Post Race Report-2025 COTA
Circuit of the Americas in Austin Texas was the site of the final round of the 2025 Cube3 Architecture TA2 series season. The 3.426-mile road course, which hosted Formula 1 only 2 weeks prior, is a very technical and high-speed circuit. With this being Cale’s first trip to the impressive facility, he had plenty to learn in the testing and practice sessions.
Friday would provide two test sessions, but a lengthy black flag shortened the first session. In the second test session, on the second lap, Phillips found himself slow and limping around the circuit with a broken control arm that would end his session early. Saturday provided once practice session where Cale was able to make a significant gain in lap times, unfortunately the Saturday evening qualifying session would be cancelled due to lightning, and the race grid would be set by practice times. This meant a 27th overall starting position, and 6th in Pro/Am.
Sunday morning was race time, as a cool damp track from the overnight rain greeted the drivers on the grid. Phillips knew a clean turn one would be key to securing the points needed in the championship standings, and he could have no issues throughout the 100-mile race. Although this strategy made for a less aggressive and somewhat more boring race for Cale, it was a smart play and allowed him to secure a 6th place finish in the Pro/Am class, and 21st overall. That finish provided Phillips with enough points to finish 3rd in the season standings for the Pro/Am class.
“Not exactly an exciting race from my seat. I had to be extra careful at the start, and not being able to qualify put me deep in the field. I was pretty much just riding around all race since there were no cautions, and I knew I was in a position that would give me the points I needed. This track is a tricky place to figure out, and unfortunately, I didn’t get all the laps in practice or any in qualifying to keep progressing from a lap time perspective. In the end though we did what we needed to do. The goal at the beginning of the season was to finish in the top three in the Pro/Am points, and we did that, so I am proud of the season we had. Thank you to Nitro Motorsports for everything they do on our car, especially my crew chief Dan and mechanic Gabe. Thanks to all the sponsors, Mincey’s, SNP, BoxOUSA, and everyone who helps with this program. We couldn’t do it without them.”