ST. AUGUSTINE’S Next Gen Racing Stars

The father-and-son duo formed TeamSLR in 1985 and first operated out of a small, one-car garage in St. Augustine. In 2016, they partnered with another father-and-son combo, Paul and Justin Felker, to build their current home – Art’nMotion, a 19,000-square foot facility that houses TeamSLR’s burgeoning sports-car operation in the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli, as well as a vintage and exotic car showroom that can be reserved for special events. Road racing, which is the hallmark of the Trans Am Series, has become increasingly prominent in NASCAR. Since 2021, the premier Cup Series has expanded from just two road- course events on its 36-race schedule to six. In each of the Cup Series’ feeder divisions – the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series – there are five road-course races. The influx of road racing in NASCAR has forced up-and- coming drivers to diversify their skill sets, expanding their repertoire beyond the oval tracks that comprise the majority of the NASCAR schedule.

Enter the Lagasses.
Scott Lagasse Sr., 68, is a multi-time national champion who drove for such manufacturers as Chevrolet, Pontiac and Lotus. He won races domestically and internationally, from the SCCA’s World Challenge and Corvette Challenge to IMSA and ARCA and all the way to New Zealand’s TraNZam Challenge. He parlayed his road-racing success to a stock car career that spanned the top-three series of NASCAR – Cup, O’Reilly and Craftsman Truck. His 44-year-old son, Scott Lagasse Jr., is equally accomplished. Race wins on dirt and asphalt tracks throughout Florida and the Southeast led to more prominent series, namely ASA and ARCA, where he won enough to earn a development deal with Chip Ganassi Racing that placed the younger Lagasse in the O’Reilly Series – the stepping-stone division to the NASCAR Cup Series. He then set his sights on road racing where he quickly became a top competitor in the CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 division of the Trans Am Series. But as fun as driving was, Scott Lagasse Jr., found that working on racecars and coaching drivers younger than him – who were treading a path he had already traveled – was more rewarding. His racing experience, combined with a bachelor’s degree in business administration from nearby Flagler College, gave the second-generation Lagasse a unique and valued perspective, that of real-world racing experience augmented by off-track acumen. With his dad, the younger Lagasse transitioned TeamSLR from just a race team to a driver academy, where future racing talent is being developed not in the motorsports hotspots of Indianapolis and Charlotte, North Carolina, but in St. Augustine. “St. Augustine is home, but it’s also a pretty strategic place to be,” said the elder Lagasse. “We’re an hour up the road from Daytona and less than four hours down to Sebring, where we do a lot of testing and kick off the Trans Am season. It’s a great place to live, so we’re able to recruit talented individuals to build and maintain our racecars, giving our drivers the best chance to succeed on the track.”

Tristan McKee is TeamSLR’s most recent success.
The Kannapolis, North Carolina, native clinched the 2025 TA2 title with still one race remaining thanks to a series-best four victories, and at 15 years, two months and 16 days of age, he became the youngest champion in Trans Am history. McKee also earned the TA2 Rookie of the Year title, as well as the Sunoco Young Guns Championship for drivers under 25. He moves to the ARCA Menards Series fulltime in 2026. “It felt so good to lock up the title before the season was over. It showed how good we’d been, especially as the season progressed. We never let up,” McKee said. McKee put his TeamSLR road-racing education to the test in August at New York’s famed Watkins Glen International when he made his ARCA debut just five days after his 15th birthday. McKee won, becoming the second-youngest winner in series history. He was quick to credit the preparation processes he’s experienced at TeamSLR, which is an official driver development partner for GM Motorsports. “Even when we started winning TA2 races and stringing together all these good finishes, we kept working. Our preparation was detailed and our performance was strong. It’s a mindset I bring everywhere, no matter what I’m driving.” McKee said. Since transitioning from a driver to team owner and coach, Lagasse Jr., feels his eclectic background and wealth of experience is especially useful to young drivers like McKee whose ultimate goal is the NASCAR Cup Series. “This is a hard business. Everybody wants to win. It’s a matter of how much you want it,” said Lagasse Jr. “We help young drivers get to the top and then stay there.” What’s next for the Lagasses? Expanding their St. Augustine roots with a dedicated driver training ground.