Brody Goble and Ken Sutherland Dominate in Caution-Free Trans Am Race 1 at Portland

Polesitter Brody Goble put on a masterclass in Race 1 of the CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series at Portland International Raceway. Driving the No. 69 Brown Bros. Ford Lincoln Ford Mustang, Goble quickly established a commanding lead and never looked back, executing flawlessly around the 1.97-mile circuit to take the checkered flag. Sixth-place starter Cole Moore (No. 99 Moore Motorsport/JM Environmental Ford Mustang) was consistent throughout the race, picking off positions and avoiding the issues plaguing other competitors to take over the runner-up spot on lap 40 and race toward the checkered flag. Kyle Kelley (No. 80 UPR.com/PK+k Motorsports Ford Mustang) crossed the finish line third, followed by Michael LaPaglia (No. 31 Papini’s Garage/F.A.S.T. Auto/Howe Ford Mustang), who worked his way up from seventh to finish fourth. Fifth-place finisher Jade Avedisian (No. 10 Nitro Motorsports Toyota Camry) ran second for a majority of the day, but had to visit pit road late in the race due to debris on the grille. She recovered to finish in the top five in her first-career Trans Am start.

“One race at a time, of course,” said Goble when asked if he was going to win another championship. “We’ve got to reset right now for tomorrow. But I’m super happy to win at what is kind of our home track. We’ve got Brown Bros. Ford here. This is four and a half, five hours from home, so we’ve got a massive team here. The car was awesome. I was just banging off laps and trying to be consistent. I used it almost as a little bit of a test to see how far you can push it because, you know, it’s pretty rare that we go green flag from pin to pin. Hopefully we got some good data and we’ll do it again.”

CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series Top Five:

1. Brody Goble, No. 69 Brown Bros. Ford Lincoln Ford Mustang
2. Cole Moore, No. 99 Moore Motorsport/JM Environmental Ford Mustang
3. Kyle Kelley, No. 80 UPR.com/PK+k Motorsports Ford Mustang
4. Michael LaPaglia, No. 31 Papini’s Garage/F.A.S.T. Auto/Howe Ford Mustang
5. Jade Avedisian, No. 10 Nitro Motorsports Toyota Camry

After taking the pole in this morning’s qualifying session with the fastest lap of any Trans Am class at Portland, Ken Sutherland (No. 85 Kallberg Racing Ford Mustang) kept that same speed when the green flag waved. With the TA Cup class starting in the back, Sutherland diced his way through the field of CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series cars, taking the overall race lead on Lap 12. Once he got into clean air, he never looked back, pulling out to an immense gap. However, the race between the TA Cup cars was still an exciting one, as second through fourth all finished within a second and a half of each other.

Second-place starter Ken Thwaits (No. 9 Franklin Road Chevrolet Camaro) was initially keeping pace with Sutherland, but he lost first and second gear early in the race and began to lag behind him. Fourth-place starter Chris Evans (No. 08 Central Welding Supply/Pinnacle Alloys Ford Mustang) passed third-place starter John Moore (No. 27 JM Environmental Ford Mustang) on lap nine, and the two battled it out nose to tail for the remainder of the race. Moore got side-by-side with Evans a few times, but was never able to regain the third position. Together, the pair of Evans and Moore stalked Thwaits, and the two were right behind him when the checkered flag waved.

“It was great,” said Sutherland from the podium. “The plan was to get a little gap, get by some of the back markers from the TA2 group, and then hopefully just maintain a gap. It just went way better than I ever could have expected. It’s just a testament to this car. My crew chief puts a lot of effort into making things just right on this car. And then of course, Chris Evans, Jeff Jefferson, Curt and Patty Kallberg, the car owners, they’re the ones that allow me to be able to do this. It’s just super fantastic. I would like to thank Trans Am for being here on the West Coast. If you look around the paddock, there are a lot of cars, and a lot of people that put a lot of effort into racing these cars out here. It’s just a great thing we have going, and I just so appreciate you guys coming out here, racing with us, and giving us a venue to race our cars.”

TA Cup:

1. Ken Sutherland, No. 85 Kallberg Racing Ford Mustang
2. Ken Thwaits, No. 9 Franklin Road Chevrolet Camaro
3. Chris Evans, No. 08 Central Welding Supply/Pinnacle Alloys Ford Mustang
4. John Moore, No. 27 JM Environmental Ford Mustang

Simon Asselin in the No. 81 Infillion Porsche 991.2 GT3 Cup was the only competitor in his class. Despite contact with another entrant on the start, Asselin had a solid race, collecting his first victory in the XGT class.

“Well, you know, I’ve really got to give it to the TA2 guys doing these 75-minute races day in and day out,” said Asselin. “I was roasted at the end. I was hoping to hear, ‘Okay, only a couple of laps left,’ and I would hear, ‘45 minutes left.’ You’re killing me! I really appreciate you guys allowing me to race with you. Unfortunately, I had contact in Turn 1 with one of the racers. I have to go apologize, but that was a great race.”

XGT Results:

1. Simon Asselin, No. 81 Infillion Porsche 991.2 GT3 Cup

As the only competitor in his class, Cole Boudreau in the No. 88 Boudreau Racing Ford Mustang stood atop the podium in TA. Despite facing a number of mechanical challenges throughout the weekend, Boudreau made it to the checkered flag in his first-career Trans Am Series race.

“I didn’t think we were going to finish that race, we had so many brake problems,” said Boudreau.  “We were fighting that, we had some rear end problems, and maybe a little bit of driver problems too. But man, what a fun time that was. Oh my God, that was a blast. Most fun I ever had. These cars have got so much power. You just get on a little bit too fast, you’re sideways and fighting. And I don’t think there’s a better or more cool racing series, at least I haven’t seen one.”

TA:

1. Cole Boudreau, No. 88 Boudreau Racing Ford Mustang

Full race results can be found here.