Is Lavar Scott Ready for a Promotion?

Lavar Scott is going NASCAR Xfinity Series racing. Scott will compete in two Xfinity races with Alpha Prime Racing, the organization announced on July 1.

It’ll be Scott’s first foray into the NASCAR national series. The 21-year-old has competed full time in the ARCA Menards Series in 2024 and 2025 and full time in the ARCA Menards Series East in 2023.

Scott is well liked in the ARCA garage and has been consistent, but he also is winless in his 53 races across the ARCA platform.

So, what can we expect from Scott’s first two NXS races, and is he ready for a promotion to the NASCAR national series in 2026? After all, as the calendar has turned to July, six months from now we’ll be in the new year.

Scott’s Xfinity debut will be at Dover Motor Speedway. Fortunately for him, he has two ARCA starts there in ’23 and ’24. His statistics: two top-10 starts, two top fives and two top 10s.

Moreover, Scott will pilot his No. 6 Rev Racing Chevrolet in the ARCA race at Dover the day before his Xfinity debut, so he will have logged valuable on-track time, with likely another top-10 run, if not better.

Alpha Prime’s No. 45 entry is 33rd in owner points, fourth-lowest of all full-time cars, so expectations will be tempered for Dover for Scott. Still, given his experience at The Monster Mile, put him down for a lead-lap top-20 finish.

World Wide Technology Raceway will be Scott’s second race, and that’ll mark the second time a Rev driver has made a NASCAR start there while simultaneously running full-time ARCA.

Rajah Caruth debuted in NASCAR in the 2022 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Gateway. He started 19th and finished on the lead lap in 11th place.

Caruth is an interesting case study when examining Scott’s future. Both drivers ran full time for Rev in ARCA, but neither has won an ARCA race. In 2022, Caruth ran part-time Xfinity for APR, but he struggled. In seven races, he only finished on the lead lap twice and had two DNFs. He finished right where he started, as both starting and finishing positions are about 24th.

Therefore, if Scott finishes better than where APR’s No. 45 usually runs, such as a top 30, that would be an OK day.

A top 30 in an Xfinity car might be a shock to his system after running so well in ARCA.

How well? In those 53 combined starts across the three divisions, he has 31 top fives, 44 top 10s and only one DNF. Yes, Scott has been remarkably consistent in ARCA. In the national division, his last finish outside the top 10 was at Michigan International Speedway in August 2024. Almost a full year has passed since he ran outside the top 10.

That must mean Scott is ready for a promotion, right? A well-liked, consistent driver who keeps the car in one piece.

No – at least not full time.

Wait, why?

Running inside the top five and top 10 is one accomplishment. Contending for victories is another. Scott has led 186 laps, but over half of those came in one race, which he lost in a three-wide photo finish.

Rev has shown it has fast racecars. Nick Sanchez won the 2022 championship and he just won his first Xfinity Series race this past weekend.

Andres Perez also won the ’24 ARCA championship ahead of Scott, but neither driver went to victory lane.

Perez’s results running full-time Trucks this year? Three top 10s in 15 races and almost 150 points below the playoff cut line. His Spire Motorsports teammate Caruth won to nab his playoff berth and the other two Spire all-star trucks have both won.

Yes, Perez is a rookie, but his numbers show there should be some concern about his progress or lack thereof. His average finishing position is 18.0, so he has run in the middle of the field. Yes, that’s better than half, but he also has finished worse than he qualified in eight of the last 10 races.

Perez was not ready for a full-time Truck ride, neither was Xfinity rookie William Sawalich and Scott is not ready for a full-time one in ’26.

During the race weekend at North Wilkesboro Speedway, Scott told Frontstretch he is getting tired of being asked when he will win for the first time. That question remains true – when?

Until then, I cannot recommend Scott for a full-time NASCAR ride in 2026. His deficit in the ARCA point standings is due to a lack of bonus points from leading laps and winning races. Results matter in NASCAR; just look at Daniel Suarez, whose two NASCAR Cup Series victories might’ve cost him his 2026 job.

Nevertheless, Scott has a chance to prove us wrong. He’ll likely keep his Alpha Prime car in one piece, and for an underdog team, that’s a win in and of itself. And who knows, if he gains confidence and or runs well, then hopefully that’ll help his ARCA performance this year and future development as a racecar driver.