Track Specs: Franklin County Speedway, .375-mile oval/125-lap feature
Kvapil's finish: 1st
MOORESVILLE, N.C. (May 23, 2022) -- Carson Kvapil didn't plan on celebrating his 19th birthday at Franklin County Speedway on Sunday morning, but at least he did so in Victory Lane. Inclement weather, track repairs and other issues pushed the finish of the Saturday CARS Tour Late Model Stock Car race into the wee hours of Sunday, but Kvapil persevered for the victory.
The now-19-year-old driver won his second CARS Tour event of the season, missing an accident ahead of him with 30 laps remaining in the 125-lap LMSC feature and then held off local driver Kyle Dudley to earn the victory, which padded an already formidable lead in the points for the No. 8 iRacing Chevrolet driver.
After qualifying sixth in the 27-car field, Kvapil bided his time and was running fourth with 30 laps remaining in the 125-lap event. The three cars ahead of him—Mike Looney, Connor Hall and Kaden Honeycutt—were locked in a tight battle for the top spot.
At lap 95, Hall and Looney tangled running side-by-side, with Looney spinning sideways in front of the field. Kvapil, running fourth when the three leaders crashed, assumed the lead at that point despite not having his No. 8 Chevrolet set up for the quick pace.
Dudley, a Franklin County Speedway regular, gave Kvapil fits over the remaining distance, getting side-by-side on a couple of occasions, but the JR Motorsports driver had saved enough tire to handle the charge. Despite constant pressure from Dudley, Kvapil held it the rest of the way for his second CARS Tour victory of the season. Dudley finished second, followed by Jacob Heafner, Hall and Mason Diaz.
In winning the event, Kvapil maintained his streak of never finishing worse than fourth in eight starts for JR Motorsports and built upon his 17-point cushion at the top of the point standings. Several of his closest competitors, including Chad McCumbee, were well down in the order at the finish.
Next action for Kvapil, team manager Bryan Shaffer and the rest of the JRM Late Model team will be June 4 at Langley (Va.) Speedway.
Carson Kvapil, driver No. 8 iRacing Chevrolet team
"What a birthday present! This iRacing Chevrolet was plenty fast, and we were saving for the end. I knew those guys (Looney, Hall and Honeycutt) were going to race very hard, but I didn't realize it was going to be qualifying laps the whole race. I made a mistake on the setup and wasn't ready for that, but there was hardly any tire wear for us. I thought that would have helped us out at the end even if they didn't wreck out. The battle with Dudley...he's a local here and he knows all the little things about this track. The first time he got into me, I knew we were going to be racing hard. I was trying to hold him down and he was trying to bring me up. We were a little bit better at the end and we drove away. Thanks to Bryan Shaffer and the JRM Late Model team for giving me such a good iRacing Chevrolet tonight."