Look familiar? Like Matt Kenseth in Winston Cup, Travis Kvapil parlayed consistency into a Craftsman Truck Series title.(NASCAR)

With a sixth-place finish at the Craftsman Truck Series season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Travis Kvapil wrapped up the series championship, but not without some help. Points leader Brendan Gaughan was taken out in a wreck with Marty Houston, and Ted Musgrave, another potential champion, jumped the restart with two laps remaining and drew a penalty that ultimately cost him the title.

In the end, though, Kvapil became a champion for many reasons:

* Consistency wins championships, and far more than any other title contender, Kvapil avoided trouble in 2003. He completed all but one of the posted laps this season.

In striking similarity to the Matt Kenseth-Ryan Newman paradigm in Winston Cup, Kvapil won one race to Gaughan's six, but the failure to finish races--magnified by the accident at Homestead--deprived Gaughan of the championship. "We completed every race running," says Kvapil, 27. "We just got spun out at Bakersfield and cut a tire down." One other similarity: Kenseth (Cambridge) and Kvapil (Janesville) are from Wisconsin.

To Kvapil, the keys to the season were "just being consistent, finishing every race, not having any problems, just being smart." Driving the No. 16 didn't hurt, either; it also was the championship truck in 2002, with Mike Bliss driving.

* Kvapil got the help he needed late in the Homestead race when Houston brushed the outside wall and hit Gaughan. Houston was driving a truck owned by Jim Smith, who also owns Musgrave's Dodge. Though there clearly was no deliberate intent on Houston's part, Gaughan was irate at Smith and has apologized for using what he called "improper language."

* Kvapil and his team were able to overcome the news of their impending split. Truck owner Steve Coulter had hired lack Sprague as his primary driver and was unable to find sponsorship to field a second team with Kvapil, who was told to look elsewhere for a ride in 2004. He found one with Bang Racing's new Toyota team.