GRIMSBY, ON- With the memories of his first career Sunset Speedway championship still fresh in his mind, Super Stock division standout Cayden Lapcevich is readying himself for what could prove to be the most hectic schedule of his young career.
The 2015 season will take Lapcevich across Ontario, as ‘The Prodigy’ plans to make his long awaited NASCAR Canadian Tire Series debut in addition to juggling a return to the same Super Stock division that helped vault him into the provincial spotlight last summer.
“I’ve never been so excited for a race season,” smiles the third-generation star. “It feels like we’ve been planning for 2015 from the moment we got home from the last race of 2014”
“With all the work we’ve been putting into our cars and our shop, it hasn’t felt like the off-season has even started yet,” laughs Lapcevich.
The 15-year old hopes to make a handful of starts with the cross-country tour, driving his father Jeff’s familiar No. 76 Tim Hortons sponsored Dodge.
“We haven’t finalized our schedule yet, but it’s sounding like I’ll be able to run five NCATS races on top of being back in the Super Stock at Sunset”
While the dates and locations have yet to be finalized, Lapcevich explains that the primary goal of the partial schedule will be to familiarize the young star to the vastly different equipment, in time for a possible fulltime run in 2016.
“These cars are so much different than anything I’ve ever raced before, there’s definitely going to be a huge learning curve,” says the high-school student.
“We had a testing session at Sunset, shortly after the last NASCAR [Canadian Tire Series] race of the season, and it went really well,” continues Lapcevich. “Adapting to these cars is just like anything else in racing, the more seat time you get, the more comfortable you’re going to feel”
Lapcevich will focus primarily on road courses in 2015, with the young star hoping to develop a feel for the style of racing after competing exclusively in oval racing through the early portion of his career.
“There’s a tonne of really demanding road courses on the schedule, and there’s no question that if you want the chance to make a name for yourself in the [NASCAR] Canadian Tire Series, you have to put together a quality road course program,” says Lapcevich.
“I was lucky enough to spend some time at the Bondurant School of Performance Driving earlier this winter, and it really helped me understand the mechanics of a strong performance on a road course”
And though Lapcevich will be unable to commit to a full schedule of Super Stock competition at Sunset, ‘The Prodigy’ will still be aiming to take down some big victories at the track over the course of the season.
“I have so much respect for the level of talent in the Super Stock division, I can’t wait to get back on track with those guys,” says the 2014 division champion. “It feels like the competition gets tougher every year, and even though we won’t be able to defend our track championship, we’ll still be there as much as possible to see if we can’t find our way back to victory lane a few times”
“None of this would ever be possible without Tim Hortons,” closes Lapcevich. “To have their support means the absolute world to me. It’s been a dream to drive for them at the weekly level, and I’m excited to represent them on the national stage.”
Fans can keep up with all of the exciting off-season developments by visiting the official Cayden Lapcevich Racing page on Facebook, or by following ‘The Prodigy’ on Twitter @CaydenLapcevich.
By Spencer Lewis (@itsspencerlewis)
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