The Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli’s Western Championship returns from a nearly three-month hiatus this weekend for the PIR SpeedTour at Portland International Raceway. The Trans Am Series has been visiting Portland since 1972, holding 31 races at the 1.97-mile circuit between the National and Western Championships.
With five races completed between three rounds of racing so far this season, the Western Championship has officially passed the halfway point, meaning that the championship battles are heating up and that this weekend’s doubleheader will have major consequences on the standings.
The CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series standings are the tightest, with two ties between the top-five racers. Tim Lynn (No. 17 Roof Options Ford Mustang) and Portland-area native Ken Sutherland (No. 68 Kallberg Racing/Wyatt Fire Chevrolet Camaro) are currently tied in the top spot with 425 points. Interestingly, neither of the point leaders have driven to Victory Lane yet this year.
Just 17 markers back are Kyle Kelley (No. 80 PK+k Properties/UPRacing.com Ford Mustang) and Michael LaPaglia (No. 31 Papini’s Garage/F.A.S.T. Auto Racing/Howe Ford Mustang), also tied with 408 points. Both Kelley and LaPaglia have tallied one victory, with LaPaglia winning Race 2 at Thunderhill Raceway Park, and Kelley winning in the series’ most recent race at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. LaPaglia previously held the points lead, but suffered an electric issue at Laguna Seca. Tim Barber in the No. 33 DIG Motorsports Ford Mustang rounds out the top five with 404 points and victories in Race 1 at Thunderhill and Race 1 at Sonoma Raceway.
The XGT class also has a competitive points race, which is currently led by Michele Nagai in the No. 72 Nagai Racing/Berkeley Jet Drive Chevrolet Camaro with 425 points after earning victories in Race 1 at Thunderhill, Race 1 at Sonoma and Laguna Seca. She is followed by Tim Rankin (No. 5 TCR IT Solutions Ford Mustang) with 390 points. Chris Evans (No. 92 Central Welding Supply Ford Mustang) is third with 300 points, followed by Will Rodgers (No. 12 Central Welding Supply/Chris Evans Race Cars Ford Mustang) with 286 points and wins in Race 2 at Thunderhill and Race 2 at Sonoma Raceway. Fifth in XGT is Rick Wright in the No. 45 AR Motorsports Audi R8 LMS GT3 with 250 points.
In TA, Steve Goldman (No. 13 LIG Racing Chevrolet Corvette) currently has a large lead over Greg Pickett (No. 6 Pickett Racing Ford Mustang), with 215 points over Pickett’s 115. Goldman has wins in Race 1 at Thunderhill and Race 1 at Sonoma, as well as Laguna Seca, while Pickett took the victory in Thunderhill’s Race 2.
David Hampton in the No. 14 AR Motorsports Porsche Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport has a commanding lead in the GT standings, with victories in every race so far this year earning him a total of 270 points. Kevin Michaels (No. 98 Killer Shrimp Restaurant Chevrolet Corvette) is second with 110 points.
Everything is coming up roses for Sutherland
Just two weekends ago was the 63rd-annual running of the Rose Cup Races at Portland International Raceway. The Rose Cup is a historic race as the first major event held at PIR in 1961, and Trans Am legends like Willy T. Ribbs and George Folmer have taken the checkered flag in previous runnings. Ken Sutherland (No. 68 Kallberg Racing/Wyatt Fire Chevrolet) drove to victory in the prestigious event in a brand-new Chris Evans Race Cars Dodge Challenger, which we can expect to see in XGT competition soon. This is the second-consecutive season that a Chris Evans Race Cars vehicle drove into the Winner’s Circle at the Rose Cup Races, as owner Chris Evans (No. 92 Central Welding Supply Ford Mustang) earned the victory in 2023.
Father and son
Making his Trans Am debut this weekend in the CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series is Cole Moore in the No. 54 Naake-Klauer Motorsports Ford Mustang. The 27-year-old California native has a great deal of experience racing on the West Coast, having competed in the ARCA Menards Series West and SRL Spears Southwest Tour over the course of several seasons. Moore has three previous starts at Portland International Raceway in ARCA West, with a best finish of fourth in 2022. The younger Moore will be sharing the racetrack this weekend with his father, John Moore, who drives the No. 5 Central Welding Supply Ford Mustang in the XGT class. This won’t be the first time the father and son team have been in the same field. In 2022, the duo competed against each other in ARCA West at All American Speedway. The younger Moore earned his first-career ARCA win in that event.
Hampton a National winner
GT’s David Hampton (No. 14 AR Motorsports Porsche Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport) has been keeping busy since the Western Championship took the checkered flag, making his debut in Trans Am’s National Championship at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. In intense rain, Hampton drove his Porsche to his first-career National Championship victory with a third-place finish overall. Hampton backed that up with a second-place finish in class the following weekend at Road America.
Nagai knows Portland
Current XGT points leader Michelle Nagai (No. 72 Nagai Racing/Berkeley Jet Drive Chevrolet Camaro) knows what it takes to stand atop the podium at PIR. Just last year, Nagai made the switch to XGT racing in a Chris Evans Race Cars/Jefferson Racing-prepared hot rod and drove to her first victory in the class at Portland. Nagai had previously competed in the Western Championship’s TA and TA2 classes before entering XGT. In fact, prior to last year’s victory, her best finish at Portland had been a close second-place finish behind Trans Am legend Greg Pickett.
“Running a mixed-class races out here in the Western Championship can be tricky at times getting through traffic safely, but that’s all the more reason I love driving my Chris Evans Race Cars Camaro to Victory Lane,” said Nagai. “I’m looking forward to getting back on track and picking up the momentum we had in the first three rounds after a very long 88-day hiatus since our last run at Laguna Seca back in early May.”
Calling the Northwest home
There are five drivers on this weekend’s entry list that are from near Portland International Raceway in the states of Oregon and Washington. The two most local drivers are Ken Sutherland and Caleb Schrader, who are from the nearby Portland suburbs of Sherwood and Tigard, respectively.
TA
Steve Goldman, No. 13 LIG Racing Chevrolet Corvette (Mercer Island, Wash.)
XGT
Chris Evans, No. 92 Central Welding Supply Ford Mustang (Powell Butte, Ore.)
GT
David Hampton, No. 14 AR Motorsports Porsche Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport (Bend, Ore.)
TA2
Ken Sutherland, No. 68 Kallberg Racing/Wyatt Fire Chevrolet Camaro (Sherwood, Ore.)
Caleb Shrader, No. 99 CONSONUS Healthcare Chevrolet Camaro (Tigard, Ore.)
Portland winners
There are seven competitors in this weekend’s field who have stood atop the podium at Portland in a Trans Am car. All of the victories came in Trans Am’s Western Championship except for one: Rudy Revak has a victory in the National Championship’s GTA class.
TA
Steve Goldman, No. 13 LIG Racing Chevrolet Corvette: 2023
XGT
Michelle Nagai, No. 72 Nagai Racing/Berkeley Jet Drive Chevrolet Camaro: 2023
Chris Evans, No. 92 Central Welding Supply Ford Mustang: 2022 (SGT)
SGT
Rudy Revak, No. 7 Xyngular Pontiac Grand Prix: 2005 (GTA National)
GT
David Hampton, No. 14 AR Motorsports Porsche Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport: 2023
TA2
Ken Sutherland, No. 68 Kallberg Racing/Wyatt Fire Chevrolet Camaro: 2022
Tim Lynn, No. 71 RoofOptions Ford Mustang: 2021
News & notes
Caleb Shrader (No. 99 CONSONUS Healthcare Chevrolet Camaro) has previously won at Portland in SCCA. The reigning SCCA SRF3 Super Tour Champion made his Trans Am debut in the Western Championship’s last outing at Laguna Seca.
The last time Tim Barber (No. 33 DIG Motorsports Ford Mustang) raced at Portland in the Trans Am Series was in a National Championship event in 2005 where he finished second in the GTA class.
Sean Berardi will be making his Trans Am Series debut this weekend at Portland in the No. 9 Berardi Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro in the CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series.
The SGT class will see some new faces in the paddock at Portland. Tim Brown in the No. 66 Brown Bros. Ford Lincoln Mustang GT4 will be making his Trans Am debut this weekend, while 2005 Portland winner Rudy Revak (No. 7 Xyngular Pontiac Grand Prix) will be making his first start of the 2024 season.