Michael McAleenan has been coming to the annual Rose Cup race at Portland International Raceway for over ten years. As one of the peak auto racing events of the summer, and a decades-long tradition for amateur sports car racers up and down the west coast, the Rose Cup offers a unique opportunity for pro-level competition in a relaxed festival atmosphere. For McAleenan, he found himself on the podium numerous times but the top step always remained just barely out of reach, until this weekend.
“I’ve gotten the pole position here numerous times,” McAleenan said. “I’ve led the race numerous times. But various things have happened and I’ve never able to actually win it, until now.”
McAleenan, of Tacoma, Washington, finally won his bouquet of roses behind the wheel of a 2018 Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo. The Italian exotic didn’t run away with the race, however, as some of the best-prepared race cars in the Northwest were on hand to compete. In fact, the race included seven prior Rose Cup champions, including three-time winner Matt Crandall of Scottsdale, Arizona in his Porsche GT-3 Cup car, and Scotty B. White of Auburn, Washington in his 2007 Dodge Viper Comp Coupe.
For McAleenan and several other drivers, the weekend was anything but smooth. In practice, an unexpected spin left defending Rose Cup champion Ken Sutherland of Sherwood with no way to avoid a crash. The impact damaged his race-winning Dodge Challenger, and he switched to a borrowed Ford Mustang for the race. McAleenan himself spent a sleepless night working on his car after a mechanical failure.
“We got here on test day and blew a clutch in our second session out,” he stated, “so we were up till midnight on Friday night, taking the whole back of the car apart, getting the transmission out, and put a new clutch in. My buddies Gerald and Jeff only got a couple hours of sleep but we got it done. Went out to practice the next day and everything was good. I knew that as long as I stayed in touch at the end of the race we’d have something for the other guys.”
After a hard-fought race, McAleenan finally crossed the finish line in first place. Sutherland, driving his replacement car, finished second, with Cole Moore of Orangevale, California in third place driving another Mustang.
After the race and the champagne spray, McAleenan was both elated and thoughtful.
“It’s bittersweet, right? It was bitter to the extent that I’ve tried so many times and come so close,” he said. “There was always something about this race that had our number until this year. It’s a relief and I’m very happy for everybody who helped me and who sacrificed so much. Especially my wife who put up with me to finally get this done! And my dad, because he has come with me to every one of these races. He just had heart surgery and so he’s sitting at home today. He’s going to be thrilled when I give him a call on the way home!”
The next major race weekend at PIR is the Portland Speed Tour featuring SVRA vintage racing and the Trans-Am series. That event happens July 25-27. Soon after, the NTT IndyCar Series returns for the Grand Prix of Portland on August 7-10. Finally, the NASCAR Xfinity Series returns to Portland with the Pacific Office Automation 147 on August 29-30 to close out the summer.
—By Jeff Zurschmeide
Photos by Ema Cora Photo & DBPics.com/Gus Perez