Treyten Lapcevich Ready for 'Great Opportunity' in Snowball Derby

For 19-year-old hotshoe Treyten Lapcevich, 2023 has been a season for the ages. The native of Grimsby, Ontario, Canada put up a historic seven-win campaign in the NASCAR Pinty's Series, which resulted in his first career championship.

Now, the youngster will head south to Pensacola, Florida with his family-owned Lapcevich Racing team as he'll make his first attempt at making it into the field for the prestigious Snowball Derby at Five Flags Speedway.

RELATED: 56th Annual Snowball Derby Entry Lists

"It's a really great opportunity, honestly," Lapcevich said in an interview with Racing America. "This year, we had a great season in the [NASCAR] Pinty's [Series]. And just a lot of momentum carried over from that. We were able to make it happen, where a lot of great sponsors came on board and we were able to build a new car and get to the Snowball Derby."

While the 2023 Snowball Derby will mark the first time that Lapcevich has ever run a Super Late Model race, the driver did compete in the Snowflake 100 at Five Flags Speedway in 2021, an effort that resulted in a lead lap finish.

Lapcevich feels the time is right for his debut in the Snowball Derby.

"I think there's no better time to do it," Lapcevich explained. "It's going to be my first race in a Super Late Model, but luckily we're going to get to test and a lot of practice as well. Kind of going to get a good opportunity to know what we have before we get there, but overall, I'm really excited to get there."

While he hopes to impress in the race, Lapcevich knows he will have to fight hard just to make it into the field for the 56th Annual Snowball Derby.

If he can check off the first goal, which is making the field, Lapcevich will set his sights on the next benchmark.

"I mean, obviously, the first goal of the weekend is to make the field, and then from there, I think as long as we can complete the 300 laps and hopefully be up there competing at the end," Lapcevich said. "A lot of these Snowballs when it comes down to the last little bit of the race, it's almost anyone's game. If we can make it to the end, and have a good day, be up front and competing up there at the end, I think that would be a success in itself."

While Lapcevich has never run a race in a Super, and he has only driven at Five Flags Speedway once in his career, he says he has been leaning heavily on iRacing and old GoPro footage from his brother Cayden Lapcevich's Snowball Derby run in 2020.

"Luckily, we have a lot of footage from when Cayden [Lapcevich] ran the Snowball a couple of years ago," Lapcevich detailed. "I was kind of running the GoPros for that, and whatnot. It's kind of come full circle. It was nice to get all of that. That wasn't the plan of it necessarily, but to have it is really nice.

"To be able to watch that, and obviously, there's a lot of footage on YouTube. And iRacing helps as well. I've been struggling to get time to get on iRacing between school and time working on the car, but I'm really just using all of the resources that are available to me. Like I said, the test day is really going to help a lot. It's going to give me basically a full day just to work on my skills, myself, learning the track, and learning the track as well."

What if Lapcevich finds himself hoisting the Tom Dawson Trophy?

Sure, if he could win the race, it would be a massive day, personally, for Lapcevich. But a win would be even more monumental for racers in Canada. In the 55 previous editions of the Snowball Derby, never has a Canadian-born racer scored the win. With two really talented Canadian racers vying to make the field, that could all change on December 3rd.

Joining Lapcevich on the entry list is Cole Butcher, who has the best-ever finish (third, twice) among Canadian-born racers in Snowball Derby history.

"Cole has had a great year. I've been following it as much as I can," Lapcevich said. "He's been running the ASA stuff there and came up just short to Ty Majeski in the championship. It's never a bad thing when you come up short to Ty Majeski. I would say, if I was going to finish second to anybody in Late Model stuff, that would probably be the guy. I think it's looking great. Cole is obviously in great equipment, and he has experience in the Snowball in the past."

Lapcevich has confidence in Butcher, who he found himself rooting for from Canada while chasing his own championship. But he also has tremendous confidence in the No. 32 machine that his family has been building at their shop as well.

"Like I said, I'm pretty confident in what we're bringing down," Lapcevich reiterated. "Obviously, going to have a better outlook on that after testing, but I know that there were no expenses spared on this car. Everything is the best of the best. I feel like I have prepared myself about as well as I can heading to the track. And then it's just performing once we get there."

The 56th Annual Snowball Derby will be broadcast by Racing America on Sunday, December 3rd. Racing America will have a three-day PPV stream from Five Flags Speedway from Friday, December 1st to Sunday, December 3rd. Single-day PPV day passes, or All-Access Snowball Derby PPV passes can be purchased by clicking here.

Photo Credit: Damin Sawyer, TobyChristie.com