<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=1IyhGI_0vncDiLI00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1IyhGI_0vncDiLI00" width="1280" height="856" ><figcaption>(Photo: Chase Folsom/Frontstretch)</figcaption></figure>RIDGEWAY, Va. — The one major thing missing from Carson Kvapil‘s Late Model Stock Car resume was a win at Martinsville Speedway — until Saturday night (Sept. 28).Kvapil took the lead from Mike Looney on lap 137 of the 200-lap feature and controlled the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 the rest of the way. Despite several late restarts, no one else in the 40-car field had anything for the JR Motorsports driver. Winner of the past two zMAX CARS Tour titles, Kvapil has seen victory lane at many different tracks across the Southeast. But the Martinsville grandfather clock had eluded him until this point in his career. And Saturday night may have been his last opportunity to win the 300 at Martinsville, pending what he ends up doing in the NASCAR national series next year. “It’s awesome,” Kvapil told Frontstretch. “Obviously, this is a crown jewel late model stock race. 80 people came this year to try to win that clock. That’s obviously the most car count we get of any race out of the year. “It’s just such a big deal. This race is so prestigious. It’s been going on for so long that so many great racers have won it. To be able to add to that list … it hasn’t sunk in yet, but it’s awesome.”<div style="position:relative;width:100%; height:0; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5FvKzzSPwJc?feature=oembed" allowfullscreen frameborder="0" style="width:100%; height:100%;top:0; left:0; position:absolute"></iframe></div>Looney finished second, with Treyten Lapcevich, Casey Kelley and Bobby McCarty rounding out the top five. Jake Crum, Brent Crews, Ronnie Bassett Jr., Peyton Sellers and Sam Yarbrough completed the top 10. With the ninth-place finish, Sellers passed Connor Hall in average finish to win the Virginia Triple Crown championship. Kyle Dudley started the race from the pole after winning the first of four heat races. Sellers soon passed Dudley for the lead, while Kvapil got around them both for the top spot mere laps later. The first caution came out for Buddy Isles Jr. stopping on the track with brakes on fire just prior to the one-quarter mark of the race. The ensuing restart is when Looney shot out of a cannon. The 2016 Martinsville winner got up to second and began reeling in Kvapil. He got to Kvapil’s inside and was about to make the pass when Dudley and Matt Waltz wrecked to bring out another yellow flag. On the next restart, Looney fired off on the outside to grab the lead from Kvapil. He held the lead through the halfway break, earning Looney a $1,000 bonus. But Looney didn’t seem to have the same speed in the second half. “We just needed to turn,” Looney told Frontstretch. “We freed up at the break, but we just didn’t free up enough. The car was really good the first half. You really question your judgment on how much to do. We swung at it. … It just wasn’t enough. “… He [Kvapil] got better. I make the calls for what adjustments. I got out-crew-chiefed tonight.”<div style="position:relative;width:100%; height:0; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/MiXyICn8QRg?feature=oembed" allowfullscreen frameborder="0" style="width:100%; height:100%;top:0; left:0; position:absolute"></iframe></div>Kvapil said his JRM crew didn’t make any major changes but just “tweaks.” Regardless, the No. 8 seemed much faster in the second half.After nearly passing the No. 87 prior to a caution, Kvapil did the same move Looney did on him earlier: He took the lead on the outside on the lap 137 restart.Kvapil created a sizable gap, but numerous late cautions led to the race going into overtime. Looney did beat Kvapil to the line on the second-to-last restart to lead a lap, but Kvapil easily pulled away once they got into turn 1. His grandfather clock was not further challenged beyond that.To top it all off, Kvapil was not feeling good on Saturday and started to get really bad cramps in the race. At the halfway break, the team brought him bottles of pickle juice and mustard as remedies. “I don’t really know what the deal is,” Kvapil said. “I’m not really sick. I just didn’t feel the greatest kind of all today [Saturday]. Just cramping up pretty much everywhere right now. Halfway through the race, I had to drink some pickle juice and whatnot to try to subside it. “I gave it my all for sure and got to victory lane.”Sign up for the Frontstretch NewsletterA daily email update (Monday through Friday) providing racing news, commentary, features, and information from Frontstretch.comWe hate spam. Your email address will not be sold or shared with anyone else.</div></body>

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Carson Kvapil Outduels Mike Looney to Win 1st Grandfather Clock

RIDGEWAY, Va. — The one major thing missing from Carson Kvapil‘s Late Model Stock Car resume was a win at Martinsville Speedway — until Saturday night (Sept. 28). Kvapil took the lead from Mike Looney on lap 137 of the 200-lap feature and controlled the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 the rest of the way. Despite several late restarts, no one else in the 40-car field had anything for the JR Motorsports driver.

Carson Kvapil Outduels Mike Looney to Win 1st Grandfather Clock

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