Carson Kvapil — Driver Profile
Cars: No. 1 / No. 9 | Team: JR Motorsports | Manufacturer: Chevrolet Crew Chief: Rodney Childers (primary) | Sponsors: High Rock Vodka, JR Motorsports rotating partners Status: Full-time rotating program | Hometown: Mooresville, North Carolina
2026 Season
Carson Kvapil is running the O'Reilly Series in one of the most unique arrangements in the garage — a rotating multi-car program at JR Motorsports that sees him share the No. 1 with Connor Zilisch and make additional starts in the No. 9. Through eight races he sits sixth in points with three top fives and four top 10s, and his best result is a third-place finish at Phoenix. Two DNFs have dented an otherwise strong profile.
2026 Stats (through 8 races): 6th in points (267 pts) | 0 wins | 3 top 5s | 4 top 10s | 8.0 avg. start | 13.8 avg. finish | 29 laps led
Career
Kvapil is a two-time CARS Tour champion (2022, 2023) who made the jump to full-time national-series competition with JR Motorsports. His short-track pedigree is exceptional — he dominated the CARS Tour during back-to-back championship runs and arrived at the O'Reilly level with more technical-track credibility than most rookies. He is the older brother of CARS Tour standout Caden Kvapil.
The Story
Kvapil's 2026 story is really two stories in one: his own development as a national-series regular, and the question of how a rotating program at JR Motorsports affects his trajectory. Sharing a car with Connor Zilisch — one of the most discussed young drivers in NASCAR — creates a natural comparison point. The expectation is that Kvapil's short-track base will show up most clearly as the schedule moves to more traditional venues.