For Gresham Wagner, the road to professional racing was never straight. It veered early, it stopped suddenly, and at one point, it was fused together with titanium rods. 

Teamed with Tyler Gonzalez aboard the RAFA Racing Team GR Supra GT4 EVO2 in the Pirelli GT4 America championship, Wagner wrote another chapter in his amazing racing story by taking victory last weekend at Circuit of The Americas in the 3-hour enduro at the “home” track for the team.

Wagner grew up at Langley Speedway, a paved short track in Hampton, Virginia, where his parents both raced. It was a classic grassroots beginning: karts at five years old, local tracks through childhood, and a growing hunger for speed.

“It was all I knew,” Wagner says. “My parents raced there. I was in the pits from the time I was two or three. As soon as I was old enough, I started racing.”

But just as things were getting serious, everything changed. At 11, Wagner was diagnosed with idiopathic scoliosis. His spine was curving aggressively. It wasn’t from a crash—there was no root cause. It just… happened.

“It reached a point where I couldn’t even stand for long periods,” he says. “My spine was putting pressure on my organs. It was either live with constant pain and worsening mobility, or get it fused.”

The surgery was massive. Titanium rods were installed to stabilize his thoracic and lumbar spine. Recovery would take over a year, and karting—his first love—was off the table. He tried to return. It didn’t work.

“I couldn’t compete. I didn’t have the mobility. So I stepped away,” he says. “I just cut it off completely. Cold turkey. Got rid of everything.”

He was 16, finishing high school, and trying to accept that racing was no longer in the picture.

“I won’t say it took life away from me, but it changed everything. At that age, you don’t see the bigger picture. I was devastated.”

Years passed. Wagner focused on school, got a degree, and tried to move forward. But the fire never quite went out.

In 2017, nearly three years after stepping out of the kart, Wagner got a chance to test a Mazda MX-5 Cup car. Within a few laps, the decision was made – by 2018, he was back racing.

“I just knew. I could do it. I was back,” he says. “That third race of my life was an MX-5 Cup race.”

By 2019, he was running full-time in the series. In 2021, he won the MX-5 Cup championship, launching a string of accomplishments that included a TC America title.

In 2024, he finally cracked through, winning both the GR Cup and his second MX-5 Cup title in the same season.

“It was wild. Two championships in two completely different cars, with different teams,” Wagner says. “It opened the door to TD2.”

Toyota’s TD2 program is a pipeline for driver development—a place to turn raw talent into race-winning consistency in top-tier GT competition. It was the call Wagner had been grinding toward for years.

“I’m 27. I’m the oldest guy in the TD2 program by far,” Wagner says, grinning. “I kind of thought the opportunity had passed. But I kept getting results. And eventually, they noticed.”

For Wagner’s teammate Tyler Gonzalez, the duo have gone from respected rivals to teammates in 2025.

“We both started full-time in MX-5 Cup in 2019. Our paths have diverged and reconnected over the years, but we’ve always had mutual respect,” Wagner says. “We’ve raced hard against each other for years. Never had an incident. To now share a car together—it just makes sense.”

And the results are already speaking for themselves. At Circuit of The Americas in April, the pair took that breakthrough win in Wagner’s first major endurance outing.

“We were struggling in practice. Couldn’t get the car balanced. All four drivers in our program were having trouble,” Wagner recalls. “But Saturday morning in qualifying, something just clicked. Tyler put it on the front row.”

Wagner started the race but was stifled by early yellow flags. A key caution fell just as the minimum drive time was completed, and strategy across the field splintered. The team cycled to 22nd—more than eight seconds off the tail of the field.

“I was worried,” Wagner admits. “But Tyler got back in and started carving through the field. He got it up to third. When I got in the car again, I knew I had to go all out.”

And he did. Wagner drove up to the lead before handing the car over for the final stint. As the sun dropped, the car got stronger.

“It was my first real full stint in the car where I felt like I had it under me,” Wagner says. “To hand it back over in the lead and watch Tyler bring it home was incredibly satisfying.”

The win at COTA—worth double points—vaulted the pair into championship contention.

While Wagner is making a name in the pro paddock, he still holds down a full-time job. He’s a technical writer for a healthcare firm that works with state Medicaid programs.

“I don’t take many days off,” he says. “I work on the plane. During test days, I treat it like a lunch break. At night, I’m back at the hotel getting stuff done.”

The grind is real. The goal, though, remains the same.

“In a perfect world, sure—I’d be a full-time pro,” he says. “But I’m realistic. That opportunity only comes to a few. So I got a degree. Got a job. I live independently. I’ve got bills to pay. I’m still giving 100% to racing, but I’ve got to survive too.”

It’s a balance few drivers manage, and fewer still while winning at the level Wagner is.

When asked about what’s next, Wagner keeps it simple.

“After Sonoma, we weren’t out of it. But COTA put us right back on top,” he says. “Now we know we can win. We’re not chasing—we’re leading. And we just have to keep executing.”

“This is the shot I’ve been working toward my whole career. At 27, in the TD2 program, this is make-or-break. I’m ready.”