‘Perfect Every Time’ Is Kvapil’s Key to Auto Club Speedway

Since Travis Kvapil, driver of the No. 93 Burger King/Dr. Pepper Toyota, hopped in the car at Phoenix International Raceway, his BK Racing team has maintained a position in the top-35 of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) owner point standings. The team is currently 32nd in the standings, following his 27th place finish at Bristol Motor Speedway last weekend. Kvapil sees the team’s position as a result of the strong communication between himself and crew chief Todd Anderson. He hopes their relationship will pay dividends in this Sunday’s Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway, and prepare the team for the challenges associated with the long, green flag runs at the two-mile race track in Fontana, California.

In NSCS competition, Kvapil has nine starts at Auto Club Speedway. His best finish is 18th place, which came in 2009 driving for Yates Racing.

Comments from BK Racing Driver Travis Kvapil heading into the Auto Club 400:

“Our BK Racing team is chipping away at the top-30 in the owner standings. We’ve had good cars the past few weeks and we’re getting better each race. We’ve shown a lot of progress. This week will be a big test for us.

“Auto Club Speedway is a really big, flat track. As a driver, it’s up to me to hit my marks perfect every time. If I don’t, I’m going to lose a lot of speed on the long straights. It’ll cost me big time.

“The track typically has a lot of long, green flag runs. That puts a lot of pressure on a team to have the car handling really well going into the race. We probably won’t have many chances to make adjustments during the race, so we need to get the Burger King/Dr. Pepper Toyota as close to perfect as we can before the green flag. It also means that every pit stop is crucial. I’ve got to communicate exactly what is right or wrong with the car’s handling, and Todd (Anderson, crew chief) has to make the right adjustments. Like I said, you only have a few opportunities to get it right when you have long, green runs. Fortunately, Todd and I have worked really well together the last few races. He’s been making really good calls based on my feedback and that gives me a lot of confidence for this weekend.

“Pit strategy is going to be a big factor, too. We’ll definitely need to stretch our fuel mileage as long as possible. At Auto Club Speedway, it’s not uncommon to see guys running out of gas on the last few laps. Everyone is trying to stretch their mileage. A lot of teams take gambles. We’ll need to have our calculators working overtime in the pits to find every advantage we can.”

BK Racing PR