Dale Earnhardt Jr. likely walked away from Saturday at Circuit of The Americas with mixed emotions as JR Motorsports experienced a rollercoaster of a day. On one side, Shane van Gisbergen stunned the field with a dramatic last-lap move. On the other hand, Carson Kvapil ended up paying the price for a mistake involving a teammate, leaving him understandably frustrated.

Kvapil lets his frustration at COTA be known

In a recent interview with Frontstretch on X, Kvapil explained how what looked like a strong finish unraveled late in the race. He pointed to Connor Zilisch as being involved in the sequence that ultimately cost him.

“We almost got to that goal, and I think we were going to be eighth before that caution came out at the end. It was shaping up to be a really good day. I’m not sure whether we should have pitted there. We chose to pit, but I think we were back to 14th with a couple to go. The 88 and I got racing pretty hard, and there was somebody else in there too, but I can’t remember who,” Kvapil said.

That “somebody else” was Rajah Caruth, the new JR Motorsports teammate of both Kvapil and Zilisch. Just before the incident, Kvapil and Zilisch were battling wheel-to-wheel near the end of the race when they encountered Sam Mayer stopped on track, which changed everything.

“But the 88 and I were racing pretty hard, and it carried all the way to the end of the stage. I don’t think either of us knew the 41 was sitting there, parked. At least I didn’t know he was parked, so I just didn’t have any room for error. By the time I saw the 41, it was already too late,” he added.

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Carson Kvapil drove the No. 91 car for DGM Racing under a special arrangement, while his usual entry went to Connor Zilisch for the race. Even in DGM equipment, Kvapil proved to be a serious contender throughout the event, though luck ultimately was not on his side.

He started sixth, behind Jesse Love and ahead of Corey Day, and held that position through the end of Stage 1. In Stage 2, Kvapil made an impressive charge to finish third. However, a late-stage incident involving Zilisch, Rajah Caruth, and Sam Mayer derailed his momentum.

The contact cost Kvapil a valuable track position, and a lost tire on Lap 61 further compounded his issues, dropping him to a 19th-place finish. Zilisch, meanwhile, ended his day in 21st.

Just look at the 2024 Xfinity playoff race at the Charlotte Roval, where Parker Kligerman was inches from his first career win before NASCAR threw a late caution for a crashed car lodged in the tire barrier.

The yellow came just before the white flag, sending the race to overtime, where Sam Mayer capitalized and took the victory while Kligerman slipped to fourth.

NASCAR later explained the delay by saying the car was difficult to see from the tower, but the outcome had already changed. Kvapil’s COTA frustration carries that same sting.

While it was a frustrating outcome for those drivers connected to JR Motorsports, the story played out very differently for Shane van Gisbergen.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s part-time star shone bright at COTA

While most of the JR Motorsports drivers endured an underwhelming day, it was a different story for Shane van Gisbergen, who piloted the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro SS under a part-time deal with Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s team.

A road course ace, van Gisbergen entered the race with high expectations and delivered in dramatic fashion. On the final lap, he made a stunning charge, passing five drivers, Nick Sanchez, Justin Allgaier, Sammy Smith, Jesse Love, and Sam Mayer, to secure the victory.

“Yeah, good to finally execute,” van Gisbergen said after the race. “We had an awesome day. Thank you to SafetyCulture and JR Motorsports. The pit crew was awesome. The strategy worked out well, and I wondered what would happen on that last restart. I kind of sucked the No. 41 (Sam Mayer) in, and he took everyone out for me. So that was cool.”

On Sunday, van Gisbergen returned to Trackhouse Racing for the Cup Series race at Circuit of The Americas. Now, the focus shifts to whether he can capitalize again and extend his streak to six consecutive Cup Series road course wins.