Helio Meza Clinches TeamSLR's Second Straight TA2 Title

Overview:

Date: Nov. 8, 2026
Event: Trans Am Season Finale (Round 12 of 12)
Series: Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli
Division: CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series
Location: Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas
Layout: 3.4-mile, 20-turn road course
Format: 30 laps or 75 minutes
Weather: Rain, lower-60s
Winner: Helio Meza of TeamSLR

TeamSLR:

● Helio Meza – Started 1st, Finished 1st (Running, completed 30/30 laps)
● Lanie Buice – Started 13th, Finished 6th (Running, completed 30/30 laps)
● Alon Day – Started 2nd, Finished 28th (Mechanical, completed 27/30 laps)

M1 Racecars:

● Graham Jacobson – Started 3rd, Finished 3rd (Running, completed 30/30 laps)
● Jace Denmark – Started 12th, Finished 5th (Running, completed 30/30 laps)
● Jared Odrick – Started 15th, Finished 14th (Running, completed 30/30 laps)
● Tim Carroll – Started 20th, Finished 21st (Running, completed 29/30 laps)

Noteworthy:

● Meza, the 18-year-old from Houston, sealed the 2026 CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series driver championship Sunday at Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in Austin, Texas, with his series-record ninth victory this season in the No. 28 Alessandros Racing/SLR-M1 Racecars Chevrolet Camaro. It was Meza’s 10th victory in 13 career starts, dating back to his series debut at last year’s season finale at COTA. The nine victories this season surpasses the previous record of eight wins by driver Cameron Law in 2013.

● The victory was TeamSLR’s 19th in a row, a streak that includes all 12 events on this year’s TA2 Series tour, and the final seven races of 2025 dating back to then-15-year-old Tristan McKee’s win at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington in June. McKee won four of those final seven races of 2025 en route last year’s driver championship.

● For Jacobson, the 18-year-old from Marietta, Georgia, it was a double-podium performance in the No. 48 Skilled-Nation.org / NOMOTORSPORTS/M1 Racecars Chevrolet Camaro as he was dually entered in both the TA2 national series field and the TA2 Series Western Championship field. He clinched the Western Championship title with his third-place finish overall, which was tops among Western Championship competitors. It was his third Western Championship win in five events of the series-within-a-series, and the national series podium was his first of the season. Sunday marked Jacobson’s fourth race in M1 Racecars equipment after the car he drove in eight previous races this season was damaged beyond repair Sept. 5 at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (CTMP) in Bowmanville, Ontario.

● Buice, the 19-year-old from Jackson, Georgia, drove the No. 27 Guthrie’s Garage/Sunoco/SLR-M1 Racecars Chevrolet Camaro to her fifth top-six finish in the last six races, her eighth top-10 finish in her 11 races this season, and her seventh top-10 in a row. She scored her first career TA2 Series podium with her third-place finish at CTMP, and became the first female winner in the Western Championship April 25 at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway.

● Day, the 34-year-old driver of the No. 17 JSSI/SLR-M1 Racecars Chevrolet Camaro from Ashdod, Israel, entered the weekend five points behind his teammate Meza atop the TA2 driver standings. From his outside-front-row starting spot, Day drove to the lead on the opening lap in wet, rainy conditions and held the point for the first 27 laps. A mechanical issue ended his day on the 28th of 30 scheduled laps, leaving him stranded on course and turning the lead over to the second-place-running Meza. Day needed to finish two positions ahead of Meza to earn the championship.

● Denmark, the 23-year-old from Phoenix and driver of the No. 68 Troy Benner Autosport M1 Racecars entry, scored his third top-five finish of the season.

● Odrick successfully defended his 2025 TA2 Series Pro-Am Challenge championship with his seventh class victory of the season in his No. 00 Pop Art Snacks M1 Racecars Chevrolet Camaro for Troy Benner Autosport.

● Tim Carroll’s 21st-place overall finish in the No. 46 CRD MFG/M1 Racecars Chevrolet Camaro was second-best among Sunday’s Western Championship competitors, his third Western Championship podium in the season’s five events. He finished second in the final Western Championship standings.

Helio Meza, Driver, No. 28 Alessandros Racing/Chevrolet/SLR-M1 Racecars Camaro:

“I don’t have words. This is so cool. It all started here last year, I made my debut, and here we are a year later, TA2 champions. This win, I didn’t feel like it was mine because Alon outdrove me and I felt like he deserved the win today. Even though we were behind him, we were still in position to win the championship. These TeamSLR M1 Racecars, PME Engines, Alessandros Racing, Heraldo Media Group, Chevrolet, there are so many people on board that make this possible. We made history with the most wins in a single season, which is insane. It still hasn’t hit me, but there are a lot of emotions going on right now. Just like last year here, it didn’t really hit me when I won my debut last year, and same thing again this year. But I’m going to enjoy it. My family’s here. I’m so grateful to have them, and I couldn’t do this without the people behind me. Alon’s been the best teammate I could have ever asked for this year, this weekend. He’s a beast in the rain. He’s got me covered in that. So, like I said, today was his race to win. I’m going to give credit to Alon for this one. I don’t want to take credit for this win, but stuff happens like this, right? I mean, it happened to us at Road America, something out of our control, and he’s just been on it all year. He just did what he needed to do to execute, so we did the same thing. It’s just been a total team effort. I mean, I’m just a small part of this entire organization.”

Graham Jacobson, Driver, No. 48 Skilled-Nation.org / NOMOTORSPORTS/M1 Racecars Chevrolet Camaro:

“It was a long year, that’s for sure. Coming to the Sebring preseason test, I had no clue what I was doing. We started off the year just kind of tiptoeing along, and Stanton Barrett and Rafa Matos, they were huge players in my development and my early career and I can’t thank Stanton enough for giving me a chance to come into this series and try to make a name for myself in probably the most competitive road racing series in the country right now. When we entered for the Western race at Sonoma, it was my dad’s idea, actually, because that added only one extra race weekend this year, so we decided to go for that championship, as well. I actually said no at first, and then I thought about it and I was like, ‘I think I’ve got a shot at it.’ So, we started off the year, we won race two at Sonoma, and that was unbelievable. I mean, that proved to me that I could do it, and that was what fueled me for the rest of the year to really believe in myself. And after the wreck in Canada, Scott Lagasse and TeamSLR jumped in to help my season continue and it was like a whole new, fresh beginning. Scott’s really worked on the fresh start thing with me. And, so, VIR was a big turning of the page moment for me. Then we went out to Laguna (Seca, for the Oct. 3-4 Western Championship doubleheader), got the pole and won the first race, and would’ve won race two if some things went our way. And then we get to cap off the season with a P3 in the national series and a win in the West and getting the Western Championship. I can’t wait for what’s next in my book.”

Lanie Buice, Driver, No. 27 Sunoco/Guthrie’s Garage/Chevrolet/SLR-M1 Racecars Camaro:

“I had so much fun in the rain for the first time. I feel like I made a lot of progress throughout the 30 laps and kind of wish that we had a caution to help me close some gaps. I feel like we were running really good lap times there at the end. So it was a lot of fun this year getting to run with TeamSLR and all the support from all our sponsors and everybody that makes it possible for me to come out here and run all these different road courses and experience this cool type of racing. I’ve really enjoyed it and I’m just grateful for the Trans Am Series, CUBE3 Architecture, Pirelli, all of the sponsors that make this possible for the series to run all these cool racetracks and getting me the valuable learning experience that I need. Team Chevy and Wise Optimization, the prep that goes into enabling me to come to these races fully prepared and ready to attack as soon as we unload off the trailer. And then, Scott Lagasse is a tremendous help as a team owner and driver coach. Just everybody here that is a part of this team makes it possible for me to learn. I’ve just had a blast this year, and this is one of the best groups to do it with. After getting to travel all over North America and run at all these different racetracks, I’m really sad that this is the last one of the year and have to go into the offseason now and think about what I could have done better throughout the year. I am proud of this team, proud of the effort that they put in, and it shows week in and week out when you have the teammates that I have. With Helio winning the race and winning the championship, it’s really cool and I’m just excited to see what this team can continue to do. They make really good, fast racecars they’re here from sunrise to sunset working on it. I’m just really grateful to be able to be a part of this group and everybody that made it possible for me to be here this year.”

Alon Day, Driver, No. 17 JSSI/SLR-M1 Racecars Chevrolet Camaro:

“This year has been not just about the performance. I need to thank the people that gave me the opportunity to be here. JSSI and their president and CEO Neil Book trusted in me and gave me the opportunity to even race here. TeamSLR – without them I wouldn’t even have been in this position to win the championship today, to run up front and be in position to win races every weekend. I want to thank my family – my wife and my daughter – for pushing me, motivating me to be a better person, a better athlete, a better dad, and to try to be an example for everybody by always pushing to the limits. I’m very happy for Helio. He deserves this championship. I wish it would have ended differently, but it is what it is. That’s racing. And everybody at TeamSLR did the best they can, they worked so hard with me through the season and did an amazing job. I owe the team a lot for the performance of the the car we had. Everybody at TeamSLR, from Scott (Lagasse Jr.) and literally all through the organization, this team is a group of gladiators. They know what they’re doing. They’re fighters, and they deserve all the success they’ve earned.”

Next Up:

The CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series kicks off its 12-race 2027 season Feb. 26 to March 1 with the traditional opener at Sebring (Fla.) International Raceway. The weekend schedule and broadcast information are to be announced.

About TeamSLR:

TeamSLR (Scott Lagasse Racing) competes fulltime in the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli in a multifaceted effort that includes dedicated entries in the TA2 division, customer programs, driver coaching and car construction. Its history dates back to 1985 and covers a wide spectrum of motorsports, including NASCAR, IMSA, SCCA, ARCA and ASA. TeamSLR is a family-owned organization run by Scott Lagasse Sr., and Scott Lagasse Jr. The father-and-son duo have combined to win more than 130 races and 10 championships across a variety of series and styles of racecars, from paved ovals to road courses to dirt tracks. TeamSLR would like to thank its supporters CUBE 3 Architecture, Franklin Road Apparel, Kallberg Racing, and Guthrie’s Garage. For more information, please visit us online at www.TeamSLR.com, on Facebook, on Twitter, on Instagram and on LinkedIn.

About M1 Racecars:

M1 is an Official Chassis Supplier to the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli. M1 Racecars are professionally engineered for the Cube 3 Architecture TA2 Series, SCCA Competition, and Track Day events. We offer chassis only, rolling chassis and complete race-ready builds in Camaro, Mustang, and Challenger body styles. We utilize only the highest quality materials and our race-winning technology to produce the most stable and predictable racecar on the track today. The proprietary chassis design by M1 has been CAD-perfected by our engineering staff to ensure that each completed chassis is identical and performs as expected. Our chassis materials are CNC Mandrel bent and cut to our exacting standards, which results in the most precise and cost-effective build. M1 has selected Scott Lagasse Racing to be the exclusive distributor for M1 Racecars worldwide. The race team also provides M1 with vital technical assistance and on-track feedback to support our performance development efforts. This combination is a powerful asset to M1 and to every M1 customer.

-TeamSLR Release