NASCAR Cup

Indianapolis: Travis Kvapil preview

Kvapil Looks for Peak Performance in Second Half Driver Eager for Indy, Comments on 2011 Schedule Statesville, N.C. (July 20, 2010) - As a kid, Travis Kvapil watched in awe at the drivers who competed in the Indy 500 at the ...

Published: Jul 21, 2010, 4:22 AM

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Kvapil Looks for Peak Performance in Second Half
Driver Eager for Indy, Comments on 2011 Schedule

Statesville, N.C. (July 20, 2010) - As a kid, Travis Kvapil watched in awe at the drivers who competed in the Indy 500 at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway. This weekend, the 34-year-old stock car driver will race at that same revered racetrack in the No. 37 Long John Silver's Ford in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. The series runs the 17th Brickyard 400 at the historic, 2.5-mile oval in Indianapolis, Ind., on Sunday.

This weekend's race will be Kvapil's fourth start at the storied track. His best previous finish is 25th.

Comments from Long John Silver's Racing team driver Travis Kvapil on Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the second half of season and potential 2011 schedule changes:

"I'm excited about the second half of the season. We've definitely got some room for improvement. I feel like we somewhat underachieved during the first half, but we also had a few obstacles we had to work through. We were a new team working together and, of course, expanding from a one-car team to a three-car team was a big undertaking. And we were going to a lot of these tracks for the first time together as a team.

"I feel like we got a lot of those initial challenges behind us. We're starting to build newer racecars, bringing better equipment to the track and going to the track a second time with a set of notes from a previous run. So, we should be able to improve our performance the second time around.

"On track, we've had some decent runs in the top-25, which is where we expect to be. But we've also had a few poor ones where we're two or three laps down, and those are the ones we've got to improve on and be a little more competitive at. But I feel like those things will come in the second half of the year and we'll pick up our performance.

"Indianapolis Motor Speedway is just a really cool place to go to. It's like Daytona or Darlington. It's a famous racetrack. So many great drivers and champions have raced there. Growing up, I used to watch the Indy 500 and I looked up to those guys that competed in that race. To have the opportunity to race there in a stock car is pretty special.

"The track itself is very unique. It's kind of a rectangle shape with very flat corners, a lot of grip and long, long straight-aways. You have to have a great-handling car and great motors under the hood. I'm just excited to go there. It's a great place to compete at."

"If they change the schedule next year, honestly, it really doesn't matter to me. There's talk about going to Kansas or Vegas a second time, and I like those tracks. I think they would be good venues if they're looking for crowds to fill the stands. I'd hate to see any racetracks go away. There's probably none on the schedule that I dislike, but every couple years the series tweaks the schedule a little bit and I'm confident they'll do a great job with it as they always do."

-source: front row motorsports

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