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 LMSC Tour 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.
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
Newport triumph another highlight in Caden Kvapil’s title run
Caden 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 would be stepping 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 afterwards with six additional top five finishes, which included a third trip to Cook Out Victory Lane at Florence 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.”
Ronnie Bassett Jr. scores season-best runner-up finish at Newport
After his bid for a ValleyStar Credit Union 300 victory at Martinsville Speedway ended before it had a chance to begin, Newport Speedway provided Ronnie Bassett Jr. a much needed rebound.
Bassett grabbed the pole for the Late Model Stock portion of the Spears Manufacturing 225 and proceeded to lead much of the event before getting passed by Caden Kvapil. 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.
“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.”
The start of the 2026 LMSC Tour season put Bassett in an early deficit, as he finished worse than 15th in six of his first seven attempts. Bassett’s first top five of the season in the Throwback Classic at Hickory Motor Speedway was a turning point for his program, as he has not finished worse than 12th since.
Newport presented Bassett a great opportunity for him to get his first CARS LMSC Tour victory since 2024. During his time with the UARA STARS Late Model Series in the early 2010s, Bassett visited Newport on five occasions and even managed to win during his last visit there with the platform in 2012.
Bassett’s prior Newport experience was prevalent through much of the night, as he managed to hold off a strong push from Chad McCumbee during the opening laps. The next challenge in the form of Carson Brown would not go Bassett’s way, as hard racing between them knocked both up out of the groove, allowing Kvapil to take the lead.
With his best run of the season now behind him, Bassett will turn his attention towards the LMSC Tour season finale at South Boston Speedway. Bassett has endured mixed success at the facility during his career, with his best LMSC Tour finish at South Boston being an 11th in 2023.
Mason Walters comes up clutch with second PLM Tour win of 2026
Managing only a six-point advantage in the CARS PLM Tour standings going into Newport Speedway, Mason Walters needed everything to go right on Friday evening to further solidify his case for the title.
Walters ended up scoring the maximum number of points possible, as he won the pole and led wire-to-wire to visit Cook Out Victory Lane for the second time. The triumph was timely as possible for Walters, who had been searching for another checkered flag since winning the PLM Tour season opener at Southern National Motorsports Park.
“Ever since Southern National, I just feel like we’ve been kind of in a funk,” Walters said. “This is just huge momentum going into [South Boston] and I can’t thank all the Setzer Racing guys enough. They do such an incredible job. This is insane momentum going into [South Boston].”
Although it has been nearly eight months since Walters’ breakthrough PLM Tour win, he has managed to stay consistent all year long. Walters now has six top fives to go along with his two victories, with the Throwback Classic at Hickory Motor Speedway being the only race that saw him place outside the top 10.
Yet as solid as Walters’ first full-time PLM Tour campaign has been, he has faced constant pressure all year from Conner Jones and Brody Monahan in the point standings. The final laps of Friday’s PLM Tour feature at Newport were a microcosm of that title fight, as Jones and Monahan gave chase but were unable to usurp Walters.
There were plenty of moments when Walters was worried about his victory unraveling, especially with the brake issues he was fighting in the waning moments. By staying composed and fighting through the adversity, Walters is now in a fantastic position to join the long list of drivers who have a CARS Tour championship.
“My [brake] pedal kept getting soft and I was pumping it up going down both straightaways,” Walters said. “That’s what was really going through my head, [but] I was not going to lose this race to some brakes. Thankfully I could hold on. We’re just going to go try and win [South Boston]. That’s all you can do.”
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A long, eventful year for the zMAX CARS Tour’s Late Model Stock and Pro Late Model divisions will formally conclude on Oct. 17 at South Boston Speedway. FloRacing will carry live flag-to-flag coverage as the zMAX CARS Tour formally crowns its champions for the 2026 season.
For more information on the zMAX CARS Late Model Stock Tour and the zMAX CARS Pro Late Model Tour, visit www.carsracingtour.com. Be sure to stay active and social with the tour by liking “CARS Tour” on Facebook, following @CARSTour on X (formerly known as Twitter) and scrolling through photos on Instagram at cars_tour.
Additional series information can be obtained by calling the CARS Tour series office, located in Mooresville, NC at 704-662-9212.
LMSC results:
- 88 Caden Kvapil
- 04 Ronnie Bassett Jr.
- 5B Carson Brown
- 62 Keelan Harvick
- 20 Carson Loftin
- 4 Parker Eatmon
- 62K Derek Kraus
- 77 Treyten Lapcevich
- 8 Dale Earnhardt Jr.
- 16 Chad McCumbee
- 95 London McKenzie
- 7 Thomas Beane
- 44 Conner Jones
- 75 Landon Huffman
- 37 Chase Robertson
- 15 Jace Hale -1
- 57 Rodney Dowless Jr. -1
- 9 Darrick Coomer -1
- 52 Lance Gatlin -1
- 16W Tyler Worley -1
- 5 Chase Burrow -4
- 88B Doug Barnes Jr. – OUT
- 32 Nik Williams – OUT
- 65 Josh Goble – OUT
- 40 Taylor Satterfield – OUT
- 7R Brandon Rogers – OUT
PLM results:
- 6 Mason Walters
- 44 Conner Jones
- 31 Brody Monahan
- 30 Treyten Lapcevich
- 1 T.J. DeCaire
- 20 Evan McKnight
- 29 Kevin Harvick
- 11 Jack Baldwin
- 15 Case James
- 25 Rodney Dowless Jr.
- 6L Brandon Lopez
- 12 Colton Hale -1
- 97 Dylan Garner -1
- 27 Lee Tissot – OUT
