CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The future is very bright when one knows where to look.
Last month, we spoke of Buddy Kofoid and his fearlessness. He’s one of a large crop of rising stars who could soon become the faces of the World of Outlaws, USAC or even NASCAR.
Kofoid further proved his fearlessness during the Chili Bowl when he and his Keith Kunz Motorsports team opted to willingly go head-to-head with defending Chili Bowl winner Kyle Larson on his preliminary night.
Kofoid ended up winning the preliminary night feature after a furious battle with Larson. A few days later, he told us that he and the team decided to go up against Larson because they were going to have to do it eventually anyway, so why not race against the reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion on a preliminary night.
Later in the week, Kofoid finished fourth in the Chili Bowl finale, while Larson came home sixth.
Kofoid’s future is very bright. He’ll defend his USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget Series championship with Keith Kunz Motorsports this season. He’s also lined up a sprint car ride with a new team owned by Leighton Crouch and Indy Race Parts owner Bernie Stuebgen. Odds are high he’ll also end up back in an asphalt late model at some point.
Kofoid wasn’t the only one turning heads during the Chili Bowl. One of his teammates, Kaylee Bryson, was the talk of Tulsa by the end of the Saturday program.
Bryson became the first female competitor to start the 55-lap Chili Bowl finale. She did so in impressive fashion, racing from 10th to win her B main by rolling the top of the Tulsa Expo Raceway quarter-mile dirt oval.
When it came time for driver introductions for the 55-lap finale, Bryson got the biggest reaction of the 24 starters. She finished 18th in the main event.
Bryson is slated to return to Keith Kunz Motorsports for a full season of USAC midget racing. She also told SPEED SPORT that she expects to race asphalt late models again a few times this year while also pursuing opportunities to run 410 sprint cars.
On the asphalt side of the world, Luke Fenhaus turned heads last year with his incredible performance on national television with the Superstar Racing Experience at Slinger (Wis.) Super Speedway.
Fenhaus earned the opportunity to race with the SRX series by winning the Slinger Nationals at the quarter-mile asphalt oval one weekend prior. He dominated much of the SRX main event before losing the lead late to Indy car veteran Marco Andretti.
In addition to his Superstar Racing Experience performance and Slinger Nationals win, Fenhaus edged legendary late model racer Rich Bickle Jr. to capture the Slinger Super Speedway super late model track championship as a 17-year-old in one of the nation’s best track championship battles.
His performance on the track and his community engagement and charitable work led to Fenhaus being rewarded with the $54,000 Alan Kulwicki Driver Development Program scholarship.
Having already captured the championship at one of the Midwest’s most challenging tracks, Fenhaus is broadening his horizons. He’s teamed with Highlands Motorsports to race in the CARS Pro Late Model Tour.
He’ll also compete in select major events in the Midwest, including the Slinger Nationals, the Winchester 400 at Winchester (Ind.) Speedway and the All-American 400 at Nashville (Tenn.) Fairgrounds Speedway.
Speaking of the Southeast, one of the most prominent late model stock cars in the region will be driven by Carson Kvapil. The 18-year-old son of 2003 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion Travis Kvapil will pilot the No. 8 JR Motorsports late model that was previously handled by Josh Berry.
With his father guiding his career, Kvapil has been racing super late models in the Midwest and Southeast the last few seasons. He won in his ARCA Midwest Tour debut in 2018, topping the Dairyland 100 at Golden Sands Speedway in Plover, Wis.
He continued his progression in the years that followed and claimed last year’s final CARS Super Late Model Tour championship thanks to four victories in eight races.
That performance caught the attention of Dale Earnhardt Jr. and JR Motorsports, and Kvapil has joined the team to chase the CARS Late Model Stock championship.
Kvapil raced for JR Motorsports a few times last season, which included nearly winning the South Carolina 400 at Florence Motor Speedway in Timmonsville, S.C. If that near miss is any indication, expect a strong season from Kvapil and JR Motorsports.
These are but four of the rising stars making their way up the racing ladder. All four of them could end up in NASCAR or enjoy long careers on the short-track circuit.
Either way, race fans around the United States will, hopefully, enjoy watching them for a very long time.