Practice and qualifying have concluded for the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli Western Championship doubleheader weekend at Utah Motorsports Campus (UMC). Brody Goble in the No. 69 Brown Bros. Ford Mustang set the pace in qualify ing with a record-setting time of 1m55.141s, which earned him the Motul Pole Award and the top spot in the TA2 class for the third race in a row. Goble has shown speed all weekend, topping the first practice session and finishing second in final practice.
“That wasn’t a perfect lap, but it was a pretty good one,” said Goble. “It’s tough to say if there’s more in there or not, but I always like to think there is. Our first practice session we were quicker, but it was 8 a.m. and it w as pretty cold out. This will be my first time racing at this track on this layout. I raced the go-kart track a couple times years ago, and I did one half of this track one year in a Spec Miata, and the other half of the track in a test session in a formula car. It’s very different doing the outer loop, especially in a TA2 car. Some of it does transfer, for sure, and it brings back memories.”
Ken Sutherland in the No. 68 Cascade Sotheby’s/Wyatt Fire Protection Camaro, who currently sits second in the standings, was second fastest with a time of 1m55.796s. Roy Fulmer IV in the No. 186 Fulmer’s Auto Body/Nichols Construction Camaro was third with a 1m56.011s, followed by Bobby Hodges in the No. 04 Garage Row Racing Ford Mustang with a 1m56.311s. Brad McAllister in the No. 24 Periodontal Associates/JDRF Mustang rounded out the top five with a time of 1m57.028s. Points leader Jeff Holden in the No. 11 RELAXandCBD.com/Dakota Lithium/Mid Valley Transmission Camaro qualified seventh in class with a lap of 1m57.232s follow ing steering issues.
Chris Evans in the No. 92 Chris Evans Inc. Ford Mustang was fastest in XGT with a class record of 1m57.143s, followed by Howard Johnston in the No. 32 IWS Acquisition Group Mustang with a 2m01.535s. Michael LaPaglia in the No. 31 Papini’s/Johnson Tuning/FAST Ford Mustang FP350S is the lone SGT competitor, but he did not make a lap during qualifying.
In first practice, Goble paced the field and the TA2 entrants with a time of 1m54.942s, followed by McAllister with a 1m57.463s. Cody Powell in the No. 76 Titan Construction Services Dodge Challenger was third with a 1m57.494s, with Sutherland fourth with a 1m57.894s. Dave Kunicki in the No. 67 Blue Max Chevrolet Camaro was sixth overall and fifth in class with a 1m59.175s.
Evans was fastest of the XGT entries, running fifth overall with a 1m58.467s, with Johnston second in class with a 2m02.900s.
In this weekend’s final practice session, Sutherland took the top spot with a 1m55.287s, with Goble close behind in second with a 1m55.828s. Hodges was third with a 1m57.014s, and Fulmer IV was fourth with a time of 1m57.424s. McAllister rounded out the top five in TA2, running sixth overall with a 1m57.851s.
Evans once again topped the XGT entries, running fifth overall with a 1m57.718s, with Johnston second in class with a 2m03.162s. LaPaglia made a lap of 2m04.620s in SGT.
Race one of the Western Championship doubleheader at UMC will be contested on Saturday, October 15 at 11:00 a.m. MT/1:00 p.m. ET.
Race two will be run on Sunday, October 16 at 10:30 a.m. MT/12:30 p.m. ET, and the field will be set by fastest lap times in Saturday’s race.