NASCAR fans, write this name down and don’t forget it, because a few years from now, you’re likely going to be hearing it quite a bit: Tristan McKee.
Advertisement
The Kannapolis, North Carolina resident made his ARCA Menards Series debut Friday at the Watkins Glen International road course, and what a debut it was.
Just five days after he turned 15 years old, and in his first-ever ARCA Menards Series race, McKee conquered Watkins Glen International, driving the No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet to victory in Friday afternoon’s General Tire 100.
Now that’s a great story as it is, right? But as late broadcaster Paul Harvey used to say, now you’re going to know the rest of the story.
Five days ago, on his birthday, McKee was just 12 laps away from potentially winning $50,000 in a Late Model Stock Car race at Hickory Motor Speedway in Hickory, North Carolina.
That’s right, you read that correctly: he is just 15 years old!
Unfortunately, McKee was involved in a wreck, and there went his potential college fund, sort of.
“That was a tough one, after leading 115 laps for $50,000, only to get into a wreck there at the end, but you’ve just got to put that past you and move on to what’s next,” McKee told ARCAracing.com. “I quickly moved on past that and got right back to the office.”
More like right back in the saddle, as there’s nothing more worrisome to rival drivers than a fellow driver who missed out on a big payday in his last race. It’s not like McKee was angry or ticked off, but in a way, he was.
More than anything, he wanted to avenge the Hickory debacle. And he did just that, although he needed a bit of help: race leader Brent Crews suffered a mechanical issue late in the race when his car lost electrical power, allowing McKee to roar past and take the checkered flag.
According to ARCAracing.com, McKee becomes the second-youngest race winner (at 15 years, 5 days) in the series’ history.
“We got a little lucky there obviously with Brent having issues,” McKee told ARCAracing.com. “To win in my debut is one thing, but to win in general is another. A lot of guys have never won in the ARCA Series, and they’ve been doing it a long time.”
If you think a 15-year-old racer is something, here’s another thing: he started racing Late Models as an 11-year-old (before turning 12) in 2022.
But Wait, There’s More: Could He Be The Next SVG?
Earlier this year, and just after signing a contract to race for Spire Motorsports, McKee won a Trans Am Series TA2 race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, the second youngest driver in Trans Am history (14 years, 10 months, 19 days), according to ARCAracing.com. He followed that up with another Trans Am win last month at, ironically, Watkins Glen.
And then came Friday. It was more than beginner’s luck. Rather, McKee showed maturity and poise behind the wheel. Granted, Crews’ mechanical malfunction helped McKee’s cause, but his talent was on display in unquestionable fashion as well.
“I knew where I was going when I got here,” McKee said of his prior familiarity with WGI. “I just kind of knew the track a little bit, so that takes a little bit out of the learning part out of practice.”
His Trans Am at Watkins Glen, coupled with Friday’s ARCA win, almost immediately prompted comparisons to the reigning road course king in NASCAR Cup, namely, Shane van Gisbergen.
In 37 Cup starts, SVG, who is the favorite to win Sunday’s race at WGI, has four Cup wins and a runner-up (last year at Watkins Glen, losing on the last lap to Chris Buescher) in his brief career, all on road courses.
Add in four other wins for SVG in the Xfinity Series — all on road courses.
Or Could McKee Become the Next Jeff Gordon, Kyle Busch, or Jimmie Johnson?
Sure, it’s ARCA, but comparisons are quick to occur when a driver like McKee displays such talent. In addition to being compared to van Gisbergen, it would not be a surprise to see him compared to a young Jeff Gordon, Kyle Busch, or Jimmie Johnson — all who showed their immense talent early on in their racing careers and then went on to be multiple champions each (13 combined Cup titles between them).
McKee has one more ARCA race — ARCA West, that is — later this year in the season finale at Phoenix on Nov. 1. From there, it’s unclear whether McKee will stay in Late Models and Trans Am next year, with occasional ARCA starts, or whether Spire management feels he’s ready for a promotion.
But if Spire is smart, they’ll hold on to this kid for the next, oh, say, 30 years or more!
