It has been a turbulent few days for Chad Bryant Racing. Now, the organization is facing another major change.
Treyten Lapcevich announced Thursday morning that he is leaving Chad Bryant Racing, bringing his two-year run with the team to an end. His final race in the No. 77 Late Model Stock will come this weekend at Newport Speedway.
The timing is impossible to ignore.
Lapcevich’s announcement comes less than a week after a wild night at Martinsville Speedway ended with Corey Heim being confronted by members of the Chad Bryant Racing team. NASCAR responded Monday with penalties against team owner Chad Bryant and two others involved.
Lapcevich, whose on-track contact with Heim preceded the post-race confrontation, was not penalized. Neither was Heim.
And there is an important distinction here: Lapcevich did not say the Martinsville incident had anything to do with his decision to leave the team.
In fact, his farewell to Bryant was anything but hostile.
Treyten Lapcevich’s Chad Bryant Racing run is ending
Lapcevich confirmed the news himself Thursday, making clear that he still intends to finish what he started with Bryant this weekend.
“This weekend at Newport Speedway will be my final race with Chad Bryant Racing and the No. 77 Late Model Stock,” Lapcevich wrote.
Walking away immediately was apparently never the plan. Lapcevich remains in contention for the Late Model Stock Drivers Championship, and he said commitments to the team’s partners also made competing at Newport important.
The circumstances around the No. 77 will look a little different, however. Lapcevich said Rette Jones Racing will provide support while his family crews the car.
Then came a message that stood out given everything that has happened since Martinsville.
“I want to thank Chad for making me part of his family,” Lapcevich wrote. “Over the last 2 years we’ve become really close, and Chad has always gone out of his way to make me a better racer.”
Lapcevich pointed to the long nights and the successes they shared, specifically mentioning his CARS Tour victory at North Wilkesboro and South Carolina 400 win.
“Chad has has pushed me to be better every step of the way,” he added.
There was no public airing of grievances. No explanation tying the split to Martinsville. Lapcevich simply said his focus is on Newport and that updates regarding the rest of his 2026 Late Model Stock season will come later.
Still, the announcement lands at a remarkable moment for the team.
Chad Bryant Racing’s week changed dramatically at Martinsville
The sequence began on the track during Saturday’s ValleyStar Credit Union 300.
Lapcevich and Heim had an incident during the race. What followed after the checkered flag ultimately became the bigger story, with Heim involved in a confrontation with Bryant and members of the Chad Bryant Racing organization.
NASCAR handed down its response Monday.
Bryant was suspended indefinitely and fined $2,000. He was also suspended from the 2027 ValleyStar Credit Union 300 and ordered to complete anger management training.
Steven Civatarese was fined $1,000 and suspended indefinitely, along with receiving a suspension from next year’s Martinsville race and one year of NASCAR probation. Ryden Lapcevich, Trey’s younger brother, was fined $500 and placed on probation through Dec. 31, 2027.
Again, NASCAR did not penalize Treyten Lapcevich or Heim.
Three days after those penalties were announced, Lapcevich revealed that his time with Chad Bryant Racing is ending.
Whether the timing is anything more than that remains unknown. Lapcevich gave no indication that Martinsville triggered his departure, and his public message toward Bryant was warm.
What is certain is that an already eventful week for Chad Bryant Racing now has another significant development attached to it.
Lapcevich has one race left in the No. 77. After Newport, one of Late Model racing’s more successful recent driver-team pairings will officially go its separate ways.
