2021 – Portland International Raceway

In a salute to Kas Kastner, the pose he made famous at the previous Kastner Cups – photo by Shawn Frank

The Kastner Cup 2021

By Shawn Frank

In the hot Portland sun on a respectable road course, seventeen wheelmen of fully prepared racing Triumphs or Triumph powered cars made their way to the grid to take the green flag at the 1.967-mile Portland International Raceway on July 24th, 2021, coinciding with SVRA’s Portland SpeedTour. The Kastner Cup sponsored by Moss Motors was a featured marque race during the momentous racing weekend.

The coveted Kastner Cup, the Peggy Kastner Performance Awards, and the pride of running were the motivation for these pilots to work their way to the front of the pack. The Peggy Kastner Performance Awards were given to each driver with the best times in each class, broken down by model. Beautiful plaques were allocated to top participants of TR2 & TR3, TR4 & TR4A, TR6 & TR250, TR7, TR8, Spitfire, GT6, Herald, Morgan, and Limited Production race car classes. It was 10 laps of hard-fought racing with amazing passes, blinding speeds, and definitively executed apexes, all clean and gentlemanlike.
The Kastner Cup race is held every year at a different racetrack across North America. The decision of the Cup recipient in the past was made by the former head of the US Triumph Competition Dept, Kas Kastner. He was extremely missed as he had passed away earlier this year, so Kas’s dear friend, Joe Alexander (Alexander Racing Enterprises and Gasket Innovations) stepped up to assume his confidant’s duties as the Grand Marshal of this year’s Kastner Cup. Joe Alexander’s decision had the same format as Kas Kastner’s selection. 50% of the decision is based on performance, 25% based on enthusiasm for vintage racing, and 25% based on the presentation of each participant’s car. Kas always looked for the driver “that drove out of his class,” meaning; the driver to exceed their car’s expected performance. This outline stayed true through Joe Alexander’s decision, and he took that honored job very seriously. He even walked the pre-grid in ritualistic fashion, shaking the hand of every participant before they disappeared over the horizon, past the front straight, into turn 1 for a grueling race that was enjoyed by all that spectated.

Immediately after the race, the Friends of Triumph gathered under the Moss Motors tent to receive the results. As they gathered, the camaraderie shown through as they shook hands, told stories of overtaking, with laughter and congratulations abound. Race director, Curt Johnston and the Moss Motors crew announced each top performer in class.

TR2 & TR3 – #14 Jason Roosa 1957 TR3A with a best time of 1:42.272
TR4 & TR4A – #51 Jeff Quick 1967 TR4A with a best time of 1:34.043
TR6 & TR250 – #7 Tom Kreger 1969 TR6 with a best time of 1:32.943
TR7 – #11 Joe Huffaker Jr 1979 TR7 with a best time of 1:30.237
TR8 – #11A Curt Johnston 1980 TR8 with a best time of 1:35.641
Spitfire – #8 Paul Quackenbush 1962 Spitfire with a best time of 1:34.824
GT6 – #114 John Frymark 1968 GT6+ with a best time of 1:36.734
Herald – #24 Jerry Barker 1963 Herald with a best time of 1:38.040
Morgan – #30 John Woodward 1962 Morgan 4/4 best time N/A
Limited Production – #222 Bill Babcock 1959 Peyote Special MK2 with a best time of 1:32.284

After the Peggy Kastner Performance awards were handed out, this year’s Kastner Cup was presented to Kent, Washington’s own Jeff Quick who drove his beautiful and fast blue 1967 TR4A in a gallant campaign to the top. His fellow Friends of Triumph competitors congratulated him in a roar of applause and whistles. The historic decision was well-deserved and was felt, across the board, as a decision Kastner would have made himself.

A great weekend of racing, camaraderie, and Friends of Triumph.

Jeff Quick receiving the Kastner Cup trophy from Grand Marshall Joe Alexander – photo by Shawn Frank

Kastner Cup Feature Race Results

Kastner Cup Reunion Race Results

Tom Kreger (#7 TR6) in front of several Triumph Racers – Photo by Shawn Frank

Bill Babcock piloting the very fast Peyote MkII – photo by Shawn Frank