Track Specs: Florence (S.C.) Motor Speedway, .400-mile oval/125-lap feature
Earnhardt Jr’s finish: 17th
Kvapil’s finish: 19st
MOORESVILLE, N.C. (Feb. 13, 2023) — Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Carson Kvapil entered Saturday’s season-opening Icebreaker 125 at Florence (S.C.) Motor Speedway with high hopes of getting the 2023 season off on the right foot. Rainy weather and a persistent handling problem for both cars dashed those hopes.
Earnhardt Jr. drove his No. 3 Mom ‘n’ Pops Chevrolet to 17th place at the checkered, and Kvapil came home 19th in his No. 8 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet.
With a compressed schedule that featured just an hour of practice before qualifying, both JRM cars lined up for the multi-car session. Kvapil posted the eighth-fastest time on the .400-mile oval, while Earnhardt Jr. logged in 15th.
At the start, Kvapil was stuck on the high side as the cars ran two abreast for the opening 10 laps. Kvapil, in his first outing in the No. 8 Bass Pro Shops CLUB Card Chevrolet, remained stuck on the top side and fell to 15th by lap 16, but finally got to the preferred bottom groove on the same lap.
At the same time, Earnhardt Jr. had started to find speed and passed his teammate for 12th on lap 15, both cars saving tires on the notoriously gritty surface at Florence.
Over the remaining laps, Earnhardt Jr. stayed in the top 13 or so and Kvapil continued to slide backward as the handling problems continued.
With just a handful of laps remaining, Earnhardt Jr. raced into Turn 1 on a restart just as a car ahead of him slowed for traffic. Contact was made and the car in front spun, bringing out the caution. The contact damaged the front bodywork of Earnhardt Jr.’s white-and-red No. 3, and he eventually finished 17th.
Kvapil, still dealing with the tight condition, came home in 19th place, saving the car over the final stretch as the racing action heated up.
Polesitter Doug Barnes won the race, chased by front-row mate Connor Hall, Kaden Honeycutt, Mason Diaz and Matt Cox.
Kvapil will begin defense of his double CARS Tour championships on March 11 at Southern National Motorsports Park in North Carolina.
Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver No. 3 Mom ‘n’ Pops Chevrolet team
“I thought we were safe, but when it came time to go, we burned the rear tires off it on corner exit. I couldn’t go anywhere. We’ll try to figure it out, try to come back and have more fun next time. I had a good time driving the car, but I definitely want to run better next time out.”
Carson Kvapil, driver No. 8 Bass Pro Shops CLUB Card Chevrolet team
“I thought we were going to be OK there at the beginning, thought we had a pretty good Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet. I thought I had something we could run pretty well with, save tires, but as the run went on, I just lost front turn. It was still OK, I could still hang with guys, but toward the end we were struggling. I lost the grip in the right front, and being tight slowed us down. The right front tire got abused, and we were just kind of done at that point.”