Carson Kvapil (left) and Connor Zilisch (right) scored CARS Racing Tour victories on Friday night at Ace Speedway. Kvapil recorded his third straight Late Model Stock Car win, while Zilisch took his first career Pro Late Model victory. Photos: CARS Racing Tour/Twitter
Friday’s CARS Racing Tour event Ace Speedway in Altamahaw, North Carolina was anything but a procedural affair.
With a guaranteed spot in next Wednesday’s race at North Wilkesboro Speedway on the line for the Late Model Stock Car division, the drivers held back nothing when it came to making aggressive moves in a race primarily dominated by track position.
Despite the intensity prevalent throughout the evening, Carson Kvapil maintained his efficiency in the LMSC Tour with another stellar performance, all while Connor Zilisch powered to his first career Pro Late Model Tour win after narrowly missing out on the milestone at Hickory Motor Speedway just a couple of weeks earlier.
In the Late Model Stock feature, Carson Kvapil wrote a page of history by winning his third straight feature on the season. Kvapil led every single lap from the pole, continuing a streak of dominance for him and JR Motorsports that dates to their championship season in 2022.
“When your car is just that good, and your guys give you something to work with, it makes everything easier and a lot more fun,” Kvapil said. “Those guys don’t need to be here every weekend taking time away from their families, but for them to put this team first is really awesome.”
On a perfect night that started with Kvapil putting up a blistering time of 15.331 on his first qualifying lap, the only issue he endured was poor short run speed.
The long run performance of Kvapil’s No. 8 Chevrolet more than compensated for his minor restart issues. Once he cleared his closest competition of Ryan Millington and Connor Hall on restarts, Kvapil ran his own, comfortable pace while the rest of field battled to determine who would finish second.
“This is a whole team effort,” Kvapil said. “There’s not one thing that wins a race. It’s the car, the crew chief, the driver and all the crew guys. Everything matters and everything has to be in line. There’s no slack with these guys and we all work together very well.”
Millington finished in second, with Connor Hall in third, Brenden Queen in fourth, and Bobby McCarty in fifth.
William Sawalich, Mason Diaz, Kaden Honeycutt, Layne Riggs, and Brandon Pierce rounded out the top 10.
In the Pro Late Model feature, Connor Zilisch patiently managed his brakes during the opening stages before chasing down and overtaking Caden Kvapil for the lead with 25 laps remaining to earn his first career victory.
“It’s awesome to add my name to a great list of drivers,” Zilisch said. “I couldn’t have done this without Rackley W.A.R.. They brought me a bad fast car and made me look like a really good driver. Even if that’s true, they made me look better than I really might be, so I’m very appreciative of everything they’ve done for me.”
All Zilisch had to do on Friday evening was wait for the Kvapil to use up his brakes and pounce at the first opportunity. Zilisch does not anticipate winning the PLM Tour feature at North Wilkesboro Speedway to come as easy, but is optimistic the consistency of Rackley W.A.R.’s Pro Late Model program will give him an advantage over the stacked field.
“(North Wilkesboro) is going to be tough because there’s going to be a lot of cars there,” Zilisch said. “I’ve got a lot of confidence in this team and we’ve got some momentum going into the next one. We have to keep doing what we’re doing by bringing fast cars to the track so we’re there to compete.”
Kvapil came home in second, followed by Katie Hettinger in third, T.J. DeCaire in fourth, and Brent Crews in fifth.
Mike Hopkins, Brett Suggs, Dawson Sutton, Clint King, and Lee Tissot rounded out the top 10.
The CARS Racing Tour next heads for North Wilkesboro Speedway in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina on Wednesday, May 17, where the tour will be joined by special guests like Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Kevin Harvick, Chase Briscoe and others.
For more information, visit CARSRacingTour.com.
CARS Racing Tour
Ace Speedway – Altamahaw, NC
AcceleratedGFX.com 315 – May 5, 2023
Late Model Stock Cars
1. 8 Carson Kvapil
2. 15 Ryan Millington
3. 77 Connor Hall
4. 03 Brenden Queen
5. 6 Bobby McCarty
6. 43 William Sawalich
7. 24 Mason Diaz
8. 10 Kaden Honeycutt
9. 99 Layne Riggs
10. 2 Brandon Pierce
11. 16 Chad McCumbee
12. 57 Connor Zilisch
13. 08 Deac McCaskill
14. 81 Mini Tyrrell
15. 44 Conner Jones
16. 32 Zack Miracle
17. 97A Dexter Canipe, Jr.
18. 22 Landon Huffman
19. 04 Ronnie Bassett, Jr.
20. 14 Dylan Ward
21. 42 Carson Brown
22. 98 Garrett Smithley
23. 5B Bryant Barnhill
24. 0 Landon Pembelton – DNF
25. 2W Ryan Wilson – DNF
26. 8B Chase Burrow – DNF
27. 95 Jacob Heafner – DNF
28. 55 Trevor Ward – DNF
Pro Late Models
1. 25 Connor Zilisch
2. 96 Caden Kvapil
3. 81 Katie Hettinger
4. 88 T.J. DeCaire
5. 28 Brent Crews
6. 15H Mike Hopkins
7. 15 Brett Suggs
8. 26 Dawson Sutton
9. 07 Clint King
10. 27 Lee Tissot
11. 77 Logan Jones
12. 5 Zac Fowler
13. 44 Justin Whitaker
14. 13 Austin MacDonald
15. 8 Rusty Skewes
16. 6 George Phillips
17. 9 Ashton Higgins – DNF
18. 03 Kyle Campbell – DNF
19. 43 Nick Loden – DNF
20. 7 Tristan McKee – DNF
21. 49M Luke Morey – DNF
22. 15B Luke Baldwin – DNF
23. 48 Jeff Batten – DNF
24. 43H Joshua Horniman – DNF
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