“Hard Time Getting by Us” – Dale Earnhardt Jr’s Pupil Breaks Down His Race After Defeating His Mentor

The racing show continues gripping motorsports fans despite NASCAR closing its curtains for the year. On Saturday, the South Carolina 400 went down at the Florence Motor Speedway. The late-model stock car race featured the likes of Dale Earnhardt Jr, Josh Berry, and Carson Kvapil. With Matt Piercy Racing’s Kade Brown finding his way to the victory lane, JR Motorsports youngster Carson Kvapil was left to settle for P3 despite having a good shot at victory.

Though he bested his own mentor and team owner, Dale Jr, who finished P8, he wasn’t very satisfied with missing out on the opportunity to conquer the track.

Carson Kvapil left disappointed despite getting the better of icon Dale Earnhardt Jr

Carson Kvapil piloted his #8 car in the front end of the field for most of the day at the Florence Motor Speedway. He kept the throttle tight on Kade Brown and 20-year-old Kaden Honeycutt throughout the race. Despite finding the lead at one moment, he couldn’t keep ahead of Brown, who was too quick. With the timer closing down on him, Kvapil appeared to be finishing second, but a late block by Honeycutt rendered him to a 3rd place finish.

Talking to Frontstretch about the late restarts where he’d started at the bottom, he said, “How I look at it is, we should have finished second. Could have won it so… If we were able to keep the lead, I think he’d [Kade Brown] have a hard time getting by us and him being on the bottom when there’s a guy outside, it’s pretty hard to not use the whole track up and get around him. (…) Felt like we should have been second but uh just not a lot of room here when you race on the outside.”

Kvapil has already announced that he will return to Dale Jr’s CARS Tour team in 2024. Maybe next season, he’ll be able to get the better of his contenders along with Dale Jr. Meanwhile, Junior himself was left wanting for more after his 2nd shot a the South Carolina 400 win.

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In last year’s South Carolina 400 race, Dale Earnhardt Jr drove a car that served reminder to the Bass Pro Shops car that Dale Earnhardt Sr drove in the All-Star race of 1998. But little did that help the cause of Junior. He qualified 26th and made his way up the field. Facing two penalties after contacts with Matthew Cox and Landon Pembelton, he was forced to a P9 finish. 2022 was the event’s 30th version and Junior’s first at the Florence Speedway since the 90s.

Despite his hopes to grab a win in this year’s race, he ended up not a lot better than where he was in 2022. His P8 finish left him waiting for another year before he could have a shot at winning in the track.

Regardless of the result and his continuing issues with qualifying runs, it was fun to watch the legend enjoying racing once again. He said after the race, “It is fun. It is so much fun. 250 laps, that’s a good distance. And I had fun.” 

Read More: “We Really Weren’t Confident” – Dale Earnhardt Jr Admits His Nerve Racking Mistake After A Decent Finish in South Carolina 400