Streimer finishes 4th in Round 4 of the 2015 Trans Am Championship
The Next Dimension 100
The Next Dimension 100, featuring TA and TA3, followed the TA2 race in the afternoon’s feature event slot and began with Paul Fix in pole position; two-time defending TA Champion Doug Peterson, in the No. 87 3Dimensional.com Chevrolet Corvette, in second position; Amy Ruman in third; Cliff Ebeen in fourth; and Simon Gregg in fifth.
The race began with an immediate change; as the No. 23 of Ruman was contacted from behind, forcing her off course and into dead last in the race—all on the first turn of the first lap. Ebben assumed third position, Gregg fourth and the No. 47 of Adam Andretti, also competing in the TA class, assumed fifth.
Further contact was made shortly thereafter; as the No. 59 of Gregg made contact with the No 47 of Andretti, forcing him off course and into contact with the No. 39 of Todd Napieralski, competing in the TA3 class.
TA3 began with both subgroups intermingled at the start, with Ernie Francis, Jr., in pole position and in the lead of the American Muscle Group; while Steve Streimer, in the No. 42 Lux Performance Dodge Viper, started in second position and in the lead of the International Group. Randy Mueller and Jason Berkeley began in second and third position in the International Group, with Todd Napieralski, in the No. 39 Tremec/SKF/Backstreet Chevrolet Camaro, and Chris DeSalvo in second and third. However, the incident with the No. 47 of Andretti effectively ended Napieralski’s race.
In TA, Fix meticulously continued to turn lap after lap of consistent times, despite already having to manage lapped traffic and fending off the challenges of Peterson and Ebben as the top three continued in close succession.
Meanwhile, Ruman was mounting a recovery effort, already having charged up to fourth position by the 20th lap of the race; however, she still had a large amount of ground and lapped traffic to cover before engaging the top three.
In TA3, Mueller and Francis continued to lead their respective groups, with DeSalvo and Shaw in second and third in the American Muscle Group, and Streimer and Camus holding the same positions in the International Group as the field entered the 32nd lap of the race.
Paul Fix was forced to deal with an unexpected challenge on the 39th lap of the race; as he was nearly forced off track by lapped traffic on the front straight and, while he managed to control the car through the turn and retain the lead, his teammate Doug Peterson was not as lucky. The No. 87 of Peterson was contacted from behind, damaging the left rear—forcing the defending champ to pit and to eventually retire.
The course once more went under yellow to retrieve the 47 of Andretti. On the restart, the beginning of the 58th lap, Fix and Ebben continued on course while Ruman took advantage of the opportunity, sling shooting forward, passing five lapped cars and the third place driver John Baucom for the lead all on the front straight and resuming her pursuit of the leaders as she completed her return from dead last to third place.
However, Fix immediately began to power through the homestretch, increasing his speed and lap times, opening up a gap on both Ebben and Ruman that saw the remainder of the TA class race end without further change in the top three.
In TA3’s International Group, Michael Camus and the No. 08 BMW had overtook Streimer for second position, shortly followed thereafter by Jason Berkeley who entered the top three for the first time all race—likewise, the top three continued in that fashion to the checkered flag. The win was Mueller’s first ever in only his second Trans Am appearance.
By that time, Ernie Francis, Jr., had opened up a large lead on all other American Muscle Group competitors, a lead that saw him coast to his second consecutive victory; while DeSalvo and Shaw finished second and third with large gaps as well.
