West Coast Struggles
The Trans Am series headed to the west coast to Sonoma Raceway for rounds three and four of the 2026 Cube3 Architecture TA2 series season. A new track for Cale, and the challenge of a double header race weekend, greeted the Pro/Am points leader in California’s wine country.
The Thursday test sessions were about getting a feel for the track and the car setup. The #99 Mincey’s Graphics/SNP Inc Camry felt good in the first and second test sessions, leading to dropping lap times. After some video and data review with driver coach Tyler Kicera, big gains were made in qualifying. Once qualifying was complete for the 35-car field, Cale found himself in the 21st starting position overall, and 2nd in the Pro/Am class.
Race one would run caution free for the entirety of the 100-mile distance. Phillips kept a firm grip on his second-place position until just passed the halfway point of the race. On lap 25 of 40, the #99 was forced to pull off the racing circuit when the transmission broke. With minimal attrition in the race, this would relegate Cale to a 32nd place overall finish, and 4th in Pro/Am.
The grid for race two would be set off the fastest lap times from race one, which meant a 23rd overall starting spot and 2nd in Pro/Am. Positions gained on the first couple of laps would turn out to be short lived, as powering into turn three on lap 3, the car shut off with what would end up being a loose ignition wire. Without a caution being thrown until around 12 laps to go, Phillips had to sit and wait to be towed back to the attention of his crew. Once he made it back to the pits, it was a quick fix, and he was able to rejoin the field but was many laps down. The result, another disappointing finish of 33rd overall and 6th in Pro/Am for the driver from Durham NC.
“Well, we came to Sonoma with a lot of momentum, and leading the points. Unfortunately, we leave here giving up a lot of points and pretty disappointed. Hopefully this was us getting our bad luck out of the way for the rest of season, and we can get back on track at Lime Rock. It’s frustrating when things happen that are out of your control, but that’s racing and we will bounce back.”
Catch our next race in Trans Am TA2 at Lime Rock Park in Lakeville Connecticut on Saturday May 23rd for the Memorial Day Classic.