Lapcevich & Bryant Team Up For CARS Tour Title Chase

Treyten Lapcevich (center) will pursue the CARS Late Model Stock Tour championship this year. (Chad Bryant Racing photo)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Reigning NASCAR Canada Series champion Treyten Lapcevich is headed south with a new goal: chasing the zMAX CARS Late Model Stock Tour title.

Lapcevich confirmed Thursday during CARS Tour Production Day at the NASCAR Hall of Fame that he’s joined Chad Bryant Racing to tackle the premier late model stock car tour in the Southeast.

The 19-year-old from Grimsby, Ontario, will wheel the No. 77 with support from Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship and Evirum Inc., which is also a presenting partner of the NASCAR Canada Series.

“This is a huge day for me,” said Lapcevich. “[A move like this] was basically the next step for me in my career progression. “I feel like we kind of did all we could do in Canada, and that this was the right time for me to make the jump [to the United States] and the right time to try something different, too.

“I knew going into this year that I wanted to race full time in the [United] States moving forward, and the CARS Tour is really the place to do that with where I’m at right now,” he added. “It’s gaining a lot of popularity; the teams and the guys that are involved in this series now are huge.

“The way I look at it, being right down here in the Carolinas, there’s really nothing bigger than this.”

Treyten Lapcevich celebrates a victory last season in the NASCAR Canada Series at Sutherland Automotive Speedway. (Matthew Manor/NASCAR photo)

Lapcevich’s breakout season came last year, as he catapulted into the national spotlight with seven victories in 14 races en route to a dominant NASCAR Canada Series championship effort.

His 61-point margin in the standings was the largest in the series since it first moved to a point-per-position model for the 2012 season.

Having seen his older brother, Cayden Lapcevich, attempt a similar move to American racing after winning NASCAR’s Canadian championship in 2016, Treyten wanted to jump at the opportunity when it came to him.

“I was able to do the Snowball Derby [at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Fla.] in a super late model back in December, and that was a good step for me and really cemented that I wanted to be in this kind of [racing] environment for the future,” Lapcevich said. “To have the chance to drive for someone like Chad, who’s helped to elevate so many drivers to the next level … you can’t pass that up.”

Bryant tipped that he’s looking forward to working with Lapcevich, who’s the latest in a line of young talent that the car owner and ARCA Menards Series title-winning crew chief has worked with in recent years.

Since capturing the 2016 ARCA national championship as crew chief for Chase Briscoe, who has gone on to success in the NASCAR Cup Series with Stewart-Haas Racing, Bryant has worked with the likes of Derek Griffith, Corey Heim, and more recently, Ty Majeski.

Now, Lapcevich joins that list, with Bryant serving as both owner and crew chief for Lapcevich this year.

“The partnership actually just came together in the last couple [of] days,” noted Bryant during CARS Tour Production Day. “We intend on keeping our history alive and competing at the highest level for a championship and for race wins, week-in and week-out.

“It’s not all the time that you get to compete with a driver the caliber of Treyten … and we’re really excited about his talents and his capabilities as he steps into our equipment.”

That kind of praise has Lapcevich optimistic for the coming year, with his eyes set firmly on repeating the level of success that he produced in his home country a season ago.

“I want to go out there and win races and compete for a championship at the end of the year. That’s really what this comes down to,” tipped Lapcevich. “We know it’s not going to be easy. This is a new car for me and most of the places we’ll go will be new tracks for me as well, but I think we’ve set ourselves up nicely and put ourselves in a good situation with the right people to go out and compete at a high level.

“It’s definitely a lot of new things for me, but I’m excited for all of it and can’t wait to get started.”

Lapcevich will make his CARS Late Model Stock Tour debut with Chad Bryant Racing during the March 9 season opener at Southern National Motorsports Park in Kenly, N.C.