Trans Am Western Championship Visits Portland

PORTLAND, Ore. — The Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli’s Western Championship returns from hiatus for the PIR SpeedTour at Portland International Raceway.

The doubleheader event will serve as rounds four and five of the eight-race season. The Trans Am Series has been visiting Portland since 1972, holding 33 races at the 1.97-mile circuit between the National and Western Championships.

Greg Pickett has the most wins of any competitor at the Oregon track, with a total of four between National (1) and Western (3).

There are eight competitors in this weekend’s field who have stood atop the podium at Portland in a Trans Am car.

TA Cup’s Chris Evans has the most victories of anyone entered this weekend, with a total of three between the SGT and XGT classes.

Northwesterners

There are five Pacific Northwest drivers on this weekend’s entry list that are from the states of Oregon and Washington. The drivers most local to Portland International Raceway are Ken Sutherland and Brad McAllister, who are both from less than 45 minutes from the race track.

Sutherland professes that he may have more laps at Portland than any other competitor in the field as a result of being a local and competing in so many previous events at the facility.

Points Rundown

With the largest fields in the Western Championship, the battle is on for the title in the CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series. 2023 champion Brody Goble (No. 69 Brown Bros. Ford Lincoln Ford Mustang) currently sits atop the standings with an impressive 49-point advantage over 2024 National Championship Pro/Am Challenge title winner Barry Boes (No. 32 Accio Data/TRB Autosport Ford Mustang).

The top two have taken the victories in all of the races so far this season, with Goble winning at Buttonwillow Raceway Park and Laguna Seca, and Boes taking the checkered flag at Sonoma Raceway.

Additionally, both drivers have previous victories at Portland, with Goble winning Race 1 in 2023, and Boes winning Race 1 in 2024.

Mia Lovell (No. 40 Nitro Motorsports Toyota Camry) is third in the standings, just 15 points back, as she focuses on the Western Championship crown.

Tim Lynn (No. 17 RoofOptions Ford Mustang) sits fourth in the standings, 14 points behind Lovell, and Cole Moore (No. 99 Moore Motorsport/JM Environmental Ford Mustang) rounds out the top five, three points behind Lynn.

Getting Flowers

Currently leading the points in TA Cup is Ken Sutherland in the No. 85 Kallberg Racing Dodge Challenger, who holds a 19-point advantage over John Moore in the No. 27 JM Environmental Ford Mustang. Sutherland comes into this weekend’s event with recent success at Portland, finishing second in the 2025 Rose Cup two weeks ago.

The podium finish was hard-fought after Sutherland was forced to switch to a borrowed backup car following a crash in practice.

CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series driver Cole Moore (No. 99 Moore Motorsport/JM Environmental Ford Mustang) finished third behind Sutherland.

The Rose Cup is a historic race, as it was the first major event held at PIR in 1961, and Trans Am legends like Hall of Fame inductees Willy T. Ribbs and George Follmer have taken the checkered flag in previous runnings. Sutherland won the race in 2024, and TA Cup car builder Chris Evans (No. 92 Central Welding Supply/Pinnacle Alloys Ford Mustang) earned the victory in 2023.

Super Tour Success

Another competitor with recent success at PIR is 2019 TA2 Western Championship title winner Brad McAllister (No. 24 Periodontal Associates Ford Mustang). McAllister won Race 1 and 2 in the GT2 class in the SCCA Super Tour event held at the track back in May.

McAllister has two previous TA2 victories at Portland, standing atop the podium in 2019 and 2023.

New Faces

This weekend will see the Trans Am Series debut of two incredibly talented racers in the CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series, both under the Nitro Motorsports awning.

Avedisian will get behind the wheel of the No. 10 Nitro Motorsports Toyota Camry. At just 18 years old, Avedisian has broken barriers across dirt and pavement. From early dominance in micro-sprints to becoming the first female national midget champion, she is now transitioning into stock and sports car racing via Toyota’s development pipeline, and became the first woman to win a CARS Tour race earlier this year.

In the No. 19 Nitro Motorsports Toyota Camry this weekend is Jack Perkins from Gisborne South, Victoria.

Perkins is a seasoned Australian racer with rich experience in touring cars and endurance events, while also battling Type 1 diabetes. Earlier this month he made his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut at the Chicago Street Course with Joe Gibbs Racing.

Double Duty

Defending CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series champion Michael LaPaglia is doing double duty this weekend.

In addition to racing his No. 31 Papini’s Garage/F.A.S.T. Auto/Howe Ford Mustang in the Trans Am doubleheader races, LaPaglia will also be competing in Portland’s Thursday Night Motocross the evening before the Trans Am Series hits the track.

LaPaglia got his motorsports start in motocross as a kid, and competed professionally in the sport between the ages of 16-20 years old.

In fact, the 36-year-old didn’t get his start in race cars until he was 29 years old.