Carson Kvapil. Dave Kallmann / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Flat tire ends promising day for Carson Kvapil at COTA

By Samuel Stubbs | Last updated Mar 1, 2025 5:30 PM ET

The only driver that could hang with Connor Zilisch late in Saturday's Focused Health 250 at Circuit of the Americas was 21-year-old Carson Kvapil.

The Mooresville, North Carolina, native led seven laps and was forced to claw his way through the field after an early spin but was in position to battle with a fellow rookie and JR Motorsports teammate for the win late in the race.

Kvapil and Zilisch were entrenched in a physical battle in the race's closing laps, but Kvapil made the mistake of pushing his right-front tire too hard.

With five laps to go, Kvapil's right-front tire went flat, marking the death knell of Kvapil's day. As the field roared by on the frontstretch, Kvapil was forced to come to pit road and ultimately settled for a 23rd-place finish.

A heartbreaker for @Carson_Kvapil. pic.twitter.com/J0jTe0ldsK
— NASCAR Xfinity (@NASCAR_Xfinity) March 1, 2025

"We had such a good Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet," Kvapil told CW Sports. "It's tough to get over that one. We flat-spotted the right-front (tire) trying to stay with the No. 88 there. We were a little bit better in some places, but in others he could really get away from us. I would be able to catch him (Zilisch) in the esses, but ultimately just used a little too much there."

"Just need to put that one in our back pocket and remember what happened."

Despite the disappointing result, Kvapil put forth an impressive effort and went toe-to-toe with the best road course racer in the Xfinity Series. Three races into his rookie campaign, he sits 12th in the points standings.

Samuel Stubbs

Hailing from the same neck of the woods as NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin, Samuel has been covering NASCAR for Yardbarker since February 2024. He has been a member of the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) since October of 2024. When he’s not writing about racing, Samuel covers Arkansas Razorback basketball for Yardbarker

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