Brabham Notches Eighth Consecutive TA Class ‘Pole’ at Watkins Glen

Matthew Brabham and Chris Dyson Racing have managed to do it once again.

For the eighth consecutive Trans Am Series by Pirelli event, the driver of the No. 16 Gymweed Ford Mustang will be leading the field to the green flag, this time, in the first leg of a doubleheader weekend at Watkins Glen International.

The Boca Raton, Florida-native laid down an impressive lap time of 1:41.467 seconds in Friday’s qualifying session from Watkins Glen, New York, a lap that clocked in nearly six tenths of a second faster than Brabham’s fastest time from practice.

Brabham, whose motorsports resume includes several notable achievements like starting the 100th Indianapolis 500 in 2016, has been able to translate the majority of his pole positions and first-place starts to victory this season, only losing one race at Lime Rock Park on Memorial Day Weekend because of a mechanical issue.

Paul Menard, the closest championship adversary to Brabham, will start in the runner-up position. Chris Dyson, Tomy Drissi, and Amy Ruman complete the top-five starters for the event.

TA Class Qualifying Results:

1. #16 Matthew Brabham (1:41.467)
2. #3 Paul Menard (1:41.690)
3. #20 Chris Dyson (1:44.686)
4. #8 Tomy Drissi (1:45.988)
5. #23 Amy Ruman (1:48.268)
6. #4 Jon DeGaynor (1:49.049)
7. #57 David Pintaric (No Time)

TA Class Practice Results:

1. #16 Matthew Brabham (1:42.020)
2. #3 Paul Menard (1:42.506)
3. #20 Chris Dyson (1:44.382)
4. #57 David Pintaric (1:46.028)
5. #8 Tomy Drissi (1:48.907)
6. #23 Amy Ruman (1:49.439)
7. #4 Jon DeGaynor (1:49.942)

In just his second-ever Trans Am Series by Pirelli start, Jesse Schmidt, driving the No. 91 Windhund Racing Porsche 991.1 GT3 Cup, has put himself on the pole for the SGT Class at Watkins Glen International.

Schmidt made his debut in the SGT Class on Memorial Day Weekend at Lime Rock Park, where after starting in the runner-up position, he drove around class polesitter Chris Coffey to take the victory, and finish second place overall.

Zach Arnold will start from second place, after posting a 1:53.817 to Schmidt’s 1:53.204 in qualifying. Chris Coffey and Milton Grant will round out the four-driver class for when the green flag drops on Saturday.

SGT Class Qualifying Results:

1. #91 Jesse Schmidt (1:53.204)
2. #72 Zach Arnold (1:53.817)
3. #97 Chris Coffey (1:54.055)
4. #15 Milton Grant (1:58.830)

SGT Class Practice Results:

1. #97 Chris Coffey (1:53.619)
2. #72 Zach Arnold (1:54.816)
3. #91 Jesse Schmidt (1:57.097)
4. #15 Milton Grant (2:00.264)

Derric Carter is back in the GT Class this weekend after taking the victory in the SGT Class last time out at Road America, and to mark his return to the class, he’s gone and won the pole for the first leg of the Watkins Glen International doubleheader this weekend.

Carter posted an impressive lap of 1:57.298 seconds in time trials, a monstrous pickup of 10.099 seconds from practice, to collect his third GT Class pole position of 2026. Michael Saia was second quickest in qualifying, with a lap 2.5 seconds slower than Carter.

GT Class Qualifying Results:

1. #24 Derric Carter (1:57.298)
2. #13 Michael Saia (1:59.733)

GT Class Practice Results:

1. #13 Michael Saia (2:01.066)
2. #24 Derric Carter (2:07.397)