August 30, 2010, GRIMSBY, ON –Jeff Lapcevich appeared poised for a top-five finish in the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series’ premier event in Montreal Sunday. The acclaimed road racer from Grimsby, Ontario, suffered a broken transmission just two turns from the finish of the NAPA Autopro 100. His Tim Hortons-sponsored Chevrolet never crossed the finish line.
“We bought a brand new transmission for this race,” said Lapcevich. “It worked great all weekend, but something went wrong at the very end. I can’t believe it broke. They’re supposed to be basically indestructible.”
Lapcevich was running in the top five when his transmission failed. Prior to the event’s finish Lapcevich’s Fastline Motorsports entry enjoyed a stellar weekend in the final road course race on the schedule.
“I thought we would qualify better than eighth, but any time you can start in the top 10 you give yourself a chance to contend,” said Lapcevich. “Things appeared to be going my way throughout the race.”
After starting near the front Lapcevich advanced as high as second place early in the event. His ability to avoid mishaps and capitalize on his competitors’ errors helped his cause. After losing a few spots in a mid-race restart Lapcevich found himself in the midst of a torrid multi-car battle for position.
Lapcevich endured contact with competitor Louis Phillip Dumoulin that sent the Trois Rivieres, Quebec, spinning across the grass before getting hit hard by another driver. He regrouped to challenge fellow veterans Don Thomson jr., and Robin Buck for the third position.
“We were all racing hard,” said Lapcevich. “The pace in these road course races is terribly fast. You can’t give an inch.”
When one final green-white-checkered flag restart meant the drivers had just two laps to settle the finish it was clear the gloves had fallen.
Lapcevich again stumbled on the restart, but his determined driving style allowed him to close on Thomson and Bowles to challenge for second.
“I’m not sure if we had anything to challenge Ranger, but when you’re that close to the lead anything can happen,” said Lapcevich.
Anything did happen. Jason Bowles contacted race leader Andrew Ranger just three turns from the finish to take the lead. At the same time Lapcevich’s transmission failed causing him to pull out of the racing groove and coast to a stop. Ranger retaliated returning the contact to Bowles to take the dramatic victory.
Lapcevich and the Fastline Motorsports team have great optimism heading towards the 2011 road course season. The remaining three events in 2010 are on oval tracks.
“We got better all season long with our road course program,” said Lapcevich. “We brought in a new crew chief Bucket Torrey from North Carolina during the off season, and I’m happy with how the entire team adjusted.
“This was as competitive as we’ve been on a road course this year. We have a lot to look forward to when we come back next year. We’ve been on the podium once this year so far, and I think we have a good chance to do it again with the upcoming events.”
For more information on Jeff Lapcevich and Fastline Motorsports visit LapcevichRacing.com.
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