“New driver this weekend, same last name”: Dale Earnhardt Jr. announces Carson Kvapil’s replacement for CARS Tour’s Ace Speedway race

NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr. recently announced the name of his new driver for Friday's CARS Tour race at Ace Speedway. The Premier Late Model (PLM) and the Late Model Stock Car (LMSC) divisions of the zMAX CARS Tour will return to the 0.4-mile racetrack in Altamahaw, North Carolina, for the second time this year.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. co-owns the CARS Tour series, alongside former NASCAR driver and Cup Series champion Kevin Harvick, Hall of Famer Jeff Burton and Trackhouse Racing owner, Justin Marks. The group of four NASCAR dignitaries jointly took over the ownership of the asphalt late model series last year.

Earnhardt Jr. named Caden Kvapil, driver of the No. 35 in the PLM Tour, as the substitute driver of the No. 8 JR Motorsports car for Friday's AcceleratedGFX.com 285. Caden's older brother, Carson, who usually drives the machine, will be busy running the practice and qualifying laps for the Xfinity Series race at Michigan International Speedway on Friday.

"New driver this weekend, same last name," said Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Carson Kvapil has been a regular in the JR Motorsports Late Model program since 2021. The 21-year-old speedster won back-to-back Late Model Stock Tour championships in 2022 and 2023. This year marks Kvapil's debut as a part-time Xfinity Series driver for JRM.

The first CARS feature of 2024 at Ace Speedway took place in May, which was an absolute sweep by the Kvapil brothers. While Carson Kvapil won the Late Model Stock Car division, his younger brother, Caden Kvapil, emerged victorious in the Pro Late Model division.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. opens up about 20-year-old Canadian driver's DQ at North Wilkesboro

Treyten Lapcevich, who piloted the No. 77 car for Chad Bryant Racing, was disqualified despite winning last Saturday's Window World 125 at North Wilkesboro Speedway. Officials revealed that an illegal rear end was found on Lapcevich's car.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. addressed the situation in a recent episode of his podcast, The Dale JR Download, and said:

"Treyten has been running well and finally appeared to have won the race this past weekend, but it was discovered that he had a nine-inch Ford rear-end housing, and those are not legal," Junior said (via FloRacing). "It’s in the rule book, and it clearly says you have to run a quick-change rear end housing. It’s not debatable. It’s black-and-white."

Per the CARS Tour officials, the team had allegedly misinterpreted the rules. However, Lapcevich put up a post on X (formerly Twitter), calling the statement a lie.

"I’m at the shop every single day working alongside these guys, and I know what has gone into this. The press release reads as though we misinterpreted the rules, but I will assure everyone that that is a lie," he said.

Team owner Chad Bryant said that it was a miscommunication between the team and the race officials. As reported by FloRacing, Chad Bryant, "as an employee or an entity has never been disqualified from any motorsports" in the last 30 years. Therefore, the team has decided to appeal to the officials to revoke the DQ.