Shawn Chenoweth may have won two of the three features at the Grisdale Triple Crown, but it was Cayden Lapcevich who took home the overall victory.
Lapcevich started the day on top in his new No. 76 London Recreational Racing, Springer’s Meats Inc., Cathcart Trucking, Ace Services and Troy Cove Marine Late Model by posting the quickest lap in time trials at 15.599 seconds. Kelly Balson, who was subbing for Chenoweth, qualified second, followed by Jason Parker and J.R. Fitzpatrick.
Andrew Gresel qualified fifth, followed by Billy Schwartzenburg, Matt Box, Shae Gremmell, Nick Roth and Kevin Albers. Chad Corcoran qualified 11th, followed by Steve Cashmore, Jeff Ruddy, Bruce Wheller, Gary Elliott, Mike Westwood, Rodney Rutherford, Matt Lockwood, Dave Osborne and Chad McGlynn.
For the start of the first feature, the 89c would drop from fourth to the rear of the field as a result of a driver change with Chenoweth set to drive instead of Balson.
Off the drop of the green flag, Lapcevich took the early lead ahead of Parker, Fitzpatrick, Gresel, Schwartzenburg and Box. Roth moved into seventh on Lap 3 ahead of Gremmell and Albers before the first caution flew for McGlynn spinning in turns one and two.
Lapcevich got a good restart to keep the lead ahead of Parker, Fitzpatrick and Gresel as Schwartzenburg ran fifth ahead of Gremmell, Box, Roth, Albers, Corcoran and Chenoweth. Gresel then got alongside Fitzpatrick for third at Lap 9, but the caution flew for Westwood spinning in turn four.
The restart resulted in the third caution as Lockwood spun Corcoran, with Albers, Ruddy and Osborne spinning in the aftermath as McGlynn hit the turn one wall. The second restart went cleanly, with Lapcevich leading ahead of Parker, Fitzpatrick, Gresel and Schwartzenburg as Gremmell ran side-by-side with Box for sixth. Box got the spot on Lap 13, bringing Chenoweth through with him.
Gremmell now ran eighth ahead of Roth, Albers and Lockwood. The fourth caution then flew on Lap 15 for Cashmore spinning Ruddy;
Lapcevich got a good restart to keep the lead, while Fitzpatrick got by Parker to move up into the runner-up spot. Parker now ran third ahead of Gresel, Schwartzenburg, Box and Chenoweth. Chenoweth then got alongside Box for sixth on Lap 21, completing the pass a lap later. Gremmell continued to run eighth ahead of Roth, Corcoran, Lockwood and Albers.
The shuffling continued as Gresel was able to get by Parker to move up into the third spot on Lap 26. The fourth caution then flew a lap later as a result of Wheller spinning in turn two.
Lapcevich got another good restart ahead of Fitzpatrick, Gresel and Schwartzenburg as Parker and Box ran side-by-side for fifth. Box got the spot on Lap 31, bringing Chenoweth through with him before the fifth caution flew for Corcoran stopping on the frontstretch.
Another restart, another good job by Lapcevich as he stayed ahead of Fitzpatrick, Gresel, Schwartzenburg, Box and Chenoweth. Chenoweth then got alongside Box for fifth, but was unable to complete the pass as he fell back in line. Parker continued to run seventh ahead of Lockwood, Gremmell, Roth, Albers, Elliott, Cashmore and Ruddy.
Chenoweth didn’t give up on passing Box, finally completing the pass on Lap 41 and bringing Parker through with him a lap later.
At the front of the field, Cayden Lapcevich led flag-to-flag en route to scoring the victory ahead of J.R. Fitzpatrick, Andrew Gresel, Billy Schwartzenburg and Shawn Chenoweth. Jason Parker finished sixth, followed by Matt Box, Matt Lockwood, Shane Gremmell and Nick Roth. Kevin Albers finished 11th, followed by Gary Elliott, Steve Cashmore, Jeff Ruddy, Dave Osborne and Mike Westwood.
Come time for the second feature, the lead lap cars were inverted to set-up the starting order. It’s worth noting Gresel did not make it out for feature two or three.
Jeff Ruddy started pole, putting the No. 9 Late Model out front ahead of Kevin Albers, Shae Gremmell, Matt Box, Shawn Chenoweth and Steve Cashmore. Unfortunately, Albers’ strong run came to an end at Lap 3 as he began to slow with a problem. Gremmell moved into second ahead of Chenoweth, Box, Cashmore, Billy Schwartzeburg and Nick Roth.
The first caution then flew at Lap 6 for Cashmore and Roth getting together in turn four, resulting in both going around with Schwartzenburg getting collected for some front-end damage. In the process of trying to slowing down to avoid, Matt Lockwood got into the back of Cayden Lapcevich, causing him to slightly climb the side of J.R. Fitzpatrick. The incident resulted in Roth’s day ending early with significant front end damage.
The restart wasn’t pretty as Gremmel got into the backstretch wall, but he was able to keep it going resulting in no caution. Meanwhile, Ruddy continued to lead with Chenoweth slipping into second ahead of Fitzpatrick, Parker, Box and Lapcevich. Chenoweth’s climb to the front was complete on Lap 9, as he put the No. 89c London Recreational, Bennett GM, Ideal Brake Parts, Wilson Ponds, Castrol, Transaxle, Team Vincent Motorsports, Hitman Hotrods, Finishline Concrete Therapy, MRE Late Model out front.
Ruddy now ran second ahead of Fitzpatrick, Parker, Box and Lapcevich. Lapcevich then got alongside Box for fifth at Lap 12, completing the pass a lap later. Box now ran sixth ahead of Lockwood, Gremmell, Elliott and Corcoran. Corcoran was then able to get by Elliott on Lap 15 for ninth, bringing Schwartzenburg through with him.
Elliott now ran 11th followed by Osborne, Wheller and Cashmore. The shake-ups continued as Wheller was able to get by Osborne on Lap 20 for 12th, bringing Cashmore through with him. Cashmore then made his move, passing Wheller for 12th on Lap 34.
At the front of the field, things got interesting as the laps ticked down and the leaders found themselves in the midst of lap traffic. Fitzpatrick was able to get by Ruddy for second, bringing Lapcevich through with him on Lap 39. Box then got by Ruddy a lap later for fourth, bringing Lockwood and Gremmell through with him as Ruddy spun off of turn two.
Corcoran now ran seventh ahead of Parker, Schwartzenburg, Elliott, Wheller, Cashmore and Osborne. Unfortunately, Corcoran had a small hiccup on Lap 43, resulting in Parker and Schwartzenburg both making their way by for position.
Shawn Chenoweth led 21 laps en route to victory ahead of J.R. Fitzpatrick, Cayden Lapcevich, Matt Box and Matt Lockwood. Shae Gremmell finished sixth, followed by Jason Parker, Billy Schwartzenburg, Chad Corcoran, and Gary Elliott. Bruce Wheller finished 11th, followed by Steve Cashmore, Dave Osborne, Rodney Rutherford and A.J. Emms, who was filling in for Westwood.
With the line-up set for the third and final feature, it’d be Jason Parker taking the early lead behind the wheel of the No. 8 Prestige, Colorworks, Saugeen Shores Transmission, Boiler Makers 128, Mowbrays Canadian Tire, Ron Gibbons Construction , MacDonnell Fuels, Candue Homes, Lakeside Auto, Morry’s Trailers Late Model.
Billy Schwartzenburg ran second ahead of Shae Gremmell, Matt Box and J.R. Fitzpatrick, while Shawn Chenoweth ran side-by-side with Matt Lockwood for fifth on Lap 3. The first caution then flew as a result of Mike Westwood spinning on the backstretch.
Parker got a good restart to keep the lead as Gremmell moved into second, with Fitzpatrick getting alongside Schwartzenburg for third. Fitzpatrick got the spot on Lap 5, bringing Shawn Chenoweth, Cayden Lapcevich, Matt Lockwood and Matt Box through with him. Schwartzenburg fell in line in eighth ahead of Jeff Ruddy and Bruce Wheller.
Chad Corcoran then made his way by Wheller on Lap 10 for 10th, bringing Steve Cashmore through with him. The climb continued for Corcoran as he was able to get alongside Ruddy for ninth on Lap 13, completing the pass a lap later. Cashmore ran 11th followed by Gary Elliott and Wheller. Unfortunately, Dave Osborne’s run came to an end on Lap 17 as he pulled off with a problem.
Further up the field, Chenoweth continued his climb to the front as he passed Fitzpatrick for third on Lap 18, bringing Lapcevich through with him. Lockwood was then able to get by Fitzpatrick for fifth a lap later, bringing Box through with him. The second caution then flew on Lap 34 for Gremmel going around in turn four virtue of contact from Chenoweth.
Parker got a good restart to keep the lead ahead of Chenoweth, Lapcevich, Fitzpatrick, Schwartzenburg and Fitzpatrick. Chenoweth then got alongside Parker for the lead at Lap 37, putting the No. 89c Late Model out front a lap later. Lapcevich was able to follow him through, passing Parker for second. Fitzpatrick then made his way by Parker for third on Lap 39, bringing Schwartzenburg through with him.
Fitzpatrick was set to continue his climb, getting alongside Lapcevich for second at Lap 41. He was able to complete the pass a lap later, with Schwartzenburg getting alongside Lapcevich for third. Schwartzenburg was unable to complete the pass, though, falling back in line in fourth.
Shawn Chenoweth led 13 laps to pick up the win ahead of J.R. Fitzpatrick, Cayden Lapcevich, Billy Schwartzenburg and Matt Box. Jason Parker finished sixth, followed by Chad Corcoran, Matt Lockwood, Shae Gremmell and Jeff Ruddy. Bruce Wheller finished 11th, followed by Gary Elliott.
With the three features combined, Chenoweth and Lapcevich both scored the same best average finish on the night. Per the rulebook, the tie breaker is the best finish scored in the first of the three features. Since Lapcevich won with Chenoweth fifth, Cayden Lapcevich was crowned the 2016 Grisdale Triple Crown Champion.
