While the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series is new to Kentucky Speedway, Travis Kvapil is not. He has two top-five finishes in five starts at the track in the Camping World Truck Series. The Long John Silver’s car will have a head start preparing for Saturday night’s Quaker State 400. Not only does Kvapil have experience at the 1.5-mile oval, the No. 38 was among a handful of cars that got some laps on the track during a June 1 Goodyear tire test.
Kvapil had a strong run at Daytona International Speedway last weekend. In a fast Long John Silver’s Ford, he ran up front and led a lap, but was caught up in a wreck in the closing laps and finished in the 29th position.
Comments from Long John Silver’s driver Travis Kvapil on Kentucky:
“There’s a whole day of testing for everybody at Kentucky when we get there, but since we did the tire test a few weeks ago, I feel like we’re one step ahead of the competition. By the time that day is over, it’s pretty much going to be a level playing field, but we have an idea of what the track is like, the grip level, the tire, the track surface, all of those variables that we can chew on over the last few weeks. And hopefully we take a little bit better set-up there and be a little bit more prepared since we had track time already.
“I like Kentucky. I’ve never won there but I think I finished second there a few years ago when I drove for Roush (Fenway Racing). Any of these Cup guys, when they show up to the racetrack, they pretty much get it figured out in a couple laps. These guys are the best in the business, so having race experience there isn’t such a big deal but knowing the track, how the groove widens out and how you can run in a second and a third lane, you don’t have to just be committed to the bottom. The track is quite rough, so being familiar with that and knowing some of the characteristics of the race track, it’s good to have that track time and have race experience there. It’s not a huge advantage but it definitely doesn’t hurt.
“It’s cool that the race is sold out already. It’s exciting to go to a new track for the Sprint Cup Series and know that the fans there are that enthusiastic about the race coming to town that they’ve sold it out a week in advance. NASCAR fans are the best, and when you’re racing in front of a full house, there’s nothing better. We’ll try to give them something to cheer for in our Long John Silver’s Ford.”
Front Row Motorsports PR
