Hocevar Leads Spire Lockout of Front Row in Brickyard 400 Qualifying
The relief was mixed with tears, joy and a stage dive from his car into his crew’s arms at the fabled Yard of Bricks for Carson Kvapil.
Kvapil (photo, top, left) earned his first NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series victory Saturday in the Pennzoil 250 presented by Take 5 Oil Change at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, leading a historic sweep of the top four finishing positions by JR Motorsports, co-owned by NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt Jr. (photo, top, right)
The breakthrough victory in the No. 1 Wilde Protein Crackers Chevrolet came in the 64th career start in the series for Kvapil, 23, son of 2003 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion and former NASCAR Cup Series driver Travis Kvapil.
“It means the world to me,” Kvapil said. “It’s very emotional. I rode around on that (victory) lap backward and sat there and thought about all the hard work I put in, me and my dad, Travis, to get to this point and the faith that (team owners) Dale Jr., L.W. Miller, Kelley Miller put behind me to give me this opportunity, to give me a second chance to come back at it this year.
“From Lap 1 in practice, the thing was a rocketship. I just knew we had to do all the right things and make the right adjustments. I just couldn’t make any mistakes. This is going to be an exciting one for a long time. I’m just going to try not to cry too much; I’ve already shed a few tears. I’m just trying to hold it together right now.”
JR Motorsports earned its third victory in this race, adding Kvapil’s name to a winner’s list including Connor Zilisch last year and Justin Allgaier in 2018. The team also became the first in series history to take the top four spots in a race and has 14 victories in 22 races this season in NASCAR’s second-tier championship.
Allgaier finished second in the No. 7 BRANDT Professional Agriculture Chevrolet, his late-race charge toward his teammate falling .643 of a second short.
Ross Chastain placed third in the No. 9 Roto-Rooter Chevrolet, with Chase Elliott rounding out JRM’s fantastic four in the No. 88 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet after starting last in the 38-car field. William Sawalich finished fifth in the No. 18 SoundGear Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing.
Kvapil, who started second, took the lead for good on Lap 79 of 100 when he powered past Chastain on the back straightaway. With 10 laps to go, Kvapil led by .82 of a second.
Then Allgaier entered the picture. Allgaier, who started 13th, passed Chastain for second in Turn 1 on Lap 93 and was .96 of a second behind leader Kvapil.
But series points leader Allgaier began to methodically chip away at Kvapil’s lead, pulling to within .283 of a second with one lap to go. But Kvapil kept his poise, hit his marks on corner entry and eased away from Allgaier on the final trip around the 2.5-mile oval.
“I’m disappointed we ran second,” Allgaier said. “We knew that short-run speed was going to be a challenge all day, and long-run speed was where we were going to be great, and we were. Just came up a little bit short.
“Happy for Carson. The kid has worked his tail off to get to this point and really cool to see him get this first victory.”
Chastain led three times for 31 laps, both race highs.
Jeremy Clements won the first 30-lap stage in the No. 51 Sky Fund Aviation Chevrolet before fading to 37th. Rajah Carruth won the second 30-lap stage by keeping his No. 32 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet on track when most of the field pitted during a caution from Laps 55-57. Carruth pitted during the ensuing stage break and finished 22nd.
Hocevar, Suarez Lock Out Brickyard 400 Front Row for Spire Motorsports
Carson Hocevar earned his first Brickyard 400 presented by PPG pole to lead a front-row sweep by Spire Motorsports, as teammate Daniel Suarez qualified second.
Hocevar, from Portage, Michigan, turned a lap of 186.598 mph in the No. 77 Zeigler Auto Group Chevrolet. That was the fourth-fastest pole speed in the 30-year history of this crown jewel NASCAR event.
“It’s just unbelievable,” Hocevar said. “I just couldn’t believe it. I’m super pumped. It’s so cool.
“Hopefully we can stay up front, manage the race and enjoy it. But I’m going to soak this in a lot. It’s my favorite racetrack. I just love this racetrack, I love Indy, and this crowd is pretty awesome.”
This was Hocevar’s second pole this season and third in his NASCAR Cup Series career, which has reached a new level this season after his first career victory in April at Talladega Superspeedway.
Suarez qualified second at 186.382 in the No. 7 Freeway Insurance Chevrolet.
The speedy performance by Spire and Chevrolet was a bit of a surprise after Toyota-powered drivers turned the top five speeds during practice Friday.
Tyler Reddick, who won the Cup Series race in 2022 on the IMS road course, was the fastest non-Chevrolet driver after qualifying third at 186.077 in the No. 45 Xfinity Toyota of 23XI Racing, co-owned by basketball icon Michael Jordan and Cup Series star Denny Hamlin. Ty Gibbs was fourth at 185.966 in the No. 54 SAIA Freight + Logistics Toyota of Joe Gibbs Racing.
Cup Series points leader Hamlin will start from the inside of Row 3 after qualifying fifth at 185.835 in the No. 11 National Debt Relief Toyota of Joe Gibbs Racing. 2023 IMS road course winner Michael McDowell put three Spire Motorsports cars in the first three rows after qualifying sixth at 185.762 in the No. 71 NEFCO Chevrolet.
Reigning Brickyard 400 winner Bubba Wallace qualified 29th at 183.861 in the No. 23 Chumba Casino Toyota of 23X1 Racing.
The 160-lap race starts at 2 p.m. ET Sunday. Visit IMS.com to buy tickets or for more information.
