ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. (Sept. 2, 2026) – Labor Day Weekend typically marks the unofficial end to summer, but the battle for the CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series championship is just heating up for a pair of TeamSLR teammates as the series heads north of the border to Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (CTMP) in Bowmanville, Ontario, for Saturday’s round 10 of the 12-race 2026 campaign.
Alon Day, the 34-year-old from Ashdod, Israel, and first-year driver of the No. 17 JSSI/SLR-M1 Racecars Chevrolet Camaro, arrives at the 2.459-mile, 10-turn circuit about an hour’s drive from Toronto leading the TA2 Series championship for the first time this season after a pair of runner-up finishes in the most recent rounds – the July 18-19 weekend doubleheader at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International. Day holds a 41-point advantage over 19-year-old teammate Helio Meza, the driver of the No. 28 Alessandros Racing/SLR-M1 Racecars Chevrolet Camaro who previously had a stranglehold on the points lead with six wins in the season’s first eight races.
They’ll be joined in the TeamSLR camp for Saturday’s 41-lap, 75-minute race by fellow full-season competitor Lanie Buice, the 19-year-old from Jackson, Georgia, and driver of the No. 27 Guthrie’s Garage/Sunoco/SLR-M1 Racecars Chevrolet Camaro.
Day assumed the championship lead with a string of eight consecutive podium finishes since his 14th-place result at February’s season-opening event at Sebring (Fla.) International Raceway, while Meza’s five-race win streak to open the season was derailed by a pair of results outside the top-10 over the last three races. Day’s podium streak began with a third-place run March 14 at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, and continued with runner-up finishes in both races of the April 25-26 weekend doubleheader at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway. He scored his first series victories May 25 at Lime Rock Park in Lakeville, Connecticut, and June 28 at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, sandwiching his runner-up finish June 21 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Day’s runner-up finishes at Watkins Glen came to Meza in the Saturday race and to former fulltime TeamSLR driver and 2025 TA2 Series champion Tristan McKee in the Sunday race. McKee scored the TA2-class win for TeamSLR at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park a year ago this weekend, his third of four wins over the final seven races of the season on his way to the series title.
While Saturday’s race marks the first at CTMP for Day and Buice, Meza returns to the track where he took part in the Mazda MX-5 Cup Series weekend doubleheaders in 2025 and 2026, emerging with top-10 results in all four races. Best of those results was a runner-up finish to Tyler Gonzalez in the Saturday race in July 2025, while he came home fourth and fifth in the Saturday and Sunday races, respectively, this past July. The Chevrolet development driver arrives in Canada fresh off a victory last weekend in his first Super Copa Roshfrans Series race in Chihuahua, Mexico, where he competed in the GTM Pro 1 class for Alessandros Racing.
Buice looks to build on the momentum of her second top-five finish of the season in the Sunday race at Watkins Glen. She’s also a Chevrolet development driver and has added a mix of ARCA Menards Series and Late Model events to her schedule this season. She drove to a runner-up finish in the July 3 ARCA race at Chicagoland Speedway, which came on the heels of her pole qualifying effort in the June 12 event at ARCA event at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway. All four of her ARCA outings this season have resulted in top-five finishes. Two weekends ago, Buice got her first taste of MX-5 Cup Series competition during a weekend doubleheader at Virginia International Raceway in Alton, where the TA2 Series will hold its penultimate race of the season Sept. 13.
Joining the TeamSLR contingent among this weekend’s field of 30 entries are fellow M1 Racecars competitors Jared Odrick and Jace Denmark of Troy Benner Autosport. Odrick, the defending CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series Pro-Am Challenge champion from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, has scored five class victories through nine rounds this season in his No. 00 Black Underwear/Helium Mobile Chevrolet Camaro. He arrives at CTMP second in the Pro-Am standings, 23 points behind leader Cale Phillips. Denmark, the 23-year-old from Phoenix, sits eighth in the overall TA2 standings after a pair of top-fives and top-10s in each of the last four races behind the wheel of the No. 68 TRB entry.
Riding along with TeamSLR drivers and their M1 Racecars this weekend are season-long partners Guthrie’s Garage, CUBE 3 Architecture and longtime supporters Franklin Road Apparel Company and Kallberg Racing.
TeamSLR also welcomed new partner Focal One® for the first time in the June race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Focal One® is the leading robotic focal therapy platform in prostate cancer, leveraging advanced imaging, intelligent treatment planning, robotic precision, and high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) to deliver personalized, minimally invasive therapy. By enabling precise tissue targeting while helping preserve quality of life, Focal One is redefining the standard of care in focal therapy in prostate cancer. Focal One is developed and commercialized by FocalTherics, a medical technology company focused on expanding access to focused ultrasound-based robotic therapies worldwide through continuous innovation, clinical research, physician education, and strategic market development. For more information, visit FocalOne.com
The Labour Day Weekend Sprints kick off Thursday with a pair of test sessions at 10:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. EDT. Friday begins with official practice at 11:40 a.m., followed by qualifying at 3:45 p.m. Saturday’s 41-lap, 75-minute race is set for 2:15 p.m. with live television coverage available at no charge at RacingAmerica.TV, as well as the official Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli YouTube channel (@gotransam).
Alon Day, Driver, No. 17 JSSI/SLR-M1 Racecars Chevrolet Camaro:
“Not too much, honestly. I took the opportunity to spend more time with my family in Israel and recharge my batteries. Of course, I wish I had been able to spend more time behind the wheel like some of my competitors, but after so many days of traveling this season, being home with my family meant a lot to me.”
You moved into the championship lead with your runner-up finishes at the Watkins Glen doubleheader. Has it been difficult to wait six weeks until the next round after building that kind of momentum?
“I try not to think about it too much. That has been my strategy since the beginning of the season, taking it one race at a time and not focusing too much on the championship.”
What have you learned about Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in your preparation? How would you describe it compared to other tracks you’ve raced?
“I used to drive this track a lot on the simulator when I was a kid. I played a sim called Grand Prix Legends, which was based on the 1967 Formula 1 season, and Mosport was one of the tracks featured in it. The cool thing about Mosport is that it hasn’t changed nearly as much as many other circuits. Watkins Glen in 1967, for example, was different from the track we race on today. Mosport reminds me of some of the fast, old-school circuits in England. Otherwise, this will be my first time racing in Canada. I’m really looking forward to it.”
Now that you are leading the championship, does that change anything in the way you approach the final three races, and how you plan to race Saturday?
“My approach is the same as always – one race at a time. I’m not thinking too much about the long-term picture. I just want to perform at my best and avoid making mistakes.”
It’ll be a mixed field of TA2 cars with TA and the other classes that traditionally race with them this weekend. How much more difficult does that make things for you, having to keep an eye on your mirrors for the faster TA cars, and the overall greater disparity in speeds throughout the field?
“I come from a background in GT racing and endurance events, including 24-hour races. I’ve raced prototype cars in multiclass events, and I’ve also driven slower touring cars while sharing the track with much faster prototypes. I’m used to managing traffic, watching the mirrors and dealing with large differences in speed, so I don’t think it will change too much for us.”
Helio Meza, Driver, No. 28 Alessandros Racing/Chevrolet/SLR-M1 Racecars Camaro:
“I’ve definitely been staying busy and getting a lot of seat time in different cars. I actually got the chance to race MX-5 Cup at CTMP with BSI Racing, which was a lot of fun and gave me some good experience at the track before coming back with TA2. I’ve also been racing in NASCAR Mexico, doing some Late Model racing, and this past weekend I came away with a win in the GTM Pro 1 class of the Super Copa Roshfrans Series in Chihuahua, Mexico. So even though it’s been a longer break from TA2, I’ve still been racing a lot and staying sharp.”
Misfortune at two of the last three races have allowed your teammate Alon Day to take over the points lead with three to go. Does that change your approach during this home stretch of the season, starting with this weekend at CTMP?
“Not really. Yes, we’ve had some things happen in two of the last three races that were out of my control, but my mindset is still the same – maximize every weekend, execute, and get the best result I can. It gives me a lot of confidence knowing I’m with a team like TeamSLR and that we’re going to have good speed when we show up. My job is to give good feedback, help point the team in the right direction, and execute. CTMP is also one of my favorite tracks, so that makes me even more excited for the weekend. We’re just going to keep focusing forward and try to maximize the points we can get.”
You raced the MX-5 Cup doubleheaders at CTMP the last two season and had solid results. What were your impressions of the track, and how would you compare it to other tracks where you’ve raced?
“CTMP is probably a top-three track for me. I love how fast it is and how many high-speed, high-load corners there are. That’s going to put a big emphasis on managing the car throughout the race, and I feel like managing my equipment is something I’ve been pretty good at compared to other drivers. Having raced there before also helps because I already know the track. That means I can put more of my focus into developing the setup instead of spending time learning the track and working on my driving. There will still be things for me to learn and improve on in the TA2 car, but overall I think it should be a really good weekend.”
What are your expectations as far as how the TA2 car will be able to get around there quickly?
“I think a lot of it is going to come down to having a car that allows you to carry as much speed as possible through the high-speed corners while still being stable and giving the driver confidence. The track is also a little bumpy in some areas, so you’re going to need a car that can handle that well. Ultimately, I think the cars and drivers that manage those high-speed sections the best are going to be the ones that succeed. I compare CTMP a little bit to tracks like Road Atlanta or Watkins Glen because of the commitment and high-speed corners. We’ve been really fast at those types of tracks this year, so I’m excited to see what we can do.”
It’ll be a mixed field of TA2 cars with TA and the other classes that traditionally race with them this weekend. How difficult does that make things for you, having to keep an eye on your mirrors for the faster TA cars, and the overall greater disparity in speeds throughout the field?
“I’m actually really looking forward to the format. I’m not sure what all the other drivers think about it, but I think it’s going to be really cool. It’ll almost give us a little glimpse of what multiclass racing is like in IMSA, with the TA cars being similar to the prototypes and us in TA2 being another class. It’s definitely going to make the race more interesting and probably bring a little more chaos. Maybe I’ll have someone like Matt Brabham coming up in my mirrors toward the end of the race. I also wouldn’t be surprised if we see a few more yellows with the differences in speed throughout the field. Because of that, qualifying up front and having clean air will be really important, especially at a track with so many high-speed corners.”
Lanie Buice, Driver, No. 27 Sunoco/Guthrie’s Garage/Chevrolet/SLR-M1 Racecars Camaro:
“I didn’t do as much actual racing as I would’ve liked, just a Late Model race, and then I did an MX-5 Cup weekend at VIR. That was so different than anything else I’d ever done in my entire life. Just trying to get acclimated to it was really difficult. I finished 25th in the Sunday race and that felt like a win. But it was a great experience and it was a lot of fun, and I think it’ll definitely be beneficial for when we go back to VIR in the TA2 car. Starting this weekend, I have a really good stretch coming up, obviously the two TA2 races in the next three weekends and then some ARCA stuff, as well, so that’ll get me back into the swing of things. I miss the stretch that I had over the summer when I had back-to-back-to-back TA2 and ARCA races, but it’s part of it, right? Did a lot, training-wise, since Watkins Glen, and everything there has been going really well and I’m in great shape.”
What have you learned, what are people telling you, and what do you notice about what it’s like to race at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park?
“Well, it looks like a lot of fun. Once again, different than anywhere I’ve ever been, road course-wise, so I’m excited. There are not a lot of places you can really compare it to. It’s super flowy and it looks like it’s going to be a blast. It looks like of one of those tracks that fits my speed and my driving style, so I’m excited about it. All I’ve been able to do, really, is watch video and work on some stuff on iRacing, so I’ve been utilizing that and I feel prepared and ready. I’m excited to take on a new place, and it’s exciting to be back in the TA2 car with TeamSLR.”
You’ll be experiencing a race where it’s not just TA2 cars, but the bigger, much faster TA cars and the GT classes that normally run with them. What are your expectations in that regard?
“It’s going to be different, with different strategies all around the track, getting by the slower guys, and also having to watch your mirrors for the TA cars. Every single lap, I’ll have to figure out what the best possible way is to get around people, and also being aware of the TA cars. It’s going to be interesting, but you have to look at it from a positive perspective, to get the experience of having more traffic out there and having to be more aware. There are always positives to take away from any situation. The ARCA races can be like that sometimes, honestly, so I think that is experience that I do have, especially when you’re running inside the top-five at Michigan or Chicagoland or Pocono – some of the guys in the back are a few seconds off the pace. So having that experience of getting by people will help this weekend.”
-TeamSLR-