Travis Kvapil

Travis Kvapil

Kvapil in 2009
Born Travis Wade Kvapil
(1976-03-01) March 1, 1976
Janesville, Wisconsin
Achievements 2003 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Champion
Awards 2001 Craftsman Truck Series Rookie of the Year
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series career
271 races run over 11 years
2015 position 67th
Best finish 23rd (2008)
First race 2004 Subway 500 (Martinsville)
Last race 2015 CampingWorld.com 500 (Talladega)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 8 1
NASCAR Xfinity Series career
13 races run over 5 years
Car no., team No. 15 (B. J. McLeod Motorsports)
No. 25 (Rick Ware Racing)
2016 position 113th
Best finish 111th (2007)
First race 2001 Outback Steakhouse 300 (Kentucky)
Last race 2016 Ford EcoBoost 300 (Homestead)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 0 0
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career
190 races run over 14 years
Truck no., team No. 1/50 (MAKE Motorsports)
2016 position 16th
Best finish 1st (2003)
First race 2001 Florida Dodge Dealers 250 (Daytona)
Last race 2016 Ford EcoBoost 200 (Homestead)
First win 2001 Silverado 350K (Texas)
Last win 2007 Smith's Las Vegas 350 (Las Vegas)
Wins Top tens Poles
9 86 4
Statistics current as of November 19, 2016.

Travis Wade Kvapil (/ˈkwɑːpəl/ KWAH-pəl) (born March 1, 1976[1]) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He currently competes full-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, driving the No. 50 and No. 1 Chevrolet Silverados for MAKE Motorsports, and part-time in the Xfinity Series, driving the No. 15 Ford Mustang for B. J. McLeod Motorsports and the No. 25 Chevrolet Camaro for Rick Ware Racing.

Early career

Kvapil grew up working on cars in his father's garage, and racing was a natural progression for the Wisconsin native. Kvapil began racing in 1992 at the age of 16 at Rockford Speedway, competing in the NASCAR Weekly Racing Series. He went on to win the American Short Tracker division track championship in 1994 at Rockford.[2] In 1995, he moved up to super late models at Madison International Speedway, "Wisconsin's Fastest Half-Mile", and was named the track Rookie of the Year. He also became the track's Late Model Champion a year later in 1996. This honor made Kvapil the youngest to ever capture the title at the track at the age of 20.

Kvapil moved to the ARTGO Series, a Midwest asphalt short-track motor-racing touring series. He finished in the top-10 in points from 1998–2000.

NASCAR career

2001–2004

Kvapil raced for Roush Fenway Racing in their #6 Ford truck during the 2007 Craftsman Truck Series season. Sponsorship came from K&N Filters.

In 2001, Kvapil made his debut in the Craftsman Truck Series driving for Addington Racing in the No. 60 CAT Rental Stores-sponsored Chevrolet.[3] In his twenty-first start, Kvapil won his first Truck Series race in the Silverado 350 at Texas Motor Speedway.[4] Kvapil's eighteen top-10s led him to finish fourth place in the driver standings and[5] win the Craftsman Truck Series Rookie of the Year.[6] Kvapil also got to drive a race with powerhouse Richard Childress Racing at Kentucky in the Busch Series, but he ran poorly before flipping his car in a late crash.

In 2002, Kvapil managed to match his win total by winning the O'Reilly Auto Parts 200 at Memphis Motorsports Park. He finished the season with 14 top-10s and finished ninth in the final driver points standings.

Funding issues at Addington caused Kvapil to switch to the No. 16 IWX MotorFreight-sponsored Chevrolet for Steve Coulter's Xpress Motorsports team in 2003. He won one race during the season at Bristol Motor Speedway in the O'Reilly 200 presented by Valvoline Maxlife. Kvapil finished the season with 22 top-10s in 25 races (88 percent).[7] Kvapil passed Brendan Gaughan and Ted Musgrave in points at the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Gaughan wrecked and Musgrave was black flagged during the race, giving the green flag to Kvapil as he was crowned the 2003 Craftsman Truck Series champion.[7][8] He was recorded at 99.9 percent lap completion rate, only missing one lap throughout the 2003 season.[9]

Prior to the start of the 2004 season, Kvapil began a partnership with Alexander Meshkin to drive the No. 24 Line-X-Benders / eBay Bang!-sponsored Racing Toyota. Kvapil came away with his first win of the season during the Line-X Spray-on Truck Bedliners 200 at Michigan International Speedway. The win gave Toyota their first win in the top-tiers of NASCAR. Two months later, Kvapil won at New Hampshire International Speedway. The same season, Kvapil won his first Bud Pole Award in the Craftsman Truck Series[10] at the American Racing Wheels 200 at California Speedway. He finished eight in the final driver standings of the season.

2005–present

Kvapil drove for Yates Racing in their No. 28 Ford for the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. K&N Filters sponsored the team during the Daytona 500.
Kvapil in the No. 28 at Darlington in 2008

At the end of the 2004 season, Kvapil made his first NEXTEL Cup Series start at Martinsville Speedway. Kvapil drove the No. 06 Mobil 1-sponsored Dodge, the fourth car on the track from Penske Racing. He made three additional starts in the No. 06 in preparation for driving Penske Racing's No. 77 in 2005.[11] In 2005, Kvapil took over the Penske's No. 77 Kodak-sponsored Dodge full-time, replacing Brendan Gaughan.[12] Kvapil scored his first ever Nextel Cup Series top-10 at Brisol Motor Speedway when he finished seventh during the Food City 500.[13] He picked up another Top 10 at Phoenix International Raceway during the Checker Auto Parts 500. Thesetwo top-10 finishes pushed Kvapil to finish 33rd in the point standings during his first season in the series. When the season ended, the Penske Racing No. 77 team temporarily disbanded when Kodak pulled out of the sponsorship deal.[14][15]

After his departure from Penske, Kvapil signed with PPI Motorsports for the 2006 NASCAR Sprint Cup season. He drove the No. 32 Tide-sponsored Chevrolet for the 2006 season.[16] He had his best finishes of the season at Kansas Speedway, Pocono Raceway, and Talladega Superspeedway, where he finished 19th in all three of those events.[17][18][19] Kvapil finished the season 36th in points, and was forced to find a new ride for the next season as his PPI contract only lasted one year.[20] PPI eventually shut down after the 2006 due to the inability to find a sponsor to replace Tide. The team also did not have a manufacturer commitment for the 2007 NASCAR Sprint Cup season.[21][22]

In 2007, Jack Roush, owner of Roush Racing, offered Kvapil a seat in the No. 6 Ford F-150 in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Kvapil replaced Mark Martin in the truck, who moved to Ginn Racing, and David Ragan, who was promoted to replace Martin in the No. 6 Ford in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.[23][24][25] Jack Roush, excited about signing with Kvapil, said, “We are pleased beyond measure that we were able to get a driver the caliber of Travis Kvapil. At only 30 years old with a Truck championship and two years of Sprint Cup experience under his belt, Travis brings great long and short term potential to and for Roush Racing.” He finished the season with four wins, three poles, eight Top 5's and 12 Top 10's. He finished the season sixth in the driver point standings. He returned to Roush Fenway Racing as a part-time driver in 2008 when Joey Clanton was released from the No. 09 Ford.[26][27]

Roush recognized Kvapil's talents, and helped return to Cup with Yates Racing in 2008.[28] Kvapil drove the famous No. 28 Yates Ford Fusion.[29] Prior to the start of the season, Kvapil and teammate David Gilliland did not have a full-time sponsorship on their Yates Racing Fords.[30] While Gilliland's team found full-time sponsorship, Kvapil's team had to piece together sponsorship throughout the season. K&N Filters sponsored Kvapil's team for the Daytona 500.[31] Two weeks later, Kvapil scored an eighth-place finish at Las Vegas Motor Speedway during the UAW-Dodge 400.[32] The finish at LVMS, which was in an unsponsored car, gave Kvapil his third Top 10 of his career. After the race, it was announced that Zaxby's would serve as a sponsorship for the No. 28 team in the Kobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway,[33] a race in which he finished 29th. With a one-race sponsorship deal with Northern Tool and Equipment, Kvapil finished sixth in the Aaron's 499 at Talladega.[34][35] This gave him his career-best finish in the Sprint Cup Series. Kvapil picked up another Top 10 finish in the Dodge Challenger 500 at Darlington.[36] Despite the lack of sponsorship for the year, Kvapil collected another four Top 10 finishes along with one pole, finisheing 23rd in the points standings.[37]

In 2009, Kvapil returned to the No. 28, but the team was forced to close after six races due to lack of funding. Kvapil qualified for several drivers but did not have a full-time ride.

In 2010, Kvapil returned to a full-time ride in the Long John Silver's-sponsored Ford for Front Row Motorsports. This car changed numbers throughout the year, using either No. 34, No. 37, or No. 38, depending on each number's position in points (with the goal being to get all three cars in the Top 35 for 2011). In 2011, Kvapil returned to FRM full-time in the No. 38 car, but signed up to compete for the Camping World Truck Series championship with Randy Moss Motorsports in their No. 5 Toyota. After 10 races, however, Kvapil was released in favor of defending Truck champion Todd Bodine, whose Germain Racing team partnered with RMM to continue running that driver for 2011. Kvapil stuck with FRM in the Cup Series, driving their No. 38 for most races, except in several late-season races, J. J. Yeley swapped rides with Kvapil several times, with the latter driving FRM's start and park No. 55.

Leaving FRM after the end of the 2011 season, Kvapil was signed by BK Racing to compete in the Sprint Cup Series for 2012. He drove the No. 93 Toyota starting with the second race of the year at Phoenix with Todd Anderson serving as crew chief;[38] At Darlington, where David Reutimann drove the No. 93, Kvapil drove the No. 73 for BK Racing, though he drove the No. 93 for the remainder of the season.[39] He also drove for RAB Racing in the season-opening Camping World Truck Series event, replacing a suspended John Wes Townley.[40] Kvapil ended the 2012 Cup season 27th in points, his second best finish in the points since his debut.

However, in 2013, both Kvapil and BK Racing struggled. Kvapil dropped to 31st in points, recording five Top 20 finishes but nine DNFs (including five blown engines). The team released Kvapil shortly before the start of the 2014 season.[41]

During Speedweeks 2014, Kvapil announced that he had signed to drive in the Sprint Cup Series for Go FAS Racing on a limited basis,[42] as well as for MAKE Motorsports in the Camping World Truck Series .[43] On August 12, it was announced that Kvapil would replace Townley in the No. 05 Athenian Motorsports Toyota for the Truck race at Michigan.[44] Kvapil also ran several late-season races for Circle Sport, tying his best career finish of sixth at Talladega. Also in the fall, he returned to BK racing to run the No. 83 Toyota in several races after the team released rookie Ryan Truex. Kvapil was scheduled to make a qualifying attempt for the 2015 Cup season at Atlanta, driving the No. 44 Chevrolet for Team Xtreme, but was forced to withdraw when his car, hauler and truck were stolen from a hotel parking lot. For 2015, Kvapil mostly raced in the truck series driving the No. 1 Chevrolet for MAKE Motorsports.

In 2016, Kvapil announced that he would run the full Camping World Truck Series season with MAKE Motorsports once again.[45] In the season opener at Daytona, Kvapil scored a fifth-place finish. He also made his return to the Xfinity Series, driving the No. 15 Ford for B. J. McLeod Motorsports at Richmond and Talladega.

Personal life

Kvapil is currently married to his wife Jennifer,[46] and has three children: Kelsey, Carson and Caden. The Kvapils reside in Mooresville, North Carolina.[47]

Kvapil competed against fellow Wisconsin native Matt Kenseth at Madison International Speedway. Kvapil, like Kenseth, is an avid Green Bay Packers fan. During the 2006 NASCAR Nextel Cup season, Kvapil and his No. 32 Tide from PPI Motorsports appeared on an episode of Guiding Light.[48]

On October 8, 2013, Kvapil was arrested by the Mooresville police department following a domestic dispute. Kvapil was charged with assault on a female and false imprisonment, and was released on $1,000 bail.[49] Kvapil was allowed to race in that weekend's Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.[50] On January 30, 2014, it was announced that Kvapil had accepted a plea deal in the case, pleading guilty in exchange for having the case dismissed following two years' probation, community service, and attending an anger management class.[51]

Motorsports career results

NASCAR

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Sprint Cup Series

Daytona 500
Year Team Manufacturer Start Finish
2005 Penske-Jasper Racing Dodge 25 19
2006 PPI Motorsports Chevrolet 40 27
2008 Yates Racing Ford 30 30
2009 41 42
2010 Front Row Motorsports Ford 35 29
2011 40 32
2013 BK Racing Toyota 43 25

Xfinity Series

Camping World Truck Series

* Season still in progress
1 Ineligible for series points

References

  1. "Travis Kvapil's Biography". NASCAR.com. 2008-03-19. Retrieved 2008-06-18.
  2. Ramsell, Kevin (2007-03-06). "Rockford Speedway is a "NASCAR home track"". wirace.come. Retrieved 2007-10-22.
  3. "2001 Official Race Results: Florida Dodge Dealers 250". NASCAR.com. 2001-02-16. Retrieved 2008-06-17.
  4. "2001 Official Race Results: Silverado 350". NASCAR.com. 2001-10-05. Retrieved 2008-06-17.
  5. "2001 Official Driver Standings: Auto Club 200". NASCAR.com. Retrieved 2008-06-17.
  6. "2001 Rookie Standings". NASCAR.com. Retrieved 2008-06-17.
  7. 1 2 "2003 Official Driver Standings: Ford 200". NASCAR.com. Retrieved 2008-06-18.
  8. "2003 Official Driver Standings: Chevy Silverado 150". NASCAR.com. Retrieved 2008-06-18.
  9. "Travis Kvapil". NASCAR.com. Retrieved 2008-06-18.
  10. "2004 Official Race Results: American Racing Wheels 200". NASCAR.com. 2004-10-02. Retrieved 2008-06-18.
  11. Rodman, Dave (2004-10-20). "Kvapil gets Nextel Cup ride for Martinsville". NASCAR.com. Retrieved 2008-06-14.
  12. "Q&A: Travis Kvapil". NASCAR.com. 2004-12-10. Retrieved 2008-06-14.
  13. "2005 Official Race Results: Food City 500". NASCAR.com. 2005-04-03. Retrieved 2008-06-14.
  14. Spencer, Lee (2005-12-04). "Waltrip meets with France, prospective sponsors". Sporting News. Retrieved 2008-06-14.
  15. "Kvapil free to explore other opportunities". Team Press Release. 2005-12-10. Retrieved 2008-06-14.
  16. Spencer, Lee (2005-12-22). "Kvapil to take over PPI's No. 32". Sporting News. Retrieved 2008-06-14.
  17. "2006 Official Race Results: Banquet 400 presented by ConAgra Foods". NASCAR.com. 2006-10-01. Retrieved 2008-06-14.
  18. "2006 Official Race Results: Pocono 500". NASCAR.com. 2006-06-11. Retrieved 2008-06-14.
  19. "2006 Official Race Results: Aaron's 499". NASCAR.com. 2006-05-01. Retrieved 2008-06-14.
  20. Pockrass, Bob (2006-08-20). "Kvapil, Wimmer still unsigned for 2007". SceneDaily.com. Retrieved 2008-06-14.
  21. Margolis, Bob (2006-09-22). "Notes: Montoya ready to roll". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved 2008-06-14.
  22. Ashenfelter, Mark (2006-11-30). "PPI Motorsports continues to downsize". SceneDaily.com. Retrieved 2008-06-14.
  23. "Kvapil will return to Trucks with Roush in '07". Team Press Release. 2006-11-15. Retrieved 2008-06-15.
  24. "2007 MB2 Lineup Complete". RacingOne Report. 2006-11-10. Retrieved 2008-06-18.
  25. "Ragan Tabbed for No. 6". RacingOne Report. 2006-10-11. Retrieved 2008-06-18.
  26. "Clanton out; Kvapil to drive Roush No. 09 at California". Team Press Release. 2008-02-20. Retrieved 2008-06-15.
  27. "Kvapil among three drivers to pilot Roush's Truck entry". Team Press Release. 2008-03-05. Retrieved 2008-06-15.
  28. Rodman, Dave (2007-09-08). "Yates to retire, hand team to son at end of season". NASCAR.com. Retrieved 2008-06-18.
  29. Newton, David (2007-11-18). "RYR hoping Kvapil will continue successful tradition of No. 28". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2008-06-14.
  30. Aumann, Mark (2008-01-08). "Sponsorless Yates moves forward with clean slate". NASCAR.com. Retrieved 2008-06-14.
  31. "K&N to sponsor Kvapil's No. 28 for Daytona 500". Team Release. 2008-02-09. Retrieved 2008-06-14.
  32. "2008 Official Race Results: UAW-Dodge 400". NASCAR.com. 2008-03-02. Retrieved 2008-06-14.
  33. "Kvapil Lands Atlanta Sponsor". RacingOne Report. 2008-03-06. Retrieved 2008-06-18.
  34. "2008 Official Race Results: Aaron's 499". NASCAR.com. 2008-04-27. Retrieved 2008-06-14.
  35. "Travis Kvapil Talladega Advance". Yates Racing. 2008-04-23. Archived from the original on September 25, 2012. Retrieved 2008-06-14.
  36. "2008 Official Race Results: Dodge Challenger 500". NASCAR.com. 2008-05-10. Retrieved 2008-06-14.
  37. "2008 Official Driver Standings: Pepsi 500". NASCAR.com. Retrieved 2009-03-21.
  38. Spencer, Lee (February 14, 2012). "Reutimann's Daytona ride is with BK". Fox Sports. Retrieved 2012-02-15.
  39. "BK Racing To Field Third Car At Darlington". SPEED Channel. Fox Sports. May 10, 2012. Retrieved 2012-05-10.
  40. "Kvapil To Drive In NextEra Energy Resources 250 At Daytona". SPEED Channel. Fox Sports. February 20, 2012. Retrieved 2012-02-20.
  41. Estrada, Chris (January 20, 2014). "Cup: Alex Bowman, Ryan Truex confirmed at BK Racing". MotorSportsTalk. NBC Sports. Retrieved January 20, 2014.
  42. Utter, Jim (February 21, 2014). "Buddy Baker, Bill Elliott among 20 NASCAR Hall of Fame nominees". Charlotte Observer. Charlotte, NC. Retrieved 2014-02-22.
  43. Kallmann, Dave (February 19, 2014). "Travis Kvapil has NASCAR truck ride, Sprint Cup plans". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Milwaukee, WI. Retrieved 2014-02-22.
  44. Estrada, Chris (August 12, 2014). "NASCAR Trucks: John Wes Townley to miss Saturday's race at Michigan". NBC Sports. Retrieved 2014-08-12.
  45. "MAKE Motorsports - Kvapil Returns To Trucks With MAKE". makemotorsports.com. Retrieved 2016-01-24.
  46. "Nemechek ready for big year". Spartanburg Herald-Journal. Spartanburg, SC. April 30, 2005. p. C5. Retrieved 2013-10-10.
  47. "Travis Kvapil". RacingOne.com. Archived from the original on 2008-06-03. Retrieved 2008-06-18.
  48. "Kvapil gets cameo role on 'Guiding Light'". Team Press Release. 2006-06-08. Retrieved 2008-06-18.
  49. Dyches, Chris (October 9, 2013). "Police: NASCAR driver charged with assaulting wife". WBTV. Charlotte, NC. Retrieved 2013-10-09.
  50. Spencer, Lee (October 10, 2013). "Kvapil will drive for BK Racing". Fox Sports. Retrieved 2013-10-10.
  51. Pockrass, Bob (January 31, 2014). "Travis Kvapil gets two years probation in domestic assault case". Sporting News. Retrieved 2014-02-01.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Travis Kvapil.
Sporting positions
Preceded by
Mike Bliss
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Champion
2003
Succeeded by
Bobby Hamilton
Achievements
Preceded by
Kurt Busch
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Rookie of the Year
2001
Succeeded by
Brendan Gaughan
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/30/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.