The battle was intense at COTA. Having begun on pole at the newly overhauled Circuit of the Americas, 18-year-old racing prodigy Connor Zilisch showed a lightning-fast pace at the 2025 Focused Health 250 to secure a triumph. It was a tough day in the office for the North Carolina native, who overcame an early pit road penalty and mid-race mistakes to win his second Xfinity Series race. Unsurprisingly, the only racer who managed to go wheel-to-wheel against him was JR Motorsports’ Carson Kvapil.

Watching the two JR Motorsports youngsters battle it out for supremacy at COTA was a nerve-wracking experience for Dale Earnhardt Jr. Could the on-track incidents between the two lead to a start of a new rivalry, potentially affecting the team’s future?

A concerned Dale Earnhardt Jr. praises COTA’s overhauled configuration

It wasn’t pretty. Despite the odds against him, Connor Zilisch drove with maturity beyond his years to get the job done at Circuit of the Americas. He overcame a pit road penalty and incurred significant damage to the right front of his No. 88 Chevy during the 65-lap race. Despite it all, the 18-year-old soldiered on, battling against rival Corey Heim with 20 laps to go to establish his supremacy on the road course.

However, his intense one-on-one clash with teammate Carson Kvapil was the most concerning, especially for Dale Earnhardt Jr., who watched from the sidelines as his racers let their competitive spirits take over. Tweeting after the race, Junior wrote, “Very proud of
@ConnorZilisch and @Mardylindley and the @JRMotorsports team. That battle with Carson made me nauseous. Gonna be a fun but very stressful year! 😀😀😀💪🏼💪🏼💪🏼💪🏼”

While having two promising drivers battle it out for race wins every weekend is a problem most teams would love to have, Dale Earnhardt Jr. will be concerned about the potential rivalry brewing between Connor Zilisch and Carson Kvapil. The No. 1 Chevy driver seemed to be the only driver who could hang with the 18-year-old at the Focused Health 250, and the two racers were seen being engaged in an intense physical battle during the closing laps, only for Kvapil to fall short.

It seems like Dale Jr. isn’t the only one worried about the evolving dynamics between Connor Zilisch and Carson Kvapil. Reigning Xfinity Series champion Justin Allgaier is concerned about the 18-year-old’s restart incident as well, going on to say, “We will have to sit down and talk about it to see what his mindset was in that moment. I don’t know if I wasn’t there that he was making the corner to be honest with you.” To see a senior JR Motorsports racer directly get involved highlights that there could be more to the situation than what meets the eye, and the team is eager to nip it in the bud before the stakes get higher.

It’s not the ideal scenario for JR Motorsports. While Dale Earnhardt Jr. can be happy about his young drivers fighting for victory, seeing Carson Kvapil being forced to settle for a 23rd-place finish at COTA, despite being fast enough to end up in the runner-up place, isn’t exactly the outcome he had hoped for. The rivalry between the two racers may have reached an all-time high at the 2.3-mile, 20-turn National Course, but Junior will expect that both the youngsters will let bygones be bygones at the GOVX 200 at Phoenix Raceway. Both Kvapil and Zilisch are the future of JR Motorsports, and seeing them compete with, instead of against each other will be key to Junior’s team retaining the title this year.

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Kvapil shares his thoughts on the late incident at COTA

It wasn’t the outcome Carson Kvapil was hoping for. The Mooresville, North Carolina, native showed lightning-fast speed across the newly overhauled Circuit of the Americas track and led seven laps despite clawing his way back after enduring an early spin. However, standing between the 21-year-old and a potential victory was Connor Zilisch, and the two racers were engaged in a physical battle during the closing laps, prompting Kvapil to push his right-front tire too hard. As a result, the No. 1 Chevy driver’s right front tire went flat with just five laps to go, forcing the youngster to get back into the pit road.

Reflecting on the incident with CW Sports, Carson Kvapil said, “We had such a good Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet. It’s tough to get over that one. We flat-spotted the right-front (tire) trying to stay with the No. 88 there. We were a little bit better in some places, but in others he could really get away from us. I would be able to catch him (Zilisch) in the esses, but ultimately just used a little too much there. Just need to put that one in our back pocket and remember what happened.”

While the result isn’t what he might have wanted, Dale Earnhardt Jr. can take plenty of positives from the Circuit of the Americas race. Watching his two young drivers battle it out for a win was encouraging, but a potential rivalry brewing inside the JR Motorsports camp might not be the best environment regarding team harmony. With only three Xfinity Series races completed, could Zilisch and Kvapil go wheel-to-wheel in the races ahead? It’s quite likely, if their performances at COTA are anything to go by.