MBNA RacePoints 400 - Travis Kvapil Notes

Travis Kvapil Raybestos Rookie Dover Advance

RAYBESTOS® ROOKIE CONTENDER ADVANCE MATERIAL FOR THE SEPTEMBER 25 MBNA RACEPOINTS 400 NASCAR NEXTEL CUP SERIES RACE AT DOVER INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY.

TRAVIS KVAPIL, No. 77 KODAK/JASPER ENGINES AND TRANSMISSIONS DODGE:

“I like Dover. I like the banked racetracks and it’s a track that seems to change over the course of the weekend when more rubber gets laid down. Like a Martinsville or a Bristol, you have to have the foresight to look ahead and know that you need a freer racecar in practice and it should come to you the next day during the race.”

DOES THE CONCRETE SURFACE CHANGE MUCH OVER THE WEEKEND? “As far as like temperature and stuff, doesn’t seem to really adjust too much. The biggest thing is as the rubber gets laid down over the Busch race and the Cup cars have all their practice, it seems to get tighter and tighter as the weekend goes along as more rubber gets laid down. I don’t really think it’s the track changing as the added rubber is changing the racetrack. You’ve got to be aware of that and have some adjustability built into your racecar and be prepared for it.”

IS THERE A GOOD PLACE TO PIT AT DOVER? “I don’t know. That’s probably the toughest pit road that we have on all the tracks that we go to. It’s very narrow. I’d say the very end stall would probably be the best. It’s just tight and narrow and you see a lot of people get into trouble on pit road, crinkling fenders up and things like that. You’ve got to pay attention to things going on around you and spotters and crew chiefs on the box are very important to make sure that you stay out of trouble.”

DOUG BAWEL, CO-OWNER, No. 77 KODAK/JASPER ENGINES AND TRANSMISSIONS DODGE:

(Note: Bawel is also President of Jasper Engines and Transmissions, primary associate sponsor of the No. 77 Dodge. He is also co-owner of Penske-Jasper Engines with Roger Penske.)

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE PROS AND CONS OF A RAYBESTOS® ROOKIE DRIVER? “The pros are the great exposure that we get from the whole Raybestos® Rookie program. The downfall is that he’s a rookie. A rookie in this business means that you’re coming in without the experience. In some cases they’ll race under that magic number the first year so they get a little bit more experience. In Travis’ case, we did some of that. We raced him a few races last year. In Brendan’s [Gaughan] case, we did not do that; he came strictly from the truck series. And I think that you’re also seeing at this level, the Cup series, it is without question, the NEXTEL Cup Series is the most difficult series in all of racing. Whether you compare it to Formula One or anything else because of the whole transitioning. Because of NASCAR and the great rules they have, you don’t get unlimited testing; for rookies you do get a couple of extra tests, so it has been very challenging to say the least.”

IS A ROOKIE DRIVER A HARD SELL TO A SPONSOR? “I think when you look at our past drivers, both with Brendan and with Travis, specifically with Travis, being a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion, that’s a great sell. The fact that we did do some testing before we signed Travis on, I think that also helped sell it to the Kodak and Jasper people. I wear two hats [owner and sponsor] and then I wear the third hat being involved in the engine company with Roger, Penske Jasper Engines. Sometimes I have to wonder which hat I have on that day [smiles].”

HOW DOES THE RACING PROGRAM WORK FOR JASPER ENGINES? “We’ve been in NASCAR now some 18 years. The whole experience with NASCAR has been great for our customer base, which is about 60 percent independent garages, 20 percent major fleets throughout the country, and the balance car dealerships. If you think about the guy who’s working on your normal everyday car, he’s also a race fan and is up in the stands as well. It’s been a great benefit.”