A look at prominent Pro/Super Late Model Racing Regions Part 5 (Ontario)
August 4th, 2024
Ontario Late Model Racing
Some prominent drivers (there are many others, as well)
Jason Hathaway: Jason is a standout driver in the Canadian racing scene, having made 5 starts for the Maritime Pro Stock Tour, an ACT Quebec Series start, a Canadian Short Track Nationals start, and winning 2 of his 3 APC Late Model starts in his home province. Along with that, he has made starts in the NASCAR Truck Series, the ARCA East Series, and has 150 starts in NASCAR Canada, where he has registered 14 wins, 49 top-5s, and 96 top-10s.
Andrew Gresel: Andrew is a veteran, recognized for his technical skill and experience, making him a top competitor in any race. While he’s also run Outlaw bodied Super Late Models, he has 7 wins in the APC Late Model Series, including a Series Championship to his credit, winning 5 of 9 races in the 2016 season. He also has a top-10 at the Canadian Short Track Nationals.
Brandon Watson: Brandon may have other focuses outside of racing, and doesn’t race any series full-time. But any time he sits behind a wheel, he is a flat-out natural. He’s had starts all over - ARCA, CARS Tour Super Late Model Series, CRA Super Series, PASS, ACT Late Model Series, Southern Super Series, and more. He has a win in NASCAR Canada, 12 OSCAAR Outlaw Super Late Model Series wins, a stunning 19 APC Late Model Wins in 46 starts, making his win-rate 46%, he has 2 series championships, and has had the most wins in 3 seasons. In 2019, he registered a top-5 finish in both the Winchester 400, followed by the All American 400, two of the biggest races in all of late model racing.
Jo Lawrence: Jo was as close as you can be to unbeatable, without being unbeatable, in his 2020 APC Late Model Championship victory. With only 5 races due to COVID, he won 4 of them, and ran-runner up to Brandon Watson in the other.
J.R. Fitzpatrick: Winner of the prestigious Don Biederman Memorial at Flamboro Speedway on the Outlaw Super Late Model side of the coin, and making 30 starts between the NASCAR Xfinity & Truck series, split 14/16 respectively, and winner of 11 NASCAR Canada races, in a Late Model he has many achievements. In 2014, he led all 150 laps in his first start at Riverside International Speedway, Nova Scotia in the Maritime Pro Stock Tour. On the APC Late Model side, he has 11 victories, and shares the distinction of most championships, along with Brandon Watson, with 2. In the previous 2 seasons, he won the most races. Also of note, he has a top-5 in both runnings of the Canadian Short Track Nationals.
Matt Pritiko: Pritiko has been strong wherever he has gone. With an APC Late Model Championship, and 5 wins in that series under his belt, he also has a top-5 in the Canadian Short Track Nationals, and a few NASCAR Canada starts.
Kyle Steckly: Representing the new generation of racers, Kyle’s patient, and intelligent style of racing has made him an always-improving threat for any win. Still quite new and inexperienced in a Late Model, or racing in general, he won an extremely tight points race last year (2023) to win the APC Late Model Championship, and he is currently in the lead over half-way through the 2024 APC season. Simultaneously, he has embarked on a Super Late Model journey as well, racing full-time in the most competitive series in North America of this type of racing, the ASA STARS National Tour Series. He is 21 points behind #26 Dawson Sutton for rookies, and comfortably in the top-10, in a tight series. He most recently won the prestigious Redbud 400, and is the first Ontario born driver to accomplish this feat. Steckly also performed great in Nashville at the All American 400’s Pro Late Model portion of the race, with a top-5, and went on to have a top-5 finish in the Snow Flake 100, the most prestigious race in all of Pro Late Model racing, at the Snowball Derby event.
Treyten Lapcevich: Treyten took the NASCAR Canada Series by storm in 2023, winning 7 of 14 races, and the Championship. Treyten has displayed both speed (he qualified 10th in his Snowball Derby attempt in 2023), as well as fantastic driving (he had arguably the save of the year [wreck evasion] in his most recent race) - the CARS Tour Late Model Stock Series race at North Wilksborro, a race that he won, too. In 2024, he opted to do like fellow Ontario driver Steckly, and run full-time in a US Series. He decided to go the Late Model Stock Car Route, in the very deep and competitive CARS Tour. Although the standings haven’t been updated yet, as the race was less than 24 hours ago, he was sitting 5th in the standings in a tight race, with only 37 points separating him from the leader. After the update, he will likely move up some, as some others ahead of him in the standings had their nights end early, and he won.
Cayden Lapcevich: Treyten’s older brother, Cayden has done a lot of travelling. He’s won the Toledo Speedway Glass City 200 twice, has qualified for the Snowball Derby, started on the Pole in the Winchester 400, going on to get a top-10 finish, and he has wins in both NASCAR Canada, and in an Outlaw Super Late Model. His Outlate Super Late Model racing also brought him to Kalamazoo Speedway.
Don Biederman: Biederman’s resume is extremely hard to match for any racer, anywhere. Through the 1960s, he made 42 NASCAR Cup Series starts, including the Crown Jewel Daytona 500 & Southern 500. He made some starts in the ACT Pro Stock Tour, ASA National Series, and his prestigious late model races include: winning the Oxford 250, and competing in the Snowball Derby, Winchester 400, The Milk Bowl, Glass City 200, All American 400, and the Florida Governor’s Cup.
[Author note: I did not forget about Junior Hanley. I decided I will include him in the Maritime edition of this article, as he was born in Nova Scotia]
Key Tracks and Races:
Castrol Great Canadian 300 at Delaware Speedway: This race is one of Ontario’s premier late model events, taking place on the 1/2 mile Delaware Speedway, and attracting top talent with a $10,000 to-win prize.
Sunset Speedway: A popular venue that attracts enthusiastic crowds, a 1/3rd mile track just 40 minutes north of Toronto.
Flamboro Speedway: Opened in 1962, this 1/3rd semi-banked paper clip oval is a key track in the APC United Late Model Series.
Peterborough Speedway: Peterborough Speedway offers exciting and competitive racing, this track which also hosts APC Late Model Races, is known for it’s 3 day APC Autumn Colours event to finish the season.
Key Series:
Ontario is home to the APC United Late Model Series, a very talent rich, competitive series with many notable winners over the years, most of which were mentioned above. Currently spanning 4 tracks, this series is running a schedule of 9 races right now, with most having a distance of 100 laps, but over the course of the last 4 races, there is a 150, a 200, a 100, and a 300 lap feature.
Jukasa Motor Speedway’s Canadian Short Track Nationals
This is worthy of it’s own spot. At a length of .625 miles, the track formerly known as Cayuga Speedway was briefly revived. They set out to make a very ambitious 5-year event, with progressively increasing purses, with the to-win prize escalating well into 6 figures, and all the way up to $1,000,000. In it’s second year, Bubba Pollard won $75,000 for winning it (he also won the first running of it). It almost seemed impossible to believe, but after the first year showed that they do good business, year 2 attracted 70 very strong drivers from all over America and Canada, including guys like now Xfinity Series driver, Sammy Smith.
While year 3 was shaping up, the COVID-19 pandemic put a wrench in those plans, and later one of the two new owners tragically passed away. He was the one of the two who was particularly driven and passionate about making Ontario the home to one of the biggest late model races in the world, and the other partner made the decision to go a different way, leading to this track being closed, and the event no longer going forward.
