Moore rockets to TA West opener pole at Buttonwillow

The Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli Western Championship’s inaugural event at Buttonwillow Raceway Park opens the 2025 season this weekend. TA Cup competitor John Moore in the No. 27 JM Environmental Ford Mustang was the fastest qualifier overall, earning the pole in Trans Am’s first event at Buttonwillow with a lap time of 1m40.347s. He will be joined on the front row by TA Cup’s Ken Sutherland in the No. 85 Kallberg Racing Dodge Challenger.

Brody Goble in the No. 69 Brown Bros. Ford Lincoln Ford Mustang was fastest in the CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series, qualifying third overall with a best time of 1m40.818s. JD Koos (No. 12 Nicole Douglas Design Porsche GT3 Cup 991.1) was the fastest in the XGT class with a 1m47.827s, and Simon Asselin (No. 81 Infillion Porsche 991.2 GT3 Cup) was the quickest in SGT with a time of 1m46.699s.

“It's my first time at Buttonwillow and it's been awesome driving this Chris Evans, Jeff Jefferson, TA Cup monster,” said Moore. “It's so fun. You've got to experience it to understand it. It's been a lot of fun, and I really like the track; I just took to it. I know Buttonwillow is old and it's got that old reputation, but there's a lot of history here and I'm just glad to be a part of it now. Tomorrow, I've got take care of the tires. I've been on the pole before and I didn't win, so I'm still learning about these race cars. Hopefully, it's not a jinx. The goal is to manage the tires, knowing it's a long race, and see where we end up. I want to thank my family for always supporting me and all the customers at JM Environmental for trusting us to do their work, which makes it possible for me to be here and have a good time.”

The Western Championship season opener will be contested Sunday at 12:20 p.m. PT.