Ford’s Rich History ... (Continued) Mustangs continued their Lime Rock Park dominance the following two years with podium sweeps. Lou Gigliotti led a Mustang podium sweep in 1998 followed by Michael Lewis and Ross Thompson. In 1998 Brian Simo led
another Ford 1-2-3, followed by Chris Neville and Lewis. Ford’s next big day at LRP was 2015, with Tony Ave leading a sweep of the top four positions. In recent years, Mustangs have enjoyed plenty of success at LRP, in both the TA and TA2 features. Only a few days after crashing in the Hoosier 100 Sprint Car race in Indianapolis, Poughkeepsie second-generation star Chris Dyson won the pole and claimed what he called his “Biggest career win” in the 2019 Trans Am feature. Ernie Francis Jr. recovered from an early spin to take second for another 1-2 Ford Mustang finish. With no race due to COVID in 2020, Dyson led every lap of the 2021 TA race in his Mustang.
Kendall’s race-winning Mustang is on display in the Honored Collector tent in A Paddock – stop by and see it yourself.
After making it three in a row in 2022, Dyson came up one position short in 2023, while Gym Weed Mustang teammate Matt Brabham won the pole and finished third. Thomas Merrill won three of four TA2 features at LRP since 2019, driving Mike Cope’s Mustangs to victory in 2019, 2022 and 2023.
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