Track Specs: Tri-County Speedway, .400-mile oval/125-lap feature
Kvapil's finish: 4th
MOORESVILLE, N.C. (Sept. 12, 2022) -- On a night full of yellow flags, JR Motorsports Late Model driver Carson Kvapil persevered to earn a fourth-place finish in the 125-lap CARS Tour LMSC feature at Tri-County Speedway. In the process, the young driver widened his lead in the point standings with just three races remaining in the season.
Entering the night with a 47-point bulge over second-place Connor Hall, Kvapil was in position to win his fourth CARS Tour LMSC event of the season and the second in a row, following his dominant victory at North Wilkesboro Speedway on Aug. 31.
During practice, Kvapil had spent the majority of the session fine-tuning his iRacing Chevrolet for the latter stages of the race. The 19-year-old driver felt confident in his handling, especially since the groove tends to move up the longer the race goes on.
Over the opening 40 laps, Kvapil was content to run in the top five, as always saving tires for the end. Gaining the top three, Kvapil then set about getting to the lead, but as can happen at Tri-County, cautions would play a role.
Kvapil finally reached the top spot with about 25 laps remaining, thanks to a bevy of restarts, and was in position to earn the victory. With six laps remaining, however, Kvapil was unable to drive away on the restart and fell into the clutches of Conner Jones and others. He dropped to fourth among some serious late-race contact and finished there.
Hall did not have a good night, finishing 21st, which allowed Kvapil to extend his points lead with just three races remaining in the season.
Jones won the race, over Jonathan Shafer, Zack Miracle, Kvapil and Braden Rogers.
Next action for Kvapil, team manager Bryan Shaffer and the JR Motorsports Late Model team will be on Sept. 24 at Martinsville Speedway for the annual NASCAR Weekly Series' ValleyStar Credit Union 300, one of the biggest Late Model races in the country.
Carson Kvapil, driver No. 8 iRacing Chevrolet team
"Our No. 8 iRacing Chevrolet was really fast all race long and we were able lead the last portion of the race until the last restart. It got a little wild there in the closing laps and we finished fourth. That was pretty good for us, points-wise. Still, it was another great run for this JR Motorsports team. Big thanks to iRacing and JR Motorsports for letting me drive this No. 8 car."