Dale Jr.’s rookie makes a straightforward admission about his COTA race: “It just seemed like every corner, we would just get blasted out of the way”

NASCAR legend and Hall of Famer Dale Jr. was extremely excited when he signed Carson Kvapil with JR Motorsports for a full-time Xfinity Series drive at the end of last year. Dale Jr. had been following Kvapil's journey for a few years, and the 21-year-old had been racing for JRM's Late Model Stock Cars program before getting the promotion to NASCAR. The Xfinity rookie fought hard for the win at COTA on Saturday but had to settle for a 23rd-place finish after a late race incident.

Dale Jr.'s team's young star didn't shy away from speaking his mind after the race. While he acknowledged that everybody has to be aggressive at this level of racing, he felt that he was just getting blasted out of the way, something he hinted that he will remember for future races. When asked in a post-race interview about the aggression on the track, Kvapil explained (via Frontstretch):

"I don't know, I might have felt a little sided there. It seemed like every corner, we would just get blasted out of the way. I mean. It is what it is, all these guys are super aggressive whenever you get to this level. But at the same time, it's a little bit of, 'What the heck man'. So definitely gonna put that in the back pocket and remember that for next time. But at the same time, we're all going for the win and give our best out there." (1:25 onwards)

After a decent qualifying session on Friday, Kvapil started the race on the third row in P5 alongside Corey Heim. However, things soon took a turn for the worse for Dale Jr.'s rookie as the No. 21 car of Austin Hill got into Sheldon Creed on lap 7, causing Creed, the No. 1 Chevy of Carson Kvapil, and the No. 48 Chevy of Nick Sanchez to spin off in Turn 20.

After a slight adjustment in the strategy with an early stop, Kvapil found himself fighting for the lead of the race on lap 36. As the race entered its final stretch, Kvapil was in a strong position to challenge for victory. However, with 10 laps to go, he locked up his tires heading into Turn 20, overshooting the corner and giving Zilisch an opening to take the lead.

The tire lock-up proved to be a costly mistake, as it led to a puncture on lap 60. With no choice but to pit, Kvapil’s hopes of securing a top finish vanished, and he eventually crossed the line in 23rd place.

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The on-track battle between Zilisch and Kvapil made Dale Jr. nauseous

Connor Zilisch is another promising young talent being nurtured by Dale Jr. At just 18 years old, he has already won his second Xfinity Series race in just 7 starts for JRM. Interestingly, both victories have come on a road course. His maiden victory came last year at Watkins Glen International.

And while it must have been exciting for Dale Earnhardt Jr. to see his two young drivers fighting for victory, it also made him a bit nervous for what’s to come in the rest of the season. After Zilisch won the race, Jr. took to X and posted a congratulatory message for the 18-year-old driver.

“Very proud of @ConnorZilisch and @Mardylindley and the @JRMotorsports team. That battle with Carson made me nauseous. Gonna be a fun but very stressful year! 😀😀😀💪🏼💪🏼💪🏼💪🏼,” he wrote.

Connor Zilisch and Carson Kvapil will look forward to resuming their battle on Saturday, March 8, in the GOVX 200 at Phoenix Raceway.