Meza wins on debut as Menard leads list of Trans Am champions after COTA season finales

Matthew Brabham drove from last to first in the final Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli TA/GT race of the 2025 season at Circuit of The Americas. After starting last in class in the Mission Foods COTA SpeedTour, the raw speed of Brabham’s No. 16 Gym Weed Ford Mustang allowed him to make his way to the front of the field just after the race’s halfway point, battling past first-place starter Paul Menard and second-place starter Adam Andretti. From there, Brabham cruised to victory, claiming the win by a 15s margin. While Brabham took the race win, Menard took the ultimate prize, claiming his second-consecutive TA championship in just his second full-time season.

In the closing laps, the best battle was between championship contenders Menard (No. 3 Pittsburgh Paints/Menards Ford Mustang) and Andretti (No. 17 Top Liner Chevrolet Camaro), who swapped positions multiple times in the final five laps. Ultimately, it was Andretti who would take the runner-up spot, followed by Menard. Tomy Drissi (No. 8 Trench Shoring Co./Motul Chevrolet Camaro) finished fourth, and Simon Gregg (No. 59 Drissi Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro) finished fifth in his first race since 2022.

“A huge thank you to Gym Weed, our sponsor; these energy drinks are really delicious, and they look good on the livery,” said Brabham. “Thank you to [team owner] Chris Dyson. It's always an honor to drive his car in his stead. Thanks to all the guys at Dyson Racing, they put together such a fast car. These are the best cars in the U.S., they're so much fun to drive, and just as fun to race. Big thanks to all the competitors. It was fun racing with all these guys in the series. Lastly, thanks to my family: mom and dad, they're here to support me, and thanks to Brumby and Kim back at home. Cheers.”

Following a dominant season in the SGT class, 2025 Champion Joshua Carlson once again dominated in his No. 36 Enseva/Diercks Ltd./TC Fab Ford Mustang, claiming his eighth win of the 2025 season. Carlson had a few fantastic battles with GT champion Chris Coffey (No. 97 Norwood Auto Italia/Traffic Grafix Ferrari 458 Challenge), who was making his SGT debut, but in the end, the race belonged to Carlson. Coffey finished second, and Patrick Utt (No. 49 RaceQuip/Driven Racing Oil Chevrolet Camaro) finished third.

“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. “I'd just like to thank my sponsors and my family for all their support this year. My championship wouldn't have been possible without them, and neither would this race win. Thank you to Trans Am for putting on such a good show, and thank all the fans for coming out. I'm really looking forward to next year.”

In just his second-career start in the GT class, Jake Latham dominated in the GT class in his No. 27 Coffey Motorsports/Traffic Grafix Maserati MC GT4. His incredible speed paired with troubles for his competitors led to him claiming his first-career Trans Am victory. Joe Bogetich finished second in his No. 65 Bogie Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro, and Derric Carter (No. 24 PortableCarHoist.com Ford Mustang) finished third.

“I have to thank Chris Coffey for [allowing me to be] here,” said Latham. “Thanks for giving me the car, Chris, for trusting me with your car. And Colin [Cohen], thanks for all the help. I really appreciate it, you guys. It ended up being a great race.”

After being named SVRA’s 2025 Driver of the Year in last night’s awards banquet, Jon DeGaynor (No. 04 Speed Dream’n Racing Ford Mustang) led from start to finish in his class, earning his fourth victory of the season to clinch the first-ever GT1 Challenge title. Ray Kobs, who put up a valiant effort in the final laps to close the gap, finished second in his No. 00 AuditWell Chevrolet Corvette.

“I want to thank the team from Trans Am for all that you did to make it a great weekend, and I want to thank everyone at SVRA,” said DeGaynor. “Thank you to my wife, my family, and the team from the watch shop, thank you all.”

Meza wins in CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series debut

The CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series season finale at Circuit of The Americas was the most exciting of the year, with multiple changes for the lead and tight battles within the top five. Following a heated battle with Australian TA2 Champion Nathan Herne, it was 17-year-old Helio Meza who took the win in his Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli debut when the checkered flag waved at the Mission Foods COTA SpeedTour.

When the green flag waved, first-place starter Meza checked out in his No. 27 Alessandros Racing/Chevrolet/SLR-M1 Chevrolet Camaro, accruing a nearly six-second lead by lap 10. However, fifth-place starter Nathan Herne (No. 15 Owosso Speedway/Blue Gold Industries Toyota Camry) had worked his way into the runner-up position, and began to chip away at Meza’s lead as he set faster and faster lap times. Meanwhile, Tristan McKee had worked his way up from a 15th-place starting spot in class, and was challenging third-place Thomas Merrill (No. 26 HP Tuners/Franklin Road Chevrolet Camaro) and fourth-place Brody Goble (No. 69 Brown Bros. Ford Lincoln Ford Mustang).

On lap 18, Herne was able to complete the pass on Meza, but by lap 20, Meza had reclaimed the first position. The fight between Merrill, Goble and McKee was wild, with McKee finally passing both to take over third. A few laps later, Herne experienced a fuel-pump issue and was forced to retire, moving McKee into the runner-up spot. Goble held tight to his rear bumper, while Merrill was passed by Sam Corry (No. 70 Nitro Motorsports Toyota Camry). Once settled, the top five remained the same until the checkered flag waved, with Meza claiming his first-career victory. After clinching the TA2 Championship at Barber Motorsports Park last month, McKee finished second, and Goble rounded out the podium in his first National start. Corry finished fourth, and Merrill finished fifth.

“I don't even know where to start,” said Meza. “I'm just super grateful for this opportunity. I remember walking around in the paddock and seeing my buddy Connor Zilisch race two years ago, and I didn't know if I'd get the opportunity to be racing in the series. I’m super grateful to be on the other side of the net, behind the wheel, and wouldn't think I'd be in Victory Lane here. I can't thank Chevrolet, Josh Wise and Scott Lagasse Racing enough. Thank you to all my family who came out. I'm from Houston, Texas, so a lot of my family is here. Family, friends, and people that I grew up racing with, as well. There are so many people that make it possible for me to be where I'm at today, so couldn't be more grateful, and I can't wait to see what's in the future.”

As the tightest championship battle going into this weekend, lots was weighing on the results of the Pro/Am Challenge race. Fortunately for Jared Odrick, who came into this weekend nine points behind Keith Prociuk, the day went entirely in his favor. Odrick started second in his No. 00 Black Underwear/CoolBoxx Chevrolet Camaro, but took over the lead from John Atwell (No. 02 XRC/DFW Concrete/AJ Lab Portal Ford Mustang) on lap three. Once he had the point position, Odrick never looked back, leading the remainder of the race. Austin local Atwell finished second, and Prociuk (No. 9 HP Tuners/Cope Race Cars Ford Mustang) crossed the finish line third. With his victory, Odrick earned the Pro/Am Challenge title.

“This title means the world to me,” said Odrick. “I'm super thankful for the competitors that are up here, especially Keith [Prociuk]. You know, we battled all year, and right now I'm also thinking a lot of [the late] Barry Boes. He was really smoking a lot of competitors at the beginning of the year, and he really stepped up his game and made us step up our game, too. I'm super thankful for him. I want to say thank you to TRB Autosport for supporting me all year. We have a great relationship, and Troy [Benner] has been awesome. I'm learning so much from him. I've learned so much from Evan Slater, my coach all year. And then another part-time coach is Mike Skeen. And then this race, here in Texas, I was able to work with Scott Adams and really lay down laps that we're really proud of. I'm super thankful for his presence, too. And to my wife, Kristel, she has been the best. Thank you to Black Underwear and CoolBoxx, they've been supporting me all year, and will hopefully support me in the future. I'm just so thankful for this series.”

Starting second in class, Mia Lovell (No. 40 Nitro Motorsports Toyota Camry) quickly passed first-place starter Seamus McKendree (No. 20 Nitro Motorsports Ford Mustang) and led the first 14 laps of the race. Behind her, McKendree spun his car, resulting in him falling to the back of the running order. On lap 15, Lovell suffered from power steering issues, forcing her early retirement. This allowed third-place starter Kyle Kelley (No. 80 UPR.com/PKK Motorsports Ford Mustang) to inherit the lead, which he maintained until the checkered flag, earning his first victory of the season and second in a row at Circuit of The Americas.

“Today was a whole lot of staying out of trouble the best you could, and trying not to get too aggressive,” said Kelley. “We had a small incident down the straightaway, but I think both parties involved there managed. Toward the end of the race, we started trying to catch some of the National guys to see what we could do. I think we were in the mid to high 13s on the last couple laps of the race; the car was feeling good, and we were just going for it.”

An encore presentation of today’s races will air tonight on SPEED SPORT 1 at 6:30 p.m. ET in a block which will include both the CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series race and TA/GT race.

The Trans Am Series kicks off its 60th-anniversary season at Sebring International Raceway, February 26-March 1, 2026.

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