Championship Countdown - Tristan McKee: CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series National Championship

December 23, 2025

 

At just 15 years old, Tristan McKee delivered a breakthrough season in the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli’s CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series, combining the pace and consistency of a generational talent to claim his first Trans Am title and make history.

McKee opened his 2025 campaign with steady points finishes, quickly emerging as a championship contender. After a seventh-place finish in the season opener at Sebring International Raceway and a top five at Road America, McKee hit his stride during the West Coast Swing, earning podium finishes of second at Sonoma Raceway and third at WeatherTech Raceway Lagina Seca, then followed those up with another third-place finish at Lime Rock Park.

McKee made headlines in June with his first-career TA2 victory at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. There, the Kannapolis, N.C., native led every lap of the race to take the checkered flag in his No. 28 Spire/Gainbridge/SLR-M1 Chevrolet Camaro, becoming the second-youngest winner in Trans Am history.

“That’s what we’re hoping for,” said McKee on the podium when asked about potentially becoming the youngest champion in series history. “I’ve just got to give thanks to all the TeamSLR guys; they brought a really good car. They came prepared; we unloaded off the trailer really fast and stayed fast all weekend, so all props to them.”

McKee finished second the following weekend at Road America in a race that saw TeamSLR sweep the podium, with Mike Skeen earning the race victory and Corey Day finishing third. At Watkins Glen International, he notched his second TA2 victory of the season, and first pole position, setting a new track record in qualifying and converting it into a flag-to-flag victory.

“It feels good to be up here,” said McKee.  “We were pretty much the dominant car all weekend, so it feels good to really execute in the race. We overcame a few challenges, with a few different cars behind me.”

McKee followed that up with yet another victory at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.

“It was a really good race,” said McKee atop the podium. “Obviously, the No. 10 [of Tyler Gonzalez] had some issues there, so it's unfortunate for them, but once we got past them, we controlled the race and just maintained.”

As the season wound down, McKee was a dominant force in TA2, and by mid-September, he had built a commanding lead in the standings. His championship campaign peaked at Barber Motorsports Park, with McKee starting from pole and leading every lap to secure his fourth win of the season, clinching the 2025 CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series championship with one race to go. At 15 years, two months and 16 days old, he became the youngest champion in Trans Am Series history, surpassing the previous record held by Brent Crews.

“It feels so good to lock it up before the season is over,” McKee said. “I feel like that shows how good we’ve been lately and how hard we’ve been working at it with Scotty [Lagasse Jr.], all the TeamSLR crew, and everyone back at Chevrolet. It’s always going to be a work in progress, but I feel like I’ve gotten really, really good at this TA2 car. Even in the past two races, I made a lot of gains, and that helped us finish strong. There’s always something to learn. Every car’s different, every road course is different. But here, lately, I’ve been really comfortable in this car and confident in what I can do with it.”

McKee’s season concluded with a second-place finish at Circuit of The Americas. In addition to the title, McKee also captured the Sunoco Race Fuels Young Gun Award and Rookie of the Year honors, becoming the first driver to sweep all three titles in a single TA2 campaign.

“I just want to say a huge thanks to Chevrolet, Spire, Gainbridge, HendrickCars.com, everyone who supports me, the Josh Wise program for all the preparation work that we’ve done all year, all the hard work that all of us put in, and everyone at SLR. Every single crew member has put in tons of hard work at the racetrack and at the shop to bring a really good racecar to the track every weekend. We’ve gotten better and better every single weekend, and I feel like it’s been a big improvement game all year. So, I’m just super proud of all the hard work, and just a ‘thank you’ to all the SLR guys for bringing fast cars, and Scott Lagasse Jr. and his dad, all the hard work they put into me and the other drivers, it just means a lot. It feels really good to have a bunch of great people in my corner. None of this would be possible without them."