Carson Kvapil looked poised to finally get his first NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series win June 20 at Naval Base Coronado.
But his car started to fade late in the race, and suddenly, Taylor Gray was in his mirror.
And with three laps remaining, Gray and Kvapil were battling for the lead when the two made contact.
Gray got up into Kvapil through one of the many tight spots on the circuit and spun Kvapil’s No. 1, which put Gray in the lead.
Kvapil was able to drive away quickly after hitting the tires and ended up finishing in fourth, a tough ending to a day that saw him lead 15 laps but still without a win in the series.
On pit road, Kvapil went up to Gray’s window and had a conversation with him before walking away.
“I feel like we had a real good shot to win that race,” Kvapil told Frontstretch postrace. “We’ve raced forever, since we were kids, and never really had any trouble until this year, we’ve gotten into each other a few times. … Just really hard racing at the end of the day.”
As for Gray, he was passed for the win on the final lap by Austin Hill, who went on to win the race. Gray finished runner-up after leading 16 laps during the race along with winning the second stage.
“I just picked up really bad wheel hop at the end of all of my runs, and whenever I got underneath him there, I just wheel hopped really bad,” Gray told Frontstretch. “I need to go back and see what I could’ve cleaned up there and manage the wheel hop a little better at the end of my run there.”
Had he been able to hang on for the victory, Gray would have scored his second triumph in the series in 2026, following a win at Kansas Speedway.
Kvapil remains in seventh in the driver standings, now 124 points over The Chase cut line, while Gray is tied for 10th with Sam Mayer, 33 ahead of the cut line.
Additional reporting by Bryan Nolen
Michael Bellifemini joined Frontstretch in February 2026 as a contributor. Bellifemini was born and raised in New Jersey and graduated from Seton Hall University. He called Seton Hall men's and women's basketball games for their college radio station, 89.5 FM WSOU, and continues to broadcast in the area. Outside of covering NASCAR, Bellifemini is also an avid baseball, football, basketball, and hockey fan and enjoys watching different sports leagues on a daily basis.
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