Dave Kallmann / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Tristan McKee, 15 years old, wins in ARCA Menards Series debut at Watkins Glen

Originally posted on 5 GOATs | By Jonathan Howard | Last updated Aug 8, 2025 4:38 PM ET

When given the opportunity to take control of the race, Tristan McKee took it and never looked back on his way to the win. Brent Crews had a devastating electrical issue with only a few laps to go. That opened the door for the 15-year-old to win his first ARCA Menards Series race in his debut.

Tristan McKee just turned 15 less than a week ago. He has won races in the CARS Tour, Trans Am TA2, and now, the ARCA Menards Series.

Driving for Spire Motorsports, McKee kept it calm, cool, and collected late in the race. He looked like an old pro as he bounced off the wall on the final restart and still drove off for the win over Tyler Reif and Kris Wright.

THE 15-YEAR-OLD WINS HIS DEBUT@Racing7Tristan | @GainbridgeSport pic.twitter.com/tFmta3czAr
— Spire Motorsports (@SpireMotorsport) August 8, 2025

When Spire Motorsports signed Tristan McKee to a development deal last year when he was 14, it was a sign. This organization has selected McKee as its first in-house talent. With the billions behing TWG Motorsports, the group that owns Spire, Andretti Global, Cadillac F1, and others, McKee will have no shortage of resources at his disposal.

Right now, McKee is still developing. We won’t be able to see him take on a full-time schedule in NASCAR until 2029. This kid was born in 2010, folks. I wouldn’t be shocked if he entered the Xfinity Series in 2028 and received a playoff waiver for missing the big tracks on the schedule until he finally turns 18.

With Trackhouse Racing landing the next great prospect in Connor Zilisch, other organizations are looking for their next big thing. It is an arms race for the future of NASCAR as these young drivers will soon be the next generation of the Cup Series.

Tristan McKee takes advantage after Brent Crews issues

Despite leading the first 38 laps of this race, Brent Crews was unable to get the win. He had it in his pocket. It was guaranteed. Before a caution with 24 laps to go in the race, Crews had a 10 second lead and it was growing.

However, the car has to make it to the finish line. Crews lost power after a caution on Lap 36. It set us up for the final restart. Tristan McKee had worked his way to P2 and had control of the race. He fought with Tyler Reif and Kris Wright to get the win.

Only Todd Gilliland was younger when he won his first ARCA race. McKee has a lot of development left before he hits the big time.

There is a generation of driver coming up from about the age of 12 to 20 that are going to be very talented. These are going to be multi-faceted drivers who are just as comfortable on road courses as they are on ovals and many of them will likely have dirt credentials as well. Spire believes Tristan McKee is one of these drivers that will be a gamechanger, a franchise player, if you will.

This article first appeared on 5 GOATs and was syndicated with permission.

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