From dominating short ovals in the CARS Tour to now competing among the best talents in the Xfinity Series, Carson Kvapil made a huge leap to start off his 2025 campaign. His journey with JR Motorsports started in the Driver’s Edge Development Program alongside his full-time run with the team in 2022. During his stint driving the #8 and #42 car, Kvapil bagged wins at short tracks like Hickory Motor Speedway and North Wilkesboro Speedway. Therefore, heading into the race this weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway, he was a clear favorite to bag his first NASCAR win.
But little did he know that Kyle Larson driving the No. 17 HMS Chevy car would play the role of a spoiler. Forget Kvapil; none of the drivers were able to mount a challenge against Larson as he led 277 of 300 laps and absolutely dominated the race. It felt as if the HMS Star was toying with the field in the Thunder Valley, and he was on cruise control. Well, Carson Kvapil didn’t have a bad day; it was just that his achievement was shadowed by Larson’s dominant display. With a P2 finish, this was Kvapil’s best Xfinity Series race finish, tied with last year’s run at Dover Motor Speedway. But he had to tussle to bag this runner-up finish.
Kvapil told Peter Stratta, “Yeah, it was a confidence boost for this whole team. This whole #1 High Rock Chevrolet, I knew we’d have a fast car from here. I knew I was going to be pretty comfortable here. We practiced pretty good and qualified 3rd, so we put ourselves in a really good spot to take the green flag. Just being in the race, we just made it better and better each pit stop. I feel like we needed one more to be really, really good. I was honestly thinking maybe if we could get singled out, some of the traffic would subside. I wondered if we could go after the #17. The whole #1 crew gave me a really fast race car today, gave us something to race for the win with.”
Starting off in the second row, Kvapil was in the thick of the action from the start of the race. By the end of stage 1, he was mired in traffic in ninth place. He quickly switched gears and found himself back in contention in the stage 2 run and climbed inside the top 5 places. From here on, he pretty much held on the number 5 spot and tried to close the gap on Larson in the final stage of the race. Although he wasn’t able to reach the back bumper of the #17 car, he made a clean pass on Justin Allgaier for the second-place finish late in the race.
.@Carson_Kvapil called the closing laps very fun racing teammate @J_Allgaier for a runner-up finish from @ItsBristolBaby. #SciAps300 #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/J6KeEyReAq
— Peter Stratta (@peterstratta) April 12, 2025
This wasn’t Kvapil’s first outing at the Last Great Colosseum, he raced in the fall race back in 2023, where he finished P 13. But unlike the short tracks he raced in the CARS Tour, he needed a little beat of seat time and track knowledge to be able to compete for the win. Had he gotten cleared of Allgaier as he had planned, things might have turned out differently.
“I knew we were better than him, catching him at the right time. Kind of got a run on him, got him stuck up top, just ready to go by there. If we were starting a bit closer, we started 5th or 6th when we restarted. Being 3rd would be a lot better, but we’ll put that in the back pocket for next time. I was hoping to clear the #7 about 20 laps sooner.” Kvapil added. On the flip side, this win was emotional for Kyle Larson as he lost his partner Jon Edwards, who was his PR representative.
Kyle Larson dedicates his Xfinity Series win to Edwards
After the Homestead heartbreak, Larson was back on the hunt for the NASCAR weekend sweep at Bristol Motor Speedway. The only driver who has achieved this feat is Kyle Busch. He managed to win all three national series races, the Trucks, Xfinity and the Cup Series, not once but twice in 2010 and 2017. In Miami, Larson won the Truck race but failed to win in the Xfinity Series race, credit to the late race caution. The script somewhat followed as Larson wasn’t able to win the Truck race but bagged a dominant win in the Xfinity Series.
Interestingly, this was Adam Wall’s first Xfinity Series win as a crew chief and Larson’s 16th win in the second division of NASCAR racing. “I wish I could have won last night – just came up a little bit short. It’s cool to get a win this weekend for Jon and everybody who’s been a part of his life. We’ve got one more tomorrow (in Sunday’s Food City 500 NASCAR Cup race). There’d be nothing better than to cap it off with a Cup win for Jon and all of Hendrick Motorsports… I’ve got a great car there for (Sunday). We’ve just got to execute like we did today.” He said after the race.
Although the race was dominated by Kyle Larson, Kvapil will have some good opportunities to clear the final hurdle. It is only a matter of time before he parks his #1 Chevy in the victory lane.
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