Carson Kvapil rules out advantage ahead of NASCAR’s return at Rockingham: “more of a level playing field”
Carson Kvapil may have clocked the fastest lap in the practice session at Rockingham Speedway, but ruled out having any advantage. The two-time zMAX CARS Tour champion expects a level playing field on the Xfinity Series' return to the track.
Driving the #1 Chevrolet Camaro for JR Motorsports, Kvapil posted his best lap time of 22.899 seconds around the 0.94-mile track. His JRM teammate and fellow rookie, Connor Zilisch, came home second with a lap time of 23.052 seconds.
Despite having an extensive portfolio in short track racing and a second-place finish at Bristol Motor Speedway last week, Carson Kvapil said in a pre-race interview that he doesn't anticipate an easy race on Saturday, April 19.
"These last two weekends, we finished top five both times, and I feel like they're both... not easy tracks. This one, I feel like, for me, it's not an advantage. It's more of a level playing field that none of us really have been here," Kvapil said via Frontstretch. [0:49]
The 21-year-old Chevrolet pilot is looking forward to a strong race, hoping to earn his first career victory as his rookie teammate has already won.
"It's a level playing field for us, and I feel like... obviously, we have good speed today. Hopefully, we can work on [stuff] and make it a little better for [race pace]," he concluded. [1:30]
After nine races, Carson Kvapil has amassed three top-fives and four top-10s, including a season-high second-place finish in the SciAps 300 at Bristol behind Kyle Larson. He has started within the top 10 in seven races.
This week's race at Rockingham Speedway is NASCAR's return to the track after 12 years (21 years for the Cup and Xfinity Series). The North Carolina Education Lottery 250 (Xfinity) is scheduled for April 19 at 4:00 p.m. ET on The CW Sports.
Kvapil is one of the qualified Dash 4 Cash drivers in the Rockingham race after coming home second at Bristol last week. The 250-lap race will conclude the midseason program for the year.
"Ready for Rockingham": Carson Kvapil shared his thoughts after a strong race at Bristol
Following a second-place finish at Bristol Motor Speedway, Carson Kvapil looked forward to the return of the Rockingham Speedway race. He thanked the #1 JR Motorsports team for its efforts and High Rock Vodka for sponsoring him at the World's Fastest Half-Mile.
In an X (formerly Twitter) post, Kvapil, son of former NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion Travis Kvapil, wrote:
"I enjoyed having the awesome @HighRockVodka paint scheme for this past weekend! I can’t thank my #1 @JRMotorsports team enough for all the support and hard work. Ready for Rockingham coming up this weekend."
JR Motorsports and High Rock Vodka are both owned by NASCAR legend, Dale Earnhardt Jr. High Rock is a premium and handcrafted vodka made in collaboration between Sugarlands Distilling Company and Dale Jr. with his wife, Amy.
JRM, meanwhile, fields four full-time drivers in NASCAR's second-tier series, including rookie drivers Carson Kvapil and Connor Zilisch. Defending series champion Justin Allgaier champions the team alongside Sammy Smith.