SOUTH BOSTON, Va. — There was almost noting for Caden Kvapil to stress over as he entered Saturday’s AutosByNelson.com Championship Night at South Boston Speedway.
Kvapil had locked up the zMAX CARS Late Model Stock Car Tour championship by winning the most recent event at Newport Speedway. Consistency set the tone all year for Kvapil in his first full-time Late Model Stock season with JR Motorsports, as he tallied four victories, 10 top fives and completed every single possible lap in 2026.
Mason Walters held the CARS Pro Late Model Tour points lead going into the final race, but a championship was by no means guaranteed to him with a 13-point advantage. South Boston went about as perfectly as possible for Walters, who led every lap from the pole to score his first CARS PLM Tour crown and the third overall owner’s title for Setzer Racing & Development.
Unlike Walters, Kvapil did not end his championship season with a victory. That honor on the CARS LMSC Tour side belonged to Kvapil’s JR Motorsports teammate Treyten Lapcevich, who passed the series champion shortly after the halfway point to triumph in his first start with the esteemed organization.
Only three drivers hold the unique distinction of possessing CARS Tour titles in two separate divisions.
Caden Kvapil is now part of that prestigious group, joining Jared Fryar and his older brother in current NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series competitor Carson Kvapil.
The hard-working, blue-collar mindset Caden possesses stems from his father Travis Kvapil, whose accolades include the 2003 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship. Caden is honored to continue that proud family tradition with another CARS Tour title, especially with Travis guiding him nearly every step of the way.
“It means a lot to our whole family,” Caden said. “We have a lot of pride in doing this. My brother won his CARS Tour Super [Late Model] championship in my dad’s family-owned car with me, my dad and Carson working on it every day in the shop. It’s really fun to do it as a family.
“To be able to do it at this level together and have so much success like we’ve had, it means a lot.”
Carson’s Super Late Model championship in 2021 eventually led to him taking over JR Motorsports’ No. 8 Late Model Stock, which in turn led to two more titles and eventually a full-time O’Reilly Series ride with the program.
Caden finds himself on a similar path to his older brother; he won the PLM Tour championship in 2023 and had already visited Cook Out Victory Lane with JR Motorsports last season. The challenge bestowed upon Caden was managing the expectations that came with driving a car previously heralded by Carson and LMSC Tour all-time wins leader Josh Berry.
Caden did more than just race with JR Motorsports; he dominated. Nobody in the LMSC Tour field could match the tone Caden set from the opening race of the season at Southern National Motorsports Park, which saw Caden climb from the 29th starting position to make the race-winning pass on Lee Pulliam with 17 laps remaining.
The efficiency Caden displayed in a Late Model Stock extended far beyond the LMSC Tour. He became the first driver in Late Model Stock history to earn a CARS Tour title, a Virginia Triple Crown championship and a victory in the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 at Martinsville Speedway all in the same year.
The 2026 CARS PLM Tour season started with Mason Walters taking home a thrilling victory over Keelan Harvick at Southern National Motorsports Park.
It ended with Walters not only in Cook Out Victory Lane again, but also as the PLM Tour champion.
Nothing about the PLM Tour title was easy for Walters, who had to withstand valiant challenges from Conner Jones and Brody Monahan during the second half of the year. Yet two wire-to-wire performances at Newport Speedway and Saturday’s race at South Boston Speedway enabled Walters to close out a consistent campaign atop the standings.
“It’s really been a great year for me and Setzer Racing [& Development],” Walters said. “That win at Southern National was great. Towards the middle of the season, we needed a little bit more speed. I don’t know what we hit on these last two weeks to make us so good, but we obviously hit on something.”
Shortly before Newport Speedway, Lapcevich received a call from Dale Earnhardt Jr. about an opportunity to drive his No. 8 JR Motorsports Chevrolet for the LMSC Tour finale. Lapcevich made the most of the chance at his disposal, capping off an eventful year with his second career LMSC Tour victory.
“It’s pretty unbelievable, honestly,” Lapcevich said. “A big thanks to Dale, everyone at JR Motorsports and FilterTime for coming onboard. They gave me a great piece and I just had to manage it there. It’s pretty cool to come home with the win.”
Both of Lapcevich’s full-time campaigns with the LMSC Tour have been with Chad Bryant Racing, which guided him to his first career win at North Wilkesboro Speedway in 2024. Lapcevich is grateful for all the guidance he received over the years from Bryant, who fully endorsed Lapcevich’s opportunity with JR Motorsports.
Tackling South Boston with a different team presented plenty of challenges for Lapcevich, who had not competed at the facility in two years. Despite this, Lapcevich had complete trust in his veteran crew chief Bryan Shaffer and the rest of the team, who got his car dialed in for Saturday despite losing a planned practice that day due to inclement weather.
Lapcevich was thrilled he got to help JR Motorsports cap off Kvapil’s LMSC Tour title conquest with a one-two finish, especially since he was the one celebrating the victory. The deal between the two is currently just for one race, but Lapcevich hopes to use the South Boston win to build momentum in 2027 regardless of who he ends up driving for.
“It was a whirlwind of a year,” Lapcevich said. “All things happen for a reason, but we had a lot of great runs. We came so close with Chad [Bryant] and the No. 77. Definitely a crazy year, but really encouraging to end it off in Victory Lane.”
