Travis Kvapil and Paul Giamatti have more in common than you might think. Credit: Autostock/AP

Six Laps of Separation: Kvapil to Giamatti

Travis Kvapil is no longer a rookie in the Nextel Cup Series. He got his baptism under fire last year in the revolving door that was the No. 77 Dodge. This year, he's taken over the driving duties of a ride with one of the most well-known sponsors in NASCAR as he searches for his first victory in NASCAR's top series.

Paul Giamatti is a Golden Globe-nominated actor who's best known these days for his role as Miles, a failed author and depressed English teacher in the 2004 surprise hit Sideways. Like Kvapil, he's known for being talented at his job, but has yet to win the big prize -- in Giamatti's case, an Academy Award.

Check out what else they have in common ...

1.

Kvapil drives the No. 32 Tide Chevrolet in the Nextel Cup Series. Kvapil drove the No. 77 Dodge in his rookie Cup season in 2005 and garnered two top-10 finishes. Before that, he was the 2003 Craftsman Truck Series champion.

2.

Kvapil's ride in 2006 was driven by Bobby Hamilton Jr. in 2005. In 64 career starts at the Cup level, Hamilton is without a top-10 finish. His record is much more sparkling in the Busch Series, where Hamilton has earned five wins and 58 top-10 finishes in 176 starts.

3.

Hamilton Jr. is the son of Bobby Hamilton, a winner four times on NASCAR's top series, most recently in a rare caution-free race at Talladega Superspeedway in 2001. The elder Hamilton has 10 wins in the Craftsman Truck Series and he was the series champion in 2004 after a four-win campaign.

4.

Bobby Hamilton's most recent Busch Series start came at his hometown track, Nashville Superspeedway in June of 2005. He finished 22nd in that event, the second of two finishes outside the top 20 that Hamilton endured in the Busch Series that year. The man who finished one spot ahead of Hamilton that day was Tim Fedewa.

5.

On that June day in Tennessee, Fedewa, unbeknownst to him at the time, had just six more weeks left driving the No. 12 Dodge in the Busch Series for FitzBradshaw Racing. He was relieved of his duties on July 25, 2005. One of the people that let him go was team co-owner Terry Bradshaw.

6.

Aside from being a Super Bowl-winning quarterback, NFL Hall of Famer, FOX Sports NFL analyst and Busch Series team co-owner, Bradshaw also has some movie credits to his name. One such credit is the voice of Broken Arm Bot in the 2005 animated feature Robots. One of Bradshaw's co-stars in the film, who supplied the voice of Tim the Gate Guard, was Paul Giamatti.