Citing new investment, new teams, and strong car counts, Chris Dyson is bullish on the current state of racing. That said, “we can’t take for granted that the sport will thrive, and survive, in the long term without continuous efforts to engage not only those involved in the industry, but also potentially looking at the industry from a business standpoint or as participants,” he added. “PRI has really taken center stage in these efforts.”

Despite challenges on the supply side, Chris Dyson sees “huge opportunity in this industry right now” as he continues winning races and championships.

Confronting shortages of both components and talented people are daily challenges for teams competing at all levels of motorsports. Creative planning has come to be essential in the current process of race-team prep. Chris Dyson is facing these same kinds of challenges, only he’s doing it in two wildly different racing disciplines, with marked success in both. His status as a scion of an American racing dynasty leaves him positioned to turn potential obstacles into wins and, more recently, championships. 

“Like anyone else, we’ve been affected by supply chain issues with all of our programs over the years,” Dyson explained. “So it’s important to work very carefully with vendors, and to be realistic with planning, because lead times have changed considerably. There’s a lot of interdependence as you put together a program, and if you have a couple of vendors who are short or behind, that can hold up an entire project.

“I think that just carefully managing the supply chain landscape right now is one of the biggest pieces on the operational side,” Dyson continued. “It’s also about attracting and cultivating talent. It’s a challenge, not just for us but for everybody. This is a sport that’s had a lot of interest and longevity for a long time, but we have to make sure we’re recruiting and building up the next generation of talent and leadership.”

In Dyson’s case, that occurs in two seemingly non-intersecting orbits. The first is his own brand, CD Racing, which was created from patriarchal Dyson Racing in 2018. Winning rookie of the year in the SCCA Trans-Am’s TA division from the outset, Dyson captured the series championship in 2021 and is on a roll for a repeat, having won half the 2022 TA rounds at the time of this writing. Beyond that, CD Racing has partnered with erstwhile Dyson Racing rival Doran Racing to field open wheel cars, primarily in the USAC Silver Crown series.

Despite the headaches currently faced by most motorsports executives, CD Racing’s successes leave its chief with obvious and vocal optimism. A big part of the reason why is CD Racing’s status as a PRI Founding Member, which he said allows the team to stand on the foundation of policymaking for the sport’s continuing health.

“PRI membership benefits me by being more engaged with the industry as a whole, and by creating advocacy for the sport itself, and also for the players who depend on the sport’s success,” he said. “You have central leadership coming out of PRI, really working hard on getting the awareness out on the need to save our race cars, to protect the sport long term. As someone who’s been in racing and has had racing-associated businesses, we can’t take for granted that the sport will thrive, and survive, in the long term without continuous efforts to engage not only those involved in the industry, but also potentially looking at the industry from a business standpoint or as participants. PRI has really taken center stage in these efforts.”

For the Trans-Am effort, CD Racing prepares Ford Mustangs out of the Dyson Racing shop in Poughkeepsie, New York, which run the TA division with sponsorship from Altwell CBD and Gym Weed, a hemp-infused energy drink. On the oval side, Dyson is partnered with Kevin Doran to field a USAC Silver Crown effort for Kody Swanson, the series’ winningest driver with six championships, including the recent one. Doran Racing preps Silver Crown cars for pavement competition at its facility in Lebanon, Ohio. The dirt cars are prepped for CD Racing in the Dillsburg, Pennsylvania, shop of longtime Keystone 410 sprint car standout Sean Michael. 

“We’re racers to the core, and in an era of specialists, it’s important to underscore your commitment to the sport by not being specialized,” Dyson explained. “Kevin and I started in WKA karts. I raced Silver Crown in 2018 and 2019 and absolutely loved racing on the big miles, so during a period of time when I wasn’t road racing, we pursued running ovals with a lot of enthusiasm. Then my road racing career has been resurrected in recent years, so I’ve been less able to compete, but Sean maintains the program. It’s been a good fit all around.”

Winning races and titles means getting the cars to the track in fighting trim, which also means flexibility and a redoubled commitment to planning, he said. “From a supply chain standpoint, it’s maintaining virtually constant contact with vendors and supplier partners. You try to have as much transparency as possible. We’ve found that our planning has had to become more refined, with more flexibility to our timetables. We try to give ourselves alternative paths that in past times, we might not have done. It’s also pushed us to seek out new vendors who can perhaps fill needs.”

It’s immediately obvious from a conversation with Dyson that his belief in everything about racing that’s good has never dimmed. 

“There’s definitely huge opportunity in this industry right now. The sport is at a very strong moment with new investment, new teams, and really good car counts in any realm of the sport, and we touch a lot of them with our programs,” Dyson said. “Enthusiasm and passion aren’t the problem. It’s about making sure you have all the parts and components in place. The team has been fortunate to have some tremendous successes over the past few years, but you just can’t take that for granted.”