Carson Kvapil looking to cap rookie season with a championship

Carson Kvapil's rookie season in the NASCAR Xfinity Series has been understandably overshadowed by that of his rookie teammate at JR Motorsports in Connor Zilisch. 

Zilisch's 10-win campaign has quieted the noise surrounding Kvapil, who has put together a solid, albeit winless, rookie campaign in his own right. 

Thirteen top-10 finishes and six top-fives in 29 races have propelled Kvapil to the penultimate round of the 2025 Xfinity Series playoffs, where he enters Saturday's Round of 8 opener at Las Vegas Motor Speedway 11 points below the cut line. 

Carson Kvapil looking to add to family trophy case

Should Kvapil advance to the Championship 4 and bring home the title in Phoenix on Nov. 1, he'll become the second member of the Kvapil family to win a championship in one of NASCAR's top-three series. 

Carson's father, Travis Kvapil, won the 2003 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship before building a career in the NASCAR Cup Series. 

The younger Kvapil is facing an uphill climb to the 2025 Xfinity Series championship. He'll have to face three of his JRM teammates, including the aforementioned rookie phenom in Zilisch and the defending series champion in Justin Allgaier. 

He'll also be dealing with a relative lack of experience at all three Round of 8 tracks in Las Vegas, Talladega and Martinsville. 

Kvapil's lone start at Las Vegas ended with a 17th-place finish. He has a best finish of 17th in two Talladega starts. 

The final Round of the 8 race at Martinsville could be Kvapil's opportunity to strike. He finished fourth in Martinsville in the spring of 2024, and as a short-track ace, he'll likely be near the front again. 

It could take a heroic effort from Kvapil at 'The Paperclip' for the No. 1 team to get to Phoenix and battle for a championship.