After ProAm Podium at Charlotte, TeamSLR Aims for a Repeat at Road Atlanta;

Trans Am Team Brings Three-Car Lineup for Mayer, Mosack and Lagasse in TA2

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. (March 24, 2021) – TeamSLR took its youth movement all the way to victory lane last Sunday at the Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway Roval in the TA2 class of the Trans Am ProAm Challenge. Seventeen-year-old Sam Mayer scored the win and 22-year-old teammate Connor Mosack joined him on the podium with a third-place drive.

Now this duo aims for another strong run this weekend at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta in Braselton, Georgia, site of the second points-paying race of the season in the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli.

Joining Mayer and Mosack in a third M1 Racecars-built entry for TeamSLR is Scott Lagasse, Jr. The 40-year-old from St. Augustine, Florida, has made more than 115 starts across the NASCAR Xfinity Series, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and ARCA Menards Series. He is a two-time ARCA race winner who has been competing in TA2 since 2016. He relinquished his seat for the ProAm Challenge race at Charlotte, seeing it as the ideal time to mentor TeamSLR’s crop of young racers, but returns to action at Road Atlanta for his fourth career start at the 2.54-mile, 12-turn circuit.

Lagasse’s experience will be appreciated by Mayer and Mosack. Mayer has only one start at Road Atlanta, and it was back in 2019. Mosack has two starts at the track, both coming in last year’s doubleheader event. Road Atlanta will be Mayer’s fifth career TA2 start and Mosack’s seventh. Mosack is running the full TA2 schedule in 2021 while Mayer has a five-race campaign, which was kicked off in fine style last Sunday at Charlotte. After Road Atlanta, Mayer returns to TeamSLR April 23 at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway, April 30-May 2 at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey County, California, and July 2-4 at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin.

So, who to bet on at Road Atlanta? TA2’s most recent winner in Mayer? The veteran Lagasse? Or fulltime TA2 racer Mosack? All are good bets, but the stars seem to be aligning for Mosack. The Charlotte-native wheels the No. 28 Chevrolet Camaro for TeamSLR and this weekend will be the 28th time that the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli has competed at Road Atlanta and, of course, the race takes place on Sunday, March 28.

Even without the numerology, Mosack is plenty capable. He has already made a name for himself in NASCAR’s development divisions, specifically in the late-model ranks, but with road-course racing becoming more and more prominent in NASCAR’s national touring series, Mosack committed to a full TA2 schedule with TeamSLR this year.

Mayer is from Franklin, Wisconsin, and already has a burgeoning NASCAR career. He is a two-time ARCA Menards Series East champion (2019-2020) and won his first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race in his just his seventh career start last September at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway. Upon turning 18 on June 26, Mayer will compete in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 8 Chevrolet for JR Motorsports.

“We’ve a got a really good mix of youth and experience this weekend at Road Atlanta,” said Scott Lagasse, Sr., president, TeamSLR. “Sam and Connor each put together a really good race last Sunday at Charlotte. Both were quick and raced smart, and with Scotty joining them this weekend at Road Atlanta, we’re well positioned to keep that pace and contend for the win again.”

TeamSLR leverages its Trans Am involvement to highlight its driver development program as well as its car-building capabilities. TeamSLR is the exclusive representative of M1 Racecars, an official TA2 constructor. It builds rolling chassis and complete Chevrolet Camaros, Ford Mustangs and Dodge Challengers for Trans Am competition.

Sam Mayer, driver No. 8 M1 Racecars/Fields Racing Chevrolet Camaro:

“Coming out of Charlotte with the win means a lot. The track definitely greased up a lot. It got really hot compared to what it was on Friday and Saturday. The track changed, but we were able to adapt and overcome, and that’s what got us in victory lane. It was my first Trans Am win. We were able to pretty much dominate the TA2 class there. It was really good and, obviously, we want the momentum to carry over to Road Atlanta.

“The last time I raced at Road Atlanta was back in 2019. The track probably hasn’t aged too much during the last two years, so it should be pretty much the same. The car is definitely going to be good, if not better, than it was at Charlotte. Our car needs to be stuck to the racetrack downforce-wise because going down that big hill coming down the frontstretch is going to be a lot of time. I’m excited. I think we can go out and win.”

Connor Mosack, driver No. 28 Nic Tailor Custom Fit Underwear/Interstate Foam & Supply Chevrolet Camaro:

“Charlotte was my first podium in Trans Am. We’ve had some bad luck the last couple of races, so I was just really happy to run all the laps. Thankfully, I was able to take it easy there the second half of the race. I didn’t think we had a shot to really catch those guys, so we just kind of rode and hoped for a caution which, unfortunately, we never got.

“Points-wise, Road Atlanta is going to be huge because we’re pretty far back now with the DNF (Did Not Finish) from the season opener at Sebring. We can, for sure, be top-five. A podium would be great again. Obviously, we’ll try to go for the win, but we want to run all the laps again and get the best finish we can.

“In last year’s doubleheader at Road Atlanta, I learned a lot about tire saving. I really tore the front tires off it last year and we were still pretty fast. We figured out the setup we needed and how the car changed throughout the race – it did the same thing in both races. Hopefully, it will be about the same temperature as it was in the fall – that will be helpful with the setup and also just how we go about the race.

“Turn one at Road Atlanta is a really fast corner. You have to be careful not to hit the curb there at the bottom. I was bad about that and was bottoming out real bad. Then you go down through the esses – you carry a lot of speed through there. It’s kind of a blind entry, so you have to really hit your marks. It’s easy to go off the track there on the left side, especially late in the race. The left-hander in turn five – it’s a really easy corner to overdrive, but there’s a pretty long straightaway right there so you have to check up early to make sure you get the good straight drive. Turn six – just rolling with as much speed as you can – there’s nowhere really to go after that until turn seven. You’re just setting up turn seven for the straightaway and getting as clean of a run as you can and not spinning the tires off the corner. Just going through the gears nice down the back straightaway and then hitting your marks in the brake zone, getting into the chicane there. Then you go over the hill – it’s a blind corner, as well – so you go under the bridge and find your mark and just hold on down the hill.

“In order to get around there well, we need to be turning on the fast corners. I think that’s what hurt us last year down through the esses, in turn one and even in the last corner. They’re all really fast corners and I feel like I wasn’t able to carry as much speed there as I needed to. We were pretty good in the slow corners. I think part of it was being able to save tires and not tear up the front tires going through those corners and, hopefully, we’ll be there at the end of the race.”

Scott Lagasse, Jr., driver No. 92 M1 Racecars/Fields Racing:

“Running three cars is something we’ve done before. Our M1 Racecars/TeamSLR crew will do a great job preparing the cars on the quick turnaround from Charlotte and give all three of us a chance to win on Sunday. We have a group of guys that want to succeed, and that includes additional experienced people for the car I’ll drive.

“It’s actually easier as we can use my data and on-track tuning experience to help everyone. Driver coaching is something I enjoy doing. I like being able to see the hard work pay off for others. After each session, we’ll debrief as a team and figure out what’s working and what’s not. Then with the help of my dad, Scott Sr., we’ll watch driver video and look at the data to see where we can all be better. We’ll all learn something from each other.

“Both Connor and Sam did an excellent job at Charlotte. I was impressed with how well each of them handled the weekend. They both put their heads down, studied the driver video, analyzed the data, and continued to improve throughout the weekend. Both of them did a great job during the race, and the results showed with Sam winning and Connor coming home third. I believe each of them has the capabilities to go out and compete for the win.

“Road Atlanta is a fast and fun track that requires discipline and exact car placement in many corners. The track has a good mix of high-speed and low-speed corners, with challenging elevation changes in the corners adding to the degree of difficulty. Toward the end of a lap, the track gives you a real feel for high speed as you drop downhill to a heavy braking zone and a quick chicane, which leads to the blind downhill, right-hand turn to the checkered, which only adds to the fun factor if you get it right.”

About TeamSLR:

TeamSLR 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 100 races and seven championships across a variety of series and styles of racecars, from paved ovals to road courses to dirt tracks. For more information, please visit us online at www.TeamSLR.com, on Facebook, on Twitter, on Instagram and on LinkedIn.