PENSACOLA, Fla. — For the Canadian-born Lapcevich brothers, life could not be any better than it is right now.
Not only has Cayden found his comfort zone as a crew chief, but his younger brother Treyten’s first full-time season of competition in the United States has been a successful one. The most recent accomplishment on Treyten’s growing resume was a South Carolina 400 victory at Florence Motor Speedway in November.
The brothers are now turning their attention toward Sunday’s Snowball Derby at Five Flags Speedway, their second attempt in the race. For Treyten, the buildup to Super Late Model racing’s most prestigious event carries a sense of serenity and confidence.
“There’s a lot of momentum coming off the South Carolina 400 win,” Treyten said. “I’m really excited to go to the Snowball Derby with my family team. This is a Late Model we built last year actually for this race. We were able to test Sunday, get some laps in and shake the car down.
“I think I’m happy with our piece, so we have something to build on.”
Throughout their lives, all the Lapcevich brothers have known is racing. Their father Jeff enjoyed a solid career in the family’s home country of Canada and the United States, with his list of accolades including six victories in the CASCAR Super Series.
Jeff’s passion for motorsports carried on through Cayden and Treyten as they started their own paths in CASCAR’s successor, the NASCAR Canada Series. Cayden brought home a Canada Series championship at the end of the 2016 season; Treyten replicated that feat seven years later with his 2023 triumph.
While Treyten is developing a reputation as a rising prospect, the journey for Cayden after his Canada Series title has been slightly different. A sudden loss of funding after a strong 2017 season forced Cayden to step out of the driver’s seat and focus on different avenues in the motorsports industry.
Outside of competing in a handful of races, Cayden has primarily transitioned into being a crew chief. After sitting atop fellow Canada Series champion Andrew Ranger’s pit box in 2022, Cayden earned an opportunity to be a crew chief for Venturini Motorsports in the ARCA Menards Series.
While Cayden would love to compete more frequently than he currently does, he has enjoyed guiding other competitors to success atop the pit box. Being at Venturini helped refine his knowledge about crafting winning setups, which he plans to carry with him no matter where his journey takes him.
“I was at the point where I needed to progress somewhere, whether it was as a driver or a crew chief,” Cayden said. “I’ve been surrounded by a lot of really good people and have been given a lot of great opportunities. I think I’ve been able to prove myself a little bit in the crew chief role, and I think it’s showing, because I’ve got a lot of opportunities next year.
“I wanted to make a career in racing somehow, but being a crew chief is the next best thing.”
Sunday’s Snowball Derby will only be the fourth race Cayden has competed in this year aside from a brief substitution stint for Toni Breidinger at Watkins Glen International. It is also the first time Cayden has seen Five Flags as a driver since finishing 16th during his lone Snowball Derby start in 2020.
Cayden wanted to bring his own equipment for the 300-lap Super Late Model feature, but he was not able to amass the necessary funding before December. He instead worked out a deal with Holdaway McWhirter Racecars, who previously fielded a car for Cayden when he was racing in Canada earlier in the season.
Although he is not officially a teammate to his brother, Cayden has been more than happy to assist Treyten in the days leading up to the Snowball Derby. Cayden knows Treyten is in good hands driving the family car, but said any bit of information obtained can only help both cars as they log laps throughout the week.
“I tested Saturday and we learned some stuff on [the car] we used on Treyten’s car Sunday,” Cayden said. “It’s been a lot of fun going back-and-forth with both cars, seeing what one likes and what one doesn’t. Treyten’s smart, but my dad is about as good as they come. The family car is really good, but I feel like my car is pretty good.
“Hopefully we can put both in the show and run up front.”
Treyten’s debut in the Snowball Derby last year saw him qualify inside the top 10 before a crash ended his evening with fewer than 20 laps remaining. Despite the poor finish, Treyten considered the outing to be a success, adding the input provided by Cayden all week was pivotal in helping him quickly adapt to Five Flags’ layout.
With a healthy notebook curated from 2023, Treyten is eager to give the Snowball Derby another shot Sunday afternoon, especially since Cayden is also on the entry list. Neither brother gets a chance to race the other on a regular basis, which is why Treyten is taking time to appreciate the circumstances.
“It was cool when Cayden ran the Snowball Derby in 2020, and it was cool when I ran the Snowball Derby last year,” Treyten said. “I don’t think either of us thought we’d get to a point where we ran the Snowball Derby together.
“It’s cool we’re able to come and do this as a family, and it’s nice to have someone else to rely on for feedback.”
Cayden is fulfilling multiple roles with Treyten this weekend as a teammate, crew chief and big brother. He is carefully studying Dartfish video analysis with Treyten to figure out where they need to gain ground on the competition and is also working closely with Treyten’s Late Model Stock car owner Chad Bryant with the setups.
A full year acclimating to short tracks in the U.S. is another factor Cayden knows will help Treyten in his second Snowball Derby. Cayden has been elated to see the progress Treyten made with Bryant in the southeast by defeating tough fields for marquee victories at Florence and North Wilkesboro Speedway.
Cayden hopes 2024 is the first of many stellar years for Treyten on U.S. soil. Circumstances may have prevented Cayden from taking a similar path, but he intends to support his brother any way he can while fostering his own success as a crew chief.
“I’m happy to see [Treyten] has gotten the opportunities and the backing from some really good sponsors to be able to progress his career into the States,” Cayden said. “I don’t get to go to a lot of his races, but when I do, it’s always cool to be there and have some input. Going forward, it’s going to be big for him.”
Treyten looks forward to spending so much time with Cayden during a hectic week at the Snowball Derby. The field will be one of the toughest either brother has faced all year, yet Treyten remains optimistic they can both be frontrunners if each of them perfects the setup ahead of the main event.
Neither Treyten nor Cayden are overly concerned with besting the other on Sunday. The primary goal is to work together with one another so that they can proudly represent their family and Canada in Super Late Model racing’s premier stage.
“I think we’re both just excited to be here,” Treyten said. “We’re going to try and put on a good show. At the end of the day, maybe we can finish one-two. That would be the best circumstance. We’ve both got really good cars with great teams and supporters, so anything can happen.”
Tretyen and Cayden have had plenty to celebrate in their own respective fields over the past two years. A strong performance for either in the Snowball Derby would reflect their ongoing progress towards building sustainable motorsports careers in the U.S.