Second For Laprade In Mobile Appearance With GTR

Matthew Laprade (center) with his crew after a second-place finish at Mobile Int'l Speedway. (MDL Motorsports photo)

MOBILE, Ala. – Florida’s Matthew Laprade turned in a runner-up finish during his latest Pro Truck start at Mobile Int’l Speedway over the weekend.

Laprade posted the third-fastest time in qualifying, a lap of 19.755 seconds around the half-mile paved oval, and settled into third place once the green flag waved over the 30-lap main event.

The 13-year-old from New Smyrna Beach waged a fierce mid-race duel with Jason Welch before taking the runner-up spot for good on a halfway restart.

From there, Laprade gave chase to eventual winner and class veteran Steven Davis, but came 1.342 seconds shy of catching Davis for the win.

Still, however, it was the latest in a series of strong finishes for Laprade during his return to the No. 54 entry for Grant Thompson Racing.

“I have learned a ton in the last six weeks competing and growing with Grant Thompson Racing,” said Laprade. “I want to thank Grant, Bo, Cole, and Eddie for all their effort and for pushing me to be a better driver every time we hit the track. A special thanks goes out to John Thompson for giving me the opportunity to learn with a new team and get more laps on track by adding to my schedule.

“We didn’t quite have the speed that Steven did, but I still gained knowledge racing him and the other frontrunners in Saturday’s race,” Laprade continued. “I’ll take everything that I know after this experience back to Right Foot Down Motorsports and Kaden Honeycutt Racing, and we’ll look to build on this at Auburndale and Houston coming up.”

The overall season to-date for Laprade includes six wins, 14 podiums, and 16 top fives in 17 starts. Five of Laprade’s six victories came during INEX Legend car competition at Auburndale in February.

Thanks go out to marketing partners Wade Tractor & Equipment, Adrenalin Powersports, Synergy SpeedLab, Race Face Brand Development, and the Friends of Jaclyn Foundation for their support of Laprade’s racing efforts.

Laprade returns to Pro Truck action Saturday night, June 28 at Auburndale (Fla.) Speedway with Daniel Websiter’s Right Foot Down Motorsports team.

He’ll follow up that race by heading to Houston Motorsports Park on Saturday, July 5 to compete with Kaden Honeycutt Racing for the second time, after a fifth-place result there in April.

About Matthew Laprade

Matthew Laprade is a 13-year-old Legend car and Pro Truck racer from New Smyrna Beach, Fla., who is competing primarily in Pro Trucks this year across the Southeast, as well as in high-profile Legend car events, including the INEX Winter Nationals at Auburndale (Fla.) Speedway.

He drives for Right Foot Down Motorsports, Grant Thompson Racing, and Kaden Honeycutt Racing in the Pro Truck category.

Laprade began his driving career at six years old in dirt go-karts, now having raced for more than half his life. He shocked the karting world in 2019 during his rookie season by winning the Vega Florida State Championship in the Rookie Division.

Invited to the nationals as a result, Laprade went on to capture the Vega National Championship that season in the Rookie Division, cementing his place as a young racer with prodigious talent.

Laprade’s second major championship came in 2021, when he claimed the Florida Dirt Championship Series title in the Junior 1 division, and he also added a victory in the prestigious World 100 karting event in Junior 1 that season as well.

After racing Bandolero cars for back-to-back seasons in 2022 and ’23, highlighted by a third-place finish in the Bandolero Nationals at Charlotte Motor Speedway in his sophomore Bandolero season, Laprade made the move to Legend cars for 2024. His Winter Nationals mini-series championship at Citrus County Speedway came on the strength of five race wins in five days from Feb. 12-16.

Laprade’s summer stretch in 2024 was highlighted by a top-five finish during round nine of the Summer Shootout, as well as a ninth-place finish in the Thursday Thunder Young Lions standings.

Away from the racetrack, Laprade’s competitive interests include golfing and fishing, and he golfed rounds with the PGA Junior League this year during downtime from his racing schedule. He is also a supporter of the Friends of Jaclyn Foundation’s efforts to fight pediatric cancer.

For more information, news, and results, visit www.matthewlapraderacing.com.