After multiple years of trying to get Carson Kvapil into one of its Xfinity Series cars, JR Motorsports accomplished the feat in 2024, and the move has paid off in a big way. In his five races to date, Kvapil has an average finish of 8.4 as he gets ready for Saturday’s Pennzoil 250 presented by Advance Auto Parts (3:30 p.m. ET, USA, IMS Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App).
Before coming to Xfinity as a part-time driver, Kvapil has been a staple in JRM’s late model program since 2021. He works a 40-hour week at the shop and races throughout the year. In 2023, he locked up his second straight Late Model Stock Tour championship. One of the biggest wins of his career came in 2022 on a revitalized North Wilkesboro Speedway, which saw team owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. return to late model racing.
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His father, 2003 Craftsman Truck Series champion Travis Kvapil, knew his son was ready to make the leap to NASCAR. Carson made his Truck Series debut last fall at Bristol Motor Speedway, finishing 12th for Spire Motorsports. But the Kvapils wanted to stay the course after moving through the ranks for more than a decade.
“Carson and I have talked about it, what’s the rush?” Travis recalled. “You are driving for possibly one of the best late model teams in the country. Keep your nose down and keep digging and winning races, and these opportunities will come.”
JR Motorsports announced in February that Carson would make his Xfinity Series debut in April at Martinsville Speedway, and what started out as a three-race deal quickly turned into nine.
Being a short-track stud, Carson wanted to have a couple of tracks that he was familiar with on the schedule. He also wanted a challenge, meaning intermediate tracks and superspeedways would flood the back portion of his first stint in the No. 88 Chevrolet.
“For someone like me starting out, it’s good to go to Martinsville, Dover and more of those short tracks that you know what to do on,” Carson said. “Once you get a grasp of that, it’s really going to help me at places just learning some disciplines, learning how the air works.”
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Carson methodically worked his way through the field at Martinsville and found himself in fourth place at the checkered flag. Next up was Dover, where he continuously improved during the race and had a shot at winning. He led 14 laps until Ryan Truex passed him on an overtime restart, resulting in a runner-up finish.
“It’s still in my head,” Carson said of the Dover finish, some three months later. “It’s one of those deals where it’s cool to come to your second Xfinity race and finish second. But when you’re leading the race, and you basically have it and can’t give it away, it stings.”
The first true challenge for Carson was Darlington Raceway. He had never seen an animal like the egg-shaped, 1.33-mile oval. He finished 19th after practice and qualifying was washed away due to rain.
Next up was New Hampshire, where Carson had never raced. Throughout the race, he patiently worked his way through the field, leading a career-high 24 laps by virtue of a strategy call from No. 88 crew chief Andrew Overstreet. He was jostled around in the closing laps, though he still managed a fifth-place finish.
“For most people, he’s come on to the scene with a lot of luster this year,” said Travis, who made 271 Cup starts. “I’ve told people that I’ve known how good he is for a long time. To see him get these opportunities, I knew when he got into the JR Motorsports late model that he would do great things. And I knew when he got these Xfinity, Truck or ARCA opportunities, whatever it would be, that he would do great things as well.
“It’s not a big surprise to me at all. I’m so happy that he’s able to get these opportunities because I’ve been there and done that. I know how hard it is in this business these days if you’re not bringing sponsorship or don’t have family money behind you to get your foot in the door.”
Carson finished 12th in his most recent race at Nashville Superspeedway. His patience has come to the forefront and is a noticeable trait that is paying off. Without any prior experience at the national level, he’s using the simulator, watching film and bouncing ideas off resources, such as Travis, Earnhardt and Josh Berry, to prepare.
“From whenever we started racing with him in the late model car, he showed a lot of talent and race craft which is really proven out,” Berry said. “He’s to the point now where he just needs experience in these cars and to learn the tracks and the racing.”
Travis believes that Carson’s patience comes from growing up working on his own cars. If a chassis was torn up, money came out of Travis’ pocket to get it repaired.
“He is not going to go out there 110% half hazard and wreck the thing on Lap 2 because he knows how much it’s going to set him back,” Travis said. “You saw that at Nashville, you saw it at Martinsville, he’s eighth, 10th, 15th all day and the next thing you know, he’s in the top five at the end of the day when it matters.
“I think that’s part of the learning curve. Understanding the tracks, understanding what’s underneath him in a race car and then maximizing it at the end of the day. Going forward, once he’s been to these tracks and has more seat time, he will come out of the box with speed, just as he does in his late model cars.”
Running for JRM, one of the series’ most-prepared teams, is another key element to Carson’s learning curve. Knowing that speed won’t be a factor allows him to work on the fundamentals.
“We tell him the car should be good enough that if he’s just patient and lets everything come to him, he’s going to have a solid finish and possibly a shot at winning the race,” said TJ Majors, who spots the No. 88 car. “One of the things I worked hard on him at the beginning was, ‘This is your chance to show these guys how you’re going to race. These first few races are how they are going to view you.””
And Travis believes that at just 21 years old, his son is already rivaling his talent.
“He’s absolutely better than me, and I’m happy with that — that’s great.”
Carson will make his first start on a 2.5-mile track this weekend at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He hopes the expanded schedule will lead to an even bigger 2025.
“It’s one of those deals where two years ago, I was running a late model and wanted to get an opportunity to run an ARCA car or an Xfinity car or truck, but there’s nothing out there,” he said. “Hopefully, these races we run well at.”
Tune in at 6 p.m. ET on Monday, July 22 as Kvapil joins Generations: Part 2 of the NASCAR Insiders Roundtable presented by Goodyear. Watch Part 1 and additional clips here.