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On the Road Again
Kvapil Likes Higher Speed of The Glen
Statesville, N.C. (August 3, 2010) - Travis Kvapil and the No. 37 Long John Silver's Ford team had a solid run at its first road-course race of the season, but not much of the experience can be applied to the second one. This weekend, the team goes to the 2.45-mile course of Watkins Glen International for the Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at The Glen. The 11-turn course in New York's Finger Lakes region provides longer straightaways and faster racing than California's Infineon Raceway course, where the team raced earlier this summer.
Kvapil earned a 24th-place finish at Infineon in June and feels the team has a shot at an equal or better finish at the Sprint Cup Series' second road-course race this season. The team will run the same No. 37 Ford Fusion chassis it ran in Sonoma.
Sunday's will be Kvapil's third start at Watkins Glen. His best finish is 36th.
Comments from Long John Silver's Racing team driver Travis Kvapil on Watkins Glen International and road-course parity:
"Watkins Glen is a completely different track than Sonoma (Infineon Raceway). Obviously they're both road courses - we turn right and left - but that's about the only similarity between them. When we go to Sonoma, you use first, second and third gear a lot. It's a lower-speed, kind of point-and-shoot type of racetrack.
"Watkins Glen is high speed. You're up in third or fourth gear most of the time. It's kind of like a speedway road course, and Sonoma is like a short-track road course. The Glen doesn't have as many sharp corners, so you really keep your momentum up.
"I'm excited to go there. I've only run there a few times and haven't exactly had the greatest results yet. I broke a transmission one time and just didn't run very well another time. So I'm looking forward to a better result. I feel like my road racing is getting better. Sonoma went OK for us a few months ago, so I think we can come out of Watkins Glen with a decent finish, too.
"A team like Front Row Motorsports doesn't have the same advantages going into a road-course race as some of the teams. We'll take the car to The Glen that we ran at Sonoma. It's also the same car we ran at Martinsville and California earlier in the year. We're digging hard to find some additional sponsorship so we can run specific road-course cars next season. Right now, we're focusing on setting this car up for this weekend.
"It's not as critical or as big of a deal as it used to be in the Cup series with the old-style car. The new-style car does allow you to take one car from track to track a lot more easily. We may have to work a little bit harder, but that's fine. We've done that all season and things have moved along. We're hitting our marks, but we're looking for more consistency and to make that next step to improve."
About Front Row Motorsports with Yates Racing:
Front Row Motorsports was formed in 2005 by restaurant entrepreneur Bob Jenkins. Since that time the team has entered a car in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and NASCAR Nationwide Series. In 2010, Front Row Motorsports with Yates Racing will partner with Ford and Roush/Yates Engines to field a three-car operation based in Statesville, N.C. The team will field the No. 34 Long John Silver's Ford driven by Travis Kvapil, the No. 37 ExtenZe Ford driven by Kevin Conway, and the No. 38 Taco Bell Ford driven by David Gilliland.
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