Carson Kvapil Wins ValleyStar Credit Union 300 at Martinsville

Carson Kvapil won the richest and most prestigious event in Late Model Stock Car racing Saturday night at Martinsville Speedway, taking the victory in the ValleyStar Credit Union 300.

Kvapil, driving the No. 8 JR Motorsports entry, controlled most of the second half of the event. There were several battles with former ValleyStar Credit Union 300 winner Mike Looney throughout 200 laps, but ultimately Kvapil prevailed by six-tenths of a second on a late-race restart that sent the race two laps past its scheduled distance.

Kvapil's record of success with JR Motorsports is a lengthy one. The duo has won two zMAX CARS Tour Late Model Stock championships, the first Late Model Stock Car event at North Wilkesboro Speedway following its reopening in 2022, the Old North State Nationals and the IceBreaker 125 at Florence Motor Speedway.

However, the prestigious ValleyStar Credit Union 300 and its grandfather clock trophy - identical to the one gifted to NASCAR winners at the historic venue - eluded Kvapil until Saturday night.

"This race has been the one we've been chasing the last three years I've been racing with these guys," said Kvapil in victory lane. "We came up super-close last year and the year before finishing second and third. I was pretty worried coming into this one that we just weren't going to have the speed or something.

"Fortunately, we had a good car all weekend. Bryan [Shaffer] did a really good job with changes and bringing a really fast race car. We did what we needed to do in the heat race, qualified good. We just did everything we needed to do and brought the Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet to victory lane."

While Kvapil's car was one of the fastest all night, he couldn't rest on his laurels at any point throughout the event. With tire management such a critical part of the equation in any Late Model Stock race, Kvapil was constantly trying to manage his pace in case drivers behind him were conserving for a late-race charge.

"I wasn't really sure about the guys behind me, if they were riding or going hard," said Kvapil. "I didn't really know what the deal was. I was just out front and trying to keep a little bit better lap time than those guys. We just had a better car at the end or made better changes at the halfway break."

Kvapil's Late Model success has opened several doors for him in racing, including eight starts this year in the NASCAR Xfinity Series with the JR Motorsports program. Kvapil isn't sure how many more chances he'll have to compete in the ValleyStar Credit Union 300, which made Saturday's win that much more meaningful.

"Just to be driving and racing with this group, being competitive like this is awesome. To be able to bring home one of the Martinsville clocks is even better. I'm not really sure how many more of these I'm going to be able to do, so this one's going to be special to me."

With a ninth-place finish, Peyton Sellers secured the championship in the Virginia Late Model Triple Crown. The three-race series consisting of the Thunder Road Harley-Davidson 200 at South Boston Speedway, the Hampton Heat at Langley Speedway and the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 routinely draws the best of the discipline, but Sellers rose above the competition with finishes of third, fourth and ninth in the three events.

"It just tells you how hard it is right now in the state of Virginia," said Sellers. "There are a lot of good short-track racers competing for this thing every week. It's just an honor to be able to do it. We didn't get the finish we wanted tonight, but we had a very strong run at South Boston, a very strong run at Langley.

"To come here at Martinsville, we had a good car until the break. Bolted on tires, made a couple of adjustments, and it just wasn't right. I hate that we didn't have a better finish, but to win this Triple Crown is a big deal for our family."

Treyten Lapcevich finished third, with Casey Kelley fourth and Bobby McCarty fifth. Jake Crum, Brent Crews, Ronnie Bassett, Jr., Sellers and Sam Yarbrough completed the top-10 finishers.

-Photo credit: Martinsville Speedway on X

ValleyStar Credit Union 300 Unofficial Results