Coming off a fourth place finish at Atlanta Motor Speedway’s debut Craftsman Truck Series event, Travis Kvapil’s 2004 career could be summed up in four simple words: same story, new season.

It only took two races for the defending champion to establish himself atop the points lead and as a solid contender for the series title again this year.    

“That’s what it’s all about from a racing standpoint…we’re going to win the championship this year, and the way to do that is to get top-five’s every week,” Kvapil said. “If we keep averaging top-five’s and top-10’s, that’s going to pay good dividends at the end of the year.”

Although he and his No. 24 Line-X Tundra hadn’t seen a lap of racing action at Atlanta’s paved oval, Kvapil relied on previous tests at the track, a recent test at Texas Motor Speedway and Crew Chief Eric Phillips’ multiple wins with Joe Nemecheck, Kyle Bush and Greg Biffle and breadth of knowledge at the mile-and-a-half venues to help steer him above the competition. 

“We came right off a Texas test a couple of weeks ago, and we didn’t really change a thing,” Kvapil said.

Their bet paid off. From first to final practice sessions, his consistency landed him in the top-five, and despite encountering strong headwinds during qualifying, he was able to hang onto ninth place.   

Following the green flag, Kvapil carved his way into fourth place by Lap 10 and remained steadily in the top-five for the majority of the day despite battling a loose ride, and at times, the track itself.

“There’s a little damage all over the car,” Kvapil laughed. “I drove the thing in the wall off of turn four twice. I feel terrible for doing that. I call it a rookie mistake…I’m not a rookie, but I am at this speedway.”

“It’s just so hard because you’re slip-sliding around so much and so fast that it’s hard to find grip,” Kvapil said. “My first time here, I was just searching around looking for lines and pushed it a little too hard. There were a couple of times I scared myself.”

But that wasn’t the only frightening moment for Bang Racing’s Line-X team. Kvapil brushed the right rear of Dennis Setzer’s truck exiting his pit stall following a lengthy pit stop from a dropped lug nut. Despite minor damage, he ended the inaugural EasyCare Vehicle Service Contracts 200 leading one lap and claiming the series lead by a slim four-point margin over Carl Edwards.

 “We just didn’t quite hit on the right adjustment,” Kvapil said. “The first part of the race we were a little bit too loose, and we tried to tighten it up. Just looking for the right adjustments, we made it a little too tight which cost us a little bit at the end. After that last pit stop we got it too tight for me to get through Turns 3 and 4. But my Line-X team did a good job of giving me something that was capable of running up front.”

“I don’t think I would’ve done anything different,” Phillips said. “I was pretty happy overall with the way the weekend went. Considering this is the second race for Bang Racing and Toyota, and we’re leaving the race still leading the points, you’ve got to be pleased with that.”

Not one to ever argue with the benefits of consistency, Kvapil agreed. 

“It was a really strong group effort with Toyota all weekend,” Kvapil said. “Everyone on the Bang Racing team worked their tails off…and my teammate almost just won the race. I loved it. This was great racing. It really put an emphasis on tire management, and you have to stay focused on keeping the truck underneath you which puts an emphasis on setup. I think that’s where our team is going to excel this year. I just wish we could clean these things up and get back out there tomorrow.”

Spoken like a true champion.