Carson Kvapil, who has dominated in the CARS Late Model Stock Tour over the last couple of seasons, will make his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series debut in the UNOH 200 at Bristol Motor Speedway. Kvapil, 20, will pilot the No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Silverado with backing from HendrickCars.com in the race, which is set for Thursday, September 14th.
Spire Motorsports made the announcement on Tuesday evening.
“I’m super excited for the opportunity to drive the No. 7 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Silverado at Bristol,” Kvapil said in a Spire Motorsports team release. “Bono, [Mike] Greci, and all the guys are awesome to work with and I can’t wait to work with them at the track. Fortunately, I am getting some simulator time in with Bono and Andrew [Overstreet] to get ready for the race. Huge thanks to Jeff [Dickerson], T.J. [Puchyr], Mr. Hendrick, and everyone who helped me get to this point. I’m ready to hit the track for my first start in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.”
While Kvapil has never made a NASCAR National Series start, he comes from a family steeped in NASCAR success. His father, Travis Kvapil, was a nine-time NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race winner and won the 2003 series championship.
Carson Kvapil is in the midst of his championship defense in the CARS Late Model Stock Tour. Through the opening 12 races of the 2023 season, Kvapil has scored five victories, to bring his career total in the division to nine.
Kvapil is the latest in a long line of talented young racers that have gotten a chance with the Spire Motorsports NASCAR Truck Series program in 2023, and the team is excited to see how Kvapil performs.
“We’re looking forward to getting to know Carson and having him drive the HendrickCars.com Chevy Silverado at Bristol,” said “Bono” Manion, Spire Motorsports crew chief. “We’ve been having a lot of fun and a fair amount of success with our truck program this season. Winning at North Wilkesboro with Kyle Larson was definitely a highlight, but it has really been fun seeing what some of these younger guys can do. Layne Riggs and Derek Kraus did a really good job for us and we’re looking for the same type of thing out of Carson. It’s exciting to give these guys a shot in our truck.”
Kvapil has driven for JR Motorsports during his CARS Tour stint, and he is part of the Chevrolet Driver Development program. With how well he has performed at the CARS Tour level, he could be nearing a jump to the NASCAR National Series level full-time sooner, rather than later.
Photo Credit: Blake Harris
