NASCAR Cup

Travis Kvapil - Ford interview on 2008 ride

Travis Kvapil was announced as the new driver of the No. 88 Yates Racing Ford Fusion for 2008. Kvapil spoke about the opportunity via telephone Saturday afternoon with Ford Racing. TRAVIS KVAPIL -- No. 88 Yates Racing Ford ...

Published: Sep 9, 2007, 5:08 AM

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Travis Kvapil was announced as the new driver of the No. 88 Yates Racing Ford Fusion for 2008. Kvapil spoke about the opportunity via telephone Saturday afternoon with Ford Racing.

TRAVIS KVAPIL -- No. 88 Yates Racing Ford Fusion

"This is definitely a great opportunity. I took a step back going to the Truck Series in the hopes that an opportunity like this would come along. I had to go out and prove myself again and try to win races and prove to team owners that maybe I deserved another shot in Nextel Cup. For this to come along, obviously I'm really excited. I'm definitely excited that Yates Racing is gonna have an affiliation and a lot of support from Roush Fenway as far as hardware and engineering and the marketing side of it. I think it's gonna help Yates become a little stronger and I'm just really excited to be a part of it and looking forward to getting going."

THIS IS A MUCH DIFFERENT SITUATION THAN YOUR PREVIOUS CUP EXPERIENCE WITH THE 32 TEAM ISN'T IT? "Yeah, for sure. Cal Wells did a magnificent job doing everything he could to keep the team going over there. He didn't have the funding or the resources to spend the money that he needed to be competitive. With Roush Fenway's support of Yates, it's gonna speed that along. Our cars are gonna be good and we're gonna have Roush Yates motors and with engineering support from Roush, I think it's gonna elevate Yates to a top 10 team. I'm just excited to have this opportunity. I realize during my two seasons in Cup that if I was gonna get another shot at Cup racing that I definitely wanted to do it with a powerful team that had the resources and the backing and the engineering behind it to be competitive and I definitely feel like this is a perfect spot."

HOW DOES DOUG YATES SEEM TO YOU? "He seems like a very class act guy. He just seems like a nice guy. He's very motivated to be successful and obviously he has grown up around racing and under the hoods of race cars. He's a hard-working guy who has his hands into the race car and racing overall. He's a racer, so that's always exciting to drive for somebody who understands the ins-and-outs of it and has been around the sport his whole life. He's got some youth, so I think we can get along good and build a strong relationship over the years to come."

CAN YOU SPEAK ABOUT DRIVING THE 88 CAR, ONE THAT HAS A LOT OF HISTORY? "Obviously that car has had some great drivers who have spent time in that seat and have won races and a championship. A great relationship with Ford is what I'm really excited about having Yates horsepower under the hood is going to be a great recipe for success. To get in a race car that has had success in the past and in it for the long haul, that's what excites me. It's tough to go Nextel Cup racing trying to rebuild or build from scratch. It's nearly impossible to be competitive and to have a team owner and a team that has had its ups-and-downs, but has been in the sport a long time, they know what it takes to be successful. Right now they're putting the pieces together to put that all together."

-credit: ford racing

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