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Late model ace Carson Kvapil had an impressive debut outing in the Dude Wipes 250 NASCAR Xfinity Series at Martinsville Speedway on Saturday, April 6th. Piloting Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s #88 JR Motorsports Chevy, Kvapil secured a top five finish.
Kvapil started the race in 12th position in his debut Xfinity outing. Although he found himself outside the top 10 in the first stage, he rallied back in the second stage. Avoiding the chaos in the final laps, Kvapil crossed the finish line in fourth position.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. was thoroughly impressed by Carson Kvapil's performance at Martinsville Speedway. The NASCAR Hall of Famer commended the 20-year-old's race craft, noting that it was better than most drivers on the Xfinity grid. He said in the post-race interview (via Frontstretch):
"Excited! Really good for this track, I think it's really tough to finish here. As you saw at the end it gets real aggressive. He's got such good racecraft, better racecraft than probably 80 percent of the field. He's just mature... kids grown up in it, works on cars all day, everyday. Everything about his life every minute is racing."
Dale Earnhardt Jr. also praised Carson Kvapil's temperament and highlighted that the 20-year-old showcased remarkable composure during his NASCAR Xfinity debut over the weekend. He added:
"He's got this incredible temperament, he's level all the time. Like not once did he show any nerves or anxiety over this being too big or too heavy. Can't seem to really rattle him. I asked him in the middle of the race what he thought, he's like 'Pretty simple, I'm doing what I'm supposed to do.'"
Dale Jr. was excited to showcase the JRM Late Model talent on the bigger stage, describing Kvapil as an "awesome character and a hell of a driver."
Dale Earnhardt Jr. offers words of encouragement for JR Motorsports driver
Sam Mayer, piloting the #1 JR Motorsports Chevy, was upset after losing out on the win to Joe Gibbs Racing driver Aric Almirola, who dominated the event leading 148 of the 251-lap race.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. provided words of encouragement for the #1 Chevy driver for securing a second-place finish. Given the team's rough start to the season, the team owner expressed his satisfaction with the improved results and said (via Frontstretch):
"He’s [Mayer] beating himself up a little bit because he feels like he lets us down in moments like this but I told him that he lets us down when he runs into the wall on lap one. And runs like tonight’s are what we need, right? We've had a tough start to the season, and if he can't win it, bring it home right, bring it home with what you can."
Sam Mayer secured his second top-10 finish of the season in the seventh round, having racked up four results outside the top 30 this season.
