Brooklyn, MI. (July 31, 2004) -

Defending NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (NCTS) Champion, Travis Kvapil, was ecstatic after beating the field in the inaugural LINE-X Spray-on Bedliners 200 Saturday.  " What a day!  I needed to go as hard as I could, and as fast as I could - and I was able to do that today.  I got to about mid-pack about halfway through the race and thought that was all I had.  My Tundra just got a little bit tight, it didn't have good balance, and I just didn't have a good 'feel.'  But, my guys worked on the Tundra all race, gave me some great pit stops, made some good adjustments, and I was able to drive to the win."

 Kvapil was the first of three Toyota drivers to cross the finish line among the top-five at Michigan.  Mike Skinner, Kvapil's Bang Racing teammate, led 26 laps during the race and was third to the checkered flag in his No. 42 Bang Racing Tundra, co-sponsored by LINE-X.

 Kvapil brushed the wall during practice Friday afternoon, and then his team made an engine change following the final practice session.  The engine change forced the Janesville, Wis.-native to start the race from the rear of the field.

 "Mike Skinner's crew really helped us out yesterday after we had our problems," said Kvapil.  "I drove into the wall and then we had to change a motor.  The No. 42 bunch helped us out with all their notes.  They had a really fast truck so we made some adjustments that we picked up from their notes - and obviously, it helped. The guys on my LINE-X team did a great job and everybody at Toyota did a great job," said Kvapil.

 "Toyota gave us some great horsepower again today- like they've been doing all year long."

 After 13 2004 NCTS races, three Toyota drivers sit among the top-15 in the championship point standings.  Kvapil is 7th in the standings with 1,749 points, while Skinner is 9th (1,628 points). 

Just hours before winning the LINE-X sponsored race, Kvapil was prophetic when asked about the pressure of running a race sponsored by LINE-X - "It would be a thrill if our team could get a win this week for all of the LINE-X employees that will be at MIS and give them all something to cheer about. The LINE-X team would definitely like to give Toyota their first victory as well, and Michigan would be a great place to do that. Knowing that my sponsor is also sponsoring the race does add a little bit of pressure and make me want the win all the more. But I put pressure on myself to win every week and that focus and determination never changes from week to week. I equate the feeling to going back home and racing in front of all of my friends and family in Milwaukee. And this weekend, I’ll deal with that same type of pressure in having my extended family - our family of sponsors - at the track watching us and cheering. If I win tomorrow, I’m going to run through the grass and spin out across that logo…but only if that’s ‘OK’ with everyone here,” he asked.

Travis couldn't have foretold a more accurate account of the eventual outcome! According to JB Burtin, President of LINE-X, “We were simply excited to be here in Michigan as the race sponsor. It was absolutely incredible to see Kvapil and the LINE-X 24 Truck win the race with our other truck taking third. It takes the true heart of a champion to go from last to first to take the checkered flag. LINE-X is proud to be part of the Bang Racing Toyota Team.” Download Printable Version (1.9 Mbytes)

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http://www.nascar.com/2004/news/headlines/truck/07/31/tkvapil_victory.ap/index.html