After having to wait nearly four months following a postponed date during All-Star Race weekend, zMAX CARS Late Model Stock Car and Pro Late Model Tour teams finally got the opportunity to race at North Wilkesboro Speedway this year.
The prolonged wait proved to be worth it for spectators that had to withstand another rain delay prior to the first green flag of the evening. North Wilkesboro’s freshly-paved surface created plenty of challenges for competitors, which resulted in frantic racing as everyone battled to obtain crucial track position.
An electric evening culminated with Treyten Lapcevich prevailing to earn his maiden CARS LMSC Tour victory, all while Tristan McKee survived several late-race challenges and obtained his third career win with the CARS PLM Tour.
Treyten Lapcevich breaks through for maiden LMSC Tour victory
With so much success to his name, it was inevitable that Tretyen Lapcevich would eventually find his way to victory lane in the CARS LMSC Tour.
Achieving that milestone at a historic facility like North Wilkesboro Speedway was a surreal experience for Lapcevich. He had long been familiar with the history surrounding the facility and its revival, which only added to the catharsis of besting many of the best Late Model Stock competitors in Saturday’s Window World 125.
“It’s unreal,” Lapcevich said. “I have to thank all the people who believed in me to get me to this point. These Chad Bryant Racing guys gave me a great car and I’m so excited to be here. I feel like we’ve been running pretty good, but we finally put one together tonight.”
The defending champion in the NASCAR Canada Series, motorsports has always been prevalent in Lapcevich’s family. Along with his father Jeff being a racer, Lacpevich’s brother Cayden won the NASCAR Canada Series title back in 2016 and currently works as a crew chief in the ARCA Menards Series for Venturini Motorsports.
Lapcevich was determined to maintain his efficiency when he signed with Chad Bryant Racing for the full LMSC Tour campaign in 2024. The combination of Lapcevich and Bryant has proven to be a strong one, as Lapcevich entered North Wilkesboro fourth in the LMSC Tour standings with three top fives on the year.
For as strong as Lapcevich has been all year, there are plenty of aspects about Late Model Stock racing he is still figuring out. This was apparent during an early restart when a missed shift by Lapcevich ended up triggering a multi-car wreck, of which Lapcevich took responsibility for in his post-race interview.
Lapcevich did not let the mistake rattle him, as he turned his attention towards chasing down Brenden ‘Butterbean’ Queen for the race lead. The duo engaged in a heated battle for several laps before Lapcevich finally got the necessary run to overtake Queen and spend the rest of the race out front with little opposition.
The triumph was nearly undone when Lapcevich barely missed the wrecked car of Brandon Pierce after slipping in oil on the track. He considers himself fortunate to not only avoid the potential disaster, but to even have a chance at continuing his stellar career in the United States with a strong operation like Bryant’s.
“I thought it was over honestly,” Lapcevich said. “I hit oil and we couldn’t even tell there was oil on the track. I was able to just squeak by the outside of [Brandon Pierce]. I know my words can’t fix the torn up race cars [from earlier], but it’s a mistake and it happens.”
Tristan McKee celebrates birthday by winning at North Wilkesboro
Only a handful of birthday presents compared to riding the elevator up to North Wilkesboro Speedway’s victory lane.
Tristan McKee, who recently turned 14 years old, obtained that unique opportunity by opening the night with a CARS PLM Tour victory in The Reverend 100. He accomplished this by withstanding separate charges from PLM Tour points leader Spencer Davis and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series competitor Corey Heim.
“I was super scared,” McKee said. “My car was getting pretty tight and I was struggling a little bit. I knew [Heim and Davis] were pretty good, but I wanted them to keep battling and battling and give me some space. They got close, but it was a good race overall.”
Despite his young age, McKee has already made an indelible mark in the CARS Tour record books. He became the youngest winner in the history of the series during the 2023 season at Dillon Motor Speedway after passing Ashton Higgins with 17 laps remaining.
The 2024 season has seen McKee partner with Setzer Racing Development, which guided William Sawalich to six victories in nine PLM Tour starts during the 2022 season. McKee has begun to capture some of that magic in recent weeks, as he earned his first win with the team at Caraway Speedway in July, in which he led all but one lap.
McKee’s recent success has given him more confidence behind the wheel, which was imperative ahead of his CARS LMSC Tour debut the same night at North Wilkesboro. He qualified tenth and maintained solid track position for most of the evening before a mechanical failure ended McKee’s race 27 laps before the finish.
While the LMSC Tour feature did not go as planned, McKee still had plenty to cherish after joining an elite list of North Wilkesboro winners at just the age of 14. With only five PLM Tour events remaining, McKee hopes to finish out the year strong while gaining more on-track experience.
Corey Heim a bridesmaid in LMSC, PLM features
With no NASCAR events during the Olympic break and the CARS Tour rescheduling North Wilkesboro to August, Corey Heim utilized the availability by running in both the LMSC and PLM events.
Heim’s bid for a complete sweep came up one spot short in each race. He ran out of time in the PLM Tour feature as he tried to mount a charge on Tristan McKee, while Heim successfully passed his teammate Brenden ‘Butterbean’ Queen and Mini Tyrrell during the closing laps of the LMSC event to secure a runner-up spot.
One of the CARS Tour’s most successful alums, Heim has thrived at the national level with 10 victories in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. Heim also made his NASCAR Cup Series debut earlier this year as a substitute in two events Erik Jones, who was injured in a late-race crash at Talladega Superspeedway.
The experience Heim obtained from his Truck Series victory at North Wilkesboro earlier this year provided him optimism as he sought redemption from a near miss in last year’s PLM Tour race. He led 32 laps while driving for Donnie Wilson Motorsports, but ended up losing a hard-fought battle for the win to short track veteran Augie Grill.
Despite two valiant efforts, Heim came away from North Wilkesboro with no victories. He will now turn his attention back towards the Truck Series as he looks to usurp another CARS Tour alum in Christian Eckes and claim a championship at Phoenix Raceway in November.
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