SOUTH BOSTON, V.A.- The zMAX CARS Tour made its final stop of the season in the Virginia Commonwealth Saturday, making an annual trip to South Boston Speedway.
South Boston has been a staple of the CARS Tour, hosting a race every season since 2017 with the exception of the COVID-19-affected calendar in 2020. The track hosted the championship finale from 2017-2019 and again in 2021, before moving to its current role in the final stretch of the season in 2022.
In the past, the .4-mile high banks tended to favor the stars of the sport, with five of the six previous races being won by a series champion. This time was no different, as Carson Kvapil returned to the series to pick up his third win of the season.
From a warm welcome back to intense championship battles, here are three takeaways from the AutosByNelson.com 280 at South Boston.
The Champ’s Triumphant Return
Welcome back, champ.
It’s been over a month since we’ve seen Kvapil behind the wheel of the JR Motorsports No. 8 in the CARS Tour, with his last start coming on Aug. 3 at North Wilkesboro Speedway.
While Carson was busy with the NASCAR Xfinity Series and other commitments, brother Caden Kvapil piloted the car at Ace Speedway and Wake County Speedway. Team owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. took the reigns at Florence Motor Speedway.
After three races off, the two-time defending champion of the series was back at South Boston- a place he’d won at in 2022. Kvapil started the night off solid, clocking in sixth in qualifying.
Kvapil fell as far back as ninth early in the race, but came alive around 40 laps in. From there, the charge to the front began. When the caution flew with 25 laps to go, Kvapil had driven up to third. When both Ryan Millington and Treyten Lapcevich picked the top, a spot on the front row was left open for Kvapil.
On the restart, Kvapil made an impressive divebomb move, sliding from the inside wall all the way up in front of Millington, essentially parking the car on the nose of Millington’s No. 15 before driving away with the lead.
Kvapil went untouched from there to claim his third CARS win of 2024 and the 12th victory of his career, putting him tied for second all-time with Bobby McCarty.
“I feel like it’s been three races too long,” Kvapil said. “Obviously this is my bread and butter I guess you’d say and I’m used to doing this. So to come back…
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