Courtesy of Speed 51
08 NOV
Carson Kvapil has been winning plenty this year, whether it has been in a Micro Sprint or Outlaw Kart at Millbridge or in the Carolina Pro Late Model Series. He closed out his 2020 season with a Super Late Model victory, outdueling Brandon Setzer in the North-South Shootout at Caraway Speedway.
After battling for several laps side-by-side with the Super Late Model veteran, Kvapil took the lead for good on lap 145 of the 150-lap race, pulling away to a two-second advantage by the checkered flag.
Kvapil celebrated after the race, thankful to end the year on a high note after sour recent performances in the Super Late Model.
“We’ve had bad luck the last three races,” said Kvapil in victory lane. “We’ve wrecked out or had bad finishes. I’m happy to finally get a win on the season, and it’s a good way to cap it off.”
With drivers required to go all 150 laps on the four tires they started the race, Kvapil used a poor handling car at the start of the race to his advantage. Knowing he would come to pit road to improve his race car’s behavior, he rode in the back until his crew had an opportunity to work on the car, saving tires in the process.
“I wasn’t happy with the car the first 50 laps. I decided I was going to ride, I had to pit either way for adjustments so I might as well save tires.”
That proved crucial at the end of the race, as Kvapil worked his way from fourth to second in six laps following a lap 100 restart, then worked on setting himself up for a way around Setzer.
The two battled side-by-side for several laps near the end of the race, even making contact at one point in turn one. Ultimately, Kvapil was able to prevail on the bottom groove to take the lead and the win.
“He could turn the center better than I could. I was tight, so I was gaining on him on entry through the center and he’d get me on exit. I didn’t mean to get into him into one, but it was cool to be side-by-side with Brandon Setzer. He’s a veteran at this.”
Setzer, making his first Super Late Model appearance since February at Southern National Motorsports Park due to a limited racing schedule in the Carolinas and his own work at Kyle Busch Motorsports, was pleased to be back behind the wheel and was all smiles after the late-race battle.
“It was just good, hard racing,” said Setzer. “I enjoyed racing with Carson. WE raced each other hard, we don’t give each other much room, and we shook hands after the race and both laughed about it. We had a good race, just wish we were a little better.”
Justin Crider finished third, scoring his best career Super Late Model finish, followed by Kyle DeSouza and Tyler Church.
Fans can stay tuned to Speed51.TV presented by HMS Motorsport and Haney Lifestyle for post-race content from the 18th Annual North-South Shootout at Caraway Speedway.
-Story by: Zach Evans, Speed51 Content Supervisor – Twitter: @ztevans
-Photo credit: Speed51 Photo