**Photo courtesy of Sylvain Lauwers
June 5, 2011, GRIMSBY, ON – Jeff Lapcevich clawed his way to a sixth place finish in the Grand Prix ICAR Sunday in Mirabel, Quebec, after starting dead last in the 27-car NASCAR Canadian Tire Series field.
The Grimsby, Ontario, racer suffered a major setback in practice Saturday when he bounced his Tim Hortons-sponsored Dodge Challenger over the curbing that lines the inside of the track sending him careening into the outside retaining wall. The car sustained enough damage that the team was unsure whether it would compete the following day or not. After failing to make a qualifying run Lapcevich was forced to start at the tail of the field.
“If you asked me where I thought I might finish before the race I’m not sure how I would have answered,” said Lapcevich after the event. “The competition is pretty tough, and the track is very technical and demanding.
“I need to thank my crew chief Tim Ellas and the rest of our team for making major repairs on the car to get it ready to race.”
The race car suffered heavy damage on the right front corner and to the rear suspension in the accident. While it wasn’t at 100 percent Lapcevich still managed to work through the field and come home with a great result.
“The car was a handful to drive,” said Lapcevich. “The left front shock absorber fell off its mount early in the race, and it was pretty wild to drive after that.”
Despite the setback Lapcevich took advantage of a couple of late-race restarts to challenge for a top-five finish.
“We dodged the wrecks today, and I had enough racecar at the end to race hard to the finish. This result is definitely a reflection of the crew’s hard work.”
Lapcevich returns to action next Saturday when the series visits Delaware Speedway near London, Ontario. For more information on Jeff Lapcevich and his team Fastline Motorsports visit www.LapcevichRacing.com.
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