CASCAR - Toronto Indy Summary & Results
CASCAR Super Series Avenue ACDelco 100 For immediate release / July 12, 2003 Jeff Lapcevich wins the Avenue ACDelco 100 CASCAR Super Series race at the Toronto Indy TORONTO, ON In the past year, Jeff Lapcevich has been in contention to win at least two CASCAR Super Series races. But on both occasions - at Mosport Int’l Raceway and at the Vancouver Indy - victory somehow eluded the Fastline Motorsports Chevy driver. But on Saturday afternoon at the Toronto Indy, Lapcevich would not be denied. After starting second on the grid for the 36-lap Avenue ACDelco 100, the Hamilton, ON driver grabbed the lead immediately and relinquished the position only rarely en route to the checkered flag. In all, the talented road racer led all but nine tours of the 11-turn, temporary street course, and took the lead for the third and final time when he passed two-time CASCAR Toronto Indy winner Kevin Dowler, with just four laps to go. Although Dowler was in a position to challenge Lapcevich over the final four laps, an opportunity to recover the lead cleanly never presented itself and the EMCO Taurus driver settled for a solid second-place result. The third and final podium position went to Dowler’s Apollo Motorsports teammate, Trevor Seibert, who hails from Williams Lake, BC. In victory lane, Lapcevich - who has collected multiple race wins and series championships during his road racing career - said that the Toronto Indy CASCAR win was the biggest achievement of his racing career. He also noted that he was happy to have won the race on his fiancée Sherry’s birthday... because in his rush to get ready for the race, he hadn’t gotten her a present. Quebec racer Donald Theetge was fourth, ahead of Scott Steckly, who recently finished third at the Mosport road course race, in his Schick Pontiac. The championship points chase was shaken up considerably following the Avenue ACDelco 100. Don Thomson Jr. entered the race weekend with a three-point lead over Kerry Micks in the Super Series point standings. But a 27th-place finish, the result of being caught up in accident involving Peter Gibbons, dropped Thomson to second in the points, 39 points back of Micks. The UFCW driver led the points chase for much of the 2001 season and took the lead in the championship chase after a sixth-place finish in Toronto. The result was impressive considering Micks started 24th on Saturday. PHOTO: (l to r) CASCAR Super Series drivers Trevor Seibert (3rd), Jeff Lapcevich (1st) and Kevin Dowler (2nd) celebrate their podium finishes following the Avenue ACDelco 100 at the Toronto Indy, on Saturday afternoon CREDIT: G. MacPherson / Inside Track POINT STANDINGS: CASCAR Super Series following Race #5 of 12 / Unofficial as of July 12, 2003: 1. #02 Kerry Micks (750 pts.); 2. #4 Don Thomson Jr. (711); 3. #33 Neil Fair (701); 4. #22 Scott Steckly (682); 5. #64 Mark Dilley (674); 6. #60 Ron Beauchamp Jr. (669); 7. #37 DJ Kennington (659); 8. #1 Peter Gibbons (654); 9. #19 Brad Graham (644); 10. #14 John Fitzpatrick (635); 11. #93 Joe Goncalves (610); 12. #25 Jim Lapcevich (596); 13. #88 Dave Jacombs (596); 14. #71 Bryan Cathcart (584); 15. #24 Cole Pearn (564). CASCAR NOTEBOOK: The ‘Dodge Canada Day Shootout, presented by MOPAR’ at Cayuga 2000 Speedway will air on Sportsnet (Ontario) on Sunday, July 13 at 3 p.m. CASCAR Super Series RESULTS: Avenue ACDelco 100 Round #5 // July 12, 2003 // Molson Indy Toronto Toronto, Ontario // 36 Laps // 11-turn street circuit FIN. ST. # DRIVER (HOMETOWN) SPONSOR / MAKE LAPS 1 2 23 Jeff Lapcevich (Caistor Centre, ON) Fastline Motorsports Chevrolet Monte Carlo 36 2 3 35 Kevin Dowler (Edmonton, AB) EMCO Ford Taurus 36 3 12 09 Trevor Seibert (Williams Lake, BC) Apollo Motorsports Ford Taurus 36 4 4 80 Donald Theetge (Boischatel, QC) Auto Frank et Michel / Castrol Chevrolet Monte Carlo 36 5 11 22 Scott Steckly (Milverton, ON) Schick Xtreme3 / Razor Mag. / ERB Pontiac Grand Prix 36 6 24 02 Kerry Micks (Mt. Albert, ON) UFCW Canada Ford Taurus 36 7 5 33 Neil Fair (Ancaster, ON) Skoal Inc. / Mac's Intrepid 36 8 8 93 Joe Goncalves (Concord, ON) Holmar Plumbing Chevrolet Monte Carlo 36 9 9 77 Pete Vanderwyst (St. Thomas, ON) Pontiac Grand Prix 36 10 14 60 Ron Beauchamp Jr. (Windsor, ON) MOPAR Performance Parts / Exide Intrepid 36 11 17 3 Chris Fowler (Stouffville, ON) Snap On Tools / Castrol Chevrolet Monte Carlo 36 12 10 6 Howie Scannell Jr. (Milton, ON) XTL Logistics / Hobby Hobby Chevrolet Monte Carlo 36 13 23 64 Mark Dilley (Barrie, ON) NTN Bearings Intrepid 36 14 21 11 Dave Whitlock (Wyoming, ON) Avenue ACDelco / NMT Intrepid 36 15 29 2 Carl Harr (St. Albert, AB) GM Goodwrench of Alberta Chevrolet Monte Carlo 36 16 30 14 John Fitzpatrick (Ayr, ON) Cambridge Rigging Chevrolet Monte Carlo 36 17 20 88 Dave Jacombs (Mt. Hope, ON) Inroble Brakes / FAG Ford Taurus 35 18 26 71 Bryan Cathcart (Peterborough, ON) R National Fast Freight Intrepid 35 19 28 171 Daryl Harr (St. Albert, AB) Westworld Computers Chevrolet Monte Carlo 35 20 15 8 Marc Miller (Holland, MI) R Carhartt Clothing Chevrolet Monte Carlo 34 21 22 24 Cole Pearn (Mt. Brydges, ON) Kubota Canada Pontiac Grand Prix 34 22 33 86 Kenny Forth (Lynden, ON) Labour Ready / 820 CHAM / Rockton Berry Farm Ford Taurus 34 23 18 41 John Tsoumaris (Toronto, ON) John’s Unique Auto / Mama’s Pizza Chevrolet Monte Carlo 33 24 35 42 Sean Stafford (Springfield, ON) R Mid-America Freight Systems Chevrolet Monte Carlo 31 25 6 37 D.J. Kennington (St. Thomas, ON) Snap On Tools / Castrol Canada Intrepid 29 26 7 1 Peter Gibbons (Stouffville, ON) Canadian Tire Chevrolet Monte Carlo 21 27 13 4 Don Thomson Jr. (Hamilton, ON) Home Hardware Chevrolet Monte Carlo 21 28 1 66 Robin Buck (Campbellville, ON) Chiefs Heavy Truck Collision Pontiac Grand Prix 19 29 32 56 John Fletcher (Milton, ON) R Trailers By Jim Bray Chevrolet Monte Carlo 19 30 37 19 Brad Graham (Glencoe, ON) Challenger Motor Frt. / Volvo Trucks Pontiac Grand Prix 17 31 27 94 Mark Graham (Odessa, ON) Jumbo Video / Microplay / Edge Pro Gel Chevrolet Monte Carlo 16 32 19 25 Jim Lapcevich (Hamilton, ON) Fastline Motorsports Chevrolet Monte Carlo 13 33 16 39 Al Turner (Thornton, ON) Blue Streak Intrepid 11 34 36 50 Terry Robichaud (Burlington, ON) ATTO & Assoc. Insurance Chevrolet Monte Carlo 9 35 25 44 Marv Wilder (Toronto, ON) Longbow Freight Systems Ford Taurus 8 36 31 99 Scott Watkins (Milton, ON) Johnny Bower Goaltending School Pontiac Grand Prix DNS 37 34 43 Bob Merrifield (Belle River, ON) Remax Preferred Realty Intrepid DNS R after the hometown denotes Rookie contender. MARGIN OF VICTORY: 0.750 seconds // AVERAGE SPEED: 96.525 km/h // TIME OF RACE: 1 hour, 3 minutes and 11 seconds // CAUTIONS: 1 for a total of 6 laps // LAP LEADERS: #23 Jeff Lapcevich (1-2), #66 Robin Buck (3-7), #23 Jeff Lapcevich (8-28), #35 Kevin Dowler (29-32) and #23 Jeff Lapcevich (33-36)