Lavar Scott learns the ropes of full-time O’Reilly Series competition

Lavar Scott was born into a racing family. It is simply what they did in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. Now, he’s seeing their hard work pay off as he competes in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series. Sonia Scott, Lavar’s mother, was a drag racer, competing in regional events. Both his grandfather and brother -- both named Wayne -- raced micro sprints, while his grandfather was the one preparing them to go fast. The younger Scott began his career at 5 years old on dirt in quarter midgets. RELATED: O'Reilly Auto Parts Series schedule | Current standings “I remember winning my first [race],” Scott recalled to NASCAR.com. “I remember watching my mom race. I remember bits and pieces of helping my grandfather at the shop and he would put an egg under my foot to practice throttle control. I don’t remember the full, complete scenery, but there are some things that I always think about.” After running dirt cars for a decade, Scott was accepted into NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity program in his second attempt as a 16-year-old. To get acclimated into the racing lifestyle, he relocated to the zMAX campsite at Charlotte Motor Speedway, living out of a camper with his grandmother. He biked to Rev Racing’s race shop, a stone's throw away from the 1.5-mile track. Sonia made the voyage South each week to watch him compete in the Summer Shootout. “I was hoping it was going to work out,” Scott said. “I made it happen and it made it to where I was happy to go through all of that. Grateful that I did because it led to this opportunity and I wouldn’t take it back for the world. “Definitely not the most ideal situation, but in the grand scheme of things, with where we’re at right now, I would do anything for that opportunity.” After winning in late models in 2021 and 2022, Scott was ready to tackle the ARCA Menards Series with Rev Racing. He ran the full eight-race slate in the ARCA East Series division in 2023, ranking third in the final standings. Scott ran two full ARCA campaigns, but he never found Victory Lane even though he was close on several occasions. He cracked the top five in 55% of his full-time starts and ranked inside the top 10 in 77.5% of starts. He was ready for the next jump. In 2025, Scott dipped his toes into the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, running a pair of races with Alpha Prime Racing, hoping it would set him up for the future. He impressed co-owner Tommy Joe Martins enough to strike a full-time deal for the 2026 season. [caption id="attachment_510999" align="alignnone" width="1300"]David Jensen | Getty Images[/caption] “He was able to know that he would be competitive in our series,” Martins said. “I think it was big for his confidence and to go out, raise sponsorship and try to do something full time. That was the main thing for him; he was trying to race full time. I know he would like to be in a car that has the chance to go win the championship someday and I think this is step one on doing that.” The emotions ballooned for Scott ahead of his O'Reilly Series debut at Dover Motor Speedway last summer with countless friends and family in attendance. He needed to qualify into the show, which he did. However, he erred on pit road during his first live pit stop, sinking to 28th before Mother Nature cut the race short. He rebounded at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway with a 19th-place effort. “If I didn’t do those two races last year, I don’t think I would be in this series or spot right now for the unknown of what it’s like,” Scott said. “I took the positives out of that. I had speed, got to race. People would pack air on me and I saved it. I got to pack air on other people and got to race and learn. Made the start at St. Louis and finished top 20. That was when I was like, ‘OK, I can do this series; I can compete here.’” Through the opening 13 races of his rookie year, Scott has four top-20 finishes, with a best outing of 15th at Rockingham Speedway. That’s ahead of the original goal, which was breaking the top 25 on a consistent basis, as his average finish is 24.5. MORE: Lavar Scott's driver page The ambitions have jumped now that he’s seen he can be competitive. He thrives at intermediate venues, being able to search around for another lane. “Our goal is to try to chase the top 20 every week that we can,” Scott added. “You are going to have bad days on the weeks you don’t have it, but the expectations vary on where we’re going that weekend. The grand scheme of things, with the way we’re going, pure pace and speed wise, we are doing better than I anticipated later in these races.” Martins, who also fills the spotter role for Scott, found the pairing frustrated through the first month of the season, getting involved in incidents out of their control. Scott was gaining experience on letting longer races play out. “I think he’s done a terrific job,” Martins relayed. “He’s a humble kid that asks a lot of questions and is open to feedback. I’m seeing Lavar get so much more confident in asking for the changes and what he needs to feel in the race car. He knows he’s going to have the chance to keep working on it, get better and he needs to make the car better for the end of the race. I think that’s what has started happening in the last month or so. He’s been able to get more consistent finishes.” Scott will return to his home track of Dover this weekend, with many of the same family and companions in attendance.