Dirt Racing and Time in Trans Am Series Have 17-Year-Old Primed for Watkins Glen
MOORESVILLE, N.C. (May 7, 2026) – The General Tire 100 Friday at Watkins Glen International will mark Carson Brown’s first career road-course start in the ARCA Menards Series. But if you’re thinking the 17-year-old will need all 41 laps to figure out the nuances of turning left and right around the 2.45-mile, seven-turn road course in upstate New York, think again.
Despite his youth, Brown brings a repertoire of racing skills to Watkins Glen and his No. 28 Klean Freak Chevrolet from Pinnacle Racing Group, including race-winning road-course ability in Trans Am’s CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series.
In 2025, Brown made five TA2 starts, which included Watkins Glen. He qualified third and finished third in his July visit to the track, and it served as a prelude to Brown’s first TA2 victory two months later when he won at VIRginia International Raceway near Alton.
“I drove for TeamSLR, and the owners, Scott Lagasse Sr. and Scott Lagasse Jr., are both former drivers. They’re very good mentors and their cars are really good, too,” Brown said. “We ended up finishing about three spots better every race, and by the time we got to VIR, we were like, ‘This is our time.’ I qualified second and, at first, was just trying to pace myself, but ended up racing really hard for the lead, and then I pulled away for the win.”
Brown won by 1.748 seconds. The three TA2 races that preceded that win obviously helped, but so did Brown’s prodigious dirt-track background. His dirt experience started in Legend Cars and continued in winged and non-winged 600cc Micro Sprint Cars beginning in 2022. Brown delved into dirt Super Late Models in 2023, winning in his sixth start Aug. 19 at Moler Raceway Park in Williamsburg, Ohio.
“My dirt experience has helped me adapt to new racetracks and new disciplines quicker,” Brown said. “Dirt tracks are always changing with the way the surface goes from tacky and smooth to dry and hard-packed, to the way the groove ends up – cushion, no cushion, a berm on the bottom. You’re forced to adapt every lap, so I’m used to experimenting and finding the feel that works best in a short amount of time.”
Brown and his ARCA counterparts have limited time to dial in their racecars before the General Tire 100. A 45-minute practice at 9:30 a.m. EDT is followed by a 20-minute group qualifying session at 10:30 a.m. That’s it for track time ahead of the 41-lap race at 1 p.m.
To take full advantage of the time available, Brown has been at the GM Tech Center in Charlotte, North Carolina, utilizing its simulator. As a development driver for Richard Childress Racing, Brown is immersed within Wise Optimization, the driver development arm of GM Motorsports.
“The sim sessions run by Josh Wise and Scott Speed are very helpful,” Brown said. “You learn your brake markers, your elevation changes, how the tires are going to grip up and where, what curbs are where, what curbs are taller than normal – it gets you prepared so that when you are out there on the track, you know what to expect. There’s still a learning curve, but it’s a little less steep.”
Brown’s ARCA results confirm that his pre-race preparation pays off. In five career ARCA starts, Brown has never finished outside the top-10. In fact, his average finish is fourth, a number bolstered by his win from the pole March 5 at Phoenix Raceway.
The sim time ahead of Friday’s race, combined with the TA2 race he ran last July at Watkins Glen, has given Brown a deep understanding of the track’s layout.
“Watkins Glen is a very fun racetrack. There’s a lot of elevation change, but it’s pretty flowy. It’s the closest a road course can get to being an oval with how the corners are shaped and how you have to carry speed through them,” Brown said.
Knowledge breeds confidence. Brown has both entering Watkins Glen, along with an extremely competent team.
“It’s my first road-course race in ARCA, but my mindset is pretty open,” Brown said. “Pinnacle Racing Group won the race last year, so winning is the expectation across the organization. It’s always the goal to come out on top. So, we’ll take all the prep work and get a baseline on the car in practice. We’ll put it all into play in the race and see how it shakes out at the end.”
The General Tire 100 will be broadcast live on FS2 and streamed on the FOX One app. SiriusXM NASCAR Radio will provide live audio coverage.
