SOUTH BOSTON, V.A.- The zMAX CARS Tour made its final stop of the season in the Virginia Commonwealth Saturday, making an annual trip to South Boston Speedway.
South Boston has been a staple of the CARS Tour, hosting a race every season since 2017 with the exception of the COVID-19-affected calendar in 2020. The track hosted the championship finale from 2017-2019 and again in 2021, before moving to its current role in the final stretch of the season in 2022.
In the past, the .4-mile high banks tended to favor the stars of the sport, with five of the six previous races being won by a series champion. This time was no different, as Carson Kvapil returned to the series to pick up his third win of the season.
From a warm welcome back to intense championship battles, here are three takeaways from the AutosByNelson.com 280 at South Boston.
The Champ’s Triumphant Return
Welcome back, champ.
It’s been over a month since we’ve seen Kvapil behind the wheel of the JR Motorsports No. 8 in the CARS Tour, with his last start coming on Aug. 3 at North Wilkesboro Speedway.
While Carson was busy with the NASCAR Xfinity Series and other commitments, brother Caden Kvapil piloted the car at Ace Speedway and Wake County Speedway. Team owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. took the reigns at Florence Motor Speedway.
After three races off, the two-time defending champion of the series was back at South Boston- a place he’d won at in 2022. Kvapil started the night off solid, clocking in sixth in qualifying.
Kvapil fell as far back as ninth early in the race, but came alive around 40 laps in. From there, the charge to the front began. When the caution flew with 25 laps to go, Kvapil had driven up to third. When both Ryan Millington and Treyten Lapcevich picked the top, a spot on the front row was left open for Kvapil.
On the restart, Kvapil made an impressive divebomb move, sliding from the inside wall all the way up in front of Millington, essentially parking the car on the nose of Millington’s No. 15 before driving away with the lead.
Kvapil went untouched from there to claim his third CARS win of 2024 and the 12th victory of his career, putting him tied for second all-time with Bobby McCarty.
“I feel like it’s been three races too long,” Kvapil said. “Obviously this is my bread and butter I guess you’d say and I’m used to doing this. So to come back from sitting out for a few weeks and come home with a win is pretty special.”
On that final restart, Kvapil wasn’t sure what to expect coming to the choose. While he knew being on the front row was a possibility, he was content and prepared for whatever the front two threw at him. Circumstances ultimately played out for him to snag the lead and eventual victory.
“I wasn’t 100% sure what the leaders were going to do,” Kvapil said. “I knew Millington was going to go to the outside, I wasn’t sure what the No. 77 was going to do. The previous restart he had went to the outside with the leader, so I thought there was going to be a chance and I was honestly gonna be okay with either way.”
Kvapil now turns his focus to the upcoming Martinsville 300 at the end of this month, the missing gem in his stout Late Model Stock car resume.
Hall vs. Queen Heads Up For the Title
And then there were two.
Two races to go. Two drivers with just one point between them to decide the championship.
While Mini Tyrrell and Millington both have an outside chance at the championship, they would need something to go drastically wrong for the top two.
Barring any unforeseen circumstances, this championship race is down to Brenden ‘Butterbean’ Queen and Connor Hall.
Hall did all the damage control he could muster on Saturday night, turning what seemed to be a disastrous evening into a seventh-place finish in the closing stages.
“If it was like a Langley-Hickory combo I’d feel better,” Hall said. “Obviously the [Lee] Pulliam crowd is really good at the next two events. We’re gonna have to do some soul searching to figure out a way to try and get in front of them, so it’s not a great place to be but it’s better than being fifty points back.
“It’s basically heads up now so it’s up to us to make it happen.”
Queen had a solid night, qualifying up near the front and running top-five all night long. Saturday’s fifth-place finish extends his streak of top fives to six, helping him inch another two points closer to the championship lead.
The future looks promising. Queen has won the past two races at Tri-County Speedway, where the series heads next. He led all 125 laps in both races.
“I think we just keep doing what we’re doing,” Queen said. “Not put to much pressure on ourselves. I’ve just got to make sure we don’t make any mistakes, make sure the car is all bolted and nothing stupid happens there. I think we’ve just got to go to Tri-County and try and do what we’ve done the past couple times there. … That’s the only way we can ensure it.”
It’s fitting that the battle will come down to these two. Dating back to their upbringing at Langley Speedway, the pair have been rivals from the start – friendly at times, and not so friendly at others.
Their battles have made headlines multiple times throughout the season, and will continue to do so as the year comes to a close.
Sellers Solid In CARS Tour Return
For the second time in 2024, we saw a Peyton Sellers appearance in the CARS Tour.
As was documented after his start at Dominion Raceway, it’s not often we see Sellers compete in the series. He spends much of his time competing for track championships and national championships in weekly competition.
In fact, Saturday night at South Boston was just the fourth appearance ever for Sellers in the CARS Tour. The South Boston regular had a solid night, but highlighted the difference in rules from CARS to weekly competition afterward.
“We’ve just got to get in this CARS Tour and race more races,” Sellers said. “The rules are just (different enough that) I feel like we kind of brought a knife to a gunfight.
“Solid night for us, we raced and had a lot of fun tonight, stayed out of trouble and got to do a lot of side-by-side racing.”
Sellers would love to do more in the CARS Tour, but doesn’t see full-time competition as an option.
“You know, I’d like to definitely run some more races,” Sellers said. “I don’t know if full-time is feasible for us financially, but we enjoy racing with these guys, jumping out and just kind of seeing how we compare. I don’t know if a full season ever really lines up for us.”
With his rare CARS Tour appearance complete, Sellers will turn his focus to Martinsville, as he looks to win in the Virginia Triple Crown for a record-setting fifth time. Sellers has one Martinsville 300 triumph, coming back in 2022.
AutosByNelson.com 280 Results
Late Model Stock
- Carson Kvapil
- Treyten Lapcevich
- Ryan Millington
- Layne Riggs
- Brenden Queen
- Mini Tyrrell
- Connor Hall
- Peyton Sellers
- Buddy Isles Jr.
- Bobby McCarty
- Landon S. Huffman
- Kade Brown
- Aaron Donnelly
- Andrew Grady
- Brent Crews
- Landen Lewis
- Carson Haislip
- Brandon Pierce
- Conner Jones
- Ronnie Bassett Jr.
- Parker Eatmon
- Landon Rapp
- Isabella Robusto
- Cody Dempster
- Chase Burrow
Pro Late Model
- Spencer Davis
- Tristan McKee
- Caden Kvapil
- Kaden Honeycutt
- T.J. DeCaire
- Travis Braden
- Brandon Lopez
- Jimmy Renfrew Jr.
- Jake Bollman
- Joshua Horniman
- Cameron Bolin
- Amber Lynn
- Kyle Campbell
- Dylan Garner
- Nick Loden
- Logan Jones
What’s Next?
The CARS Tour now takes a month off before heading to its final two races, giving teams time to focus on the upcoming ValleyStar Credit Union 300 at Martinsville Speedway. The series will be back in action on Saturday, Oct. 12, at Tri-County Speedway.
Chase began working with Frontstretch in the spring of 2023 as a news writer, while also helping fill in for other columns as needed. Chase is now the main writer and reporter for Frontstretch.com's CARS Tour coverage, a role which began late in 2023. Aside from racing, some of Chase's other hobbies include time in the outdoors hunting and fishing, and keeping up with all things Philadelphia sports related.