NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Finale Places Travis Kvapil 6th Overall

Travis Kvapil and the K&N Team went into the Homestead-Miami race hoping to turn their luck around and win a fifth race in the 2007 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Finale.

Travis KvapilTravis Kvapil
No. 6 K&N Filters Ford F-150
No. 6 K&N Filters Ford F-150
At the start the No.6 K&N Filters Ford F-150 looked strong, but an untimely caution took the team out of contention for a win and put them one lap down, forcing Kvapil to finish 21st.
No. 6 K&N Filters Team No. 6 K&N Filters Team
Travis Kvapil finished 6th in the series
Travis Kvapil finished 6th in series

At Friday’s practice session the K&N Filters No. 6 was a top contender as Kvapil clocked several top-10 lap times. In his final qualifying effort of the season, Kvapil piloted the K&N Ford around the 1.5 mile oval in 31.585 seconds. This put him in 10th place for the start of Friday night’s race.

By lap 11, Kvapil was in 6th place. The first of four cautions flew on lap 21 when the No.03 spun and Kvapil radioed to the pit crew that the K&N truck needed more grip. K&N team crew chief Mike Beam made plans for a wedge and air pressure adjustment on the following pit stop. Kvapil resumed the race under green flag conditions on lap 19 in sixth.

Kvapil moved as high as fourth place but settled into fifth when the first round of pit stops began on lap 54. Kvapil had a strong truck, but the F-150 was aero sensitive and it was difficult for him to move through traffic. On lap 58, Kvapil hit pit road for four tires, fuel and air pressure adjustment. Things did not go as planned and Kvapil returned to the track in 26th.

On lap 74 Mike Skinner lost a left rear wheel and was taken out of the championship hunt. The caution also took Kvapil out of the hunt for a win because it trapped him and several others. This left only 11 trucks on the lead lap.

The field went back to green flag conditions but Kvapil could only get to 20th before the final caution fell on lap 132. To avoid a wreck Kvapil slowed up and dropped back to 22nd. He was able to gain one spot and finished 21st.

“It took everything we could do get back to the front,” said Kvapil. “It’s a good track and we were running in the top-five early there and got a lap down on pit road. That’s part of racing. But you hate it when slower trucks benefit from it. It also cost us a couple of spots in the points.”

Kvapil dropped three points in the overall points standings to finish out the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season in sixth place. He led a total of 847 laps in the season and was a contender every week for 25 weeks. In 2008, Kvapil will race into the Sprint Cup Series behind the wheel of a Doug Yates Ford.

Find K&N products for your vehicle using the K&N application search then use the K&N dealer search to find a K&N dealer in your part of the world.