Home

NASCAR

Dale Jr’s Rising Star Reveals How Taking Over Josh Berry’s Spot Propelled Him Into the NASCAR Spotlight

Published 04/12/2024, 3:42 AM EDT

Follow Us

Carson Kvapil, the new addition to the JR Motorsports squad, had an impressive P4 finish in his Xfinity debut. During the DUDE Wipes 250 at Martinsville Speedway. He garnered attention and marked the arrival of a promising talent in the fiercely competitive world of NASCAR.

Guided by his team, Carson Kvapil seamlessly combined speed with strategic finesse on the track. This stands as a testament to his racing heritage and the mentorship he receives from notable figures like Dale Earnhardt Jr. In a recent interview, the driver opened up about how JR Motorsports catapulted him into the spotlight, thus changing his life.

Carson Kvapil is not short of mentors at JR Motorsports

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

Carson Kvapil engaged in a conversation with Frontstretch before his outing at Martinsville Speedway. The interviewer asked about his journey at JR Motorsports and how it taught him new things. Kvapil acknowledged learning new things after joining and also thanked Josh Berry, for whom he got the chance to compete part-time in the Xfinity Series.

He said, “All of them, honestly, they have all given me so much advice. I felt I thought when I was going there, I was a pretty experienced racer. I tell you, I learned a lot from those guys, especially Ryan Preece. He’s been around forever. Him and Josh Berry built up basically an empire of late-model stock teams, and I was just fortunate enough to be able to take his spot whenever he moved to Xfinity. So, it was kind of a cool deal how it all came together.”

“I was running supers at the time with my dad, and that was honestly as far as we were going to go with it. On the scale we had, couldn’t really go to ARCA on our own and stuff like that. So we were kind of stagnant and I was able to win cars championship that year, and win some races. And at the same time, Josh moved full-time into the Xfinity car after. Just came together,” he further added.

Carson Kvapil mentioned that they were acquainted with the Millers. Specifically with Dale Jr’s sister Kelley Earnhardt Miller and L.W., from their time at Milbridge Speedway. Kvapil had been racing for a considerable duration at Milbridge when the Millers were in search of a driver. Carson was indeed fortunate enough to be selected for the opportunity.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

Dale Jr’s admiration for the 20-year-old North Carolina resident

Trending

Get instantly notified of the hottest NASCAR stories via Google! Click on Follow Us and Tap the Blue Star.

Follow Us

Carson Kvapil’s ascent in the world of competitive racing is not unexpected, considering his heritage of racing prowess. His father, Travis Kvapil, won the 2003 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship and has a rich history in NASCAR, with a total of 481 starts across the Cup, Xfinity, and Truck series. On the other hand, making his Truck Series debut last season at Bristol Motor Speedway, Carson Kvapil finished in 12th place, echoing his father’s triumphant legacy two decades prior.  

Dale Jr commended Carson Kvapil for his remarkable composure and skill during his first race. He went ahead and predicted a promising trajectory for his career in motorsports. He said, “He’s got such good racecraft. Better race craft than probably 80% of people in the field. He’s just mature and not a knock on everybody in the field here. He’s just that good, I think. Kids grown up in it and work on cars all day, every day. Everything about his life, every minute is racing, and he’s got this incredible temperament.”

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

He’ll be more confident as time passes and earn a full-time place in the Xfinity Series. It will be interesting to observe his performance in the upcoming races throughout the year.

Dale Jr Reaffirms Carson Kvapil’s Superiority in the Cars Tour Announcing the 2-Time Champion’s Hickory Replacement

SHARE THIS ARTICLE :

Written by:

Mamata Mukherjee

208Articles

One take at a time

Mamata Mukherjee is a NASCAR Writer at EssentiallySports. Combining her love for writing and motorsports she has created some interesting and in-depth stories on drivers like Kyle Busch and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Joining ES with 3 years of experience in the field of writing, Mamata feels right at home in her role as a NASCAR Journalist.
Show More>

Edited by:

Shivali Nathta