MOORESVILLE, N.C. — The 2025 Late Model season for JR Motorsports opened on Saturday at Florence Motor Speedway, and both JRM drivers had to overcome adversity on the way to the checkered flag.
Caden Kvapil led the way with a second-place finish, rallying from a tire issue and primary driver Connor Hall overcame an accident while battling at the front of the field to surge back to ninth at the finish.
Kvapil, driving the team’s No. 8 Carolina Carports Chevrolet, qualified 18th and was hanging in the top 10 in the middle stages of the race when his Chevrolet developed a massive loose condition. Grinding to a stop in Turn 3 to avoid causing an accident, Kvapil came to pit road to change a cut right rear tire. From the back of the field, Kvapil set off toward the front.
After picking his way through a multi-car crash in Turn 1, Kvapil rose to 16th position. From there, the newer right rear rubber helped the Carolina Carports Chevy move up the order, eventually reaching the top five.
On the final restart of the race, with 30 laps remaining, Kvapil was able to power his way to third place and finished there at the checkered flag. Following post-race technical inspection, however, he was awarded second place when one of the cars ahead was disqualified.
Hall, driving the No. 88 Bass Pro Shops/TRACKER Boats Chevrolet, qualified 10th for the 125-lap main and wasted little time climbing the ladder into the top five. Reaching the third position, he was battling with eventual winner Doug Barnes in Turn 1 when the latter came down the track and into Hall’s Chevrolet. The contact caught much of the field in a chain reaction and damaged the No. 88 Bass Pro Shops machine.
Following a pit stop to repair the damage, Hall fell back to around 25th position for the restart. Over the remaining laps, the Virginia native drove all the way back up to ninth at the checkered flag.
Next up on the schedule for Hall, Shaffer and the JR Motorsports Late Model team is the zMAX CARS Tour season opener on March 1 at North Carolina’s New River All-American Speedway.
Caden Kvapil, driver, No. 8 Carolina Carports Chevrolet:
“I feel like we had a car to win if I could have gotten through traffic a little quicker. I want to give a big thanks the whole JR Motorsports team for giving me a fast Carolina Carports Team Chevy No. 8 all weekend, and for getting me back in the race when we had the tire problem. I also want to thank Dale, Kelley, LW and Bryan as well as Bass Pro Shops and Johnny Morris for giving me the opportunity to run alongside my teammate Connor Hall this weekend!”
Connor Hall, driver, No. 88 Bass Pro Shops/TRACKER Boats Chevrolet:
“I am happy to have unloaded as strong as we did, and it was great to get to work with Bryan (Shaffer) and the group getting the car better. We were in the hunt there until the accident with a fast Bass Pro Shops/TRACKER Boats Chevrolet. I am looking forward to the zMAX CARS Tour opener on March 1, and I want to say a big thank-you to Dale, Kelley, LW (Miller), Bryan and Johnny Morris and Bass Pro Shops for all their support.”