Treyten Lapcevich has been unstoppable in the NASCAR Pinty’s Series this season.
In the opening four races of the season, Lapcevich has visited victory lane on three occasions, scoring victories at Sunset Speedway, Canadian Tire Motorsports Park, and now Eastbound International Speedway.
A native of Grimsby, Ontario, Lapcevich started Saturday’s 250-lap contest from fifth place, but struggled in the opening laps of the event, falling even further down the running order, and into the back half of the top-10.
At one point before the mid-way break, Lapcevich’s team had brought the No. 20 Chevrolet Camaro down pit road to make wholesale adjustments on his entry. After that change, and a five-minute break at halfway, the 19-year-old driver came to life.
When the closing stages of the race got underway, Lapcevich quickly returned to his usual form, marching through the pack and quickly returning to a spot inside the top five, and before long involving himself in a battle for the lead.
With 69 laps to go, after heavily stalking then-race-leader Brandon Watson, Lapcevich made a move to the inside of the widely-renowned Canadian short-track racer to secure the top spot.
After taking the lead, Lapcevich had to endure three separate restarts in which both Alex Labbe and MA Camirand hounded his rear bumper. However, neither driver was any match for the No. 20, who stretched his margin almost immediately every time.
At the end of 250 laps, the NASCAR Pinty’s Series points leader had extended his lead to over a second, crossing the start-finish line 1.491 seconds ahead of runner-up finisher Alex Labbe, replacing Thomas Nepveu
Marc-Antoine Camirand, the defending champion of the NASCAR Pinty’s Series, came home in third place, with Alex Guenette and Kevin Lacroix rounding out the top five. Alex Tagliani, Larry Jackson, LP Dumoulin, Dexter Stacey, and JP Bergeron completed the top-10.
Although four laps off the pace, Bergeron still managed a top-10 finish, despite leaping onto the right-front corner of Brandon McFarlane in the early portion of Saturday’s 250-lap contest.
Leaving Eastbound International Speedway in Newfoundland, Treyten Lapcevich has expanded his points lead to a 23-point advantage over Kevin Lacroix in the second. Alex Guenette, MA Camirand, and LP Dumoulin round out the top five in points.
