Las Vegas, NV – Nick Lascoula and his team wanted to do something special to put the period on what has been a record-setting year of INEX Legends racing.
So they went to Las Vegas to compete against the best in the nation in the 23rd Annual Asphalt Nationals Pro Division race.
The race weekend saw time trials and heat race competition on Friday. Nick time trialed 19th and finished 4th and 5th, respectively, in his heat races. That meant he would line up 18th on the grid on Saturday for the National Championship race.
But first, he had one more item of business Friday night. The Race of Champions, a race INEX puts on for the champions of all 50 states in the division.
He started sixth, blasted to the lead in 6 laps and led 3 laps before he got loose and fell all the way back to sixth. He would end up with a fine fifth place finish against a field full of top notch racers.
“We had the fastest lap in that race,” Nick smiled after it was over. “That made us feel pretty happy considering we were racing other state champions. We would like to have won, but once I slipped I knew I was in trouble. You can’t make a mistake against this kind of competition.”
Saturday’s race saw him charge from 18th to 12th in the first half of the race. His Farbo Motorsports-prepared car was handling well, but as the race wore on the carburetor was running too lean, causing the motor to lose power.
He faded to 17th at the checkered. Despite the disappointing finish, Nick was totally satisfied with his Vegas debut.
“We may not have had a car to win today,” he said. “But we were a contender. You’d think by where we were running that we weren’t that good, but that’s not the case at all. It was a blast running in that pack, because we were all going all out hard lap after lap. Guys like Austin Hill, Gregory Lang and Mason Massey. These are some of the best racers in the country and we were right there in the thick of it until the carb issues got us. Our best lap in this race was the 10th fastest lap out of all 125 cars here today. This whole trip has been the coolest experience. I’m just thankful to my family and my sponsors who have made it possible for me to be here and be having so much fun. It’s the perfect ending to a dream season and to my career as a full-time Legends racer.”
The 17-year-old finished with 13 Legends Car wins at his home track, the Seekonk Speedway in Seekonk, Mass. this season. His total was the most wins ever for one driver in any division at Seekonk. He also set a record for most consecutive wins to start a season with 7, which means he won 9 in a row because he finished last season with two straight wins as well!
He leaped into 20th in all-time Seekonk victories, passing such New England notables as Ron Bouchard and Leo Cleary.
He was crowned the Masschussetts State Legends Car Champion in 2014 also, for the third time in four seasons of racing in the division.
Details on the team’s 2015 plans will be announced shortly.
Fans can follow Nick through his Facebook page (Fans of Nick Lascuola) and his Twitter Page (@NickLascuola39).