Forty years ago this weekend, Lime Rock Park witnessed one of the biggest upsets in the Glory Years of the IMSA Camel GTP era.

Poughkeepsie businessman Rob Dyson entered his brand-new Porsche 962, prepared by Pat Smith at his nearby racing operation. Running his first attempt at sports car racing’s highest level, Dyson and Bridgewater, Connecticut driver Drake Olson won the two-hour race in front of the largest crowd in Lime Rock Park history at that time.

“I think at the time, we really didn’t realize what we had done,” Dyson said in a recent interview. “Here we were, a brand-new team, running a car we received just six weeks before. The crew was five guys, and we pulled it apart – I even helped – and we put it back together and tested it down at Savannah.”

Dyson’s pro history was a handful of races in Camel GTO – including his professional debut at LRP in 1983 and a podium finish later that year at Elkhart Lake’s Road America driving a Pontiac Firebird. Dyson brought in Olson to co-drive his new 962, who had one start in CART in addition to several Can-Am and endurance races, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

“We were pondering going to the race at Road Atlanta, but we felt we weren’t up to speed,” Dyson recalled. “We tested a couple of times at Lime Rock on the Tuesday afternoon open sessions, to get an idea of what worked and what didn’t.

“Then, on Memorial Day Weekend, we were up against the big boys.”

Faster than many of the “big boys,” Olson qualified on the front row, second only to standout Al Holbert and the No. 14 Lowenbrau Special Porsche 962 that had won three of the seven 1985 races. Holbert led the race until blowing a pop-off valve that led to a fourth-place finish.

“Drake Olson had never driven a car like the 962 in a race – and neither had I,” Dyson explained. “We decided that if Drake was leading the race, he would stay in the car.”

The race featured plenty of drama and excitement, including a downpour. At one point, Olson tangled with Brian Redman in the Group 44 Jaguar XJR-5 started by Hurley Haywood while battling for the lead in the Esses. Olson drove all the way and went on to win by one minute over Redman, with Pete Halsmer and John Morton third in a BF Goodrich Porsche 962, two laps in arrears.

“Drake did a great job and we won,” Dyson recalled. “Afterwards, it was no big deal. We won the race, that’s what we’re here for.

“At the time, it wasn’t as significant as in retrospect,” Dyson continued. “All of a sudden, we showed up, and we were a force and won the first race. We were fortunate. We had an intimate knowledge of Lime Rock from all the club racing that Drake and I had done – I started my first race there in 1974. The crew also knew the race track and set the car up to how we felt it would work. We were hooked up, and in retrospect, that was pretty cool.”

The team backed up its victory with triumphs at Road America (with Bobby Rahal) and Columbus (Price Cobb). Dyson himself did his share of the driving, taking four overall victories at the height of the GTP era, including the 1997 Rolex 24 At Daytona.

“All of a sudden, people started noticing us. Hey, these guys are a factor! We executed, and we continued to execute the whole season. From then on, off we went.”

Dyson Racing has gone on to become a force in American sports car competition. 

Now, 40 years after that initial victory, Rob Dyson returns to Lime Rock Park as a proud father, watching his son Chris lead the field for this weekend’s Trans Am Memorial Day Classic feature. Of the five times America’s longest running road racing series has visited The Park in the modern era, Chris Dyson has won three times. And the two times he didn’t win, he finished second, upholding the winning legacy his dad cemented so long ago. 

The Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli returns to Lime Rock Park this weekend for the Trans Am Memorial Day Classic for four-days of full throttle racing. For tickets, entry lists and schedule, visit https://limerock.com/events/memorial-day-classic/