Dale Earnhardt Jr. gets brutally honest on Carson Kvapil, difference with Connor Zilisch

This season, Dale Earnhardt Jr. has two highly touted rookies at JR Motorsports: Carson Kvapil and Connor Zilisch. These two could be the future of the sport in the next decade, but there is a big difference between the NASCAR Xfinity Series drivers.

Connor Zilisch is the most hyped NASCAR prospect in a generation. Joey Logano was probably the last driver to get the kind of expectations that Zilisch has garnered. Kvapil is the son of 2003 Truck Series champion Travis Kvapil and two-time CARS Tour champion.

While Kvapil has the NASCAR pedigree over Zilisch, he doesn’t have the institutional support. Zilisch is a Trackhouse Racing development driver. He is on the fast track to the Cup Series with sponsor support from Weather Tech and, most notably, Red Bull.

Kvapil is being supported by JR Motorsports sponsors. Dale Earnhardt Jr. is putting a lot of effort into setting up opportunities for Kvapil because of the potential he sees in him. I’d argue he’s perhaps the best young short-track prospect since Denny Hamlin.

“Carson has to win,” Earnhardt said on his Dale Jr. Download podcast this week. “Carson’s future is not guaranteed. I think we all agree that he’s got potential and there’s something there, and if the right things happen the right way, that he could have a 20-year career. But it easily could go the opposite way, and these races are the opportunities, these are the opportunities we’re just not…grrrr.”

You can see how passionate Dale Earnhardt Jr. is about Carson Kvapil. He wants to see this work out. Racing has become less about talent and more about money at certain levels. Having a grassroots driver like Kvapil succeed in NASCAR is what the sport needs more of.

“We saw last year in the few races that Carson ran, hell, he almost won Dover,” Earnhardt continued. “Run top-five in every damn race. Michigan, he would have run top-three if he didn’t get wrecked.”

Both Zilisch and Kvapil need to make it to the next level. They have all of the talent in the world. Should sponsorship be something that prevents Kvapil from taking that next step or from having enough time to develop in the Xfinty Series, it will be an indictment on the sport.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Zilisch has a ‘machine behind him’

When you look at what Carson Kvapil has done in his early NASCAR career, it’s nothing short of impressive. He almost won in his debut at Martinsville in the Xfinity Series. Then this season, he went out and was door-to-door with Zilisch at COTA until his tires gave out.

Kvapil has done things the right way. So has Zilisch, by the way. This is not a criticism of Zilisch but just a comparison of two of the most talented prospects in stock car racing.

“Connor has that machine behind him,” Earnhardt said. “That excitement, that momentum. Carson on the other hand, needs to get the runs and the finishes to be able to get that same excitement and momentum behind him.”

All drivers have expectations and pressure. But Carson Kvapil has a LOT of pressure. It’s make or break, and he’s only a rookie in the Xfinity Series. Earnhardt summed it up pretty clearly.

“There’s a lot of pressure on him, already. Dude, he is under tons of f***ing pressure. … Big boy s**t. What do you want me to do, lie?”

Dale Jr. ain’t lying. The pressure is there and will only continue to grow. For what it’s worth, Kvapil is sixth in points this season and has led 56 laps.