2002 CTS Champion, Travis Kvapil?

As Travis Kvapil heads to Daytona to begin his second full
season in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, he has one major goal in mind: to
win the Championship. With three-time Truck Series’ Champ Jack Sprague heading
to the Busch Grand National Series, Kvapil has one obstacle out of the way.
Well, make that two obstacles. Sprague is moving to the Busch division with
Hendrick Motorsports teammate Ricky Hendrick. Hendrick gave Kvapil a run for his
money and finished just 18 points behind Kvapil in the 2001 Raybestos Rookie of
the Year title chase.

Kvapil, who took over for Andy Houston in the No. 60 CAT
Rental Addington Racing Chevrolet in 2001, had a stellar rookie season. He
finished out the season with one win, 11 top fives, 18 top-10s (in just 24
races) and was forth in the overall points standings.

At 25, Kvapil is paying his dues along the way to make it to
the pinnacle of racing. The Janesville, Wis. native started his racing career in
stocks when he was 16 and was runner-up for the American Short Tracker
Division’s Rookie of the Year. While making his way through the ranks, Kvapil
won the American Short Tracker Track Championship at Rockford Speedway, Super
Late Model Rookie of the Year, and Super Late Model Track Champion at Madison
International Speedway.

Looking to eventually make his way to Winston Cup, Kvapil got
some seat time in another series, the Busch Series, at Kentucky in June when he
filled in for an injured Mike Skinner in the No. 21 Rockwell Automation
Chevrolet. Kvapil started the race in the third position but ended up 28th. He
ran in the top 10 early on but with just 17 laps left to run, Kvapil was
involved in an accident with Rich Bickle. His car ended up on its roof and slid
nearly 100 yards across the back straightaway. Although the final outcome wasn’t
the greatest, team owner Richard Childress must have been impressed. Childress
offered him the chance to take on the 21 ride full-time. But Kvapil declined,
with good reason. "I got a little taste of taking the next step up and felt
like I wasn’t really ready for that."

With Kvapil staying in the Truck Series, he can continue to
grow and more than likely, continue to win. His first career win came in 2001 at
Texas Motor Speedway in the Silverado 350. The margin of victory was a
half-second over second place finisher Rick Crawford. Finishes like that are
what earned Kvapil Chevrolet’s "Like a Rock" Award and the
Truckseries.com Most Popular Driver Award.

The season opener at Daytona is a team’s first taste of what
their season is going to be like. Last year Kvapil finished the Daytona race
25th. Yet he managed to get it back together and pull out a fourth place points
finish. If Kvapil wins the season opener, just imagine what kind of year he will
have in 2002.