Upward Mobility

In the span of six days, two TeamSLR alumni made their NASCAR National Series debuts – 18-year-old Carson Brown in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race Aug. 8 at Iowa Speedway in Newton, and 16-year-old Tristan McKee in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race Aug. 14 at Richmond (Va.) Raceway.

Both drivers matriculated through TeamSLR, the reigning champion of Trans Am’s CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series. In fact, it was McKee who delivered that title with a series-best four wins, all at the age of 15 years, two months and 16 days to become the youngest champion in Trans Am history. Brown also won in 2025, scoring his maiden TA2 victory in just his fourth start Sept. 20 at Virginia International Raceway near Alton.

The two drivers remained teammates as they advanced to the ARCA Menards Series in 2026, driving for Pinnacle Racing Group in the developmental gateway to NASCAR’s National Series. So far this season, McKee has four ARCA wins and Brown has one. ARCA, however, will soon be in each driver’s rearview mirror. Both are expected to become regulars in their new respective series when the 2027 NASCAR season kicks off in February at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway.

For Scott Lagasse and Scott Lagasse Jr., the father-and-son duo behind TeamSLR, this is what their program was built to do – prepare next-generation racing talent for success in the next steps of their racing careers. It’s why TeamSLR is an official driver development partner for GM Motorsports.

“Carson and Tristan came to us young, found speed quickly, honed their racecraft and won races. These are hard-earned opportunities they’re getting at the national level, and well-deserved, too,” said the elder Lagasse, a veteran driver who turned back-to-back SCCA national championships in 1985-1986 into a career that spanned sports cars and stock cars, from GT World Challenge and IMSA to the top levels of NASCAR.

“This is the kind of turnover we want. Carson and Tristan are great examples of how the right training can earn future opportunities.”

It’s no coincidence that Brown made his O’Reilly Series debut for the Chevrolet team of Jordan Anderson Racing Bommarito Autosport and McKee made his Truck Series debut with the Chevrolet team of Spire Motorsports. Both drivers are in the GM Motorsports pipeline and both are immersed with Wise Optimization, the driver development arm of GM Motorsports where sim sessions, physical fitness and mental wellness are staples of race preparation.

“There’s a tremendous amount of collaboration between TeamSLR, GM Motorsports and Wise Optimization, and it gives drivers the resources they need to succeed, not just in Trans Am, but in every series,” said the younger Lagasse, whose racing career advanced all the way to the O’Reilly Series, making 70 starts in the stepping-stone division to the premier Cup Series before returning home to TeamSLR and winning in the TA2 Series.

“It’s a very comprehensive approach that gets drivers ready for their next race and their next career step. It’s about developing a complete racecar driver.”

Despite the graduations of McKee and Brown, TeamSLR hasn’t let off the gas in 2026. The organization is undefeated nine races into the season – a 16-race win streak dating back to McKee’s first TA2 win June 22, 2025, at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington. Eighteen-year-old Helio Meza has provided the bulk of victories in 2026 – six to his veteran TeamSLR teammate Alon Day’s two wins. The most recent driver to win for TeamSLR? That would be McKee, who returned for a one-off event weekend to win July 19 at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International.

Collectively, it’s a ringing endorsement of TeamSLR’s methodology. Drivers succeed and advance, and then a new crop of drivers follow in their tire tracks, claiming their own accolades and reaching for that next rung on the racing ladder. Staying status quo is not an option.

TeamSLR knows it has a bullseye on its back within the TA2 paddock, and remaining at the front of the pack requires a new level of investment.

Enter Roaring Pines Motor Club, an exclusive motorsports community built by racers, for racers just outside St. Augustine, Florida. Its keystone is a soon-to-be FIA Grade 2-certified, 3.5-mile, 20-turn road course that can be split into two separate layouts:

• A flowing 2.65-mile circuit featuring a 4,000-foot-long straight, esses, banked corners and numerous elevation changes.
• A tight 0.85-mile street course designed to simulate urban layouts.

Roaring Pines will be the new headquarters for TeamSLR, providing a year-round training ground for aspiring racers.

“At TeamSLR, we focus on giving drivers a complete foundation for success, and Roaring Pines Motor Club will be the next step in that evolution,” said Scott Lagasse Sr. “It’s a place where drivers can put in the work year-round to accelerate their development.”

A groundbreaking is slated for later this year following the TA2 campaign, with the goal of hoisting a second straight championship trophy in November before plunging shovels into the sandy soil of Florida’s First Coast.