Carson Kvapil – finally – is a NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series winner.
After putting together five runner-up finishes in his previous 63 starts, the Mooresville, North Carolina-native is no longer a bridesmaid in NASCAR’s second-tier division, holding off a late charge from teammate Justin Allgaier to win on one of the world’s biggest stages – Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Kvapil made the final pass for the race-lead with 22 laps remaining, sneaking to the inside of NASCAR Cup Series regular Ross Chastain off Turn 2, and never looked back, even as teammate Justin Allgaier, who leads the series in wins this season with six, applied a great deal of pressure in the final laps.
It’s the first career NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series victory for Kvapil, whose father, Travis Kvapil, was the 2003 NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series champion.
“It means the world to me,” Kvapil said post-race. “It’s very emotional, I rode around on that lap backwards and just sat there and thought about all the hard work I’ve put in, me and my dad, Travis [Kvapil], to get to this point, and the faith that Dale, Jr., L.W. Miller, and Kelley Earnhardt-Miller, put behind me to give me this opportunity to give me a second chance, I guess you could say, to come back at it this year.”
Owner of the No. 1 Chevrolet, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., who has supported Carson Kvapil since he began his career running Late Model Stock Cars for JR Motorsports in the CARS Tour, was understandably emotional about the victory, as well.
“Oh man, this has been a long time coming,” Earnhardt said on the frontstretch, clearly getting emotional. “He’s like a son almost, you know, you work with these guys for so long and you work so hard and we worked so hard with Josh Berry and all our drivers, and you just want him to have success, and he’s gotta win to keep going, you gotta win if you want to stay in this deal, and man he’s got so close, so I’m just so, so happy for him, for Travis [Kvapil] his dad, Caden, his brother.”
Not only is Carson Kvapil in Victory Lane for the first time in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, but he’s also the highlight for JR Motorsports on a historic day for the organization – becoming the first team to ever sweep the top four positions in an O’Reilly Auto Parts Series event.
Kvapil took the checkered flag and the victory, obviously, but Justin Allgaier, a veteran in the JR Motorsports stable, finished in second, with NASCAR Cup Series drivers Ross Chastain and Chase Elliott finishing third and fourth to complete the historic day.
Having a fast car all afternoon, William Sawalich rounded out the top-five. In sixth, Brent Crews rebounded from wall contact in practice, plus an incident during the race where the No. 19 YoungLife Toyota GR Supra fell off the jack on a pit stop. Corey Day was seventh, with Sheldon Creed, Brandon Jones, and Austin Hill rounding out the top-10.
Sam Mayer spent most of the day inside the top-five, but faded late on the final run, coming home 13th.
Saturday’s 250-miler also saw a pair of underdog teams take victories in the stages – on merit and strategy – with Jeremy Clements racing towards the front to win Stage 1, and Rajah Caruth (driving, this week, for Jordan Anderson Racing) taking Stage 2 on a strategy call.
Caruth drove up to 22nd at the finish – exactly where he was running before the strategy call – while Clements suffered a battery issue in the final laps of the race and finished 37th, three laps down.
While Allgaier has clinched the top seed in ‘The Chase’ this season, second place is still up for grabs, and after a win at Indianapolis belongs to Carson Kvapil. He, Sheldon Creed, Corey Day, Brandon Jones, and Austin Hill all clinched a spot in ‘The Chase’.
The NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series will take a much-needed off weekend, and then return to action at Iowa Speedway on August 8 at 5:00 PM ET on The CW.
