Rafa Matos Claims Mid-Ohio Pole - Speedway Digest

Rafa Matos prevailed in a back-and-forth battle with Mike Skeen to capture the pole for Sunday’s Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli TA2® powered by AEM race at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

Driving the No. 7 Silver Hare Racing Chevrolet Camaro, Matos toured the 15-turn, 2.4-mile circuit in 1:25.585-seconds to earn his 10^th career Trans Am pole. The session was run in late-afternoon sunshine after rain plagued most of the Saturday activities at the circuit.

“I am very happy with our qualifying strategy today,” said Matos, who finished third in the 2020 season-opening round at Sebring International Raceway in March. “I was able to put a great lap together while on the sweet spot of the tires early in the session. I was surprised by the gap so we took the chance of sitting in the pits to see what was going to happen. Our one lap was good enough to get the pole position. This weekend is a bit of a redemption after missing the win after being so close here last year. We are sitting in the best place right now for the long race tomorrow. With tire management and being smart, I feel very confident going into it.”

Skeen stood atop the charts twice in the early going before settling for second with a lap of 1:25.801-seconds in the No. 77 Liqui Moly/Turn 14 Camaro. The Charlotte, N.C. driver won at Sebring from the pole and leads the points championship.

“We had made a good go at qualifying and felt like we had gotten the most out of the car,” Skeen said. “It was a good lap for what we had so we pulled in with five minutes left in the session to save the tires. We will have a strong race tomorrow. Being back in a physical race car is excellent. We all live for this sport and the feelings we get when we drive the car so being back together is a wonderful experience. The competition level is very high, so it is always a good challenge. Tomorrow is race day and my goal is to push as hard as I can to hopefully make something happen.”

Thomas Merrill was third with his quick time of 1:25.977-seconds in the No. 81 Diehl-Merrill Racing/HP Tuners/Mike Cope Racing Ford Mustang.

“We have a glass half-full,” Merrill said. “We wanted to do much better but have been chasing an electrical gremlin in the engine all weekend. We haven’t been able to find it yet, but to qualify third speaks to the quality of this racing chassis. The entire Merrill Racing crew did a wonderful job. I wouldn’t mind some rain tomorrow so it shakes things up. I am so happy to be back – it’s a wonderful feeling trading in the simulator for my real race car! The Trans Am car is the funnest car I have ever gotten the pleasure to drive, so it’s great to be back in it.”

Merrill will be joined on the second row by Scott Lagasse (1:25.994-seconds) in the No. 92 M1 Racecars/B2D Neyer Motorsports Camaro. Two-time TA2® champion Cameron Lawrence will be gridded fifth (1:26.146-seconds) in the No. 8 3-Dimensional Services Group Ford Mustang.

Sunday’s 45-lap, 100-mile race is scheduled to take the green flag at 1:45 p.m. ET with live coverage on the Tran Am by Pirelli Racing App beginning five minutes prior to the race start.

By downloading the app, fans can access exclusive Trans Am content. Fans can watch the live stream of the races, follow their favorite drivers through the field by switching from six different camera angles, access live timing and scoring, keep up with the latest news and download the event program all from the Trans Am by Pirelli Racing App (https://bit.ly/3dxc6Lg).

The stream will also be available on the series Facebook (www.facebook.com/gotransam) and YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/user/TheTransAmSeries) pages.

Streams will begin five minutes before the start of each race on Saturday and Sunday.

Full Schedule: http://gotransam.cdn.racersites.com/assets/2020%20Mid%20Ohio%20Schedule%20V42.pdf

Entry List- http://gotransam.cdn.racersites.com/assets/MidOhioEntryList061620202.pdf

Results- http://gotransam.com/standings/

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Adam Sinclair

NHRA, IHRA, Motocross and other forms of motorsports Staff writer
About Me: Adam has been a race fan since the first time he went through the tunnel under the Daytona International Speedway almost 30 years ago. He has had the privilege of travelling to races all across the state of Florida (as well as one race in Ohio), watching nearly everything with a motor compete for fame and glory, as well as participating in various racing schools to get the feel of what racecar drivers go through every week. Adam has spent the last three years covering motorsports for Examiner.com., where he had the opportunity to see the racing world from behind the scenes as well as the grandstands. He invites everyone to follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and Google Plus, and looks forward to sharing his enthusiasm for all things racing with the readers of SpeedwayDigest.com.Be sure to tune in for his weekly sports talk program, Thursday Night Thunder, where he discusses the latest in motorsports news with drivers, crew members, and fans. The show takes place every Thursday at 8:00 pm EST on the Speedway Digest Radio Network.