Travis Kvapil and the No. 93 Dr Pepper Toyota Camry team finished 19th at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway on Sunday afternoon. In a race that consisted of mostly long green-flag runs, Kvapil maintained track position all day and avoided any trouble to bring home the team’s fourth top-20 finish of the season.
With limited practice laps and a cancelled qualifying session, Kvapil rolled off in the 39th position for the Camping World RV Sales 500 per the NASCAR rulebook. The veteran driver didn’t let his starting position slow him down as he immediately dropped into line and began drafting toward the front of the lead pack. Scored 16th by lap 10, Kvapil continued to play out the race like a well-planned chess match. His BK Racing crew made one minor adjustment to tighten the balance of the car during the opening round of pit stops, and Kvapil was happy with the car for the remainder of the day.
With a very atypical single-file run to the checkered flag, Kvapil was scored in the 22nd position with just 10 laps remaining. Unable to find the drafting partner he needed to make a run to the front of the pack, Kvapil was able to avoid a last lap crash on the backstretch and pick up just three more positions to cross the finish line in the 19th position.
“Our No. 93 Dr Pepper Toyota Camry was a strong race car today,” commented Kvapil. “The race didn’t unfold like it usually does at Talladega-the ‘big one’ never happened and everybody was very calm and comfortable with a single file run to the finish line. Everyone raced smart today, and we were able to get in several long green-flag runs. We had ourselves in position to make one last charge to the finish line, but no one ever pulled out of line to try to make that charge to the front. Without a drafting partner, we just couldn’t pull out of line and expect to pick up positions. I’m proud of the effort of my Dr Pepper team and happy that we were able to bring home a solid top-20 finish for BK Racing.”
BK Racing PR
