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Travis Kvapil crosses the start/finish line in the no. 6 K&N Filters Ford F-150 at the Michigan 200 at Michigan International Speedway. (VPS Motorimages Photo) |
Travis Kvapil and the No. 6 K&N Filters team came to Michigan International Speedway on the heels of three consecutive top-10 finishes and the feeling that their season had finally turned the corner. Kvapil and crew proved that on Saturday afternoon, scoring their first win of the 2007 season.
Kvapil's No. 6 Ford was strong in both practice sessions of Friday, and the K&N team backed up its practice speeds by picking up its first Bud Pole Award of the season. Kvapil's time surpassed second-place starter Mark Martin by some two-tenths of a second.
Kvapil was passed at the drop of the green flag by Martin, but Kvapil quickly put the No. 6 K&N Ford back to the point at lap three. Kvapil would hold onto the lead for a handful of laps before Martin's No. 21 reassumed the lead at lap nine. Kvapil reported to his crew that his No. 6 Ford was a little free, and would need an adjustment to help keep him contention.
Kvapil got a break when the caution flag flew at lap 29 for debris, allowing him to bring the K&N Ford to pit road for tires, fuel and a wedge adjustment.
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Travis Kvapil performs a smokey burnout while the No. 6 K&N Filters Ford team cheers. (VPS Motorimages Photo) |
Kvapil lined up second for the lap 34 restart, and found himself in the middle of a strong battle among the top-five running trucks. Kvapil, Kyle Busch and Mike Skinner seemed to jockey for position every lap, all doing their best to run down Martin's No. 21 truck. Kvapil reported to his crew that the adjustments they made helped the handling of his K&N Ford, but it was still loose in the center of the turns. At lap 48, Kvapil blew past Martin to reassume the lead, as the No. 21 pulled into the garage with an expired engine.
Kvapil continued to lead until lap 56, when the caution flew for debris following the No. 00 truck making heavy contact with the wall. Kvapil came to pit road for tires, fuel and another wedge adjustment to help the handling of his Ford. When the green flag dropped at lap 61, Kvapil showed in the third position, ready for the run to the checkered flag.
Kvapil battled with the No. 5 of Skinner and No. 51 of Busch in the closing laps, but it came down to a two- truck battle between Kvapil and Busch in the closing laps. Busch seemed to be using all that he had left in his No. 51 truck, with Kvapil chasing him down and waiting for his opportunity to make the pass for the lead. Kvapil would wait until the second to last lap, overtaking Busch for the lead and pulling away from him to pick up the victory.
"Obviously, it all starts back at the race shop, and I've got to thank everyone at Roush Fenway Racing, K&N and Ford for giving me this opportunity," said Kvapil. "We started the year off kind of struggling, and Mike Beam and the guys here really just figured out what we needed to do to make the trucks where I could drive 'em fast. Kansas was probably the big turning point for our trucks, with my teammate Erik (Darnell) winning there and since then we've been a top-five truck every time we come to the race track. We haven't really been able to pull it off or get the whole weekend put together, but we finally did here at Michigan."
Following the win at Michigan, Kvapil vaulted to the fourth position in NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series points, 265 markers behind leader Mike Skinner. The Craftsman Truck Series next competes at The Milwaukee Mile on Friday night, June 22.
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