"Tracks you dream of racing on": Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s upcoming Xfinity rookie on his imminent Talladega debut

Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s Late Model protégé, Carson Kvapil, is set to make his drafting track debut at the famed Talladega Superspeedway. The 21-year-old expressed his anticipation for the Xfinity race at the 2.66-mile oval, with the United Rentals 250 scheduled for this Saturday, October 5, at 4:00 PM ET.

Kvapil has aced the short tracks in the late models and is learning the ropes of racing on bigger ovals this year. He made his Xfinity debut at Martinsville Speedway earlier this season and has since raced at Indianapolis and Michigan, gaining valuable experience on the bigger tracks.

Carson Kvapil will make his drafting track debut at Talladega this weekend, gaining firsthand experience with Superspeedway-style racing ahead of his full-time debut with JR Motorsports next season. Kvapil is eager to get behind the wheel of the #88 Chevy and hopes to have a successful weekend.

"Talladega is one of those tracks you dream of racing on, and I am looking forward to seeing just what it’s like this weekend. Andrew (Overstreet, crew chief) and this No. 88 team have given me great Chevrolets all year long and we’ve been competitive everywhere we’ve gone. We’ll give it everything we have and hope it works out well for our first time at Talladega." Kvapil in a press release by the team.

The 21-year-old has made eight starts in Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s #88 Chevy this season, excelling particularly on the short tracks. He secured a top-five finish in his debut at Martinsville and a second-place finish at Dover, along with another top-five result at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

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Dale Earnhardt Jr. sheds light on training Carson Kvapil for Talladega debut

Dale Earnhardt Jr. was renowned as one of the best draft racers during his career, earning the nickname 'The Pied Piper' at Superspeedways. On October 2, Dale Jr. revealed that JR Motorsports drivers sought his advice on draft racing. He mentioned that they watched footage from previous years' races, during which he explained how he would have approached each situation.

"They asked me to give some advice on drafting. We will put last year’s race on the TV and will watch the race. If I see if this shouldn’t have happened, or that…I’ll smash the pause button. I’ll say, you see that…I would have done xyz." he said on Dale Jr. Download. [from 20:21]

Dale Earnhardt Jr. also shed light on how TJ Majors helped Carson Kvapil hone his Superspeedway skills on the simulator. Majors organized a handful of sim racing drivers to simulate pack racing and then asked Kvapil to experiment with different maneuvers.

"What TJ does is very smart…He’s taken the spotter role to a whole new level. He recruited a handful of sim racers and he told them, ‘Y’all stay in line and run the bottom…Let Carson (Kvapil) try different things and see how side-drafting and all that (works)’…Then Carson and TJ can talk," he added [22:35].

Watch Kvapil make his Superspeedway debut in the 94-lap United Rentals 250 on CW, MRN, and SiriusXM Channel 90 this Saturday, October 5, at 4:00 PM ET.