49th Annual Rose Cup Races

The Portland Rose Festival and the Sports Car Club of America today announced that the historic Trans Am racing series will return in 2009 and headline Portland’s annual Rose Cup race weekend.

Founded in 1966, the Trans Am series produced some of America’s finest racing drivers, including Mark Donohue, Tommy Kendall, George Follmer, and Wally Dallenbach. The Trans Am series raced in Portland 21 times from 1975 to 2005, and served as the Rose Cup race from 1975 through 1983. In 1984, Trans Am became a regular support race for Portland’s annual Champ Car race.

The annual Rose Cup Race, the oldest amateur road-racing event west of the Mississippi River, has been popular with West Coast racing enthusiasts for more than 40 years. The racing weekend features Sports Car Club of America's Regional and National Championship point races with more than 400 amateur drivers in varied classes of race cars. It's a great event for the whole family.

The Porsche Club of America holds the Porsche Cup race during Rose Cup weekend as well. A new Rose Festival sponsor, Carrera Motors of Bend, Oregon, is presenting sponsor of the Porsche Cup race this year.

There are three new features this year to Rose Cup weekend: First Annual Rose Cup Friday Night Drags presented by Scion, the First Annual Rose Cup Races Cruise In, and Oregon Motorcycle Road Racing Association (OMRRA) racing.