Alex Meshkin

The first domino has fallen in the shakeup with the Big 3 automotive manufacturers’ involvement in NASCAR. The exit announcement by Dodge is the latest blow to the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series which has yet to find a title sponsor to replace Craftsman in 2009 and beyond. In 2009, Dodge will not provide any financial support to any teams in the series. Dodge Motorsports senior manager Mike Delahanty said,

“We’ll have no factory-funded teams.”

Delahanty told ESPN.com,

“When times are tough, there are certain things that are lower on the priority list than others.”

This leaves us to ponder: Are the other series next? For years, rumors have circulated that Dodge would pull out of NASCAR- is it finally happening?

Earlier this decade Dodge was a powerhouse in the NASCAR Truck Series, winning 46 of 99 races from 2001-2004 and championships with drivers Bobby Hamilton in 2004 and Ted Musgrave in 2005. This year, Dodge scaled back its involvement and provided manufacturer support only to Bobby Hamilton Racing-Virginia. However, Dodge informed the team that its factory support would end this season. Delahanty said the manufacturer’s involvement with the Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series is unaffected.

Now you might ask: why hasn’t NASCAR attempted to “fix” the Truck Series value proposition to raise its “priority” with Dodge and the other manufacturers – the answer is part of the problem for NASCAR – with unprecedented sponsorship deflections in the Sprint Cup Series, the Truck Series is a low priority for NASCAR.

As the former owner of Bang Racing, Toyota’s first NASCAR Team to compete in the Truck Series and the leading competitor of Dodge Motorsports, it is a sad day for the entire NASCAR community. As I have predicted, it is only a matter of time before all of the Big 3 reduce their involvement in NASCAR. The writing is clearly on the wall – the inverse proposition of marketing costs versus benefits is an alarming trend and appears to be continually ignored by the NASCAR leadership.

Instead of squarely addressing the concerns of corporate sponsors and automotive manufacturers’ – NASCAR seeks new automotive partners to rejuvenate the floundering Truck Series. In 1999, Dodge Motorsports announced their plans to enter the Truck Series and, at the time, were widely credited with saving the series. In 2003 the Truck Series was still floundering andfloundering and the Big 3 began scaling back yet again, but Toyota Motorsports and Bang Racing soon entered the the Truck Series and delivered an unprecedented amount of media attention which fueled substantial increases in technical, financial and marketing spending from the Big 3 manufacturers in the Truck Series. But now times are tough; and with the uncertainty and questionable sustainability of the Truck Series, combined with plummeting light-truck sales; the odds of NASCAR finding new automotive manufacturer partners is rather slim. Sadly, it appears NASCAR will attempt to solely treat their symptoms and leave the underlying problems unresolved.

Brooklyn, M.I., Aug. 1, 2004 – Travis Kvapil stepped into his sponsor’s suite at Michigan International Speedway on Friday and with his usual, quiet candor asked a foretelling question as he was drawn to the brightly-colored yellow and black Line-X logo decorating the infield grass just outside the window.

“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. Call it fate with a little bit of luck, but just don’t call it happenstance. Kvapil was on a mission to keep that promise and did. After capturing the checkered flag, he wheeled the No. 24 Line-X Tundra into the infield as a victorious nod to the jubilant yellow Line-X shirts lining the roof of their suite.

The historic victory was one of many firsts: the first checkered of the season for the 2003 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Champion, the inaugural win for first-year team, Bang Racing, and an achievement that etched a place in the history books for Toyota as the championship manufacturer continues its winning legacy in NASCAR.

“This is huge.what a day!” Kvapil exclaimed. “Toyota gave me some great horsepower again. I screwed up yesterday and drove my truck into the wall off turn 2 after only getting five or six practice laps. Then we broke a motor and had to start in the back. I really have to thank crew chief John Monsam, Mike Skinner and the 42 crew for helping us out with all their notes. They had a fast, fast race truck in happy hour yesterday, and we were able to look at their notes and go a little bit more in their direction from where we were and tune on our truck for the race. So we relied a lot on my teammate and his setup.”

The win marks the second time Kvapil and Bang Racing have made history and helped Toyota to the forefront of acclaim after an impressive out-of-the-box display at Daytona International Speedway earlier this season. Kvapil drove Bang Racing and the No. 24 Line-X Tundra into the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series history books by breaking the highest finish for a new team at Daytona, previously held by Kenny Martin who finished fifth at the Speedway in 2000, clinched the highest qualifying position (third) for the new manufacturer and led the first lap on Lap 8 for the Toyota Motorsports contingent.

“We went to Daytona and didn’t really think we had a shot at the win – and we finished second,” Kvapil said. “It seems like it’s been so long since then. To be able to pull it off here with Line-X sponsoring my truck and the event is just awesome. We’ve been trying so hard all year. For Bang Racing and Toyota to put the total package together in the other manufacturers’ backyard is pretty special.” Kvapil battled against the odds from the back of the pack and another grazing off the turn 4 wall as the initial laps ticked down. From the wave of the green flag, racing action looked more like Daytona as Kvapil worked the advantage of the draft and quickly knocked off 15 spots in 20 laps at the two-mile venue despite loose conditions.

“The draft definitely played in my favor at times,” Kvapil said. “I’d be back a little ways and I’d just fit in and catch the next group. Then I’d pass some more and draft up behind the next group. But it played against me a couple of times, too. I’d try to make passes down on the bottom, and it seemed like everyone wanted to lay-up on the outside. If I had any help, I could make some passes but everyone wanted to stay in line. It was just like Daytona – if you had someone to go with you, you could make your way to the front. But during the last 20 laps of the race, my truck was strong enough to do it on my own.”

Following the first caution flag for debris and a quick pit stop for air pressure, track bar and wedge adjustments to tighten up his ride, Kvapil exited pit road just outside the top-10. As teammate Mike Skinner took the lead mid-way through the 100-lap event, the reigning champ had worked his way into 10th and waited for his green flag pit stop. Then fate stepped in. Kvapil pulled the wheel from heading down pit road for a green flag stop in seventh place as NASCAR called the fourth of seven caution flags for debris. After the crew feverishly changed all four tires taking air pressure out of each and added two cans of fuel, the No. 24 team gained four spots as an ecstatic crew watched Kvapil fall in line behind teammate Mike Skinner. The pair sailed past race leader Bobby Hamilton on lap 77 until yet another caution on lap 81 for Kelly Sutton’s spin in turn 2. When racing action resumed three laps later, Kvapil drove past Skinner and never looked back despite two additional yellows and the race finale ending under caution. “I knew if I ever got to the lead and out in clean air, I could get to the front fast,” he said. “Clean air is so big at Michigan. You’ve got all the downforce on the truck working for you. I thought I had a good enough truck that I could drive away from them, and that’s exactly what happened. It was a great feeling to look in the mirror and see that I was pulling away.”

“Eric [Phillips] and everyone on my team did a great job and gave me tremendous pit stops today,” he said. “They picked up three and four spots every time I pitted and made perfect adjustments on the truck. Earlier in the race, I was able to drive up to about 10th or 15th fairly easily, but once I got to those trucks they were pretty good and it was hard to pass. My truck was just too loose. We really had to work on our truck pretty hard to get it to where I was that fast. The draft was a big equalizer, too. There were some guys that probably don’t have the horsepower that Toyota has under the hood, and they were able to keep up. But I had a good horse under the hood. The last 20 laps were the best laps I had all weekend. I was just riding around wide-open. And Mike and I worked together really well at the end. I thought it was going to be a one-two, but it was pretty darn close.” Kvapil’s joy ride couldn’t have come at a better momentum-boosting time mid-way through the season.

“I expected it a little earlier than 13 weeks into the season to be honest,” Kvapil said. “I knew my owner, Alex Meshkin, had put together a tremendous group of people. With Toyota behind us giving us all the tools we need to go to the race track to run well – I know I’ve got great bodies, I know I’ve got great engines and I know Alex has got the best pieces bolted on the truck that we can buy. I’ve got Eric and Brad [Whaley], a great engineer, and now John’s on board as the new 42 crew chief. We’ve got a good group of people that really work together and communicate well, and I think that’s what the key was to our weekend. We finally put the whole package together. We tested last week in Nashville, and it was a huge turn around for our team. Since testing there, we brought a completely different truck with a totally different setup to Michigan, and Toyota providing us with that testing time and giving us that opportunity to get on the track was a key in my victory.”

As the youngest team owner in NASCAR to reach victory lane, 24-year-old Meshkin’s laurels were all the more sweet as both drivers finished inside the top-three after a roller coaster month of average finishes and changes within the organization. “For the past couple of weeks, I’ve taken more hands-on control of the team making changes to help the two teams become stronger and bring them together,” Meshkin said.

“I think we’ve accomplished that. Thanks to the hiring of our new crew chief on the 42 team, John has helped further solidify our team. Our track performance today, Mike having the best happy hour yesterday, two top-five finishes in which either of our trucks could’ve won and to have Travis win his sponsor’s race, it just can’t get any better than this. It’s an honor to be able to deliver Toyota their first win. To have Travis in victory lane – nothing could be more special.”

“I’m just really proud of the teamwork from the 24 and 42 crews working together to change the motor after we hit the wall in happy hour,” Phillips said. “Everyone put in so much effort and hard work to get us to the front, and I had all the confidence in the new Toyota engine we put in our Line-X truck. Our team has had the Michigan race circled on the calendar since Daytona and really wanted to win for Line-X and for Toyota in the big-three manufacturers’ backyard. To go up there and run really well with both teams just shows how good our race team really is. Our momentum keeps getting stronger which is so important since we’re just getting into the middle part of the race season.” “One of the biggest positives of our team’s win is an answer to a lot of the doubts over the past month about our race team and where we’re headed and what we’re doing,” Phillips said.

“There have been a lot of changes, and I still believe all of the changes are for the best for Bang Racing and its future. I’m really proud of the guys standing behind me and this race team through all of it. I think running one and two at the end of the race just shows how strong this race team can be when we work together. The communication with John has been really great, and I know we will work well together the rest of the year to continue down a successful path.” From victory lane and a momentous time in motorsports history, it’s hard to imagine less than 10 months ago Bang Racing didn’t even own a hammer. “I remember last fall when we didn’t have any employees or a race shop,” Kvapil said.

“We have done a lot in a very short time. And we just keep getting stronger and stronger. I’ve been saying for the last couple of weeks, the second half of the year is when Bang Racing is going to come on strong. We’ve been testing all this time, and the engines are getting better under the hood. Now that we’ve been to a lot of these race tracks once and know exactly what to bring for setups, we’ll start climbing our way to the top. We still definitely have a shot at the championship. Our team hasn’t given up and is looking for some more victories.” As Kvapil pulled away from the field during the last laps of the race, his crew and the Line-X employees weren’t the only ones acting as a cheering squad. Little known to anyone else, Kvapil himself acted as a cheerleader for his team before the race had even begun. “I told my crew the last time I wrecked my truck in practice, I won in Texas a couple of years ago,” Kvapil smiled. “And we’ve seen Carl Edwards change his motor a couple of times and come from the back to the front to win. So, this wasn’t going to be all bad. I knew if there was a place that I had to drive from the back to try for the win, Michigan was going to be one of the easiest places to do it. I’m just proud to be the driver to bring home Toyota’s first NASCAR victory.”

By JEFF WOLF
REVIEW-JOURNAL

NASCAR Craftsman Truck series driver Travis Kvapil, left, and 24-year-old team owner Alex Meshkin have teamed to win two races this season. COURTESY PHOTO

The past year of racing for Travis Kvapil has been so unique it makes the spelling of his last name seem like Smith or Jones.

It started at the end of the past NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season when he had to sit in his truck after the finale in Homestead, Fla., until race officials determined whether he or Ted Musgrave had won the season championship.

Although the ruling favored Kvapil, his reign started under clouds of uncertainty as owners of his truck team had decided to cut him from its 2004 lineup.

So the 28-year-old from Wisconsin hooked his championship wagon to a team owned by Alex Meshkin, a 24-year-old Internet entrepreneur who never had owned a race team before starting Bang Racing late last year.

Adding to Kvapil’s gamble: Meshkin’s team would rely on the new Toyota Tundra in the truck series. The Japan-based manufacturer had a proven history in other forms of racing, but this would be its first in one of NASCAR’s three major series.

It was a pair of long shots for Kvapil, but both gambles have paid off.

He will start Saturday night’s Las Vegas 350 truck series race as one of three drivers through 18 races who have won more than once this year. He has six top-five finishes.

With one year left on his contract with Meshkin, Kvapil has no regrets that he joined the youngest team owner in a major NASCAR racing series.

“I really believed in the program he was building, and I knew that Toyota would put good motors and trucks on the race track,” Kvapil said.

Kvapil and teammate Mike Skinner, the series’ first champion in 1995, are among four teams using Toyota equipment, but Kvapil is the only one who has won.

His second win was Saturday in Loudon, N.H.

“To get the second one makes a statement that this team is for real,” Kvapil said. “We’re contenders.”

Kvapil’s team is sixth in the standings with six races left and 188 points behind leader Bobby Hamilton. While Kvapil remains a contender for the season title, he also is looking toward next season when he and Meshkin move up to the NASCAR Busch Series.

“That’s the plan,” Kvapil said. “I wouldn’t say it’s 100 percent solid, but our sponsors are behind us to move up to Busch. (Meshkin is) working on some other sponsors, so we really have the money we need.”

Kvapil also denied rumors published last weekend that he was in line to replace Las Vegan Brendan Gaughan in the No. 77 Dodge for Penske/Jasper Racing in the Nextel Cup Series.

“It’s that time of year for rumors,” Kvapil said. “No one from Penske has talked to me.”

Meshkin, a native of Washington, D.C., said he expects to make an official announcement about his NASCAR plans in 45 to 60 days and it could include a second part-time team in the Busch series. He also said Kvapil will compete in some truck races next year to support one of the team’s sponsors that makes products geared to pick-up trucks.

“When we go Busch racing, it’s more competitive and you’re racing Cup teams,” Meshkin said. “It’s an opportunity to beat (teams like ) Hendrick, to beat RCR (Richard Childress Racing). That will give us the momentum when we go Cup racing.

“We won’t go racing in any series unless we’re going to be competitive.”

Meshkin’s first year in NASCAR has included a learning curve. A disagreement with Toyota over unspecified issues led the manufacturer to announce three weeks ago that it was pulling support from the team that would have forced Meshkin to find Fords, Dodges or Chevrolets for his drivers to finish the truck season.

A week later, however, Toyota backed off the threat, but Skinner left Meshkin’s team and began driving for Bill Davis Racing, another Toyota-backed program.

“When there’s stuff like that there’s always going to be distractions, but it was neat the guys in the shop never missed a beat,” Kvapil said.

Meshkin brings a new approach to NASCAR’s tradition-based world.

“I think we’re the most successful new team in NASCAR history,” he said.

“You can accomplish anything; it’s how you go about it. I think we’re more relaxed than other teams. By having a culture that has created unity, we are a more competitive team.”

http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2004/Sep-21-Tue-2004/sports/24812898.html