Optimistic to Go Plate Racing with Strong Car, Engine and Teammate
Statesville, NC (June 28, 2011) - Travis Kvapil has had fast cars at the Sprint Cup Series’ superspeedway races this year. He’s also had some bad luck and unfortunate circumstances. The driver of the No. 38 Long John Silver’s Ford is looking to turn things around this week in a return trip to Daytona International Speedway for Saturday night’s Coke Zero 400.
2011 NSCS Travis Kvapil - Photo Credit: Chris Graythen/Getty Images for NASCAR
The same Long John Silver’s car that pushed to the front of the pack at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway in April will go to the 2.5-mile oval in Daytona Beach, Fla. Kvapil’s car was fast all day at Talladega, but unfortunately was several laps down most of the day after having to go behind the wall early in the race.
After being wrecked out of February’s Daytona 500 in another fast superspeedway car, Kvapil is ready to see the team’s speed pay off at one of NASCAR’s most storied tracks. If he avoids trouble, the Ford Fusion with the Roush-Yates FR9 engine can help him top his career-best finish of 19th at the track. This weekend’s race under the lights will be his 11th start at Daytona.
Comments from Long John Silver’s Driver Travis Kvapil on Daytona:
“The (Daytona) 500 was a real disappointment. I know we had a really fast Ford Fusion. Anything can happen there, you can have the results like we did with getting caught up in a wreck or you can have the results like David (teammate David Gilliland) did with a third-place finish with a chance to win. The new style of racing at Daytona is very unique. I’m excited to work with David and if we commit to each other and nothing goes wrong, we can be there at the end of the day and have a shot at winning the race. I really believe that, so I’m just excited to get back there. It’s just a place where Front Row Motorsports can have great results so I’m really excited and optimistic to go to Daytona.
“This is the car we had at Talladega back in April and I had pretty good speed there. We were hoping to be locked in on points so we wouldn’t have to take any measures in qualifying that might jeopardize us for the race, like having to make changes during the race itself. I feel like our car is fast enough that we won’t have to do that but time will tell when we get there in practice.
“The Roush-Yates horsepower is great when we go to these restrictor plate races, so even though we have a different car than what we ran there in February, the car we’ve got seems to have very good speed and it showed that at Talladega. At Talladega, we could go all the way to the front of the pack and it really drafted nicely so I expect the same results when we go to Daytona.
“This race could be the turning point that this team really needs. The 38 team missed the Sonoma race last week, so they didn’t get the chance to gain any ground on the owner points like everybody hoped. But Daytona is a place where we can have a big day. And this team really just needs a day like that as a springboard for the rest of the season. We’ve made so much progress over the past couple months. It hasn’t shown in the results as much as we’ve wanted it to, but I think this weekend can be the time when all the hard work finally pays off.”
About Front Row Motorsports:
Front Row Motorsports is a Statesville, N.C.-based race team in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Formed in 2005 by restaurant entrepreneur Bob Jenkins, the team has competed in NASCAR racing in each year since its inception, expanding full-time to the premier Sprint Cup Series in 2009. The team partners with Ford Racing and Roush-Yates Racing Engines to field the No. 34 Taco Bell Ford driven by David Gilliland and the No. 38 Long John Silver’s Ford driven by Travis Kvapil.
- Breaking Limits Marketing for Front Row Motorsports, Press Release
