Driver Database News

Jeff Lapcevich and the #23 Tim Hortons Chevrolet team have battled through just about every obstacle imaginable during the 2009 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series season so far. During round number twelve this past weekend at Riverside International Speedway just outside Antigonish, Nova Scotia the countless hours of effort by the entire team were rewarded with a second place podium finish.

Right from the first laps during the morning practice session the Tim Hortons Chevrolet team was on their game. “The car felt good right away” said Lapcevich. “Even on the first few laps I could really feel that the handling ws right and that we had a good car” he added. Lapcevich would back up his practice times with an impressive fifth fastest qualifying time and start the 300 lap feature event on the inside of row three.

When the green flag dropped the action heated up and the Tim Hortons Chevrolet was up to the Challenge. “Everything we did to the car was right for the race” said the driver who had little trouble keeping up with the lead group in the early going. As several of the leaders made their first pit stops Lapcevich was able to stay on track and gain even more ground.

When the Tim Hortons team did make a stop for fuel and left side tires they fully expected to make a second stop at the next opportunity to put on fresh right side tires. They would not get the opportunity to do so as the race ran under green from just past the halfway mark to the finish.

Lapcevich would restart the race on lap 160 at the front of the field and show the Tim Hortons team’s potential that has been there all season long. Jeff would handle the traffic and keep up an incredible pace handling lap traffic and fending off all challenges for nearly 100 laps. “The car was just really good for us” said the satisfied driver. “I was expecting to make another stop for right side tires so I wasn’t too concerned about saving them for the rest of the race and that might have cost us in the end” he concluded.

As the laps ticked away it became obvious that there was not going to be one more stop and it was up to the Lapcevich to try and keep the Tim Hortons Chevrolet at the front with very worn right side tires. After a heated battle with the #27 car Lapcevich would surrender the lead after leading a race high 97 laps.

Lapcevich would not be challenged for position again for the rest of the event and crossed the finish line second for the best finish this season for the Tim Hortons Chevrolet team. “It’s really nice after a disappointing race last week to bounce back this way” said the driver. “We’ve known all year that we can run up front with the rest of these guys and it’s really satisfying to get the results we’re capable of” he adde.

Jeff Lapcevich and the Tim Hortons team travel to Kawartha Speedway in Faserville, ON for the final event of the 2009 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series this coming Saturday September 26th. This year’s series events consist of ovals, road courses and temporary street circuits from coast to coast in Canada. All events are once again scheduled for broadcast on TSN.

Jeff Lapcevich and the #23 Tim Hortons Chevrolet team had posted back to back top-ten finishes in the most recent rounds of the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series. As the tour returned to Ontario for round number eleven at Barrie Speedway this past Saturday night they were expecting more of the same success. They would encounter a day and night of disappointment.

As practice began during the afternoon Lapcevich and the Tim Hortons Chevy team were perplexed by the lack of speed their car showed. “We started out slowly during the practice session” said the driver “but as the hour went on we started to get a little bit better, and then with some adjustments after practice we thought the car would be better still” he added.

Qualifying would also be disappointing for the Tim Hortons team, after the two lap dash the team noticed that one of the rear tires was out of round causing all kinds of problems. “With a bad tire it just doesn’t matter what else you do to the car” said Lapcevich. “Fortunately we found the problem right away”. Because of the work done on the car after qualifying Lapcevich would start the Tim Hortons Chevrolet at the back of the field for the 300 lap main event.

As darkness fell and the green flag waved to begin the race Lapcevich immediately began looking for openings to move the Tim Hortons Chevrolet forward. His progress was hampered in the early going by several yellow flag caution periods. “Just as we’d get going somebody would have trouble and we’d be slowed down again” said the aggravated driver. “When we did start to get some green flag laps in I did manage to pick up a couple of spots” he added.

While the Tim Hortons Chevrolet did gain a few positions there wasn’t the kind of progress the team felt they were capable of and Lapcevich continued to be mired in traffic. Following a pit stop for fuel and adjustments the team chose not to take on new tires at the same time so they could maintain better track position.

The track position did not help the Tim Hortons Chevy driver as just past the halfway point the car slowed coming out of turn four and stopped on the race track. A broken gear would be the culprit and it would end their night early. “It was an all round frustrating day” said Lapcevich. “We really had to fight for everything from the start of the day, and even with the hard we work the Tim Hortons guys put in it didn’t really seem to help us that much. We’ll regroup this week and be ready for Riverside though”.

Jeff Lapcevich and the Tim Hortons team will travel to Riverside Speedway near Antigonish, Nova Scotia for round number twelve of the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series on Saturday September 19th. This year’s series events will consist of ovals, road courses and temporary street circuits from coast to coast in Canada. All events are once again scheduled to appear on TSN.

Photo by Todd Lewis

Jeff Lapcevich and the #23 Tim Hortons Chevrolet team arrived at the Mosport Speedway for round number eight of the NASCAR Canadian Tire series looking expecting to duplicate the strong performance they showed during a test session at the track in recent days.  However the day would wind up being both frustrating to disappointing for the entire team.

Through the afternoon practice session Lapcevich and the Tim Hortons Chevrolet team felt they had a decent car but looked to improve their lap times and when the sixty minute session by making a gear change before qualifying.  Completing the change would make the team late for technical inspection and result in Jeff only being allowed one qualifying lap.  “I only had one lap to work with and I didn’t make the most of it” said a frustrated Lapcevich.

The #23 Tim Hortons Chevy would start from the back of the pack but with what Lapcevich felt was an improved race car before practice.  As the green flag waved to begin the 200 lap feature event, Jeff worked the car hard and gained several positions in the opening few laps.  “It’s hard when you start toward the back, but the Tim Hortons car was pretty good at the start and I was happy to pick up a few spot” said the driver.

The first seventy laps of the race went caution free and as the laps ticked away Lapcevich began to experience a strange sensation in the Tim Hortons Chevrolet.  “We just couldn’t get into the turns properly” he stated. “We were okay in the middle and coming off, but they were eating us up coming into the corner.  This seem strange to us with the changes we had made to the car” he added.

And ill handling race car does not allow the driver to make the kind of aggressive maneuvers necessary to be successful.  “It was a very tough night, the car was so free that it was unsettled and I couldn’t afford to adjust the brakes too much because we were already using up our front brakes” he stated.  The Tim Hortons Chevrolet was not demonstrating the same characteristics it did during the teams test and Lapcevich had his hands full for the entire night.

The Tim Hortons driver would use all of his driving skills to complete the race and take the checkered flag, but his thirteenth place finish was very disappointing.  “I had a very frustrating night.  We tested here a couple of weeks ago and we ran lap times of 21.7 seconds and we just couldn’t get below a 22 today for some reason.  It’s upsetting because we came here with really high expectations.  We came here really prepared and we just ran slow.  We’ll have to make sure things are square with this car and also we plan to do some testing with the road course car before Trois Rivieres”.

Jeff Lapcevich and the Tim Hortons team are back in action on Sunday August 16th at the Fortieth anniversary edition of the Grand Prix of Trois Rivieres.  This year’s series events will consist of ovals, road courses and temporary street circuits from coast to coast in Canada.  All events are once again scheduled to appear on TSN.

Photo by Rod Henderson www.CanadianRacer.com

The racing blood flows through the entire Lapcevich family. Jeff Lapcevich was introduced to the sport by his father Joe and now he is paying it forward to his sons. During a break in competition for the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series, Jeff Lapcevich driver of the #23 Tim Hortons Impala traveled across Canada to the only Quarter Midget track in Canada located in Langley BC so his sons Cayden and Treyten could participate in the Western Grands for Quarter Midgets. Both sons enjoyed great success racing against competitors from across Canada and the United States.

Nine year old Cayden Lapcevich was the 2008 Light Mod Champion and scored a remarkable win to make it back to back titles. Qualifying third in the final the youngster was bumped off at the start and bent a spindle. Adjusting his driving style to compensate for the problem he charged from the back of the field toward the front. A fortunate late caution flag allowed for a restart with three laps remaining and Cayden would make his final move from second to the lead and secure the victory.

In the Light B Class young Cayden had problems with a throttle cable during practice and qualified a disappointing seventh for the “A Main final”. The young man would fall further back during hectic racing at the start. Unfazed he raced back to the front of the field without the aid of a caution flag. In the lone caution period of the race Cayden was shuffled back to fifth with two laps remaining but pushed his way forward to score a second place finish.

Cayden Lapcevich also competed for the first time this year in the Senior Stock Division. In the “B Main” Cayden finished second and earn a transfer spot into the “A Main Final”. After starting seventh in the “A Main” Lapcevich would once again demonstrate his racing skills and claim the checkered flag.

Five year old Treyten Lapcevich competed in his first Western Grands competition and also enjoyed tremendous success. In only his fifth race Treyten ran the Jr. Novice class and on the final lap made the pass for the lead and the race victory.

Needless to say it was a very proud father who commented after the event. “It is so much fun to watch your kids go out and do something they enjoy” said Jeff Lapcevich. “It’s even better when they can have the kind of success the boys did at this great weekend here in Langley, BC. We can’t wait to do it again in the East”.

The Lapcevich family is currently attending the 2009 Eastern Grands in Huntsville, Alabama where upwards of 600 participants are expected. Look for an update on their success in the coming days.

Jeff Lapcevich and the Tim Hortons team will resume competition in the 2009 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series on Saturday August 8th at Mosport Speedway following the Western Canada Events. This year’s series events will consist of ovals, road courses and temporary street circuits from coast to coast in Canada. All events are once again scheduled to appear on TSN. For More information about Jeff Lapcevich and Lapcevich racing log onto www.lapcevichracing.com.