Cayden Lapcevich has successful week in QMA racing in Connecticut
Eight-year old brings home two Championship rings
Meriden, Connecticut (July 2, 2008) - The week-long 2008 Quarter Midgets of America (QMA) Eastern Grands were recently held in Meriden, Connecticut, June 22 to June 28. This is the largest event of the year and attracted nearly 600 cars from as far away as California, New Mexico, Arizona, and Colorado. Cayden Lapcevich, the sole Canadian of the group arrived June 20 and as the reigning Region 4 Jr. Honda, Jr. Stock, and Lt. Mod Champion he was ready to take on the competition.
The first of two practice rounds got underway Sunday and Cayden, happy with all three cars, found himself among the fastest in all three divisions.
After some minor chassis adjustments and gear changes Cayden set out to qualify on Tuesday. With over 50 cars in Jr. Honda and Lt. Mod and over 30 in Jr. Stock, a good time trial was imperative to secure one of the few spots directly into the A-Main. The Jr. Honda racers were the first to hit the track and as one of the last to qualify, Cayden’s run was hampered as cloud cover rolled in. He would manage a time of 6.7860 seconds on the oval, good enough for fifth overall and a fourth-place starting position in Friday’s B-Main.
Cayden’s next task would be Jr. Stock time trials. He clicked off a lap of 6.1500 seconds, good enough for a new track record. Unfortunately, celebrations were short-lived as local racer Christopher Lomartire turned in a 6.1300-second lap shortly after dropping Lapcevich to number two spot. Cayden’s run was also fast enough to give him the number three starting position in Saturday’s A-Main event.
With Jr. Honda and Jr. Stock qualifying completed, Cayden jumped into his Lt. Mod machine to take on the big boys. His best lap of 5.9470 seconds was the tenth quickest time and put him on the pole for the B-Main in that division.
There was lots of racing action on Wednesday and Thursday as the lower mains were run. The high car count resulted in a total of 99 races to the completion of the last A-Main.
The Jr. Honda B-Main rolled off late Friday morning and Cayden needed a top-four finish to secure one of the eight starting positions in the main event. From his fourth place starting position Cayden moved quickly to second, trailing Zach Sobotka of Oswego, NY, whose car was ironically powered by Cayden’s spare engine after his lost power while running the G-Main. Cayden followed patiently but when Sobotka bobbled late in the race, Lapcevich dropped to the bottom and completed the pass, taking the win in the B-Main.
After watching a couple of the other B-Mains, Cayden prepared for the Lt. Mod B-Main. He would need a top-five finish in this class to earn one of ten A-Main starting spots. From the pole position Cayden took off and led the first 10 laps until Ty Fiser of Colorado made his way under, taking six other cars with him as Cayden got hung on the outside. Unfazed by the setback, Cayden began to work his way back to the front and when the checkered fell he found himself in fourth, good enough for the ninth starting spot in the main event.
Saturday brought high temperatures, sunny skies, and high humidity. From his fifth-place starting position in the Jr. Honda A-Main, Cayden went right to work moving past Harrison Burton, son of NASCAR great Jeff Burton, and fast qualifier Sydney Prince on the first lap. By lap three he had found his way around Alex Murray of Charlotte, NC, and Danny Allen of Sacramento, CA. Cayden would defend a couple of late-race restart attempts to drop him from the point and go on to win his first ever Grands A-Main followed by Danny Allen and Sydney Prince.
The Jr. Stock race was his next event and although he struggled with a loose race car in warm-ups, the team decided not to adjust, feeling that its condition would improve with a long green flag run. Cayden was able to move into the lead right at the drop of the green but the long run he needed never developed and he struggled to maintain the top spot throughout the race, fighting off several attempts by Christopher Lomartire. A restart with five to go proved crucial as Lomartire made an attempt to pass going into turn one but Cayden slammed the door, causing Lomartire to loose his momentum and Lapcevich opened up a four-car lead which he would keep until the checkered fell. After taking his victory lap, Cayden nosed his car into the turn one wall, unstrapped himself, and scaled the fence to receive congratulations from his mother Sherri who watched with little brothers Treyten and Ryden from outside turn one.
Having captured victories in the two Jr. classes and attaining his personal goal of making the Lt. Mod A-Main the pressure was off and Cayden strapped in to his Mod to go out and have some fun. From the ninth position Cayden began to work the bottom and after a long green flag run had moved past the majority of the field and found himself in second position chasing down Kris Lederer of Pennsylvania, who had opened up a half a straightaway lead. Within six laps Lapcevich had made his way to the rear bumper of Lederer’s machine as the caution waved for an incident in turn two. A few restarts with short runs proved to be just what Lederer needed as Cayden was unable to mount a successful charge in so few laps. Cayden crossed the line with a well deserved second place finish, an amazing accomplishment for the eight-year old racer.
Trophy presentations followed engine tear downs and with two Championship rings and one runner-up finish, Cayden headed for home having clearly had the most successful Grands of the nearly 600 entries.
Next up for the Grimsby resident is Round 5 of the Region 4 Championship Series July 5 and 6 in West Liberty, Ohio followed by the Western Grands in Sacramento, California at the end of July.
Cayden is thankful for his support from Fastline Motorsports, B&J Electric, Reinhart Trailers, and Joel Robinson.
For sponsorship information contact Jeff Lapcevich at lapcevich23@hotmail.com or call (905) 971-1510.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
Jeff Lapcevich
Cellular: (905) 971-1510
E-mail: lapcevich23@hotmail.com
Website:
www.FastlineMotorsports.ca Linkback: https://www.canadianracingonline.com/smf/index.php?topic=7773.msg46210#msg46210
