Caden Kvapil, Dawson Sutton Win in CARS Return to Nashville

The zMAX CARS Tour returned to the Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway on Saturday night, including the very first appearance for its Late Model Stock division. A massive crowd turned out to watch Dale Earnhardt, Jr. make his return to Music City, while JR Motorsports' Caden Kvapil took the Late Model Stock win in the Tootsie's Music City Showdown.

Kvapil took advantage of a late restart, as the caution flew with nine laps to go in the 125-lap feature when Landon Huffman spun exiting turn four. Parker Eatmon, who led the first 116 laps after starting on the pole, chose the outside line for the restart, as did second-place Conner Jones.

Kvapil, choosing the inside line, gained the advantage over Eatmon on the restart, sliding in front of Eatmon's No. 4 exiting turn two and pulling away for the victory.

"We were really good at the end of the first half or so," said Kvapil. "I just don't think we made a big enough adjustment. I was kind of trying to keep up with him and pace him, and then I started getting really loose and run out of tire. The yellow allowed us to cool it down. We just had really good grip on the restart to get out in front and have clean air. When you're in traffic, there was nothing you could really do in dirty air, it was really bad."

Kvapil didn't believe he had a stellar restart when he took the lead, but it was strong enough to put him at the head of the field.

"I think we both spun our tires pretty bad, because I was spinning them. I was pulling back even with him going into one, and I knew my only chance to win was to drive it in deep and try to slide up in front of him. It's kind of what you had to do. It's how I made most of my passes tonight. The top was so dominant, and you couldn't really ever get a good enough run to just run inside someone and clear them, even when we're not even."

The last time the zMAX CARS Tour raced at Nashville, its Super Late Model division co-sanctioned the North/South Super Late Model Challenge, won by Caden's older brother Carson. Caden's victory on Saturday adds to the guitar collection in the Kvapil household.

"It's so cool," said Kvapil. "I've been talking about wanting to get a guitar. My brother got one, my dad got one, and that's really cool that I finally got one. I told him on the way here that if I win, I'm going to be playing that thing all the way home. No one's getting any sleep.

"This place is so historic. From my first time here, I'm so glad we were able to get the win. This place is challenging and it's tricky, but having Late Model Stocks back here is so cool."

While Kvapil will be tuning his guitar for the trip back to North Carolina, Eatmon settled for a runner-up finish after the late-race restart in a race he had dominated to that point.

"Just get a better restart," said Eatmon. "I don't know if I spun the tires a little bit, but I got a bad restart and he timed it perfectly. He took the lead from me, straight up.

"This stuff is tough. This one means a lot, but it makes me more motivated for the next one."

Dylan Fetcho finished third, followed by Conner Jones and Landen Lewis.

Dale Earnhardt, Jr. finished 12th in his return to the Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway after qualifying 21st.

In the Pro Late Model division, it was a case of home cooking for Dawson Sutton.

The defending All American 400 winner and former Pro Late Model track champion took the lead on lap 31 and paced the field the rest of the way in front of the huge crowd on hand.

"It feels really good," said Sutton. "My team brought me a really good car all weekend. I'm just so thankful to be home in front of this great crowd. I can't thank all the fans for coming out, it's just the greatest crowd I've ever seen here, it's truly amazing."

For the Lebanon, Tennessee driver, being able to perform in front of such a giant audience at his home track was a memorable feeling.

"It's been really fast all weekend. So thankful for my guys for bringing me a great car. I feel like every time we come here, we have a really good piece, so I'm super thankful for all of them. It wasn't as easy as it looked, but I'm super thankful.

"Since I saw this race on the schedule, I marked it down. I told my guys I wanted to run it. It realy jsut means the world to me, I can't thank all the people with the CARS Tour for putting on a great show.

-Photo credit: Elevate Racing Media/Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway

Tootsie's Music City Showdown Unofficial Results

Late Model Stock Cars

Pro Late Models