ESPN Sprint Cup

Travis Kvapil has tasted success in his racing career, whether it was winning a championship running late models in Wisconsin back in the mid-'90s or taking NASCAR's Truck series title in 2003.

But after a four-year run in the Truck series, which saw him finish in the top 10 every season, Kvapil jumped to the Nextel Cup level this season in Penske-Jasper Racing's No. 77 Dodge.

Now, the 29-year-old married father of two is tasting pressure at the sport's highest level. After all, last year's rookie in this exact same spot -- Brendan Gaughan -- didn't last beyond one year with the team (his one-year deal wasn't renewed).

Kvapil, who sits 22nd in points after two races, doesn't sound too worried heading into this weekend's show at Las Vegas.

"I think winning rookie of the year [is realistic]," Kvapil said. "As a team, we haven't really sat down and said, 'We need to finish here. We need to win these races.' But I want to win the rookie of the year battle and finish in the top 15 or top 20 in points.

"I think we have a team that's capable of getting in the top 10 and into the Chase. But I don't know if I and the team working together is ready to get there yet. Kasey Kahne was knocking on the door to get in the top 10 [as a rookie last season].

"I think we have a team and the equipment that's capable of winning races and running up front, it's just up to myself and the team to execute and go out and get the job done."

Getting the job done has come fairly naturally to Kvapil, who began racing as a short tracker in the Midwest at the age of 16. He was rookie of the year and later champion in Late Models at Madison International Speedway, and he went on to duplicate that ROY-turned-champion feat at the Truck series level.

All of which might be why Kvapil sees a Nextel Cup rookie of the year title in his future. But some have wondered whether Kvapil will feel the pressure created by Gaughan's short tenure with the team.

Will he be looking over his shoulder, waiting for the ax to fall?

"I honestly don't feel a lot of pressure," Kvapil said. "If I was nervous about failure, I'd probably feel that pressure. But I don't have any concerns about failure. I feel like we're going to succeed, I'm going to succeed.

"I'm going to make this happen. Everybody at Penske Racing is behind me; they're going to give me all the tools and equipment that it takes to be successful. It's really up to myself and the team to work together and make it happen."

The team spent part of last year transitioning into the Penske system (from Jasper), converting a fleet of Fords into Dodges.

Now the group is fully established and paired with the teams of Rusty Wallace and Ryan Newman in a sparkling new shop. That leaves Kvapil confident in the team that will help determine his success, giving him reason to believe he will succeed at the Cup level, too.

This weekend, Kvapil will get a little more practice behind the wheel. As NASCAR attempts to move closer to holding two-day shows for its Nextel Cup weekends, there are still a few holdouts, and Las Vegas Motor Speedway is among them.

So this weekend, Kvapil and his fellow Cup competitors will practice and qualify on Friday. Then, unlike at the race two weeks ago at California Speedway, they'll have an old-fashioned Happy Hour (final practice) on Saturday.

For a rookie such as Kvapil, the extra practice can't hurt. Although competing in the Craftsman Truck Series last year let him grow familiar with the system that sees vehicles impounded immediately after qualifying at most races, that doesn't mean the additional practice isn't appreciated.

Still, Kvapil wouldn't complain if the series adapted one format and stuck with it, either.

"We're going to work through it and do the best we can," Kvapil said. "It's one of those things that really only matters in a person's mind-set. It would be nice if everything was precise and the same every week."

Instead, things get even crazier a week from now in Atlanta, when the field will practice and qualify on Friday -- and not return to the track until Sunday morning. The Cup garage will be closed Saturday at Atlanta, leaving teams with a day to kill, with some teams deciding to fly into Atlanta on Friday, fly home that night and then fly back into town on Sunday.

At least this time teams will be able to focus on qualifying setups if they so choose. At Fontana, teams in the top 35 knew they were in the field, so they worked mainly on race setups. Still, there were other cars desperately trying to get a qualifying setup down pat in order to earn one of the remaining eight spots in the field.

That's just one more variable Kvapil has had to adjust to thus far.

"You can still get what you need [out of practice], but you've got to rely on your spotters and your crew chiefs to make sure that you're informed on what everyone's agenda is because there are a dozen or so guys out there that want to be out there by themselves in clean air making qualifying runs.

"You are limited on the tires that you have before you qualify, so you don't want to mess somebody's qualifying run up on a sticker set of tires. It can be devastating.

"You've got to be aware of what everybody is doing. I just try to get out there and get by myself and if anybody is coming on me, even if you think they are in race runs, just let them go. You don't know what their plan is, so just try and stay out of everybody's way."

This weekend, though, there are no such concerns. And Kvapil, coming off a 24th-place showing in California two weeks ago, is ready to get going after a week off.

"I've been looking forward to the regular downforce tracks, such as Las Vegas, where you don't have to worry about the draft [compared with Daytona]," Kvapil said. "You can just work on handling and the guys in the motor shop can work on putting great motors in the cars."

And he knows great equipment will be a key to his rookie season. Despite Kvapil's assertion that he doesn't feel the pressure, his teammate Wallace says both Kvapil and touted young rookie Kyle Busch are under the microscope.

"They do have a lot of pressure. It was a lot different when I started," Wallace said. "I wrecked a lot. I ran in the back a lot, but nowadays if you don't get it done, they want you to get it done because they're paying for it. Would I want to be a rookie now? I'd like to be their age now. I don't know if I'd like to be a rookie now."

Kvapil, though, takes it all in stride.

"I know this is a pretty high-profile team," he said. "There's no reason why we shouldn't be running in the top 20, definitely the top 25. If we're not doing that, they're probably going to look to make changes. Hopefully we can do that.

"I'm not concerned that we're not going to be successful. & It's definitely going to be a learning year, but I don't think it's going to be a throwaway year."

Mark Ashenfelter is an associate editor at NASCAR Scene magazine and a contributor to ESPN.com.