Travis Kvapil
| Travis Kvapil | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Awards | 2003 Craftsman Truck Series Champion 2001 CTS Rookie of the Year | ||||||
| NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series career | |||||||
| Truck no., team | |||||||
| Best finish | 1st - 2003 (Craftsman Truck Series) | ||||||
| First race | 2001 Florida Dodge Dealers 250 (Daytona) | ||||||
| First win | 2001 Silverado 350 (Texas) | ||||||
| Last win | 2007 Michigan 200 (Michigan) | ||||||
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Travis Kvapil (pronounced kwah-pil) (born March 1, 1976, in Janesville, Wisconsin) is a German-American NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series driver. He pilots the #6 Ford F-150 for Roush Fenway Racing .
Early career
Kvapil began racing at Rockford Speedway in Rockford, Illinois, in 1992 and won the American Short Tracker division track championship in 1994. He then moved up to super late models at Madison International Speedway and was the track rookie of the year in 1995. He became the track's youngest super late model track champion in 1996. He moved up to a Midwest regional touring series - the ARTGO series (now Midwest Challenge Series). He finished in the Top 10 in points from 1998 to 2000.
NASCAR career
Craftsman Truck Series
In 2001, Kvapil made his debut in the Craftsman Truck Series driving the #60 CAT Rental Stores Chevrolet owned by Addington Racing. He had one win and 18 Top 10 finishes in 24 starts to finish fourth in the season standings. He was awarded the Craftsman Truck Series Rookie of the Year.
In 2002, he had one win and 14 Top 10 finishes to finish ninth in the final points standings.
In 2003, he switched to the #16 IWX MotorFreight Chevrolet for Steve Coulter and XPress Motorsports. He had a fairly decent year, with a win and 13 top ten finishes going into the final race of the season, the Ford 200. Kvapil, who went into the race third in points, finished sixth. Points leader Brendan Gaughan was involved in an accident and finished 29th, and Ted Musgrave, who was in front of Kvapil in the points, tried to make an illegal pass on him after the final restart and was black flagged after a review. By virtue of this, Kvapil won his first (and thus far only) Craftsman Truck Series championship, despite not having led the points at all during the season.
In 2004, he again changed teams, this time for Alexander Meshkin in the #24 Line-X-Benders Toyota for Bang! Racing. He also made his first NEXTEL Cup start, driving three races in the #06 Mobil One Dodge for Penske Racing South.
For the 2007 season, Kvapil will return to the Truck Series to drive the #6 truck for Roush Fenway Racing.
NEXTEL Cup
In 2005, he signed with Penske Racing behind the wheel of the #77 Kodak Dodge. He scored three Top 10 finishes and finished 33rd in points. At the end of the season, the team folded due to Kodak's pulling of its sponsorship.
In 2006, he drove the #32 PPI Motorsports Tide Chevrolet. Kvapil's best finish came at Pocono and Talladega with a 19th-place finish. On June 2, 2007, he was asked to take the place of Mark Martin, who took the place of sick Jon Wood, in the 47 car.