NASCAR
It’s Been Quite a Few Head-Turning Weeks for Short Track Aces in Xfinity
JR Motorsports and the No. 88 Chevrolet have had two highly touted drivers over the last two weeks. Richmond saw the NASCAR debut of super late model star Bubba Pollard. Martinsville last Saturday likewise saw young phenom Carson Kvapil’s maiden run. Both of them earned excellent results in their first Xfinity outing. This brings up the question of what can be next for either short track star on a NASCAR National Series stage.
“It’s really exciting to see,” team owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. said after Kvapil placed fourth at Martinsville. “Really good for this track, I think it’s tough to finish them here, it gets really aggressive. He’s got such good race craft, better than probably 80% of the people in the field. He’s just mature, and that’s not a knock on everybody in the field here, he’s just that good. I think, you know, the kid’s grown up in it, works on cars all day every day, everything about his life, every minute, is racing and he’s got his 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.”
“Just fun to watch him race, awesome to give him the car that he can do something with. His dad and mother did a great job raising him, he is such an awesome character. Awesome character and a hell of a racecar driver.”
These are very high praises from the Hall of Fame car owner for the 20-year-old Kvapil. Carson is the son of 2003 Craftsman Truck Series champion Travis Kvapil, coming from a rich short track lineage. The younger Kvapil is also the two time defending CARS Tour champion, and actually missed a race to compete at Martinsville.
“I feel pretty good right now and I’m really really happy,” Kvapil said Saturday night. “My goal going in was honestly to finish the race and then the next goal would be to finish as best as I can. I feel like we pretty much came right up on that. I felt like we kept losing spots on pit road, I passed a few cars then all of a sudden coming out of the pits I’m right back behind them. I’m just like ‘man I got to pass these guys again’ so that was a little bit of a struggle. I’d say that was about the only thing we really struggled with I felt like all race long.”
“We weren’t pressured the whole time, we were able to kind of get into a rhythm every stage and just kind of pick guys off as a run went on. There at the end I felt like I didn’t want to go to the top on that last restart because I knew it was going to get put three wide and stuff was going to go down. But we just kind of had to and kind of were messing around three wide for a minute and got clear coming off two on the white flag. We were able to get under third but the caution came out. I was really hoping to say that I got a top three in the first race but fourth will do.”
The list of drivers to make Xfinity Series debuts with JR Motorsports includes many stars of today. William Byron, Chase Elliott, Josh Berry, and Cole Custer are some of these names. None of them earned a top-five in their debut, a feat that Kvapil was able to achieve at Martinsville. To put it simply, Kvapil absolutely made his case for an expanded if not full-time National Series presence in 2025. Sponsorship will ultimately determine his 2024 plans and beyond though. The sky is seemingly the limit for this short track talent, with a breakthrough run that now that matches his hype.
The week prior in Richmond, an equally talented late model star on the opposite end of his career also turned heads in the No. 88. After pacing practice, Bubba Pollard started next to last and moved forward all race long. Much like Kvapil, Pollard struggled on pit road. He was experiencing his first live pit stops ever. Despite some setbacks, the 37-year-old veteran eventually took the checkers in sixth place.
“I’m not sure to describe how you got to drive these cars,” Pollard said. “You got to be easy, while in what I’m accustomed to you can be aggressive throughout a race. With these you just have to be patient. It took until me 10 laps into the race to learn that. I think it was good for me to start in the rear today. It gave me that sense of where I needed to be on the racetrack, braking points and things like that. I think it was a good deal for me.”
“I’d love to do it one more time. I was looking at a couple things, I know Iowa’s open. I would love to get some sponsorship to put it together, because I’d like a second go at it. I mean the odds were against me this weekend, it’s tough because all of these guys have won races. It’s tough to just jump in these cars no matter what you do and expect to win. But man I’d love one more shot.”
“I don’t feel like I overachieved, if I did that I’d have won the race. When I wake up it doesn’t matter what I do, what I sit in, I got an opportunity as a driver I’m capable of winning in a racecar that’s also capable of winning. I feel like every time I strap in the seat of a racecar I’m going to win.”
“I learned a lot, especially going into a place like today with how technical it is. 250 laps was the right amount to learn.”
Like mentioned above, Bubba Pollard is already eyeing Iowa in June as another possible Xfinity start. Earnhardt also said on pit road at Martinsville that the Pollard deal was vastly different than Kvapil’s.
“It’s really a coincidence and very fortunate to be able to run some people that really deserve opportunities. You don’t get the chance to give those one-offs too often and there’s a lot of people we got to thank for Bubba’s deal, like Rheem.”
“I’m serious, I know we thank the sponsors but they were the ones that came with the idea they said ‘what you all think about running Bubba?’ Like we’d love to run Bubba, can’t believe you’re asking that question. That was their sort of brainchild, it’s great to be able to do that with him and then get to know him better.”
“But the deal with Carson is is kind of similar to Josh (Berry). He’s just going to keep her grinding running late model races and doing everything you can to get him chances. For Josh it took 10 years. Hopefully doesn’t take that long with Carson.”
“Runs like that one didn’t do much for Josh’s career. We’d take Josh somewhere and he’d run really good. We thought the phone was going to ring, but you just got to stay in it like Josh did. I know that’s the example of dedication and sticking with it and not giving up on your dream. We’re going to keep doing that with Carson as long as we can. I’m almost sad watching him run good out there because I know he might move up and move on out at least out of the late model car. It’s tough when you get so used to them driving it every single week.”
Fortunate coincidence or not, JR Motorsports has unearthed a goldmine of personality and talent. Above all, this experiment offered two drivers with limited reach exposure on to a much larger audience. It will be a treat to see either of these drivers continue with JRM or elsewhere in NASCAR. Pollard and Kvapil are only the two latest homegrown short track talents to shine through on a national stage.
Written by Peter Stratta
Be sure to follow us on Twitter/X
Be sure to follow the writer on Twitter/X
Photo Credit to Peter Stratta/TSJSports
