No. 38 Team Comparable with Gordon in Recent Points Performance

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In: NASCAR Cup Series News

For the second week in a row, Travis Kvapil can head to the track with some weight off of his shoulders. The driver of the No. 38 Long John Silver’s Ford goes to Texas Motor Speedway knowing he’s got a guaranteed spot on the starting grid after earning his best finish of the year at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway.

The No. 38 team went into Martinsville last weekend just two points ahead of TRG Motorsports’ No. 71 for the 35th spot in owner points. Kvapil’s 16th-place finish in the TUMS Fast Relief 500 allowed the team to gain 11 points on the 36th position.

The Long John Silver’s team, led by crew chief Jay Guy, has proven they have what it takes to continue their charge through the top-35 with an average of 23.5 points earned in each of the last four races. That performance is all but equal to the 10th-place car of Jeff Gordon (23.75) and more than double the average of the No. 71.

Kvapil has had success at Texas Motor Speedway in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, including one win and seven top-five finishes. His best career finish in a Sprint Cup car at Texas is 18th over the course of eight starts.

Comments from Travis Kvapil, driver of the No. 38 Long John Silver’s Ford, going into Texas:

“I’m really proud of our No. 38 team for our performance over the last several weeks. We knew we had a real uphill climb and we managed to keep digging to get us where we needed to be. I knew Martinsville could be a big day for us. It’s one of my favorite tracks and I knew we could be strong there. And we just had a really good day. With all the other cars bouncing off of each other, we escaped with pretty minimal damage to our Long John Silver’s Ford. Just your usual Martinsville dents and scrapes. We stayed on or close to the lead lap most of the day, got the Lucky Dog toward the end there and finished strong on the lead lap.

“We did have one casualty. Our jackman, Sean Irvan, got hit on pit road and went to the hospital. He’s going to be fine, no broken bones or anything. But he got a concussion and strained his neck and his knee, so he’s got to rest up a little. We hope to have him back soon. He’s part of the team that got us here.

“Even though we missed the Texas race in the spring with the No. 38 bunch, we ran really well at places like Charlotte, Michigan and Kansas and we had some decent results. I feel like since that Texas race we’ve kind of changed our set-ups and our way of thinking. That was very early in the year when we missed the first race and since Jay’s (Guy) been on board we’ve kind of hit on some stuff that works for us and we’ve been able to keep that going throughout the summer.

“I like Texas a lot. It’s a place I’ve had some success with in the Truck Series in the past and I feel like we can go there and run good. I’m excited to go there.”

FRM PR

Speedway Digest Staff
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