Travis Kvapil: Federated Auto Parts 200 preview

MOORESVILLE, N.C. -- Give Travis Kvapil a second and he'll give you three wins.

The driver of the No. 16 IWX Motor Freight NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Chevy, and current point leader, has three second-place finishes this season and the total margin between first and second in those three races was .759 of a second.

In all three races, Kvapil was the driver who was charging forward at the line. He finished second to Rick Crawford in the season opening race at Daytona by .027 seconds. In June at Memphis, he just missed victory lane by .115 seconds to Ted Musgrave. On Saturday at Indianapolis, he finished .617 behind Carl Edwards.

"In each race, we only needed a few more feet," said Kvapil. "We were so good at the end of each of those races. It would have been nice to get those wins, but I can't really complain about those races. We're having such a good season."

While victory lane has eluded Kvapil, strong performance has been there every week. The team has posted an impressive record of nine top-five finishes in 13 races this year and is currently the series point leader.

The team rolls on to the 1.333-mile concrete at Nashville Superspeedway for Saturday's Federated Auto Parts 200.

"I love racing at Nashville," Kvapil continued. "While it's bigger than a mile, it drives so much like a mile or shorter track. With time, the second groove has developed and from what we saw in the Busch series races earlier this year, the track looks really good.

Kvapil finished fifth in the 2001 truck series race at the track. Last year, he was running third when his engine failed midway through the race. The IWX Racing team started on the pole last year and won the race with driver Mike Bliss.

"I've done well there in my two previous starts," he continued. "Like every other track that I go to with this team, I'm really looking forward to Saturday's race."