PORTLAND, Oregon (July 23, 2023) – Goble set the fastest qualifying time in his No. 69 Brown Bros. Ford/Cortex Performance Mustang for the third time this year and led the field to green. After a wild restart from those around him, he led Ken Sutherland in the No. 68 Kallberg Racing Chevrolet Camaro and Greg Tolson in the No. 70 GT Auto Lounge Ford Mustang, never relinquishing the first position in the Big Machine Vodka SPIKED Coolers TA2 Series. While Nagai got around him on lap 17, he paced the TA2 class until the race’s only caution on lap 20.
On the lap 23 restart, Goble had a fierce battle with Sutherland and Tolson but maintained his lead and once again pulled away. Sutherland pulled ahead of Tolson, who he’d been swapping positions with earlier in the race, and secured the second spot. Tolson began battling a power steering problem, but was able to hold on to the last podium spot in the race’s second half.
While Goble could have easily cruised to the victory, he had a scary moment on the final lap when his Ford Mustang got loose as he attempted to lay down a fast lap for a starting position in Sunday’s race two. Fortunately, he gathered himself and took the checkered flag, followed by Sutherland and Tolson. Tim Lynn (No. 17 RoofOptions Ford Mustang) and Michael LaPaglia (No. 31 Papini’s Garage/F.A.S.T. Auto Ford Mustang) rounded out the top five.
“The last lap was not my finest moment there,” admitted Goble about his near miss before the checkered flag. “I was going for a fast lap on the final lap. I came from a Formula Drift background, so when the car kicked out sideways, I didn’t really give up on it and I kept my foot in it. But it kept going longer than I was anticipating, and I had a moment where I realized, ‘This isn’t a Formula Drift car it doesn’t like doing this stuff this is actually going to be a problem.’ I was able to get away with that, but it would have been a spectacular way to lose the race. I won’t be doing that again. Other than that, it was a fun race.
“We had a great restart there and I had to put my head down again and had a really good battle with Greg (Tolson) and Ken (Sutherland). I was able to hang onto it and keep clicking the laps away. Another race tomorrow and I’m looking forward to racing with these guys. The Brown Bros. Racing team gave me a car that is super easy to drive. It has great balance it’s making me look good. I really appreciate all the hard work and I’m looking forward to doing it again tomorrow.”
