Christopher Dyson (born February 24, 1978) is an American professional racing driver who competed in the

American Le Mans Series The American Le Mans Series (ALMS) was a sports car racing series based in the United States and Canada. It consisted of a series of Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance and sprint races, and was created in the spirit of the 24 Hours of Le M ...

for

Dyson Racing Dyson Racing is a professional sports car racing team based in Poughkeepsie, New York in the United States. Founded by Rob Dyson in 1974, the team competed successfully in North American sports car racing series, including the IMSA GT Champions ...

from 2002 to 2013. He is currently competing in the

Trans-Am Series The Trans-Am Series is a sports car racing series held in North America. Founded in 1966, it is sanctioned by the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA). Primarily based in the United States, the series competes on a variety of track types includi ...

in the TA class where he just clinched his second consecutive TA championship (2021-2022). The son of team owner

Rob Dyson Robert Richard "Rob" Dyson (born June 21, 1946) is a retired American sports car racing driver and owner of Dyson Racing. Dyson began competing in amateur SCCA competition in 1974 and began racing professionally in IMSA GTO and the Trans-Am ...

, Chris is a two-time ALMS champion, having taken the LMP675 Drivers title in 2003 and earning the LMP1 Championship in 2011. He is the Vice President and Sporting Director of Dyson Racing.

Racing career

Early career

Dyson began his racing career at the age of 17, competing in the Skip Barber Formula Dodge championship at Lime Rock Park. Dyson drove in seven

Atlantic Championship The Atlantic Championship is a formula race car series with races throughout North America. It has been called Champ Car Atlantics (after its former name), Toyota Atlantics (due to the series' previous history of using Toyota-powered engines) ...

races in

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

and

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris (dwarf planet), Er ...

, earning a best finish of 4th at

Long Beach Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporated ...

in 2005.

Grand-Am

Dyson made his professional racing debut in the 2001 Grand American Road Racing Championship season, driving a

Riley & Scott Mk III The Riley & Scott Mark III (Mk III) was a sports prototype auto racing car developed by Bob Riley, Bill Riley, and Mark Scott of Riley & Scott Cars Inc. Initially designed in 1993, the car was created for the World Sports Car (WSC) category whi ...

in the final two races of the season. In 2002, he finished second in the Grand-Am SRP1 points, winning five races. He has since made sporadic starts in the

Rolex Sports Car Series The Rolex Sports Car Series was the premier series run by the Grand American Road Racing Association. It was a North American-based sports car series founded in 2000 under the name Grand American Road Racing Championship to replace the failed ...

and Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge.

American Le Mans Series

Having made his

debut at the

2002 12 Hours of Sebring The 2002 Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring was the 50th running of this event, and the opening round of the 2002 American Le Mans Series season. It took place at Sebring International Raceway, Florida, on March 16, 2002. Official results Class winners ...

, Dyson went on to drive full-time in the series one year later, teaming with Andy Wallace in their MG-Lola EX257. Dyson took four wins and the drivers championship in the LMP 675 class. The 2004 season saw the MG-Lola reclassified into the LMP1 category against the Audi R8s; Dyson and Wallace scored 6 podiums in 8 races together. In 2005, he finished 2nd in the LMP1 drivers' championship, scoring 6 runner-up finishes. Dyson finished 5th in driver points in 2006, with a best finish of 2nd at

Mosport Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (formerly Mosport Park and Mosport International Raceway) is a multi- track motorsport venue located north of Bowmanville, in Ontario, Canada, east of Toronto. The facility features a , 10-turn road course; a a ...

. Dyson also finished 4th at Laguna Seca with James Weaver, in Weaver's final race.

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto ...

saw Dyson team with Guy Smith in a Porsche RS Spyder; the pair finished 4th in points. He finished 6th in points in 2008 and 5th in 2009. In 2010, he finished 4th in LMP1 points and won one race with Guy Smith. In 2011, despite winning only one race, Dyson and Guy Smith won the LMP1 drivers' championship. In 2012, Dyson kicked off the season with a class victory at the 12 Hours of Sebring, debuting the new Lola B12/60 Mazda with Guy Smith and Steven Kane.

24 Hours of Le Mans

Dyson's first start came in the

2004 24 Hours of Le Mans The 72nd 24 Hours of Le Mans (French: ''72e 24 Heures du Mans'') was a non-championship 24 hour automobile endurance race for Le Mans Prototype and Grand Touring cars held from 12 to 13 June at the Circuit de la Sarthe close to Le Mans, ...

for

Jan Lammers Jan Lammers (Johannes Antonius Lammers, Zandvoort, 2 June 1956) is a racing driver from the Netherlands whose most notable claim to fame is victory in the 1988 Le Mans 24 Hours for Silk Cut Jaguar/ TWR, next to a four-season spell in Formula O ...

' Racing for Holland team with Lammers and Katsutomo Kaneishi, finishing 7th overall and 6th in the LMP1 class. Dyson returned to La Sarthe in the

Le Mans Le Mans (, ) is a city in northwestern France on the Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le ...

for

Ray Mallock Ray Mallock (born 12 April 1951 in Barton on Sea) is a British former racing driver. He competed in the British Formula One Championship from 1978 to 1980. He is chairman of RML Group, the motorsport and automotive engineering group he founded. ...

, retiring after 19 hours.

NASCAR

In August 2019, Dyson joined DGM Racing to drive their No. 90 car in the

NASCAR Xfinity Series The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a support race on the day prior to ...

' race at the

Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course is a road course auto racing facility located in Troy Township, Morrow County, Ohio, United States, just outside the village of Lexington. Mid-Ohio has also colloquially become a term for the entire north-central regi ...

as a road course ringer. He would start 27th and finish 34th after crashing out of the race. Dyson returned to NASCAR in 2022, driving for Emerling-Gase Motorsports in the Xfinity Series event at

Road America Road America is a motorsport road course located near Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, United States on Wisconsin Highway 67. It has hosted races since the 1950s and currently hosts races in the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series, WeatherTech SportsCar Ch ...

Motorsports career results

24 Hours of Le Mans

NASCAR

( key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. ''Italics'' – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Xfinity Series

Ineligible for series points

References

External links

Dyson Racing bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dyson, Chris 1978 births Living people Sportspeople from Poughkeepsie, New York Rolex Sports Car Series drivers American Le Mans Series drivers Atlantic Championship drivers 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers Racing drivers from New York (state) FIA World Endurance Championship drivers European Le Mans Series drivers NASCAR drivers SCCA National Championship Runoffs participants USAC Silver Crown Series drivers Caterham Racing drivers Greaves Motorsport drivers