Dale Earnhardt Jr. praises Carson Kvapil, reveals hurdle to being full-time Xfinity driver for JR Motorsports
How good it is to be Dale Earnhardt Jr. He has another talented driver coming up through the ranks in Carson Kvapil. The son of the 2003 Truck Series champion has a bright future ahead of him in NASCAR if he can get over one massive hurdle.
In four starts in the NASCAR Xfinity Series season this year, Carson Kvapil has three top-5 finishes. He was P19 at Darlington. However, he has run P4 at Martinsville, P2 at Dover, and P5 at New Hampshire. He had a legit shot at winning Dover and New Hampshire.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. loves what he has seen from Kvapil .
"The Xfinity race was pretty straightforward. Carson Kvapil had some interesting strategy that netted him a top-5 finish, and that's three top-5 finishes in his first four Xfinity starts. ... So, Carson Kvapil, I'm gonna tell you man, I hope we can get him in the Xfinity car more next year if not full-time, and that means that the Late Model Stock team will need a driver," Dale Jr. said on his latest podcast episode .
"I'm sad about that because Carson's done such a great job and I've been having a lot of fun going to the race track with him. Just like when Josh moved out man, it's tough, because the Late Model Stock is really my baby and it's really where my heart, the core of my heart is at. But we're excited about the possibility of Carson moving up and he keeps putting up good results."
When asked what is holding Kvapil back from a full-time Xfinity ride, Dale Jr. was honest. It is all about the cash.
"Money. Money, man. Lots of money," Earnhardt said. "The great thing about Carson he's got the legacy, the Kvapil [name], his dad was successful at several levels in NASCAR, and his dad is a very big part of his son's career. To be honest with you, we've been lucky at JR Motorsports with the dads. And how the dads are about their sons racing and how, badly, these dads, badly want their sons to succeed, right, and they want to support as much as possible. I'm a dad I get it. I wasn't sure how Travis was going to be when Carson was driving out Late Model Stock car.
"But Travis is offering a lot of his mechanical knowledge, about the setup of the car or what the race might do how the tires might react, all those things, very helpful stuff. I never see him verbally pushing Carson, he very much trusts Carson to manage this weekend or manage his day on his own. And he really lets Carson be Carson and let's him figure it out. He has a ton of confidence in his son. So, it's been kind of fun working with Carson Kvapil and getting to know Travis. I didn't talk to Travis much when we raced together. It's been nice to kind of get to know him and gain his trust."
Dale Earnhardt Jr. knows he has a great driver in Carson Kvapil. He has won two Late Model Stock championships in the CARS Tour. His knack for learning a new track and then running well is elite, if you ask me.
Kvapil is more than deserving of a full-time ride. With how well he has performed, someone is going to step up to put the money down for Kvapil. JR Motorsports has a pretty good marketing department, too.
After his performances in the 88 car this year, do you think Kvapil deserves a full-time ride? He has only added more starts to his schedule since his Xfinity debut. Now he has to find a way to piece together a full-time ride. I think it gets done, but there are always challenges.
