Drissi (No. 8 Chevrolet Camaro) getting penalized for jumping the start. As the race reached its conclusion, the running order sorted out, and when the checkered flag waved, Menard led Andretti and Drissi across the finish line. Amy Ruman, in the No. 23 Chevrolet Corvette, was scored fourth and Dyson finished fifth.
“It was an eventful race,” said Menard. “It’s always great to come back up here to Canada. There’s great race fans, and seeing the crowd all the way around the track and the support that we get with the series is amazing. I had a great car all weekend. We didn’t have to adjust on the car much, just little tweaks here and there. You know, [Chris] Dyson got us in qualifying, and he kind of set sail at the start. I thought I had a tire rub, but I was smelling the smoke coming from his car. Once he had his issue, it cleared up for us. We had a little power steering issue and the restart was crazy. We’re chipping away. Adam [Andretti]’s keeping us honest week in and week out. 3GT just does an amazing job every week. On to Virginia.”
TA Results:
1. Paul Menard, 2. Adam Andretti, 3. Tomy Drissi, 4. Amy Ruman, 5. Chris Dyson
EMCO Gears Lap Leader: Paul Menard
Omologato Watches Fastest Lap of the Race: Chris Dyson
TA2 Class
After securing the pole in yesterday’s qualifying session, Tyler Gonzalez led the field to green in his No. 10 Toyota Camry. Gonzalez controlled the race for the first five laps, but a tire issue required the leader to drop to pit road before the beginning of lap six. From there, second-place starter Tristan McKee (No. 28 Chevrolet Camaro) took over the point position and remained unchallenged for the remainder of the race. Sam Corry (No. 70 Toyota Camry) had advanced from his fourth-place starting position to follow McKee across the finish line.
Remarkably, Gonzalez, who had dropped to the very back of the field when he went to pit road, but remained on the lead lap, was able to take advantage of the late-race caution bunching up the field and picked his way through his competitors, ultimately rising to claim the third podium spot. Julian DaCosta (No. 30 Toyota Camry) crossed the finish line fourth, and Gian Buffomante (No. 95 Toyota Camry) finished fifth.
“It was a really good race,” said McKee. “Obviously, the No. 10 had some issues there, so it’s unfortunate for them, but once we got past them, we controlled the race and just maintained. Everyone was kind of worried about some tire issues there throughout the whole race, and throughout practice, we knew some people had some issues, so that was all a thought in the back of our minds. My TeamSLR guys brought me a really fast Chevy, so props to them. They worked hard this weekend getting this car dialed in. Had a lot of changes since the past race, so it feels really good to be just as fast as we were after the changes. Thank you to Gainbridge, HendrickCars.com, Franklin Road Apparel and everyone at Spire. They prepared me really well to come to this race, and I’m thankful to all of them.”
CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series Top Five:
1. Tristan McKee, 2. Sam Corry, 3. Tyler Gonzalez, 4. Julian DaCosta, 5. Gian Buffomante
Bassett Hard Charger: Sam Corry
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Hometown driver Roberto Sabato (No. 61 Ford Mustang) led from flag to flag in the TA2 Pro/Am Challenge, but he was not without challenge from Jared Odrick (No. 00 Chevrolet Camaro), who remained on his tail throughout the race. Odrick made a move in the final corner of the final lap, but it was not enough. Sabato captured his second-consecutive win of 2025, followed by Odrick and Keith Prociuk (No. 9 Ford Mustang).
“First, I’d like to thank CUBE 3, Trans Am, and Mosport for having us back,” said Sabato. “My team, guys, you were unbelievable. Thank you. To my competitors, unbelievable. This is a humble win, because if Barry [Boes] was here, the podium might look a little bit different. It was a great race, such a clean drive. It’s great redemption from last year, getting bumped in the third lap, to come back here again this year and actually be able to finish and win. Thank you.”
TA2 Pro/Am Podium:
1. Roberto Sabato, 2. Jared Odrick, 3. Keith Prociuk
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XGT Class
As the only competitor in the XGT class, James Beaton (No. 82 Chevrolet Corvette) stood atop the podium in today’s event. He recovered from a mid-race off, in which he nosed into the wall, and then recovered from a late mechanical issue to still finish the race, earning his second career Trans Am victory.
“Well, it started off pretty good, and then we sort of overheated the tires after about 10 laps,” said Beaton. “From then, we just tried to make sure we didn’t mess with too many other people’s races, and hopefully, I didn’t. So, after that, it was just surviving to the end. I’ve got to thank my wife at home; for 38 years, she has been letting me do this. We have two beautiful kids and two beautiful grandkids. And of course, thanks to the crew.”
The Trans Am Series returns to action at VIRginia International Raceway on September 18-21.
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