The 2024 racing season is winding down.
The zMAX CARS Tour wraps up its season on Oct. 18-19 at North Wilkesboro Speedway, just two weeks after the ARCA Menards Series ends its national season at Toledo Speedway on Oct. 5.
ARCA Menards Series East will finish up next weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway. ARCA Menards Series West, the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, Xfinity Series and Cup Series will all close out their seasons at Phoenix Raceway on Nov. 8-10.
It’s been a wild year in American stock car racing, but perhaps none wilder than that of the short track world. Not just in the way of the racing, or the off-track chicanery, but with its presence in the NASCAR world.
The 2024 season has been a big one for short trackers getting their shot in the ‘big leagues.’ And I’m not talking about the drivers who are trying to naturally work their way up to the NASCAR Cup Series such as Kaden Honeycutt or Layne Riggs. Those drivers are naturally expected to find their way into better rides as they progress toward the top echelon of NASCAR.
I’m talking about the drivers who have made their entire living on short track grassroots racing who got a unique opportunity to show the NASCAR folk how they do it on the local scene every Saturday night.
It started with none other than Bubba Pollard. The veteran put himself on the national map back during the 2022 Camping World SRX Series opener at Five Flags Speedway, where he contended all evening and finished second. This year, Pollard returned to Five Flags driving an ARCA East car for Phoenix Racing, where he again ran up front and finished third.
Not long after that, Pollard received sponsorship support from Rheem to make a one-off NASCAR Xfinity Series start at Richmond Raceway in JR Motorsports’ part-time fifth entry, the No. 88. He was fastest in practice but messed up his qualifying lap and started dead last in the field. Yet Pollard was able to methodically work his way up through the field, using his short track prowess to finish an impressive sixth on debut.
The big question leaving Richmond was whether or not he would make another start or two (or more) in Xfinity.
”No, Carson took my job from me,” Pollard said with a smile after an ASA Stars race at Hickory Motor Speedway a few months later.
Pollard is, of course, referring to Carson Kvapil, another late model driver who has found himself with an increasing schedule of Xfinity starts thanks to sponsorship from Clarience. Originally slated for one or two starts with JR Motorsports, Kvapil has now made eight appearances thanks to sponsorship, with at least one more on the way before the season ends.
Kvapil has four top 10s in his eight starts and has finished every race. His worst finish was 26th at Michigan International Speedway, where he crashed on the final lap. His best run came at Dover Motor Speedway, where he was leading late before losing out to Ryan Truex and finishing second.
Kvapil has also ran several ARCA races and made his Craftsman Truck Series debut last season, though he has yet to make a truck start this season.
Originally thought to make a run at back-to-back CARS Tour Late Model Stock Car titles, Kvapil has all but given this year’s LMSC title chase up. Mason Diaz and Kvapil’s younger brother Caden have split time in his No. 8 late model in Carson’s absence while he runs Xfinity races.
Kvapil has been with JR Motorsports for multiple years at this point. With Brandon Jones going back to Joe Gibbs Racing’s Xfinity program next season, that leaves a ride open for Kvapil to snag should team owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. feel he’s ready for a full-time Xfinity Series run. If so, it’ll only be a matter of time before Kvapil reaches victory lane and shows the Xfinity regulars what a short track ace can do.
Kvapil’s increasing absence in the CARS Tour has left the LMSC championship open for the taking between Connor Hall and Brenden Queen. As the two of them fight for the crown, they both have found the time to make Truck Series starts.
Queen perhaps made the most noise, making his debut with TRICON Garage at North Wilkesboro Speedway, the same place he won the Window World 125 at the previous season and cemented a huge fanbase in Wilkes County.
After qualifying mid-pack, Queen – affectionately known as ‘Butterbean’ – overcame a speeding penalty to finish an impressive fourth-place. He climbed out of his truck to an ovation from the crowd.
While breaking down his finish, Queen thought the cheers were for teammate Corey Heim, who won the race. The run earned him two additional starts with TRICON – one at Nashville Superspeedway, where he finished 19th, and the upcoming race at Kansas Speedway on Sept. 27.
Hall got his chance in a Truck at Richmond in August. He didn’t make near as much noise as Queen, but was just as impressive for the opposite reason – he quietly ran in the midfield the whole race before charging into the top 10 by the time the checkered flag flew.
Even the drivers who are chasing their dreams of being Cup Series stars one day have gotten their start in short tracks. Honeycutt is a regular part-time driver for Niece Motorsports in the Truck Series, all while running for the CARS Tour Pro Late Model championship. His performance in each series hasn’t dipped either, as he regularly contends for wins across both series.
Riggs, the most recent Truck Series winner at the Milwaukee Mile and son of former NASCAR driver Scott Riggs, made a living in the short track scene up until this season, where he went full-time Truck Series racing after several sporadic appearance in both trucks and Xfinity.
You can throw Connor Zilisch into that mix as well. One of the most talented up-and-coming drivers has already won four ARCA races, a CARS Tour race at Hickory a few months ago, and is poised to claim the ARCA East title barring total collapse next week at Bristol. That’s on top of his Rolex 24 and 12 Hours of Sebring wins in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. Oh, and he’s making some Truck and Xfinity starts in preparation for a full-time Xfinity campaign next season.
Yeah, the kid can drive.
Dawson Sutton is another one who has gotten a pair of Truck Series starts this season, driving a second Rackley W.A.R. truck. As the son of team owner Chris Sutton, it feels like Dawson has to be considered for a full-time ride at some point with the team. Perhaps he’s next in line whenever Ty Dillon departs from the team.
Other short trackers to get opportunities in the NASCAR world include Clayton Green, Luke Fenhaus, and Justin Mondeik in the Truck Series. Brent Crews, Isabella Robusto, Gio Ruggiero, Gavan Boschele, William Sawalich, Jake Finch, Taylor Reimer, and Corey Day have also split time between ARCA racing and late model or dirt racing. In Sawalich’s case, he’s also made some truck starts and is on track to run Xfinity too.
The funny thing? Most, if not all of the drivers I just listed in the previous paragraph could contend for at least a full-time Truck Series ride someday.
Now let me be clear: A litany of NASCAR drivers, past and present, got their start short track racing. It’s one of the fundamentals to being a NASCAR driver. But most of the drivers I’ve mentioned have only exclusively been a grassroots short track or dirt track driver in the past. They only got NASCAR opportunities this season.
For drivers like Queen or Pollard, who aren’t exactly at the top of any NASCAR team’s short list for full-time rides, they were able to go out in their one-off opportunities and take full advantage of it to show the world that short track racers can really drive the wheels off the racetrack. Who knows? It could lead to something bigger, but only time will tell.
While drivers like Josh Berry and Ty Majeski have mostly led the charge for the short track racers across the country (by that I mean, they are the most talked about short trackers in NASCAR), there has never been a bigger short track presence in NASCAR than 2024. It’s not only helped elevate the drivers’ stocks, but it’s also helped short track racing get more viewers.
There’s more eyes on the CARS Tour. There’s more eyes on the ASA Stars. There’s more eyes on other series such as the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour.
And based on how everyone who has gotten the opportunity has performed, 2025 could be an even bigger year for short track racing series and short track drivers getting NASCAR opportunities.
And like I said at the beginning. The racing is awesome. Off-track excursions, let’s say, have gotten eyes glued back on the local scene. We have thrilling battles for championships between veterans and emerging stars.
There’s a lot to smile about if you’re a short track fan right now.
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Just three races remain in the 2024 zMAX CARS Tour season. Both the Pro Late Models and the Late Model Stock Cars head to South Boston Speedway for the AutosbyNelson.com 280. Coverage begins at 7 p.m. ET on Saturday, Sept. 14 on FloRacing. The PLMs will kick off the action, followed by the LMSCs at approximately 8:45 p.m. ET.
Anthony Damcott joined Frontstretch in March 2022. Currently, he is an editor and co-authors Fire on Fridays (Fridays); he is also the primary Truck Series reporter/writer and serves as an at-track reporter, among many other duties he takes on for the site. A proud West Virginia Wesleyan College alum from Akron, Ohio, Anthony is now a grad student. He is a theatre actor and fight-choreographer-in-training in his free time.
You can keep up with Anthony by following @AnthonyDamcott on X.