Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Recognizes Trans Am Series' Development of Future Stars

The resurgence of the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli and the CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series is being noticed in the racing world. Just ask Dale Earnhardt, Jr., who spoke about the series' status as a proving ground for aspiring racers this week on his podcast, the Dale Jr. Download.

Last weekend, NASCAR's three national series and the ARCA Menards Series competed at Watkins Glen International, marking the second road course weekend of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season. This led to a conversation about the role of the Trans Am Series in preparing up-and-coming drivers for the highest levels of road course racing, as well as its glory days in the 1980s and 1990s.

“I think if you’re going to call any kind of motorsport sexy, I would say it’s the Trans Am Series, just in the name alone," Earnhardt, Jr. said. |They did some badass racing, good looking cars like Mustangs and Camaros. They raced a little bit like NASCAR in the sense that there was contact, they raced hard. It was a little bit aggressive at times, it was fun.”

One name in particular that caught Earnhardt, Jr.'s eye over the weekend was Brent Crews. While Crews is a three-time race winner on the zMAX CARS Tour, co-owned by Earnhardt, Jr., he is also a former CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series champion.

Crews qualified on the pole in Friday's NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race, leading 19 laps and finishing seventh. On Saturday, Crews led 32 of 82 laps in a field that included Shane van Gisbergen and seven-time TA2 race winner Connor Zilisch, finishing sixth.

"Brent Crews is out there kicking ass in the O’Reilly Series race," said Earnhardt, Jr. "You’ve got SVG, you’ve got all these guys out there, Zilisch, all this competition, all these great race cars, and Crews is out there putting a six-second lead on them in stage one. It’s because of the time they’re spending in Trans Am."

Earnhardt, Jr. also noted how one of his own JR Motorsports drivers, Carson Kvapil, has benefitted from experience in Trans Am, along with other rising stars such as Tristan McKee.

“I think you’re going to see a lot more of that from a lot of the guys coming up, like Brent Crews, Tristan McKee," he said. "Tristan McKee is a name in the Spire pipeline. He’s been in the Trans Am system. Carson Kvapil, how does Carson Kvapil, who ran Millbridge and the CARS Tour, go out and be a top-10 guy at Watkins Glen? Because of his Trans Am experience."

Earnhardt, Jr. concluded that, if he had the chance to lay out a development plan for a future star of the sport, he would include Trans Am competition to build a road course resume.

“Can these guys learn it? Yes, they can, and they can learn it in the Trans Am Series. If I had a young kid that I thought was worth the focus, you know, worth tutoring, I’d have him racing in Trans Am.

“I would probably them select events in the ARCA Series to get some big track, like Charlotte, that kind of stuff, I’d race some CARS Tour full-time, and I’d run a bunch of Trans Am races just to gethem as much road course racing experience as I can. It seems like the guys that are doing the Trans Am Series, and then they’re coming into Trucks or O’Reilly, they’re damn good road course racers right out of the gate."

The next event for the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli is the Trans Am Memorial Day Classic at Lime Rock Park on May 21-23. Coverage, as always, will be on RacingAmerica.TV, the Racing America 24/7 Channel, and the Trans Am Series YouTube Channel.

-Photo credit: Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images