Championship Countdown - Joshua Carlson: SGT National Championship

December 20, 2025

In his third season of competition, 21-year-old Joshua Carlson claimed his first-career SGT title in the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli. The Princeton, Iowa native started off his season with a seven-race win streak, concluding the year with eight total victories and the SGT crown.

After earning his first-career Trans Am win in the 2024 season finale at Circuit of The Americas, Carlson came into 2025 with momentum and a new paint scheme, taking the checkered flag in the season-opener at Sebring International Raceway.

"We took away the neon [paint scheme from 2024], and then we start winning, so I would say I think that added a few horsepower," said Carlson, who was asked if his new livery was responsible for his victory in the season opener. "I'm very happy to be able to win this race and dominate through most of the weekend. We had a good baseline going into this week and we built off of it and were able to secure the win. Thank you to Enseva for coming back on board this year. I wouldn't be able to race without the support of my family. Hopefully, we can develop this car a bit more to run up front the rest of the season."

Run up front, he did, with consecutive victories at Road Atlanta, Sonoma Raceway, WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca and Lime Rock Park in his No. 36 Enseva/Diercks Ltd./TC Fab Ford Mustang. After sitting out the race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Carlson was back on the top step of the podium with wins at Road America and Watkins Glen, the latter of which was his seventh-straight victory.

“I'm feeling pretty good,” said Carlson on the podium. “We led the whole weekend in practice, qualifying, and the race. I'd like to thank Enseva. Without them, I wouldn't be racing this weekend. I had a lot of fun racing with Milton [Grant] and Ray [Mason].”

Carlson’s win streak ended at VIRginia International Raceway, where he was forced to retire early with radiator damage. However, he came back strong in the season finale at Circuit of The Americas, ending his championship run with a win after battling GT champion Chris Coffey, who was making his SGT debut.

“The race was fun, I had a lot of fun racing with Chris Coffey in the Ferrari, and I really hope I get to race with him again in the future,” said Carlson. “It feels pretty good to win the championship. I'm very grateful for all my sponsors and my family for their support this year. My championship wouldn't have been possible without them. I'd also like to thank Trans Am for providing such a great series for me to compete in. I'm just really grateful to come home with a championship in 2025.”