CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series
Alon Day Chasing a CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series Championship
Sep 18, 2026
A pair of past CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series drivers celebrated at Bristol Motor Speedway on Thursday night. Carson Brown won the ARCA Menards Series Bush's Best 200, while Tristan McKee secured the 2026 ARCA Menards Series East championship with a second-place finish.
The Pinnacle Racing Group teammates finished 1-2 in the event at "The Last Great Colosseum." Brown, who won the 2025 CUBE 3 TA2 Series race at VIRginia International Raceway, held off McKee for this third ARCA win of the 2026 season.
“[This one’s] pretty high up there to be honest,” Brown said. “[My spotter] Derek Kneeland up on the tower was working his butt off, just being my other set of eyes. This was a tough one, but I’m glad I was able to bring it to Victory Lane for these guys.”
By virtue of this second-place finish, McKee claimed the ARCA Menards Series East title by three points over Max Reaves. The two championship contenders were around each other throughout the 200-lap race, with McKee finishing two spots ahead of Reaves.
“It feels good to close it out there,” McKee said. “It was a tight battle with [Reaves] there. We struggled throughout the beginning part of the race [and in] practice. The balance was off a little bit, and we struggled for a while. Toward the end on that last restart, I was able to capitalize on the outside and get to second."
Last year, McKee hoisted the CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series championship, winning four races on the trail to the title. With that, McKee became the youngest champion in the history of the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli.
McKee continued his winning ways under the ARCA banner this year. In eight ARCA Menards Series East events, McKee visited victory lane four times, scoring wins at Hickory Motor Speedway, Rockingham Speedway, Toledo Speedway and Iowa Speedway. The wins at Toledo and Iowa came in combination events with the main ARCA Menards Series, and McKee also won with the ARCA Menards Series at Madison International Speedway.
McKee also climbed back into a TA2 car during the Trans Am doubleheader weekend at Watkins Glen International, winning the second race of the weekend.
As McKee continues to set his sights higher on the racing ladder, he is honored to have a pair of prestigious championships on his resume.
“This is pretty high up,” McKee said. “I won the Trans Am championship last year and now the ARCA championship, [which is] at the beginning levels of NASCAR. It’s definitely cool to keep moving up and up and try to win championships in the next series I’m moving up to.”
The ARCA Menards Series will crown its 2026 champion next Friday at Kansas Speedway. Another pair of drivers with experience in the CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series are in that title fight, with Jake Bollman leading Thomas Annunziata by 16 points.
The CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series takes the track at VIR this weekend, racing on Sunday, September 20. Live coverage will be available on RacingAmerica.TV and @TheTransAmSeries on YouTube, beginning at 12:45 p.m. ET.
-Photo credit: ARCA Menards Series
