Hickory Motor Speedway has been kind to the Kvapil family in 2021.
Just over two months after Carson Kvapil edged Matt Craig in a photo finish at the historic facility, his younger brother in Caden Kvapil found success of his own with a win in the Carolina Pro Late Model Series on Sunday afternoon.
Although he has only raced at Hickory just a handful of times, Caden said that patience was crucial in order for him to work his way through the field and have a shot at the win.
“We had a really good car for sure,” Caden said. “We qualified great on Saturday] before everything got rained out and came back stronger [on Sunday]. Working your way through all the traffic from that far back is kind of difficult.”
Caden had visited victory lane in the Carolina Pro Late Model Series once before prior to his triumph at Hickory on Sunday, as he brought home a checkered flag to conclude the abbreviated 2020 season at Florence Motor Speedway last fall.
Winning has proven to be a more difficult task for Caden in 2021 despite his overall speed, as Nick Loden had taken control of the Carolina Pro Late Model Series standings by winning the first three races this year.
With Loden being a non-factor during Sunday’s feature, Caden proceeded to pick off his fellow competition one spot at a time before reaching Leland Honeyman’s back bumper with just a few laps remaining.
Honeyman did everything possible to hold off Caden for his first career Carolina Pro Late Model Series victory but ultimately had to settle for second behind the 14 year-old.
Caden admitted that he was unsure about whether or not he could catch and pass Honeyman with an ill-handling car but was thrilled that his effort behind the wheel resulted in another victory.
“The car was still loose after the red flag [for the funeral],” Caden said. “It wasn’t as good but it was still fast enough to get the win.”
Caden is optimistic about his chances of winning more races this year with the Carolina Pro Late Model Series set to visit Hickory three more times.
1. Caden Kvapil
2. Leland Honeyman
3. Jake Crum
4. William Sawalich
5. Katie Hettinger
6. Nick Loden
7. Dylan Smith
8. Josh Lowder
9. Kyle Campbell
10. Kris Wright
11. Jasec Holladay
12. Toby Gryneiwcz
13. Ricky Abarca
14. Gil Linster
15. Bobby Earnhardt
16. Matt Henley
17. Sarah Cornett-Ching
18. E.J. Tamayo
19. Penn Crim
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