Tomy Drissi

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Tomy Drissi
File:Tomy Drissi Road America 2015.jpg
Drissi at Road America in 2015
Nationality American
Born (1958-12-09) December 9, 1958 (age 66)
Hollywood, California, U.S.
American Le Mans Series career
Debut season 2003
Current team BAR1 Motorsports
Car no. 9PC
Starts 26
Wins 2
Fastest laps 0
Previous series
1999–2005
2005–2006
2006–2010
2009–2010		 Trans-Am Series
Rolex Sports Car Series
Speed World Challenge
Trans-Am Series
Championship titles
2009 Trans-Am Series
Awards
1999 Trans-Am Series Rookie of the Year
NASCAR Cup Series career
4 races run over 3 years
2015 position 57th
Best finish 50th (2013)
First race 2012 Toyota/Save Mart 350 (Sonoma)
Last race 2014 Toyota/Save Mart 350 (Sonoma)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 0 0
NASCAR Xfinity Series career
9 races run over 5 years
Car no., team No. 26 (JGL Racing)
2014 position 109th
Best finish 109th (2014)
First race 2010 NAPA Auto Parts 200 (Montreal
Last race 2015 Road America 180 (Road America)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 0 0
Statistics current as of August 29, 2015.

Tomy Drissi (/ˈdriːziː/ DREE-see; born December 9, 1958 in Hollywood, California) is an American stock and sports car racing driver, and an advertising executive in the movie industry. A long-time competitor in the Sports Car Club of America's Trans-Am Series, he was the series' 2009 Champion. Drissi currently competes in the American Le Mans Series for RSR Racing in the Prototype Challenge class; he also competes on a limited basis in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and Xfinity Series as a road course ringer.

Career

Drissi first became involved in motorsports through his participation in illegal street racing, primarily on Mulholland Drive in Hollywood's Hollywood Hills, starting at the age of 16.[1][2] He began legitimate competition in 1993, when he became involved in vintage racing, primarily at Willow Springs Raceway.[2] Drissi's driving style proved "too aggressive" for the fragile vintage cars,[2] and he moved to standard, modern race cars, making his debut in professional racing in 1999. Competing in the SCCA Trans-Am Series, Drissi won Rookie of the Year in his initial season.[1][2] He would score his first win in the series the following year at the Long Beach Grand Prix.[2] Competing in the series both before and after its mid-2000s hiatus, he won the first championship of the revitalized series in 2009.[1]

Drissi also competed in the SCCA World Challenge series between 2006 and 2010; in 2003, he had begun competing in the sports cars of the American Le Mans Series,[2] where he would make his primary effort in racing outside of Trans-Am; he currently drives in the series for RSR Racing, competing in the Prototype Challenge class, co-driving an Oreca FLM09 with Bruno Junqueira and Roberto González.[3] As of 2012, he has scored two class wins during his career in the series,[3] both coming during the 2011 season at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and at the Baltimore Grand Prix.[4][5]

Drissi also competed in nine Rolex Sports Car Series events in 2005 and 2006, posting a best finish of ninth on the road course at Phoenix International Raceway in September 2005.[6]

NASCAR

File:Tomy Drissi NAPA 200.jpg
Drissi at Montreal in 2010

In 2010, Drissi made his debut in stock car competition, driving the No. 82 Dodge Charger for MacDonald Motorsports in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, competing in the NAPA Auto Parts 200 at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal.[7] He finished 18th in the event; the following year he would drive in two races in the Nationwide Series, driving the No. 75 Ford for Rick Ware Racing at Watkins Glen International, where he finished 27th, and at Montreal, finishing 34th.[8] Drissi also competed in a single NASCAR K&N Pro Series West race in 2011 on the road course at Portland International Raceway, driving the No. 12 Toyota for Bill McAnally Racing;[9] he would finish 22nd in the event.[10]

Sprint Cup Series

File:26 Tomy Drissi 2015 Road America.jpg
Drissi in his Xfinity Series car at Road America in 2015

In 2011, established as a "road course ringer",[11] Drissi was hired by Max Q Motorsports, which had entered into a partnership with Rick Ware Racing,[12] to drive the team's No. 37 Ford, sponsored by the movie Rise of the Planet of the Apes, in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway.[13] Drissi was not approved by NASCAR to compete in the event due to not having sufficient experience in the heavy Sprint Cup cars; Chris Cook substituted for Drissi, qualifying and driving the car in the event.[14][15]

Drissi returned to Infineon (now known as Sonoma) for the 2012 Toyota/Save Mart 350, being hired to drive the No. 10 Chevrolet, sponsored by Ice Age: Continental Drift, for Tommy Baldwin Racing.[8][16] Drissi returned to Sonoma in the 2013 Toyota/Save Mart 350 for NEMCO-Jay Robinson Racing, driving the No. 87 Toyota sponsored by The Wolverine,[17] and drove again for the team at Watkins Glen International with sponsorship promoting The Counselor.[18]

In 2014, Drissi returned to the Cup Series, running for Identity Ventures Racing in the No. 66 Toyota with sponsorship from Hercules.[19]

Trans-Am ban

Although he is the 2009 series champion, he is not popular amongst other Trans-Am drivers, because of his aggressive driving style. During the race at Mid-Ohio on August 15th, 2015 he started from pole position in a Tony Ave Racing machine, but lost a couple of places after battling with championship contender Amy Ruman coming out of "The Keyhole". Tomy Drissi drove aggressively towards the front, spinning out his teammate Paul Fix and was parked for 1 lap as punishment.

When the caution came out he passed some cars - which he got penalized for later on in the race - and drove next to Ruman and showed his unhappiness with her by touching her car a few times lightly. After serving his drive-through penalty for avoidable contact, Drissi waited for Ruman, who was leading the race at the moment, to drive just behind him and then he tried to block her from putting him a lap down. Coming out of "The Keyhole" Ruman made the pass and Drissi purposely crashed into her and both cars went back across the track taking out himself, Ruman and Doug Peterson, one of Drissi's teammates, who was running second at the time, causing the maximum suspension allowed by SCCA for Drissi, which is one full calendar year. Not only is he suspended for one full year, he is also disqualified from the race and therefore lost his points and prize money. Drissi appealed the penalty but the appeal was denied due to a baseless setting and the penalty was upheld.

Ruman said during a post-race interview, which aired on CBS Sports Network: "Tomy Drissi is the most unprofessional, unsportsmanlike, unimaginable, worst driver in what he calls a professional sport. What he did was unacceptable today, he trashed my car, he blacked us, we were winning the championship, this is the third year in a row he's hit me, he has a vendetta against me. He's unprofessional and it's unacceptable what happened here today."[20]

Personal life

Drissi is the owner of a Hollywood advertising agency that produces film displays for promoting upcoming films in cinemas.[2] He is married to Lacy Livingston Drissi.[1]

Motorsports career results

NASCAR

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

Sprint Cup Series

Xfinity Series

* Season still in progress
1 Ineligible for series points

References

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External links

Sporting positions
Preceded by SCCA Trans-Am Series Champion
2009		 Succeeded by
Tony Ave
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