NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Race at Talladega Keeps K&N Filters Ford Third Overall
- Oct 8, 2007
The Talladega Superspeedway at Alabama left its mark on Travis Kvapil and the K&N
Team in Saturday’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race. Kvapil entered the race
less than 200 points back from leader Mike Skinner in the No.6 K&N Filters Ford
F-150.
Travis Kvapil driving the No.6 K&N Ford F-150 at Talladega
Travis Kvapil works his way back to the front of the pack at Talladega
Kvapil started fifth and was the one to beat until lap 73 of the 94-lap
event. Kvapil was caught in the “big one” ending what he thought would be a
serious gain on the point’s leader. Kvapil finished 26th and maintains third
place overall, but he is now 234 points back from new point’s leader Ron
Hornaday.
Travis Kvapil at Talladega Superspeedway
The No.6 K&N Filters Ford F-150 looked good during last Thursday’s first practice session. Unfortunately, during the happy hour session, Kvapil tangled with two other trucks causing damage to the entire left side. The K&N Filters team rolled out the back-up truck and Kvapil felt confident heading into qualifying and the race. In 52.986 seconds, Kvapil made his way around the 2.66-mile oval for the fifth starting position.
Kvapil went three wide on the outside jockeying for position in the first lap of the Saturday afternoon race. Only six laps into the race the first caution flew. The field went green on lap 12 and the caution flew again on lap 16.
K&N crew chief Mike Beam brought the No.6 K&N Filters truck down pit road for service. Kvapil received four tires, fuel and a track bar adjustment. He went back to the track in 20th for the re-start on lap 28. Kvapil worked his way back to the front and was in the top ten by lap 60.
The third caution of the day flew on lap 54 when the No. 27 ran the No. 50 Ford in to the wall bringing both trucks to a stop. Kvapil was in the top-five and radioed that the No. 6 K&N Ford was running a little hot. Beam brought Kvapil down pit road for the final time on lap 57 and returned him to the track in first for the re-start on lap 60.
Kvapil maintained a spot in the top 10 even though the field of trucks was shuffling like a deck of cards. Jack Sprague’s No. 60 truck had a right front tire going down. Sprague was on his way to pit road to fix the problem when the field stacked up behind him causing the “big one” and Kvapil could not get out of the way. When the smoke cleared Kvapil drove down the front stretch with the nose of the No.6 Ford crunched up.
NASCAR called for Kvapil to stop the truck because it was leaking fluids after the crunch and forced the No.6 to the infield care center. After repairs were made Kvapil was able to complete a few laps at the end but finished 26th as Todd Bodine went on to win.
“Our truck was pretty strong,” said Kvapil. “We had a great K&N Ford, but it was really hard to get track position. We got it at one point and I tried to go for the lead. It went crazy in the last two laps. I don’t know what happened, I saw them stopping in front of me and somebody came across tow trucks in front of me and we just wiped the front end off of it.”
The truck series takes the week off before heading to Martinsville in two weeks for the next Saturday afternoon race.
Follow Travis Kvpail and the No. 6 K&N Filters Ford F-150 throughout the 2008 racing season at the K&N news site. 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.
Travis Kvapil driving the No.6 K&N Ford F-150 at Talladega
Travis Kvapil works his way back to the front of the pack at Talladega
Travis Kvapil at Talladega Superspeedway
The No.6 K&N Filters Ford F-150 looked good during last Thursday’s first practice session. Unfortunately, during the happy hour session, Kvapil tangled with two other trucks causing damage to the entire left side. The K&N Filters team rolled out the back-up truck and Kvapil felt confident heading into qualifying and the race. In 52.986 seconds, Kvapil made his way around the 2.66-mile oval for the fifth starting position.
Kvapil went three wide on the outside jockeying for position in the first lap of the Saturday afternoon race. Only six laps into the race the first caution flew. The field went green on lap 12 and the caution flew again on lap 16.
K&N crew chief Mike Beam brought the No.6 K&N Filters truck down pit road for service. Kvapil received four tires, fuel and a track bar adjustment. He went back to the track in 20th for the re-start on lap 28. Kvapil worked his way back to the front and was in the top ten by lap 60.
The third caution of the day flew on lap 54 when the No. 27 ran the No. 50 Ford in to the wall bringing both trucks to a stop. Kvapil was in the top-five and radioed that the No. 6 K&N Ford was running a little hot. Beam brought Kvapil down pit road for the final time on lap 57 and returned him to the track in first for the re-start on lap 60.
Kvapil maintained a spot in the top 10 even though the field of trucks was shuffling like a deck of cards. Jack Sprague’s No. 60 truck had a right front tire going down. Sprague was on his way to pit road to fix the problem when the field stacked up behind him causing the “big one” and Kvapil could not get out of the way. When the smoke cleared Kvapil drove down the front stretch with the nose of the No.6 Ford crunched up.
NASCAR called for Kvapil to stop the truck because it was leaking fluids after the crunch and forced the No.6 to the infield care center. After repairs were made Kvapil was able to complete a few laps at the end but finished 26th as Todd Bodine went on to win.
“Our truck was pretty strong,” said Kvapil. “We had a great K&N Ford, but it was really hard to get track position. We got it at one point and I tried to go for the lead. It went crazy in the last two laps. I don’t know what happened, I saw them stopping in front of me and somebody came across tow trucks in front of me and we just wiped the front end off of it.”
The truck series takes the week off before heading to Martinsville in two weeks for the next Saturday afternoon race.
Follow Travis Kvpail and the No. 6 K&N Filters Ford F-150 throughout the 2008 racing season at the K&N news site. 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.
