Kvapil Knocks Out A Sixth-place Finish At Talladega

TALLADEGA, AL (April 27, 2008) – Travis Kvapil came to Talladega Superspeedway this weekend reenergized as his No. 28 machine proudly displayed the colors of Northern Tool + Equipment for Sunday’s Aaron’s 499.

After a solid qualifying effort on Saturday afternoon, Kvapil and his No. 28 Northern Tool + Equipment Ford Fusion rolled off the starting grid from the 14th position. The green flag waved at 1:20pm CST as pole-sitter Joe Nemechek led the field to green for Sunday’s 188-lap Aaron’s 499 at Talladega Superspeedway.

During the opening laps of the race, Kvapil quickly discovered that he was having difficulty finding drafting partners as he dropped from 14th down to 27th on lap sixteen. Luckily the first caution of the day came on lap 21 after the No. 17 of Matt Kenseth cut his right front tire. Crew chief Todd Parrott took the opportunity to ask Kvapil his initial thoughts on the car. Kvapil replied that the car “was not able to run up off the bottom of the track in Turns 2 and 4.” Parrott called his driver to pit road on lap 21 for four tires and fuel without any further adjustments.

The Northern Tool + Equipment Ford restarted 24th on lap 24 and quickly drove up through the pack into eighth on lap 40, but without the proper drafting support, dropped down into the teens on the leader board. Kvapil and his team charged on determined to get up to the front of the field.

The first series of green flag pit stops began on lap 61 and Parrott called the No. 28 Northern Tool + Equipment Ford to pit road on lap 63 for a two-tire stop. The fast pit stop paid off as Kvapil found himself jump from 16th to eighth. The Northern Tool + Equipment Ford held on to track position until drafting lines began to change again around lap 80 and Kvapil became a victim of the shuffle as he dropped back to 19th.

The No. 28 machine continued to fight for track position and by lap 95, Kvapil was scored in seventh. The second cycle of green flag pit stops began around lap 100. Parrott utilized another two-tire pit stop on lap 105 for right-side tires only. The Northern Tool + Equipment Ford rejoined the field in eighth on lap 106, but the second caution of the day came on lap 118 for debris after the No. 99 of Carl Edwards cut a tire.

Parrott seized the opportunity to make a pit stop on lap 119 under the yellow, this time taking only left-side tires. The Northern Tool + Equipment Ford restarted in eleventh as Kvapil once again rocketed up through the field to fourth on lap 127. The following lap, Kvapil dropped to tenth after he once again found himself lacking drafting help.

Kvapil and his No. 28 machine spent the next 20 laps fighting over positions in the teens before the third caution of the race came on lap 145. Parrott called for another two-tire change for the Northern Tool + Equipment Ford after which, the No. 28 restarted in eleventh.

Kvapil, who was quiet over team radio communications, focused on the task at hand as he and his spotter patiently tried various drafting lines and the Northern Tool + Equipment Ford got as high as fifth and as low as 23rd during that green flag run. With 27 laps remaining in the race, the yellow waved on lap 161 after the No. 15 spun out on the infield grass as he was coming off Turn 4. Kvapil was in 14th and Parrott decided to stay out during the caution rather than make an unnecessary pit stop and quite possibly lose track position.

On lap 171, the Northern Tool + Equipment Ford broke into the top-10 and managed to hold on to position before the sixth caution of the day came on lap 175. The yellow came after six cars were collected in Turn 2. Kvapil radioed in to Parrott to have the team check the front fender for any possible damage after he had been tapped by one of the cars involved in the wreck. After a few caution laps passed and allowed the team to visibly check from afar, Parrott decided not to pit for possible repairs because the fender wear was not affecting the tire.

The restart came on lap 178 with Kvapil in eleventh and anxious to break into the top-10. One more caution would come on lap 182, and once again the No. 28 team opted to stay out on the race track. The decision paid off for Kvapil because during the restart on lap 184, the No. 28 moved up into tenth.

During the final lap of the race, an accident in Turn 2 collected eleven cars and found the race concluding under a yellow and checkered-flag finish. Kvapil was securely ahead of the collision and he crossed the line with a sixth-place finish for the day. The finish marks Kvapil’s season-best finish and his second top-10 finish of the season as he moved up to 23rd in the driver point standings.

“We had an absolutely great car today,” commented Kvapil after the race. “We had a really fast race car so we were able to stay in the lead pack all day long and never fell a lap down. We got shuffled around a lot in the middle of the pack today, but our guys did a great job on pit road with our pit stops. I just thought we had a really fast Northern Tool + Equipment Ford and we were able to do what we needed to all day long in order to walk away with a sixth-place finish. Today was all about being patient when you were shuffled around due to the draft, but we were able to bring it home at the end and I am really thrilled with our finish.”