BOWMANVILLE, ON- Road course expert Jeff Lapcevich turned in the latest in what’s become a long line of impressive performances at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park on August 30th. The Fastline Motorsports representative earned runner-up honours in Round 9 of the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series presented by Mobil 1.
Lapcevich qualified 7th for the Pinty’s presents The Clarington 200, but served an early drive-through penalty for speeding on pit road that surrendered a significant portion of track position.
The veteran worked swiftly to rebound, cutting through the field with surgical precision to rejoin the top-10, where he remained for the entirety of the event’s second half.
“I really think we had a car strong enough to compete for the win if things had gone differently today”, explained Lapcevich. “I have no one to blame but myself for speeding on pit road. The crew did an awesome job getting us back into contention after the drive-through penalty. We took two tires instead of four to make up the track position we had lost”
Lapcevich found himself in the 2nd position at the time of the final restart with 6-laps to go. The No. 76 Tim Hortons Dodge battled hard for the lead in the waning laps, but ultimately could not overtake the top spot, settling for his second runner-up finish at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park this season.
“We were strong with two fresh tires – and I can’t help but wonder if four would have put us over the top”, offered Lapcevich.
“We weren’t able to take off the way we would have liked to on the final restart. It took a lap or two for the car to come back to us, and by then it was too late”
The team’s recent results at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park speak for themselves. In the last four NASCAR Canadian Tire Series events held at the Bowmanville, ON circuit, Lapcevich has earned three runner-up finishes and a pole position.
“I guess we get around here pretty good”, smiled the veteran when reminded of his impressive statistics. “We came back here this weekend with the same setup we started with in the Spring. We had to battle through some transmission issues in the first practice, which left us a little behind on adjustments. But, come race time, I think we were as quick or quicker than any other car on the track”
After top-6 finishes in his last 3 NCATS appearances, Lapcevich will put renewed focus into his oval program for the final two events of the season at Barrie Speedway on September 6th and Kawartha Speedway on September 20th.
Jeff Lapcevich and the Fastline Motorsports are honoured to represent Tim Hortons, Castrol, Cathcart Trucking, Troy Cove Marine, EpicRacewear by OnePromo.ca and Springer’s Meats throughout their 2014 season.
By Spencer Lewis (@itsspencerlewis)
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