ELKHARTLAKE,WI August 18,2012
It was another classic Road America race. Four hours of racing produced the closest ever finish in American Le Mans Series history: Guy Smith won over Lucas Luhr by 0.083 of a second. The #20 Dyson Racing entry of Michael Marsal, Eric Lux and Tony Burgess bookended the second place Muscle Milk car with a third place finish, less than a minute behind at the end.

At a track known for close finishes, this was one for the books. The #16 Mazda-powered Thetford/ModSpace entry led 54 laps of the 101 lap race. The last caution period ended on lap 90 with Luhr fourteen seconds back from Smith. On lap 100 the margin was half a second. Smith recounted that “at the final corner of the last lap, Lucas was all over me. He made a good move and he just came off the brakes and rolled past me. But I knew if I over slowed the car and got back inside, I would be able to sling shot past him and race him up the hill to the start finish line.” Last year was also a record close finish: the same two cars, but it was Smith ending up second from Klaus Graf in the Muscle Milk car by 0.112.

Chris Dyson drove the first two and half hours in the #16 car. He started from the back of the grid after mechanical problems prevented the car from qualifying. He moved from 35th to second in the first nine laps and then assumed the lead when the Muscle Milk car encountered a water leak. “The car had the best balance we had all weekend and the Dunlop tires and Mazda engine were great,” Dyson said. “We built an advantage when their car had its problems, but we never counted Greg Pickett's guys out. We had a three-lap lead at Lime Rock and then Guy got a puncture and we lost it. Guy was able to keep his pace and composure under heavy pressure and bring it home. It was an absolutely brilliant piece of driving.”