Like many Ford Racing drivers, Travis Kvapil is hoping that 2010 is not a repeat of 2009. However, Kvapil’s biggest setback in ’09 was that the season was too short. Way too short.
Kvapil competed in only four events for the Yates Racing No. 28 Fusion before a lack of funding shelved that ride for the rest of the season, but the veteran of 112 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races did manage to catch on for two races with Front Row Motorsports late in 2009. And, with FRM’s move to Ford Racing for the 2010 season, Kvapil was brought aboard fulltime as a driver.
The 2010 season will mark Kvapil’s fourth full season the NASCAR Cup Series.
In 2008, Kvapil was tabbed to replace the retiring Ricky Rudd as driver of the No. 28 (formerly No. 88) Yates Racing Ford Fusion. Making all 36 races, Kvapil finished a career-best 23rd in the standings on the strength of four top-10s, including a career-best sixth at Talladega in the spring race. Later that year, in the return trip to the Alabama superspeedway, Kvapil won his first-ever Cup series pole.
The naming of Kvapil was the first major decision by car owner Doug Yates, who had taken over the family business from his retired father, Robert. Kvapil carried on the tradition of the famed No. 28, which, in the past, had been driven by Davey Allison, Ernie Irvan and Rudd.
Prior to competing for Yates, Kvapil had a two-year NASCAR Sprint Cup stint with two different teams in 2005 and 2006.
He made his debut in the series with Jasper-Penske Racing in ’05, qualifying for all 36 races and posting two top-10 finishes. The Kodak sponsorship, though, left at the end of the season and the team disbanded, leaving Kvapil without a ride. That didn’t last long, however, as car owner Cal Wells II signed him to fill the No. 32 Tide seat in ’06.
Unfortunately, the single-car team struggled that year; Kvapil qualified for 31 races without a single top-10 finish and ended up 36th in the standings. Then, like the previous season, Kvapil found himself without a ride when the Tide sponsorship went away and the 32 team closed its doors.
That led to the opportunity with Roush Fenway Racing in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series in 2007, and Kvapil took advantage. He was among the top five all year until the final race, when he dropped three spots from third to sixth after a 21st-place finish in the Ford 200. Until then, however, Kvapil was consistent as he registered four wins (Michigan, Memphis, Nashville and Las Vegas), eight top-five and 12 top-10 finishes in 25 events.
Kvapil made an immediate reputation for himself as someone to watch with his ability to win races and take care of his equipment. He was named the NCTS Raybestos Rookie of the Year in ’01 and started a stretch that saw him finish in the top 10 of the point standings four straight seasons and win the 2003 series championship.
Before joining the NASCAR ranks, Kvapil cut his racing teeth in the Midwest. A native of Janesville, Wisc., Kvapil battled fellow Ford driver Matt Kenseth at Madison International Speedway. Kvapil took the speedway by storm, winning rookie of the year honors in 1995 and then capturing the Late Model track championship one season later.
Kvapil, who began his racing career competing at Rockford Speedway in ’92, currently lives in North Carolina with his wife, Jennifer, and children, Kelsey and Carson.
