Cayden wins his first NASCAR race
But his racing future in doubt; Force takes his second NHRA Funny Car win, and Flamboro to host Biederman Memorial
At 16 years of age, most of Cayden Lapcevich’s contemporaries are hanging out in the summer sun and staying up half the night playing video games.
But young Lapcevich has been doing some traveling this summer, and his travels have been fruitful. He recently became the youngest competitor to win a NASCAR Pinty’s Series race.
“This is a dream come true for me,” said the Grimsby high school student in victory lane after the running of the Velocity Prairie Thunder 250 in Saskatoon. “I’ve waited my whole life to do this. I came up short a couple times this year, but this was worth the wait.”
Lapcevich comes from a family line of short-track racers. His grandfather Joe Lapcevich raced locally in the 1960s, and formed the Hamilton-based Fastline Motorsports team. Cayden’s dad Jeff and uncle Jim both raced on the ovals, including the former CASCAR Super Series and the replacement NASCAR series. Jeff was also a road racer of note, with success in the Firestone Firehawk Series and the Magna Enduro Series.
After starting in Quarter Midgets not long after he learned to walk, Cayden was successful and learned his craft. After several years on the local stock car circuits, he made the move to NASCAR last season under the tutelage of father Jeff and some BTTJTUBODF GSPN lWF UJNF $"4$"3
champ Don Thomson. And for 2016, after a couple of poEJVN lOJTIFT $BZEFO XIFFMFE IJT
number 76 Dodge into victory lane, the youngest racer in the series’ history to win an event since its inception in 2007. 5IJT XBT UIF lSTU UJNF UIF 'BTUline team has traveled this far to compete, and this last-minute decision to go west leaves the team only
one point behind series leader AnESFX 3BOHFS PG 2VFCFD XJUI lWF
events left on the card.
Jeff said after the race he was very pleased with the results on the third-mile Wyant Group Raceway:
“He is good,” said his pleased father. “He’s only 16, but he races like a veteran. I’m really proud of him.”
Cayden, who started ninth in the DBS lFME EJDFE GPS UIF MFBE EVSing the last 50 laps of the 300-lap race with former champion LouisPhillipe Dumoulin of Quebec, taking the point on lap 248 and staying there for the win.
“I knew I had a better car, but it took a couple laps to get going after a restart,” recalled Lapcevich. “I was a little worried when Dumoulin went by, but I was able to get him back. This feels so good.”
But along with the triumph in returning from Saskatchewan, there is a black cloud accompanying the team.
Despite this recent success, Jeff, who is the team owner, isn’t sure of the team’s immediate future due to lack of sponsorship.
“It’s prohibitively expensive to race in this series,” said the elder Lapcevich. “We lost our primary sponsor after last season to budget cuts, and we have tried to make things work with the associate sponsors we have.” 1SFTFOUMZ 'BTUMJOF SFDFJWFT lnancial support from Ace Services, Troy Cove Marine, Springers Meats, and Epic Racewear.
“Cayden has done a fantastic job,” noted Jeff earlier this week in a statement. “We couldn’t ask any more out of him. Following the entire series is just something we don’t think we can do without some lOBODJBM IFMQ v
Weekend winners...Last Saturday Flamboro Speedway held Kids Ride Night where youngsters were treated to rides in race cars along with viewing regular racing. Winning both Pure Stock features was Gary Slama, while the Thunder Car features were shared by Shawn Arnott and Chris Howse. Brian Atkinson and Steve Trendell both won features in Canadian Vintage .PEJlFE BDUJPO BOE 5JN /PSSJT
won the Ontario Pro Challenge main. This Saturday the track will
host the annual Don Biederman Memorial... Funny Car drive John Force won his second race in a row, the NHRA Sonoma Nationals. J.R. Todd won Top Fuel Dragster, and Greg Anderson notched his seventh Pro Stock win of the season at Sonoma... Winning the only Canadian stop on the World of Outlaws tour, the Six Nations Showdown at Ohsweken Speedway last week, was Donny Schatz of ND. Erick Rudolph of Ransomville, NY won UIF .PEJlFE GFBUVSF BOE UIF
two Mini-Stock features were won by Caledonia’s Mark Bazuin and Chris Ryckman of Brantford... Ryan Boniferro of Niagara Falls won the latest round in the Joe’s Transmission - TNT Super Series, held on the Cayuga Dragway of Toronto Motorsports Park. Presently Hamilton’s Dave Gunn leads the series in points.
This is a dream come true for me. 16 year old Grimsby high school student, Cayden Lapcevich in victory lane.