Kvapil Wins Newport, Clinches CARS Tour LMSC Title Early

Caden Kvapil celebrates in Newport Speedway victory lane. (Joshua White/CARS Tour photo)

NEWPORT, Tenn. (Oct. 2, 2026) – The zMAX CARS Late Model Stock Car Tour championship celebrations for Caden Kvapil started a bit early for Caden Kvapil on Friday evening.

A standout season for Kvapil in the No. 88 Jerky Boys Chevrolet for JR Motorsports continued with him earning his fourth victory on the 2026 CARS LMSC Tour season during the series’ first visit to Newport Speedway.

By virtue of that triumph, Kvapil officially clinched the CARS LMSC championship with one race left to go.

Kvapil will officially make history as the first driver to win the LMSC Tour championship, the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 and the Virginia Late Model Triple Crown in the same history.

He also becomes the third driver to win a championship across multiple CARS Tour platforms, joining Jared Fryar and his older brother Carson Kvapil.

Kvapil did not necessarily have to win the Late Model Stock portion of the Spears Manufacturing 225 to feel confident with his championship outlook.

But a heated battle between Ronnie Bassett Jr. and Carson Brown for the lead with 40 laps to go gave Kvapil an opening he needed to tack on another accolade this season.

Track position was at a premium around Newport Speedway on Friday, so Kvapil knew it was imperative for him to capitalize on the opportunity so he could pull away from the field.

“[With Newport], it’s so hard to pass,” Kvapil said. “We were all so even at the time, and [Brown and Bassett] were getting into each other and opened the door for me. It was the first chance I had and every time I get a chance, I’m going to take it. I knew we had a really good car, we just needed it to stay green and have a long run.”

Expectations were high for Kvapil entering 2026, as he stepped into a seat that had been previously driven by his older brother Carson and Josh Berry, the all-time CARS LMSC Tour wins leader.

Two victories in a JR Motorsports car to close out the previous season provided Kvapil some optimism about continuing the program’s high standard for success.

Kvapil set an impressive tone to start the season by winning two of the first three events at Southern National Motorsports Park and Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway. Consistency followed Kvapil afterward, with six additional top-five finishes, which included a third trip to Cook Out Victory Lane at Florence (S.C.) Motor Speedway.

Being able to be so efficient within and outside the CARS Tour in a JR Motorsports Late Model Stock is something Kvapil attributes to the hard work everyone puts in to prepare strong cars.

Kvapil also made sure to credit Carson for his success, who won two LMSC Tour titles and 12 races during his time with the program.

Without the guidance provided by Carson, his father Travis and so many others in his support system, Kvapil knows his historic 2026 would not have been possible.

He plans to cherish all those accomplishments while keeping his focus on grabbing one more LMSC Tour checkered flag in a couple of weeks.

“I feel like my brother has been extremely helpful for me, especially at Martinsville,” Kvapil said. “He got out of the car and made the right adjustments for me to get the win there. He’s been driving these cars way longer than I have, so he has a lot more knowledge on these things. It’s been fun working with him and my dad.

“This is just a big family affair and I’m so glad to drive the car. When they’re this good, it makes my life a lot easier.”

On the flip side of the coin, while he was disappointed to come up one spot short of a win, Bassett was more than happy to see his team’s hard work get rewarded with a strong performance as the runner-up.

“It was a great building day,” Bassett said. “We had a really good race car but just had some misfortune on that restart and wasn’t able to get back in the lead and keep track position. All in all, it was a good night. We just have to keep the speed going and see what we can do at South Boston in a couple of weeks.”

Carson Brown, Keelan Harvick, and Carson Loftin closed out the top five in the late model stock portion of the program.

Mason Walters, the CARS Pro Late Model Tour points leader, also grabbed a victory at Newport on Friday night. Walters did not clinch the championship like Kvapil did, but his dominant performance allowed him to build more a cushion between himself and his closest competition in Conner Jones and Brody Monahan.

Jones was second in the PLM feature, followed by Monahan, Treyten Lapcevich, and T.J. DeCaire.

ARTICLE CREDIT: zMAX CARS Tour