JR Motorsports is humming with young talent these days, and Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s driver lineup is showing some serious promise. Connor Zilisch has turned heads as the team’s road-course wizard, snagging a win at COTA in March with a pole position and the most laps led. With a Watkins Glen victory last year and podium finishes already under his belt, Zilisch is proving he’s a generational talent, and his upcoming Cup Series debut at Charlotte later this month hints at a bright full-time future.
Then there’s Justin Allgaier, the steady heartbeat of the team, kicking off 2025 with wins at Las Vegas and Homestead before sweeping the Tennessee Lottery 250 at Nashville. Leading a race-high 101 laps and claiming stage victories 1 and 2, Allgaier’s third win of the season has him perched at the top of the points standings with a 92-point lead over second place. He’s also steering JR Motorsports’ first-ever Daytona 500 Cup entry in the No. 40 Traveller Whiskey Chevrolet, showcasing his veteran grit and team-first spirit.
Rounding out the crew is Carson Kvapil, who’s lighting up short tracks in 2025 with a runner-up finish at Bristol Motor Speedway to back it up. Those tight circuits suit him like a glove, but the bigger tracks have thrown him some curveballs. Recently, he opened up about those challenges, giving fans a peek into the struggles that come with stepping up in NASCAR. With the Dover weekend looming, Kvapil’s honesty sheds light on a hurdle every young driver faces, and it’s a story that’s got the racing world listening.
Kvapil’s long course woes
Recently, Carson Kvapil confronted his big-course woes head-on, laying it out plain and simple, “They are so big that, for me, I almost don’t know where to go. There is so much room to work with. I don’t really have it scientifically figured out why I’m struggling, but I don’t feel as confident going to the mile-and-a-half or two-mile tracks. As the season has gone on, I feel like I’ve learned a lot. As we click off more races like those, I’m going to get more comfortable,” he said.
Carson Kvapil’s racing roots run deep in short-track mastery, a legacy handed down from his father, 2003 Truck Series champ Travis Kvapil. Growing up, he honed his skills on late models across the Southeast, where tight corners and narrow grooves shaped his instincts. His back-to-back CARS Tour titles in 2022 and 2023 with JR Motorsports showcased that precision, dominating tracks like Hickory Motor Speedway and South Boston, where rhythm trumps raw speed. Now, in his rookie Xfinity Series season, he’s hitting the wall with larger mile-and-a-half and two-mile ovals that dominate the schedule, a stark contrast to his comfort zone.
The jump from quarter-mile bullrings to intermediates like Las Vegas, Texas, and Kansas is a beast of its own. Short tracks rely on mechanical grip and tight braking, while bigger tracks demand aerodynamic balance, drafting savvy, and sustained high-speed control. Skills Kvapil’s still mastering. His results tell the tale: struggles to crack the top 15 at Kansas and Charlotte earlier this year highlight his discomfort, while top-10 finishes at Martinsville and Richmond, like his 7th-place run in April, show his short-track strength. It’s a classic transition challenge, echoed by past stars like Josh Berry and Ty Majeski, who navigated similar growing pains.
Kvapil’s optimism shines through, though, mirroring teammates like Sam Mayer, who found his groove on intermediates after a 2024 adjustment period. Veteran crew chief Andrew Overstreet, working with Kvapil, stresses that mastering aerodynamics is a marathon, often taking a full season or more. JR Motorsports has a track record of nurturing this growth, with alumni like William Byron and Noah Gragson overcoming early large-track woes to reach Cup. As Kvapil gears up for Michigan and Kansas, the focus is on incremental gains. Nailing entry points, throttle traces, and traffic dynamics. Skills foreign to his short-track world but essential for Dover’s challenge.
Dale Jr on Kyle Larson’s post-‘Double’ slump
Kyle Larson stormed out of the gates with three wins in a seven-race stretch starting at Homestead, lighting up the middle phase of the regular season. But ever since his ill-fated second crack at ‘The Double,’ crashing out of both the Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600, his form has taken a sharp downturn. In the eight races that followed, Larson has cracked the top five only once and posted just two other top-10 finishes, a far cry from his early dominance.
According to Dale Earnhardt Jr., that grueling attempt at history may have knocked the wind out of his sails. On the latest episode of The Dale Jr. Download, Earnhardt didn’t beat around the bush, saying, “I think that he probably wouldn’t admit this, and he’d probably say I’m wrong. But I think that he went and tried to run Indy, and he said, ‘I got no interest in chasing ‘The Double’ again.’ ‘I feel like he might think that all the s–t that it requires to do all that sort of has taken his focus away from his Sunday s–t, and he’s like, ‘You know what, it’s not worth it.’” Earnhardt’s take suggests the physical and mental toll of juggling two iconic races might have derailed Larson’s rhythm.
“Well, it feels to me that it sort of derailed their momentum, and it derailed it at a time where the schedule is challenging. Like y’all, you don’t need any hiccups, right? And it’s created a bit of a stretch where they just haven’t looked like themselves,” Earnhardt continued. The slump hit rock bottom at Sonoma Raceway, where Larson limped home in 35th, marking his fourth finish outside the top 10 since the failed double-duty bid. That stretch underscores Earnhardt’s point about timing. Losing momentum mid-season on a tough schedule can sting.
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