Strong Season Finale for Team SLR at COTA

Evan Slater Finishes Fifth, Carson Kvapil Sixth To Lead the Charge; Tristan McKee 16^th After Midrace Incident, Barry Boes Podiums in Pro-Am

Overview

Date: Nov. 3, 2024

Event: COTA SpeedTour (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: Partly cloudy, upper-70s

TA2 Winner: Brent Crews of Nitro Motorsports

TeamSLR:

* Evan Slater – Started 13^th, Finished 5^th (Running, completed 28/28 laps)

* Carson Kvapil – Started 1^st, Finished 6^th (Running, completed 28/28 laps)

* Tristan McKee – Started 10^th, Finished 16^th (Running, completed 28/28 laps)

* Barry Boes – Started 16^th, Finished 22^ndh (Running, completed 28/28 laps)

Noteworthy:

* The 18-year-old Slater’s fifth-place finish was his second top-five in two TA2 outings with TeamSLR and M1 Racecars equipment this season. The first came by way of his runner-up finish from his front-row starting position May 25 at Lime Rock Park in Lakeville, Connecticut.

* In just his fifth career TA2 Series race and third of the season, Kvapil qualified on the pole Saturday. He rallied for Sunday’s sixth-place finish after lap-one incident dropped him to 14^th.

* Boes entered the weekend having already clinched the TA2 Pro-Am Challenge championship within a championship behind seven class victories in the first 11 events. He added his eighth class podium in Sunday’s 12^th and final race of the season. Boes also contested the Cube 3 Architecture TA2 Western Championship in M1 Racecars equipment this season, where he scored his first career victory July 27 at Portland (Ore.) International Raceway, and finished with five top-five finishes in eight races, including the last four in a row.

* This was the second career TA2 start for McKee, who became eligible to drive in the series when he turned 14 on Aug. 3. He debuted Oct. 5 at Virginia International Raceway in Alton, where he qualified sixth and finished fourth.

* Other top M1 Racecars finishers included Austin Green of Peterson Racing, who came home 10^th . Green’s Peterson Racing teammate Jordan Anderson finished 17^th in his first career TA2 race.

* Western Championship regular Tim Carroll drove his M1 Racecars entry to a top-10 finish Sunday to lock down fourth in the final standings. Carroll was victorious in the July 28 round at Portland.

Evan Slater, Driver No. 8 Cube 3 Architecture/Willis & Smith Capital/Paul Racing/SLR-M1 Racecars Chevrolet Camaro:

“We were able to move up there at the end. I think it was a fun race, for sure. Qualifying didn’t quite go our way. We qualified P13 and really wanted to be up higher, but we had a fast TeamSLR racecar today. So we started 13^th and made our way up to fifth. I think if the race had fewer cautions, more green laps, I really believe we could have gone all the way up to the podium, it was a really fast car. I’m super thankful to my sponsors – Cube 3, Will & Smith Capital, Paul Racing Enterprises – for the support, I really appreciate them. They are the ones that made this weekend happen. It was so great to be back in the car. Hopefully, I can figure out some more races for next year. It’s always fun running with TeamSLR.”

Carson Kvapil, Driver, No. 17 SLR-M1 Racecars Chevrolet Camaro:

“Truthfully, I don’t know what happened there on the opening lap. It’s unfortunate, really, because we got a pretty decent start and got in there to protect from the inside and laying it pretty late off into the corner, then trying to rejoin on the racing surface, I guess you’d say. We just didn’t have room, or someone didn’t give us room, or someone hit us. Something happened, I haven’t even seen the video, really, but all I know is I was driving the heck out of it and it was all kind of a blur. I didn’t think it was one of those deals where I just drove off track, though, by any means. So, definitely a little disappointed, and it probably it wouldn’t hurt as bad if I just made a mistake and went off track. But I think we got helped off the track. Either way, the Lagasses and the whole team really prepared a really fast car. We fell all the way back to 14^th just in the first turn and, after a while, our car started to come to us and we just fought our way back up to sixth. It’s nice to start on the pole like we did, for sure. It’s just a big learning curve coming and doing these races, but having a team like TeamSLR to rely on and to help teach me kind of what to do and how to drive these tracks is really one of the big keys to it. So, really having a good team around us is the biggest deal, and it’s a huge help for a circle-track guy like me.”

Tristan McKee, Driver, No. 28 SLR-M1 Racecars Chevrolet Camaro:

“We were really fast in practice, and then some issues in qualifying with some dirt on the track and different things like that. I think we had a really good qualifying going until those things happened. And then during the race, I started 10^th, I gained one spot on the first run, and the second run I gained more spots. I think I was up to sixth, and then I was making a pass and got hit in the rear and my tire went flat, so we had to pit and went all the way back to 37^th. We made our way back up to 13^th after a lot of cautions and stuff. It’s frustrating getting caught in the back, where they kind of lag around and it’s difficult to get past all those people. But overall it was a good weekend.”

Barry Boes, Driver No. 27 Accio Data/SLR-M1 Racecars Ford Mustang:

“It’s been a fantastic year. I came into the COTA race knowing that we had the (Pro-Am Challenge) championship won, so I had the opportunity to drive a little more aggressively than I drove the rest of the season. Had the TeamSLR guys set up the car a little more aggressively and in the race took a few chances to see if I could go faster and place a little higher. But I let the car get ahead of me once early on and I dropped back some, and then I ended up getting involved in a lot of elbows-out racing. I had a really, really good time. Got caught up in several incidents, but I was still able to make it back onto the podium in Pro Am. It was just a fun race and I’m really looking forward to doing it again next year.”

Next Up

TeamSLR would like to thank its team partners Franklin Road Apparel, Cube 3 Architecture, and Powered by Hixon for its support throughout the 2024 season. The 2025 Cube 3 Architecture TA2 Series season kicks off Feb. 20-23 with the traditional Sebring SpeedTour at Sebring (Fla.) International Raceway. The weekend schedule and broadcast information will be announced at a later date.

-TeamSLR-