With Carson Kvapil set to make his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut on April 6 at Martinsville Speedway, JR Motorsports needed a replacement driver for the CARS Tour race at Hickory Motor Speedway and Dale Earnhardt Jr. says he landed on Mason Diaz.
First and foremost, Earnhardt is excited for the chance to finally field Kvapil in the second highest level of NASCAR after three years of developing him at the Late Model Stock level but it also presented an opportunity for someone else to drive one of the most prolific cars in that division.
“Carson is a two-time, back-to-back champion, and could still win the championship if he has a lights out season even missing a race,” Earnhardt said on Thursday during an episode of his Dale Jr Download podcast. “We had to find a fill-in driver.
“There’s this kid, Mason Diaz, who ran second to me at North Wilkesboro when we brought it back (in 2022) and really impressed me with his drive. I ended up running third in that race.”
Earnhardt said the decision was made when he was firing off for pace laps two weeks ago in the Icebreaker at Florence Motor Speedway and was lined up next to Diaz in the season opening Late Model Stock race in South Carolina.
He said he radioed to crew chief Bryan Shaffer that he thought Diaz should be the guy.
“I said, ‘thinking about a driver for Hickory and I think the guy next to me can do it’ because I always thought a lot of Mason and his talent,” Earnhardt recalled. “His dad owns and operates Southern National (Motorsports Park) and so when (it) has races, and it has the CARS Tour opener this year, Mason works the track.
“He’s a hands-on guy and is really talented driver. He’s trying to put together some CARS Tour races this year to run the full season. An opportunity for Carson also presents an opportunity for a racer like Mason. So, it trickles down and hopefully everyone has a great experience over this process.”
