May 25, 2010, GRIMSBY, ON – Fastline Motorsports enjoyed its best pre-season test sessions ever when Jeff Lapcevich turned laps at Kawartha Speedway, Delaware Speedway, and Mosport International Raceway recently. You might say the Grimsby, Ontario, driver found success in Bucket with his NASCAR Canadian Tire Series entry.
The team recently named Rob Torrey from North Carolina its crew chief for the Tim Hortons Chevrolets driven by Lapcevich. Torrey is known by most in racing circles only as ‘Bucket’.
A newcomer to the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series Bucket has extensive experience working with race teams in various capacities. He has turned wrenches on NASCAR Nationwide Series cars and most recently he served as crew chief with a prominent NASCAR Mexico team.
Bucket’s impact on the team’s cars was felt immediately. After working on the Fastline cars in North Carolina the team traveled to Kawartha Speedway in Peterborough for its first test of the year. Lapcevich was unofficially the fastest car of the week.
“It’s been a long time since we’ve been the fastest car at a test session,” says Lapcevich. “I’m excited for the season to start. Bucket is a great fit with our crew, and the cars have never felt better.”
Following the Kawartha Speedway test the team participated in practice sessions at Delaware Speedway and the tricky Mosport road course with different cars. Lapcevich was near the top in both sessions.
“We’ll start the season with a great deal of confidence,” says Lapcevich. “It’s been a long time since I’ve felt we were this prepared to go racing. Both the oval car and the road course car feel great.”
The NASCAR Canadian Tire Series kicks off at Delaware Speedway on June 5th. The second race on the schedule is at Mosport the following weekend. Lapcevich scored his best career NASCAR finish last fall at Riverside Speedway in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, when he came home second.
The goal for 2010 is victory. If the past is indication it’s only a matter of time before Lapcevich finds the elusive win. The talented stock car racer has wins throughout North America in various forms of motorsports. The addition of Bucket was made to rediscover Fastline Motorsports’ winning tradition.
“The team has been great to work with,” says Bucket. “They brought me here to help them win races, and from what I’ve seen there’s no reason to think we can’t do it.”
Lapcevich’s last stock car win came in the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series’ predecessor CASCAR Super Series in Edmonton in 2006. The win was the last in a series of dominant performances for Lapcevich on road courses. Since the arrival of NASCAR on the Canadian racing scene Lapcevich has been shut out of the win column, but he believes they are close.
“The last few years we’ve been close at times, but I think we have a package we can be consistent contenders with,” he says.
Lapcevich will run most of the Canadian Tire Series this year with the exception of the western swing and one race in Quebec. With the possibility of a points title out of reach the team will focus solely on winning races.
“We don’t have to points race,” says Bucket. “We know we won’t be in the chase for the championship, so we can run every race for the win and take chances with pit strategy we couldn’t otherwise.”
Fastline Motorsports also improving online presence
Along with a new crew chief the team is excited to re-launch its website LapcevichRacing.com just in time for the season’s first race at Delaware Speedway. The new source for information about the Hamilton, Ontario-based team is more interactive and informative, and it will feature live updates during every race weekend so fans can keep track of Lapcevich’s performance throughout his events.
“We know our fans can’t always get to every race, so we’re working on a website where we can get them as close to the action as we can,” says Lapcevich. “We plan to have pictures and results on the site throughout our race weekends for people to experience the season with us.”
The new site with live weekend updates will launch on June 5th with the opening of the 2010 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series season at Delaware Speedway in London, Ontario. For more information on Fastline Motorsports visit LapcevichRacing.com.
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