 |
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
Kvapil Finishes 16th in a Wild Richmond Saturday Night |
|
|
|
|
|
Richmond, VA (May 3, 2008)
Fresh off a sixth-place finish the weekend before at Talladega, Travis Kvapil and the No. 28
Discount Tire team entered Richmond International Speedway with a bit of confidence. Richmond
International Raceway is synonymous with hot tempers and handling woes and Saturday night's Crown
Royal Presents the Dan Lowry 400 was no exception. Kvapil survived the night unscathed and brought
home a 16th-place finish for his Discount Tire team. |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
Kvapil and his No. 28 Discount Tire Ford Fusion began the Dan Lowry 400 from the 34th position as
the green flag waved at 7:50pm EST for the 400 mile race. |
|
|
|
|
|
Within the opening green flag run, Kvapil methodically drove his No. 28 machine up to 25th by lap
38 and continued to hold onto that position until the first yellow of the evening came on lap 67 for
debris after the No. 70 spun in turn four. Kvapil came to pit road on lap 65 for the first pit stop
of the night and took four tires, fuel, and a series of air pressure adjustments before rejoining the field. |
|
|
|
|
|
Kvapil continued to maintain his track position in the mid-20s during the next run before the second caution
of the day came due to debris on the track. Crew chief Todd Parrott called Kvapil to pit road on lap 129. Kvapil
had called in to Parrott that the Discount Tire Ford "could stand a little more forward bite." The Discount Tire
pit crew once again serviced the No. 28 with fresh tires, fuel, and air pressure adjustments. |
|
|
|
|
|
Track conditions continued to change as the evening went on, and as temperatures began to drop ever so slightly,
drivers had begun to notice the small changes in the handling of their tires. Kvapil and his No. 28 Discount Tire
Ford were not an exception to this. On lap 139, Kvapil mentioned over team radio that "the tires aren't working
yet" which meant that he was still in search of tires that would allow him to grip the surface of the track a
little better. |
|
|
|
|
|
By lap 204, the Discount Tire Ford was 24th on the leaderboard as the fourth caution of the day came on lap 206.
Parrott took the yellow-flagged break to bring Kvapil to pit road for a routine pit stop. The Discount Tire pit
crew serviced the No. 28 with four tires, fuel, and a track bar adjustment. |
|
|
|
|
|
The big wreck of the evening came during lap 231 after eleven cars were collected in an accident which forced
track officials to red flag the race for over 20 minutes as track safety crew workers managed the clean-up efforts.
During the break in racing action, Parrott and Kvapil discussed the car's handling to which Kvapil commented,
"we're definitely too tight early on, plus I'm better off the line." When pit road opened up, Kvapil brought his
Discount Tire Ford to pit road for a series of adjustments before the field restarted on lap 237 and Kvapil was
scored in 18th. |
|
|
|
|
|
The No. 28 Discount Tire Ford spent the next 100 miles of the race fighting a very tight-handling racecar while
still maintaining his position on the track in 17th and 18th at the time. As is the case with short track racing
at any track you visit, tempers flare and races are even more of a fight to the finish. |
|
|
|
|
|
During the final 30 laps of the race, three various cautions arose yet the No. 28 Discount Tires Ford stayed out
of harms way. The final caution of the night lined up the race finish for a two lap shootout to the finish. As
the checkers fell, Kvapil crossed the stripe in 16th after 400 miles. |
|
|
|
|
|
"Our goal was to try to keep our nose clean and get a good finish tonight, and that's exactly what we did," commented
Kvapil following the race. "We just fought our way up through the field all night. Our Discount Tire Ford Fusion was
really good the first half of the race, but after we got our lucky dog pass, it was just became really tight. We just
fought the handling concerns from that point on and we never were able to get it to where we were during the first half
of the race. We just kind of hung on the last 100 laps or so, but we stayed out of trouble and got a decent finish out
of it." |
|
|
|
|
|
Clint Bowyer won the Crown Royal Presents the Dan Lowry 400 at Richmond Saturday night. Bowyer held off Kyle Busch in a
two lap shootout to the checkered flag. Mark Martin rounded out the top-three finishers at Richmond. Kvapil's Yates
Racing teammate, David Gilliland, was the victim of a multi-car wreck which forced the No. 38 FreeCreditReport.com Ford
to end their night early due to heavy damage. |
|
|
|
|
|
Next weekend, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series travels to Darlington Raceway for the Dodge Challenger 500. Pre-race television
coverage begins on Saturday, May 10th at 7:00pm EST on FOX. Radio coverage will be provided by the Motor Racing Network. |
|
|
|
|
|
Go to: |
|
|
DTC Motorsports Home for the Latest Racing News |
|
|
or |
|
|
The Racing News Archive to read previously featured stories. |
|
|
|
|
