With a standout season in the zMAX CARS Tour Late Model Stock Car Tour complete, Canadian standout Treyten Lapcevich and his Chad Bryant Racing team turned their attention to Saturday night’s Battle of the Stars race at New River All-American Speedway.
Together, the team recovered from a disappointing end to their CARS Tour season at the historic North Wilkesboro (N.C.) Speedway last month, where engine failure forced the team to retire from the season-finale earlier than expected.
No mechanical woes for Lapcevich and his team on Saturday night, however, as the team was able to capitalize on the speed of their race car from practice to qualifying and throughout the 131-lap race.
After delivering a top-five practice speed, the team knew that to keep their speed intact, they had to take a more meaningful approach to qualifying and the race.
With a solid starting position in the book, the team elected after the green flag dropped to protect their tires’ wear with their plan initially working; a caution allowed Lapcevich and his Chad Bryant Racing team to execute their plan perfectly.
However, while making their impressive climb back towards the race lead, Lapcevich was collected in an on-track incident, which sent him unexpectedly to pit road for repairs and another climb back through the field.
A driver with a mission, Lapcevich, despite the damage, was able to hustle back through the field but ran out of laps to challenge for the win, settling for an impressive fourth-place finish with his No. 77 Evirum | Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship Chevrolet at the checkered flag.
After the race, Lapcevich, 20, was able to offer a recap of his Battle of the Stars showdown.
“We just did not get the caution we needed at the end of the race,” said Lapcevich. “I honestly felt like we had a car strong enough at least to challenge for the win – if that caution came out, but sometimes that’s just how it goes.
“We tried a different strategy that didn’t work out the best, unfortunately. We saved a lot early in the race and got caught up in a caution when charging to the front. Still, we came home with a top-five finish, but we definitely should have been competing for a win in the No. 77 Evirum | Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship car.
“I’m proud of our Chad Bryant Racing team. We had a fast race car, we just had to overcome obstacles throughout the race. I felt we executed that to the best of our ability; we just ran out of laps to make our comeback more impressive.
“Regardless, I learned more at these abrasive tracks, which should help me head into Florence next weekend for the South Carolina 400.”
The 32nd annual South Carolina 400 is set from Florence (S.C.) Motor Speedway on Sat., Nov. 23, 2024, and will air live on FloRacing.
Lapcevich’s plans for the 2025 racing season will be announced in due course.
For more on Treyten Lapcevich, like him on Facebook (treyten.lapcevich) and follow him on Instagram (@treytenlapcevich) and X | Twitter (@TreytenL).
Treyten Lapcevich pr
-
-
-
-
-
