With just two races remaining in the zMAX CARS Tour Late Model Stock Car Tour season, Canadian Treyten Lapcevich looks to ride his recent string of momentum to propel his Chad Bryant Racing team back into Victory Lane in Saturday night’s CARS Tour 225 pres. by GeoCut at Tri-County (N.C.) Motor Speedway.
Lapcevich returns to the series after finishing third most recently in the NASCAR Late Model Series’ ValleyStar Credit Union 300 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway – and a runner-up finish in CARS Tour competition last month at South Boston (Va.) Speedway.
At Martinsville, through qualifying and heat races, Lapcevich started the 200-lap feature ninth in his No. 77b BKFC Late Model Stock Car. Throughout the race, he steadily turned some of the fastest laps while progressively inching forward through the field.
Landing inside the top five in the final 20 laps of the race, Lapcevich found himself in a spirited battle for third place. The two drivers duked out for the final spot on the podium lap after lap at the historic 0.526-mile paperclip track.
Lapcevich won the battle on the last lap, edging his competitor for third place in his inaugural ValleyStar Credit Union 300 appearance.
“That race was a hard-fought battle,” recalled Lapcevich. “Our setups were good, and we got the most out of it. While we struggled with fresh tires early on, we capitalized as others’ tires wore out. That’s when we were able to gain position.
“The car performed well both on the inside and outside, giving us an edge after each restart.”
With Martinsville in the rear-view mirror, Lapcevich, 20, turns to Tri-County, eyeing his second zMAX CARS Tour Late Model Stock Car Tour win of the season.
For the second straight race, Lapcevich’s No. 77 entry will feature the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) livery, the fastest combat sport in the world with Conor McGregor among the shareholder, which quickly became a fan favorite. Like Martinsville, his race car will be adorned with a striking, eye-catching black and yellow design featuring BKFC yellow fist logos.
“I’m feeling pretty good going into Tri-County this weekend,” said Lapcevich. “We have been building some good momentum with the Chad Bryant Racing team and showing up to the track with really good cars.
“I think we’re going to try to stay focused on doing what we’ve been doing all year – getting some good track position early and being patient throughout the 125 laps to hopefully put ourselves in a spot to end up in Victory Lane at the end of the night.”
Having experience at the 0.4-mile short track earlier this season should benefit the Chad Bryant Racing team and the Grimsby, Ontario, Canada native.
“Going back to a track that we have already raced at should be a big help heading into this weekend,” added Lapcevich. “We were really good at Tri-County in the Spring but didn’t have the best luck, getting a bad set of tires and settling for 18th overall.
“With the experience that I’ve been able to attain since then and the team that we’ve been building at Chad Bryant Racing, I think we should be even better this time around.”
Occupying sixth in the championship driver standings with Tri-County on the docket and North Wilkesboro (N.C.) Speedway on October 19, Lapcevich, the 2023 NASCAR Canada Series champion, is looking to extend a series-high 12 top-10 finishes this season while closing the points gap over the next two weekends.
“We’ve been fairly consistent all year long, and really have been knocking on the door of grabbing another win here in the most recent races, so we’re going to be very focused on trying to end the season off with two more strong runs, and hopefully two checkered flags,” sounded Lapcevich.
Lapcevich’s recent performances underscore his exceptional driving skills and strategic approach, especially given the high level of competition in the CARS Tour, which features some of the best up-and-coming talents in stock car racing.
“As I mentioned, I’m very excited for Tri-County this weekend as it’s a track I really enjoy, but looking on to North Wilkesboro – it’s another track we had a lot of speed at, grabbing our first win earlier this year. So overall, I think these are two good tracks for us that provide a good opportunity for us to have two good runs.
“The mindset remains the same, keeping the No. 77 Evirum | BKFC | Allrem Racing car up front and closing out the season on a high note.”
After 15 races, Chad Bryant Racing stands seventh in the championship owner standings, just two points behind JR Motorsports for sixth and nine markers behind Kevin Harvick Inc. for fifth overall.
For more on Treyten Lapcevich, like him on Facebook (treyten.lapcevich) and follow him on Instagram (@treytenlapcevich) and X | Twitter (@TreytenL).
The first race of the CARS Tour 225 pres. by GeoCut at Tri-County Motor Speedway commences at 7:45 p.m. ET on Saturday, October 12, 2024, when the green flag waves for the CARS Pro Late Model Tour. FloRacing’s coverage begins at 5 p.m. ET with CARS Late Model Stock Car Tour qualifying.
Allrem Racing PR
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