Carson Brown Stars in Double-Duty Western
October 29, 2025
17-Year-Old Competing in ARCA West and Trans Am Season Finales at Phoenix and COTA
AVONDALE, Ariz. (Oct. 29, 2025) – Since first racing a Bandolero five years ago, Carson Brown has been pedal to the metal.
The 17-year-old has matriculated through Legend Cars, 600cc Micro Sprint Cars and Pro Late Models to where in 2025, Brown made debuts in three different racing divisions – Super Late Models, the TA2 division of the Trans Am Series, and the ARCA Menards Series.
This weekend, Brown’s right foot remains firmly planted to the floor as he competes in two season finales in two time zones – the ARCA Menards Series West race Saturday at Phoenix Raceway and the Cube 3 Architecture TA2 Series race Sunday at Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in Austin, Texas.
Two championship-winning race teams will support Brown’s effort. Pinnacle Racing Group, winners of the 2025 ARCA national championship, will field the No. 28 Chevrolet for Brown at Phoenix. TeamSLR, which clinched this year’s TA2 title one race before the season finale, will field the No. 2 Chevrolet for Brown at COTA. UnifiM.I. Industrial (pronounced “Unify M-I”) and JStar Capital Investments serve as co-primary partners on each entry.
“It’s going to be a logistical juggling act, but I’m really looking forward to it,” Brown said. “It’s definitely going to be a tight timeline between the two series, but we should be able to make it all work. It’s racecars, rental cars and airplanes, but the weather looks good in both places so we should be good to go.”
Brown’s double-duty weekend begins Friday at 10 a.m. MT at Phoenix with a 45-minute ARCA practice session followed by qualifying at 12 p.m. He will spend Friday night at Phoenix to rest ahead of an intense Saturday, which begins at 10:30 a.m. MT with the 100-lap ARCA race. Shortly after the checkered flag drops, he will depart for COTA, flying out of the nearby Goodyear Airport bound for Austin and TA2 qualifying at 6:10 p.m. CT. A nice dinner and a good night’s rest will be welcomed before Brown is back in a racecar at 9:15 a.m. CT for Sunday’s TA2 race.
“Saturday is the most involved day,” Brown said. “The ARCA race is in the morning and then TA2 qualifying is late in the afternoon. We should be able to run the race in Phoenix, jet over to Austin, and then lay down a lap. It’s a tight timeline, but also a great opportunity to learn and accomplish a lot.”
Brown has seized the recent opportunities available to him.
Since winning the Allen Turner Pro Late Model championship last year at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Florida, Brown has been making an upward climb on the racing ladder. He made his Super Late Model debut Jan. 17 at Cordele (Ga.) Motor Speedway and then scored two Super Late Model wins in the span of six days during the World Series of Asphalt Feb. 7-15 at New Smyrna (Fla.) Speedway. A week later, Brown was turning left and right on the twists and turns of Sebring (Fla.) International Raceway during his first career TA2 start. A third Super Late Model win was added June 13 at Madison International Speedway in Oregon, Wisconsin, and in just his fourth career TA2 start Sept. 20 at VIRginia International Raceway near Alton, Brown earned his first series victory.
This rapid succession can be attributed to Brown’s dirt-racing background, which began in Legend Cars before transitioning to winged and non-winged 600cc Micro Sprint Cars. He began racing dirt Super Late Models in 2023, winning in his sixth start last August at Moler Raceway Park in Williamsburg, Ohio.
Brown continues to sling Super Late Models sideways on clay ovals, and if that weren’t enough, he has enjoyed getting dirty in off-road trucks. Brown ran 13 AMSOIL Championship Off-Road races in 2024, earning two podiums among nine top-five finishes to end the season fourth in the championship standings.
“All the dirt racing helps me adapt to different track conditions and different cars quicker,” Brown said. “Everything is always changing on dirt, so it forces you to adapt. As I’ve moved into bigger cars, especially this year, I feel like I’m able to make adjustments faster and take what the car is giving me.
“In dirt racing, you get two or three hot laps and then you’re right into qualifying. You kind of have to figure it out on the fly. It’s allowed me to find ways to help the car even if it’s not handling the way I’d prefer. That’s given me a little bit of an advantage, especially at the beginning of practice and even in the race when everybody is still learning the gist of everything and figuring out how tight or how green the track is.”
While COTA will mark Brown’s fifth TA2 start, Phoenix is only his second ARCA start. Brown finished sixth in his ARCA Menards Series East debut in March at Five Flags Speedway, but at a mile in length, Phoenix is the biggest oval Brown has seen in his burgeoning career.
“It’s only my second time in an ARCA car and it’ll be on the fastest oval I’ve ever been on, so Phoenix will be interesting, for sure,” Brown said. “I know I need to get acclimated quickly, and I feel like my dirt background will help with that. But I also know the guys at Pinnacle Racing Group are going to help me with that process. They just won the ARCA national championship with Butterbean (Brenden Queen), so they know what it takes to be fast.”
The time spent in Trans Am’s TA2 division will also help Brown acclimate to the nuances of Phoenix’s flat and fast layout.
“I’ve learned race craft in TA2. It teaches you the feel of maximizing the tire, maximizing the car and, really, maximizing everything underneath the car to make it go as fast as it can,” Brown said.
“Going back and forth between what I feel in the racecar and what I see in the data, it’s a good translation that’s taught me a lot… and I’m still learning. Driving is fun, obviously, but I also enjoy the learning aspect – making each lap better than the last.”
With Saturday’s ARCA race at Phoenix being 100 laps and Sunday’s TA2 race at COTA’s 3.426-mile, 20-turn road course being 30 laps, Brown has ample opportunity for self-improvement.
“Success this weekend is just running well in both races and having good, clean finishes,” Brown said. “A win would definitely be a great bonus at either track.”
Saturday’s ARCA race at Phoenix goes green at 10:30 a.m. MT/1:30 p.m. ET and can be seen live on FloRacing. Sunday’s TA2 race at COTA begins at 9:15 a.m. CT/10:15 a.m. ET with live coverage on Speed Sport 1.
