Caden Kvapil, Mason Walters open 2026 with victories at Southern National

LUCAMA, N.C. – The start to Caden Kvapil’s first full-time season in a JR Motorsports Late Model Stock initially opened on a poor note.

Kvapil only set the 31st best time of 33 cars entered for the zMAX CARS Late Model Stock Car Tour’s Folsom Fence Supply 125 at Southern National Motorsports Park, forcing him to take a provisional for the main event. Not deterred by the adversity, Kvapil bided his time and eventually found his way at the front of the field.

After passing Late Model Stock legend Lee Pulliam for the lead, Kvapil then had to fend off a charge from Doug Barnes Jr. during a late race restart. The two exchanged contact, but Kvapil successfully held onto the top spot to score his third consecutive victory with JR Motorsports, two of which were under the CARS Tour banner.

Joining Kvapil in Cook Out Victory Lane was Mason Walters, who took home a victory in the KevinSaysYes.com 100 for the CARS Pro Late Model Tour. Walters was driving the same No. 6 for Setzer Racing & Development that Ben Maier piloted to a PLM Tour driver’s title the year prior.

As Caden Kvapil pulled into Cook Out Victory Lane, an angry Doug Barnes Jr. confronted him over how the final restart unfolded, which resulted in Barnes being separated from Kvapil by crew members and officials.

When Barnes pulled alongside him to the outside for the final restart, Kvapil knew he would need to be perfect and composed to maintain the lead. Although he was disappointed by the contact, Kvapil chalked up the situation as a racing incident, which he felt could have been avoided with slightly better execution on his behalf.

“I didn’t get a really good restart,” Kvapil said. “[Barnes] kind of had a nose on me getting into [turn] three and I got in there deep, hit the water and slid up into his door. He held me really tight like he should, but it was a racing deal. I hit his wheel with my right front and that kind of stuck us together. I’m sorry to him, but this [win] is really cool.”

Kvapil’s victory continues a wave of momentum he has enjoyed in Late Model Stocks since the end of 2025. Along with prevailing in last year’s season finale at North Wilkesboro Speedway, Kvapil also won the prestigious South Carolina 400 at Florence Motor Speedway by holding off his older brother in two-time CARS LMSC Tour champion Carson Kvapil.

Earning another Late Model Stock win at Southern National Motorsports Park proved to be more difficult than Kvapil was expecting, especially when dealing with two past Thanksgiving Classic winners in Pulliam and Barnes. While Kvapil ultimately triumphed, he ended up having to face Barnes in person after what happened during the last restart.

Barnes, who still managed to finish third despite the damage, did not share Kvapil’s perspective on the circumstances. He knew it would be difficult playing defense against Kvapil even if he pulled ahead, but was left furious over how he felt a potential victory slipped away from him.

“[Kvapil] ran us square in the fence,” Barnes said. “I got a monster run out of [turn] two, gave him a lane so he wouldn’t ship me. He stood in the gas in the center of [turns] three and four and ran me square in the fence. Knocked the tow out a half inch. You’d think [somebody] in equipment like that and a team like that would race with more respect. I guess I was wrong.”

An angry Barnes did not deter the excitement Kvapil felt about opening the 2026 LMSC Tour season with a victory. Aside from the contact, the only aspect of Saturday Kvapil would have changed was the qualifying run that put him 29th on the starting grid, but he knew the car was going to be strong enough to contend if he stayed out of trouble.

There are many elements to Late Model Stock competition Kvapil is still ascertaining and he expects to keep new learning information as 2026 progresses. Despite this, Kvapil felt the Southern National win set a strong stone for the year as he looks to add an LMSC Tour title to a list of accolades that also includes a PLM Tour championship.

“This is only my 10th or so Late Model Stock race,” Kvapil said. “These things are a little bit different than I’m used to. It’s now three [wins] in a row with these cars, so it’s really cool that we can go to Florence, a flat track with no grip, to a high-banked track like North Wilkesboro with a lot of grip. [This win] shows a lot about this team.”

Lee Pulliam a bridesmaid once again

In the three Late Model Stock races Lee Pulliam has participated in since last fall, all of them have now resulted in a runner-up finish.

While he was disappointed to come up short of a victory once again, Pulliam could not help but commend Caden Kvapil for his performance at Southern National Motorsports Park. The seasoned veteran has always admired the talent both Kvapil brothers possess and is confident plenty more victories are ahead for Caden after Saturday.

“I keep being the bridesmaid,” Pulliam said. “[Kvapil] did a heck of a job. He messaged me the other night on Instagram and said, ‘I hope it comes down to the end [with] me and you trading bumpers.’ I gave him everything I could, but if I couldn’t win and a [Lee Pulliam Peformance] car couldn’t win, I’m glad it was a JR Motorsports car.”

The Folsom Fence Supply 125 was Pulliam’s first CARS LMSC Tour start since 2020, but he ventured back into racing in 2024 when he substituted for his driver Brenden ‘Butterbean’ Queen during the 2024 ValleyStar Credit Union 300 at Martinsville Speedway.

Motivated to improve upon a 13th place finish that night, Pulliam returned to Martinsville in 2025 and led 44 laps before losing to Landon Pembelton on an overtime restart. Pulliam carried the momentum from the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 into the Thanksgiving Classic at Southern National, this time placing second in a JR Motorsports car.

Saturday proved to be a mixture of Pulliam’s previous two starts, as he dominated most of the 125-lap feature but ended up losing to a JR Motorsports car. Despite the outcome, Pulliam is eagerly looking forward to the rest of his busy schedule, which will include making his NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series debut with JR Motorsports at Martinsville next month.

“I’m going to get to Victory Lane,” Pulliam said. “I had to use too much tire at the beginning of the race to stay in front of [Chad McCumbee]. It just paid off for [Kvapil]. I gave it everything I had, I was playing with the brake pedal and trying to make any kind of magic I could behind the wheel. He just had a little better rubber than me at the end.”

Mason Walters denies Keelan Harvick, earns first PLM Tour victory

Despite winning a CARS Pro Late Model Tour championship with Ben Maier in 2025, Setzer Racing & Development were unable to find their way to Cook Out Victory Lane during that run.

It only took the CARS PLM Tour opener at Southern National Motorsports Park for that dry spell to end. Catawba, North Carolina native Mason Walters prevailed in the Setzers’ No. 6 Pro Late Model for his maiden series victory, which he accomplished by applying intense pressure to Keelan Harvick before making the race-winning pass with four laps remaining.

“It means the world,” Walters said. “Last year I was so close and to get [a win] finally means so much. I can’t thank all these guys at Setzer [enough]. It takes so much to put these races on and I can’t thank everybody enough.”

Walters’ triumph came in only his fourth PLM Tour appearance. In the three starts Walters made last year, all of which were with Setzer Racing & Development, he completed every lap and never finished outside the top 10, a fourth in his debut race at Caraway Speedway being his best result.

Taking over the car that won the PLM Tour championship the year before carried heavy expectations for Walters, but he felt confident about his outlook given his past success with the Setzers. Outside of the PLM Tour, Walters claimed four Pro Late Model victories in a Setzer car during 2025, which gave him confidence ahead of Saturday’s season-opener.

The faith Walters had in himself and the Setzers paid off, as he bested one of the top prospects in the country in Harvick, who signed a development deal with Toyota earlier in the week. Overtaking Harvick required Walters to utilize patience, a strategy he executed perfectly to finally get the Setzers back in Cook Out Victory Lane.

“I knew we were catching lapped cars, so I didn’t want to try and pass [Harvick], catch a lapped car and then ruin all my momentum,” Walters said. “I stayed behind him until the lapped car held him up, which allowed me to get under him. These guys just gave me a good enough car to drive away.”

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The second race on the 2026 CARS Tour calendar takes place in one month when the Late Model Stock division heads to Wake County Speedway on March 28. For the Pro Late Model class, they do not hit the track again until April 11 when the CARS Tour makes its return to Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway.

FloRacing will have live coverage of all the on-track action.

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 cars_tour.

For additional details regarding the zMAX CARS Late Model Stock Tour and the zMAX CARS Pro Late Model Tour, please visit www.carsracingtour.com. We encourage you to engage with the tour on social media by liking "CARS Tour" on Facebook, following @CARSTour on X (formerly Twitter), and exploring photos on Instagram at cars_tour.