Engine Issue Stops Laprade In Auburndale Sportsman Go

A front-end view of Matthew Laprade's Sportsman car for Right Foot Down Motorsports.

AUBURNDALE, Fla. – Mechanical gremlins bit Matthew Laprade and Right Foot Down Motorsports over the weekend at Auburndale Speedway, preventing them from contesting the Sportsman division main event.

While Laprade entered the weekend with optimism, his blue-and-yellow No. 1 developed a miss in the engine during practice at the quarter-mile paved oval that sent the team scrambling to find the cause.

Though Daniel Webster and company made a long list of changes to try and alleviate the issue, the culprit was narrowed down to a likely blown head gasket, ending Laprade’s night before it truly had a chance to begin.

It marked a disappointing second straight Auburndale race where Laprade was unable to start due to engine woes.

“It’s painful,” he admitted of working through the mechanical problems. “You sit as a driver and just hope your luck has to change soon, right? We had so much potential starting out in the Sportsman class after our debut, and now it seems like nothing has quite gone the right way since then. I hate it for Daniel and all the guys who put their time into these race cars, because they deserve to see us on track fighting for wins and strong finishes and that’s what we want to deliver for them.

“We’re not going to give up, though, just like they didn’t give up Saturday trying to figure out exactly what went wrong so that we could try to get back on track,” Laprade continued. “I can’t thank Daniel enough for that dedication, and we’ll look to get the ship righted soon with that program.”

Saturday night was scheduled to be Laprade’s 29th race of the season. He has seven wins, 20 podiums, and 23 top fives across Legend car, Pro Truck, Sportsman, and asphalt modified competition.

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’s next planned race is the Saturday, Oct. 4 ‘Late Addition’ at Mobile (Ala.) Int’l Speedway, where he’ll drive the Grant Thompson Racing No. 54 Pro Truck with the United Auto Racing Alliance.

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, visit his website at www.matthewlapraderacing.com.