CARS Tour officials dropped a bombshell Tuesday afternoon as rookie driver Treyten Lapcevich has been disqualified from Saturday’s Window World 125 at North Wilkesboro Speedway for an infraction found in post-race technical inspection. Corey Heim is now being declared the winner of Saturday’s race at the historic speedway.

Lapcevich, the reigning NASCAR Canada Series champion, dominated the second half of Saturday’s 125-lap Late Model Stock Car race at North Wilkesboro and looked to have scored his first CARS Tour victory at the series’ most famous race track. 

But on Tuesday, CARS Tour officials explained that Lapcevich was penalized for having an “unapproved part” on the car “throughout the event.” According to the CARS Tour press release, Chad Bryant Racing “admitted to misinterpreting the rule as it is printed and CARS Tour Management accepted that explanation.” CARS Tour officials said that they were made aware of the unapproved part on the Lapcevich No. 77 machine following the race Saturday night.

The Lapcevich disqualification gives Corey Heim, who was driving for Lee Pulliam Performance, the victory. Heim had initially finished second, 1.071-seconds behind Lapcevich. Mini Tyrrell is now scored as the runner-up, while Carson Kvapil, Brenden Queen, and Giovanni Ruggiero round out the top five.

‼️𝙉𝙀𝙒𝙎: zMAX CARS Tour Officials have disqualified the No. 77 Late Model Stock of Treyten Lapcevich/Chad Bryant Racing, after discovering an unapproved part following the conclusion of the Window World 125.

𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗗 𝗠𝗢𝗥𝗘👇 pic.twitter.com/oBQyDQgBgA

— CARS Tour (@CARSTour) August 6, 2024

Lapcevich entered Saturday’s race 37 points behind points leader Connor Hall, who was initially scored 18th due to heavy damage sustained in the multi-car crash on Lap 8. Lapcevich was due to gain a ton of points and put himself back in position to contend for the championship as a rookie, but now it would appear that those championship hopes are all but dashed with six races remaining.

Speaking of Connor Hall, Hall has been penalized one lap for using a tire that was not impounded for the event, though that will not affect his finishing position, which is now 17th after the Lapcevich disqualification.

They don’t ask how, just how many 🏁 Thank you @LeePulliam11 @ToyotaRacing @Mobil1 #TeamToyota https://t.co/IhRrV2NoJS

— Corey Heim (@CoreyHeim_) August 6, 2024

For Heim, the victory is the second CARS Tour win of his career. His only previous CARS Tour win came at Hickory Motor Speedway back in 2020. It is also the second time in 2024 that Heim is a winner at North Wilkesboro Speedway. Heim scored the win in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at North Wilkesboro back in May. Heim’s victory also means Lee Pulliam Performance has won at North Wilkesboro in back-to-back seasons. LPP won with Queen in this race one year ago. LPP also put all three of its cars in the top five on Saturday night with Queen scored fourth and Ruggiero in fifth.

Shortly after the disqualification was announced, Lapcevich took to social media site "X" (formerly Twitter) to issue a three-part statement disagreeing with the CARS Tour's decision and language used in their press release.

"The news today has obviously come as a shock and surprise, which we never would have expected," Lapcevich posted. "I will say, we plan to fight this one out until the end. On Saturday, the tech director shook our hands and congratulated us, and on Monday we received a call stating the potential of our disqualification due to something another competitor raised a concern about. I'm at the shop every single day working alongside these guys, and I know what has gone into this. The press release reads as though we misinterpreted the rules, but I will assure everyone that is a lie."

The news today has obviously come as a shock and surprise which we never would have expected. I will say, we plan to fight this one out until the end. (1/3)

— Treyten Lapcevich (@TreytenL) August 6, 2024

The CARS Tour will be back in action for a Late Model Stock Car/Pro Late Model doubleheader on Friday, August 16th at Altamahaw, North Carolina’s Ace Speedway. That race was originally scheduled for August 9, but has been postponed one week due to the expected impacts from Hurricane Debby.

Race fans can watch all six remaining races on the CARS Tour calendar live on FloRacing with a FloRacing subscription. Fans can subscribe to FloRacing by clicking here.