From winning qualifying to holding a pair of trophies at Sutherland Automotive Speedway, Treyten Lapcevich couldn’t have asked for a better day of racing on Thursday.
The Ontario product put together 350 laps of close to flawless racing, winning both legs of the Leland Industries Twin 125 races just outside of Saskatoon city limits.
“There’s nothing like it at all,” said Lapcevich. “It’s not often that you get an opportunity like this to do something like this. So I think this is about as perfect as it gets.”
After claiming pole position earlier in the day, Lapcevich went wire-to-wire in the opening race to earn his fourth victory of the season by 2.5 seconds.
His next race was even more impressive, following up his victory with an overtake on lap 51 over Alex Guenette to take the second leg by over eight seconds to complete the Saskatoon double-header sweep.
In the process, the 19-year-old became the first ever NASCAR Pinty’s Series driver to accomplish that feat in Saskatoon and has now won five of the season’s first eight races.
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“It’s really great,” said Lapcevich. “In hindsight we’re looking for a championship. If we keep knocking off these good finishes and hopefully grab some more wins along the way, hopefully we can be champions at the end of the year.”
Saskatchewan’s pair of drivers represented in Shantel Kalika and Matthew Shirley, meanwhile, earned the loudest cheers of the evening during their introductions.
Prince Albert’s Kalika finished the opening race in 14th place which she said was a strong result for the team, however faded in the second race with zero caution flags needed to wind up in 16th.
“We ended up going 125 laps green so there wasn’t really much chance to bunch us back up,” said Kalika. “So once you lost that track position, you struggle a little bit to get it back. But at the end of the day, a very solid day for us.”
As for Shirley, he earned a 12th-place showing in his first heat before crossing the finish line in 15th place in the late race.
Racing on the NASCAR Pinty’s tour in his hometown for the second year in a row, Shirley said it’s a career highlight getting to take to the starting line with such a talented field.
The NASCAR Pinty’s Series now heads to Quebec to continue with the 2023 schedule after their western road swing.
As for the Sutherland Automotive Speedway, their next big race will be the annual Bridge City 200 running on Aug. 12.
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