Matt Crafton 2011 Headlines

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11-19-11

Matt Crafton - Homestead-Miami Speedway Recap -

Matt Crafton fought handling and the elements in the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The No. 88 Menards/Tarkett machine was extremely loose for the majority of the Ford 200, and although the team fought hard to improve the truck, there was not enough time before the race was shortened for rain, resulting in a 19th-place finish.

Hoping to end the season on a high note, Crafton took the green flag from the 11th position after rain canceled qualifying. He fought his way through the pack into the top five by the time the competition yellow waved on lap 20. Relaying to crew chief Bud Haefele that the No. 88 was bouncing off the splitter, he brought his truck down pit road for four tires, fuel and an air-pressure adjustment.

Crafton took the green flag from the eighth spot after a quick stop, and muscled back into the top five once more. However, the Menards/Tarkett Silverado was now snapping loose center off, causing him to lose track position. A caution on lap 31 gave Crafton the opportunity to bring his truck down pit road, and the team adjusted the front springs and topped the No. 88 off with fuel. Making a second stop under yellow to further top-off on fuel in the event of a long green-flag run, Crafton returned to the track 27th for the restart.

As expected, a long green-flag run followed, but the adjustments to the truck only hurt its handling. Crafton said that his truck was "wrecking loose," claiming it was a 15 out of 10 loose. With enough fuel to run a little longer than his competitors, Crafton led two laps as green-flag pit stops cycled through before bringing his truck down pit road for four tires, fuel, a wedge adjustment and an air-pressure adjustment on lap 76.

Crafton was 14th when the next yellow flag waved on lap 98, and the driver was baffled by how incredibly loose his truck was. The team took one final swing at the truck under caution, providing Crafton with four tires, fuel and another wedge adjustment. Unfortunately, another truck bumped Crafton while exiting the pits, so Crafton made a second stop to pull out the left-rear fender to ensure it wouldn't cause a tire rub. When the field went green on lap 101, Crafton restarted in 21st. Although Crafton's laps were now as fast as the leaders, he was only able to improve to 19th before rain began to fall, bringing out the yellow flag, followed by the red flag. With no end to the rain in sight, the race was called, ultimately scoring Crafton in 19th.

"This definitely wasn't the way we wanted to end this race or this season," said Crafton. "We had a good truck in practice and at the beginning of the race, but the handling just completely went away. We kept swinging at it, but it was just too loose. We've had some high points, but this season has had a lot of struggles, so I'm definitely glad we can close the book on 2011 and look ahead to 2012. I've got to thank my sponsors for a season of support and my guys for all the hard work they've done, and I hope that we can be lifting that championship trophy at the end of next year."

Crafton finishes the season eighth in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series point standings after leading the championship standings for three weeks (after races two, three and six). Crafton ultimately scored one win (Iowa Speedway), two pole awards (Michigan International Speedway and Martinsville Speedway II), five top-five and 13 top-10 finishes. He led 90 laps , had an average start of 9.8 and an average finish of 13.0

11-14-11

Matt Crafton - Homestead-Miami Speedway Preview -

FINISHING UP: Matt Crafton and the No. 88 Menards/Tarkett team head to sunny Homestead-Miami Speedway for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series finale. Crafton has 10 previous starts at the 1.5-mile oval, with two top-five and five top-10 finishes and an average finish of 11.4. Crafton earned his best finish at the track when he was the runner up in the 2009 Homestead event, and he took the sixth spot in his last visit to the South Florida facility.

SUM IT UP: With 24 out of 25 races in the books, Crafton can look back at 2011 with a long list of positive season statistics. Crafton led the championship standings for three weeks (after races two, three and six), has one win (Iowa Speedway), two pole awards (Michigan International Speedway and Martinsville Speedway II), five top-five and 13 top-10 finishes. He has led 88 laps, earned an average start of 9.8 and an average finish of 12.8.

COMING UP: After making the announcement in September that he would be returning to ThorSport Racing's No. 88 truck in 2012, Crafton's off-season will be less silly season and more wedding season. Crafton and fiancée Ashley Greer will tie the knot in a January ceremony in Mexico before returning to the garage in February as Mr. and Mrs. Crafton.

BUY IT UP: Matt Crafton merchandise makes a great Christmas present for the race fans in your life. Even though the season is over, there's still plenty of time to head over to http://store.thorsport.com or click the Merchandise tab on ThorSport.com to find gear for Crafton all of the ThorSport Racing drivers.

CHASSIS HISTORY: The No. 88 team will utilize chassis No. 41 this weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway. This is the chassis Crafton drove to the pole earlier in the season at Michigan International Speedway. More recently, Crafton drove this truck to a second-place finish at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in October and a fifth-place finish in this month's event at Texas Motor Speedway.

PREVIOUS RACE RECAP: Crafton earned a fifth-place finish at Texas Motor Speedway after handling issues plagued the No. 88 Menards/Fisher Nuts team for a majority of the evening. Falling as far back as 18th, Crafton rallied back from outside the top 10 in the closing laps, bringing home his fifth top-five of 2011.

THOUGHTS FROM THE DRIVER: Matt Crafton

How do you feel about Homestead-Miami Speedway?
"I really like Homestead and we've been really good there the last two years. I love that you can run right down on the white line or right up on the wall. Our team does really well on the mile-and-a-half tracks and we've had great finishes with the chassis we're bringing in the last two intermediate races. I'd really like to finish up this season on a positive note with a win."

What are your thoughts on the 2011 season?
"This season has had a lot of ups and downs, but overall I think we can look at 2011 as a good year. It certainly isn't exactly what we wanted, we'd much rather be up there fighting for the championship with our teammate, but we had some really good moments. Winning the race at Iowa earlier this season was huge for me and my guys, and the poles we won at Michigan and Martinsville were big too. We had a few stretches where we had some really bad luck, and we'd definitely be in the fight if we hadn't had those issues. But we led the points for a while there at the beginning of the season and we've got a lot to show for this season. I'm really hoping that we can leave Homestead with a championship for ThorSport Racing and hopefully next year it will be our turn."

What are your off-season plans?
"Every year after Thanksgiving my fiancée Ashley and I head out to the desert to play with the sand rail. I'm really looking forward to that, especially since I just got my brand new buggy last month and I didn't get a lot of time to drive it when we were out in Las Vegas. Then after the holidays we've got our wedding down in Mexico and our honeymoon. By the time we get back, it will practically be time to start racing again."

11-05-11

Matt Crafton - Texas Motor Speedway Recap -

Matt Crafton earned a fifth-place finish at Texas Motor Speedway after handling issues plagued the No. 88 Menards/Fisher Nuts team for a majority of the evening. Falling as far back as 18th, Crafton rallied back from outside the top 10 in the closing laps, bringing home his fifth top-five of 2011.

Taking the green flag from the 11th position, Crafton quickly slipped to the 15th spot in the opening 10 laps of the WinStar World Casino 350k. Crafton immediately relayed to crew chief Bud Haefele that the handling of the Menards/Fisher Nuts machine was erratic in traffic, handling too tightly one lap and running loose the next. The team would have their first chance to adjust the No. 88 on lap 15 when the first yellow flag of the day waved, and Crafton brought his truck down pit road for four tires, an air-pressure adjustment and a top-off on fuel.

Scored in 17th when green-flag racing resumed, Crafton once again radioed the his crew to tell them that he truck still needed help center up off. Working his way up to 13th by the caution on lap 34, Crafton once again brought the No. 88 down pit road for fuel and a track-bar adjustment. Emerging from the pits in the sixth position, Crafton was still fighting the handling of the Menards/Fisher Nuts truck when the field went green on lap 37, and he once again slipped outside the top 10. Stating that the truck was pushing on entry and snapping loose "violently" on exit, Crafton would fall back as far as 18th before working his way back into 10th when the yellow waved for a wreck on lap 99. The yellow gave the No. 88 team what would be their chance to adjust their truck, taking four fresh tires, fuel and yet another track-bar adjustment.

Restarting in the 10th position, Crafton maintained his spot over the course of a long green-flag run, which ended with the last caution of the night on lap 142. While under yellow, a competitor pitted in front of him and another ran out of fuel, positioning Crafton in eighth for the green-white-checkered restart. When the green flag waved, Crafton darted through a flurry of activity with a solid restart. Getting a good run and dodging a truck running out of fuel, Crafton took over the fourth position by the first turn of green flag racing, surrendering only one spot before taking the checkered in fifth place.

"We made so many changes tonight, it was unreal," said Crafton after the race. "We made it better by the end, but still never got the truck perfect. We were definitely chasing the handling and we never seemed to make much headway. I have to thank my guys, who just kept working on this truck every time we came in to try and make it better. I was trying to help my teammate Johnny Sauter with position there on the restart, but I probably would have wrecked us both if I'd lifted at all to let him get by me. It was a wild final restart and it was a great finish considering some of the handling issues we faced."

Crafton remains seventh in the driver point standings, 95 points behind the championship leader and 37 points behind fifth place. The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series enjoys one final off week before heading to Homestead-Miami Speedway for the season finale on November 18th.

10-31-11

Matt Crafton - Texas Motor Speedway Preview -

SOUP TO NUTS: Matt Crafton and the No. 88 Menards/Fisher Nuts team heads to Texas Motor Speedway for the penultimate race of the 2011 season. Crafton, who has never visited victory lane at TMS in 21 starts, is gunning for the cowboy hat trophy and six-shooter celebration. In the series' spring visit to the track earlier this season, Crafton finished 29th after accidental contact with Austin Dillon took the No. 88 truck out of the race on lap 88.

HIGH ON THE TOTEM POLE: It's all about where you finish, but for Matt Crafton, Texas Motor Speedway has always been a great place to start. Crafton has scored two of his six career pole awards at TMS, both earned in the fall event of the 2009 and 2010 seasons. In fact, two pole awards is the most of any full-time active driver in the Truck Series at TMS. Crafton has started in the top three in four of the last five Texas races, and has a total of nine starts in the top-15.

TEX-MAX: Of all the tracks on the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series schedule, there is none that Matt Crafton has visited more than Texas Motor Speedway. In his 21 starts at the Fort Worth track, Crafton has made 3,176 laps around the 1.5-mile quad-oval, participating in 4,764 miles of racing. Crafton has earned four top-five and 10 top-10 finishes, led 33 laps, and garnered an average start of 16.3 and an average finish of 12.0.

YOU STILL DON'T HAVE A CRAFTON SHIRT?: The ThorSport Racing online store is open for business and is now accepting credit cards. Head over to http://store.thorsport.com or click the Merchandise tab on ThorSport.com to find gear for Crafton all of the ThorSport Racing drivers.

CHASSIS HISTORY: The No. 88 team will utilize chassis No. 41 this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway. This is the chassis Crafton drove to the pole position earlier in the season at Michigan International Speedway. Most recently, Crafton drove this truck to a second-place finish at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

PREVIOUS RACE RECAP: Crafton broke the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series qualifying record on his way to taking his first career pole in 20 starts at Martinsville Speedway. After laying down a record-breaking qualifying lap of 19.653 seconds (96.352 m.p.h.), Crafton earned his second pole of the 2011 season and the sixth of his career Crafton, effectively sweeping the Keystone Light pole for ThorSport Racing in 2011 (Johnny Sauter took the pole in the spring Martinsville race). Crafton's No. 88 Menards/Roto-Rooter Chevrolet Silverado was one of the trucks to beat before he was spun by one of his competitors, costing him valuable track position and resulting in a 12th-place finish.

THOUGHTS FROM THE DRIVER: Matt Crafton
How do you feel going to Texas Motor Speedway?
"I always enjoy going to Texas Motor Speedway, it's a really fast track where handling is very important and this team really excels there. We've historically been really good at qualifying at Texas, starting in the top three in four of the last five races, and I've won the pole there twice in the last few years. We had some trouble there in the spring when we wrecked with the No. 3, but we're ready to go back there and have a really good run."

10-30-11

Matt Crafton - Martinsville Speedway Recap -
Matt Crafton Earns Pole, Breaks Qualifying Record and Finishes 12th at Martinsville Speedway

Matt Crafton broke the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series qualifying record on his way to taking his first career pole in 20 starts at Martinsville Speedway. Crafton's No. 88 Menards/Roto-Rooter Chevrolet Silverado was one of the trucks to beat before he was spun by one of his competitors, costing him valuable track position and resulting in a 12th-place finish.

After laying down a record-breaking qualifying lap of 19.653 seconds (96.352 m.p.h.), Crafton earned his second pole of the 2011 season and the sixth of his career, effectively sweeping the Keystone Light pole for ThorSport Racing in 2011 (Johnny Sauter took the pole in the spring Martinsville race). Taking the green flag from the point position, Crafton pulled ahead of the field for 11 laps before being chased down by second place. With his truck requiring more forward and rear side bite, Crafton slipped to sixth place by lap 22, but a caution on lap 39 allowed him to bring the No. 88 Menards/Roto-Rooter machine to pit road for four tires, fuel and both track-bar and air-pressure adjustments. With several drivers on the lead lap opting not to pit, Crafton took the green flag from the ninth spot on lap 43.

Crafton relayed to crew chief Bud Haefele almost immediately that the truck's bite was much better. Making the pass for fourth on lap 66, Crafton began to focus on preserving his tires for as long as possible so he'd have a fresh set for the end of the 200-lap event. Crafton remained in the fourth spot through the next 55 laps and multiple cautions until hard Martinsville racing on lap 121 took him for a ride.

While racing Ron Hornaday's No. 33 for the third spot, Hornaday aggressively forced Crafton to the bottom of the track, taking away his line for the corner. As Crafton backed off to safely make it through the turn, the No. 9 of Max Papis bumped the No. 88 machine hard from behind, spinning the truck. Crafton skillfully saved the truck from turning into either wall at the narrow track, completing the 360-degree rotation and hitting the accelerator to continue racing without any damage to the truck or its tires. With no caution thrown, Crafton lost seven spots on the racetrack, slipping to 12th place.

The yellow flag waved on lap 132 for a spin, giving Crafton the opportunity to come to pit road for the four fresh tires the team had been saving. With half the field opting not to pit, Crafton took the green flag in the 21st spot for the lap 138 restart. Working with a fast truck, Crafton was able to navigate his way through the field back into 12th by lap 167, but the Menards/Roto-Rooter Silverado was losing its forward bite and was now too loose in the middle and off the corner.

The caution came out once again on lap 174, and Haefele and Crafton made the call to return to pit road to adjust the truck for a chance to compete for the win. Taking four scuffed tires, and air-pressure and wedge adjustments, Crafton was once again back in 20th due to other trucks not pitting. The green flag waved on lap 179 and Crafton fought his way through the pack. With a limited number of laps to work with, Crafton was unable to crack back into the top 10, crossing the finish line in the 12th spot.

Crafton gained one spot in the driver's point race, now sitting in seventh place, 91 points behind the championship leader and 43 points behind fifth place. The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series heads to Texas Motor Speedway next Friday, November 4th for the WinStar World Casino 350k.

10-25-11

Matt Crafton - Martinsville Speedway Preview -

PRETTY PAPERCLIP: Matt Crafton and the No. 88 Menards/Roto-Rooter team head from the series' biggest track to the smallest when the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series hits the track at Martinsville Speedway. This is the team's second visit of 2011 to the 0.526-mile oval. Crafton earned an 11th-place finish at the 'paperclip' when the series raced there in April.

HOT DIGGITY DOG: Crafton has 19 previous starts at the home of the "Famous Martinsville Speedway Hot Dog," more than nearly every driver in the field. David Starr is the only current full-time NCWTS driver with more starts at Martinsville Speedway, having taken the green flag 20 times. In his 19 starts, Crafton has earned two top-five and 10 top-10 finishes, with an average finish of 12.4. Crafton has completed 4200 laps around the half-mile circuit, but has only been scored as the leader for one of them. Crafton hopes to be leading the lap that counts when the checkered flag waves in the Kroger 200.

GET YOUR CRAFTON GEAR HERE: The ThorSport Racing online store is open for business and is now accepting credit cards. Head over to http://store.thorsport.com or click the Merchandise tab on ThorSport.com to find gear for all of the ThorSport Racing drivers.

CHASSIS HISTORY: The No. 88 team will utilize chassis No. 34 this weekend at Martinsville Speedway. This will be the chassis' fifth appearance of 2011. No. 34 is the same chassis Crafton drove to an 11th-place finish in April. Crafton also drove the truck to top-10 finishes at Phoenix International Raceway, Lucas Oil Raceway and New Hampshire Motor Speedway earlier this season.

PREVIOUS RACE RECAP: Crafton and the No. 88 Menards/CertainTeed team experienced an early disappointment in the Coca-Cola 250 at Talladega when superspeedway strategy backfired. While running faster than the leaders a safe distance behind the rest of the field, Crafton proved to be in the wrong place at the wrong time when a competitor blew a tire in front of him, resulting in a race-ending wreck which relegated him to a 31st-place finish.

THOUGHTS FROM THE DRIVER: Matt Crafton
What is the key to success at Martinsville Speedway?
"If there's one phrase that describes how to do well at Martinsville, it's 'track position.' Qualifying is key because you want to get that track position right from the start, and once you're up there, you want to keep it. Even if you're leading, you can never get that far away from the other trucks, and everyone just wants to get to the bottom, so it's a big struggle for space on such a small track. It's a lot harder to pass than on the big sweeping tracks, so every position is crucial."

10-18-11

Matt Crafton - Talladega Superspeedway Preview -

100-PERCENT: Matt Crafton and the No. 88 Menards/CertainTeed team head to NASCAR's biggest track, Talladega Superspeedway, with a few perfect stats. Crafton has competed in all of the five of the previous NASCAR Camping World Truck Series events at Talladega Superspeedway. Crafton has also completed 100-percent of the 475 laps of competition at the 2.66-mile tri-oval, an impressive stat at one of NASCAR's most notorious 'wild card' tracks.

DEGA DATA: In his five previous starts at Talladega, Crafton has racked up one top-five and two top-10 finishes. His best finish of fourth was achieved in last year's event where Crafton led four laps. Crafton has an average start of 16.0 and an average finish of 13.2 at the Alabama track.

GODSPEED, GOOD FRIEND: ThorSport Racing was deeply saddened at the news that the racing world lost Dan Wheldon in last weekend's IZOD IndyCar Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. As a Curb Records teammate, Wheldon was a member of the ThorSport Racing family, and the entire organization will honor him with special decals on all three TSR entries in addition to apparel to be worn by all of the team's drivers and crew members.

GET YOUR MERCHANDISE HERE: The ThorSport Racing online store is open for business and is now accepting credit cards. Head over to http://store.thorsport.com or click the Merchandise tab on ThorSport.com to find gear for all of the ThorSport Racing drivers.

CHASSIS HISTORY: The No. 88 team will utilize chassis No. 40 this weekend at Talladega Superspeedway. This is a brand new superspeedway chassis which will be making its first laps when it hits the track for Friday's practice session.

PREVIOUS RACE RECAP: Crafton scored a second-place finish in a caution-filled race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, earning his 12th top-10 finish of 2011. After fighting handling issues early in the race and running as far back as 19th, the team perfected the No. 88 Menards/Ideal Door Chevrolet Silverado by the end of the event, charging to the front of the pack and coming up just shy of a win in the first Vegas day race in nine years.

THOUGHTS FROM THE DRIVER: Matt Crafton
How do you feel about Talladega Superspeedway?
"I really enjoy the actual racing at Talladega and being at that track, but there's also a part of you that is always a little anxious going there because so much of what happens there is outside of your control. I've been fortunate that I've managed to stay out of trouble in the last five races, but you never know what can happen. It's all about finding the right people to work with, developing a plan and making sure you're still on the track for the checkered flag."

What are your thoughts on the loss of Dan Wheldon?
"I was really sad to find out about the passing of Dan Wheldon. Losing a driver, in any form of motorsports, is always a possibility, it's part of the danger of the sport. But as a driver, you always like to put that possibility out of your mind and just focus on being the very best at what you do. It's very sad to lose someone in our racing community, and Dan was a good guy and a good friend to ThorSport Racing. Right now I just feel bad for his family."

10-16-11

Matt Crafton - Las Vegas Motor Speedway Recap -
Matt Crafton Rolls Snake Eyes in Sin City with Second-Place Finish
Gains Two Spots in Points with Fourth Consecutive Top-Five Vegas Finish

Matt Crafton scored a second-place finish in a caution-filled race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, earning his 12th top-10 finish of 2011. After fighting handling issues early in the race and running as far back as 19th, the team perfected the No. 88 Menards/Ideal Door Chevrolet Silverado by the end of the event, charging to the front of the pack and coming up just shy of a win in the first Vegas day race in nine years.

After laying down the fastest lap in opening practice, Crafton qualified the No. 88 Menards/Ideal Door Chevrolet in the fifth starting spot. Taking the green flag, it took only three laps before the caution flag was displayed for the first of 10 times. Scored in the fourth position when the yellow flew, Crafton shot to the second spot immediately after the restart. Despite the fact that Crafton was extremely competitive in turns one and two, the No. 88 was growing increasingly tight in turns three and four.

Still scored in second when the second caution flag of the day waved on lap 13, wild racing on the lap 16 restart pushed Crafton back to eighth by the following lap. When a hot, slippery racetrack led to yet another caution on lap 23, Crafton brought the No. 88 to pit road for two right-side tires and fuel. Taking the green from the ninth spot on lap 28, another caution slowed the field just three laps later and allowed Crafton to take left-side tires, fuel and an air-pressure adjustment.

Unfortunately, the adjustments to the truck overcorrected its tight condition, and Crafton found the No. 88 to be extremely loose with a vibration, feeling an imbalance in the new tires. However, Crafton would have the chance to once again bring the truck in for adjustments when the yellow flag waved again on lap 42. Crew chief Bud Haefele called Crafton to pit road for four fresh tires, fuel and a track-bar adjustment before sending him back on the track. Topping off the No. 88 just before the green, Crafton was 19th when the field went green on lap 46.

It appeared that the adjustments were exactly what Crafton needed as the No. 88 came to life on the racetrack. On a mission to reach the front of the pack, Crafton was back in the top five by lap 81, and by lap 105 Crafton was running second and closing in on the leader. A long run led to green-flag pit stops for the field, and Crafton brought his truck to pit road on lap 109 for the final stop of the day. Taking four tires, fuel and an air-pressure adjustment, Crafton returned to the track in the fifth spot before stops cycled through and he regained second place.

A rash of late-race cautions tightened the field on the restarts, but Crafton duked it out with his competitors, running in second as the laps wound down. Despite his truck tightening on the final run, he still crept up to within truck lengths of the leader before taking the checkered flag from second.

"This was a great race today," said Crafton after emerging from his truck. "We fell back at the beginning, but me and the guys never gave up. We just kept adjusting on the No. 88 Menards/Ideal Door Chevrolet until we got it right. We were just a little tight there on that last run, otherwise, I have no doubt that we would be in victory lane. We probably could have done it if we had just a few more laps. This was really a lot of fun. If it was up to me, every race would be a day race. I love racing when it's hot and everyone is slipping and sliding. It was really slippery out there and I had a blast."

Crafton gained two positions in the driver point standings, now holding the sixth position, 58 points outside the championship lead. The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series heads next to Talladega Superspeedway for a 4:00 p.m. race on Saturday, October 22, 2011.

10-12-11

Matt Crafton - Las Vegas Motor Speedway Preview -
Matt Crafton Hopes to Hit the Jackpot in Sin City

WINNING IN SIN: Matt Crafton and the No. 88 Menards/Ideal Door team are betting on a win in this weekend's race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Although Crafton has never hit the jackpot in Sin City, he has three top-five and four top-10 finishes at the 1.5-mile oval. Crafton has come close to taking home the big money, finishing second behind teammate Johnny Sauter in 2009, and his last three starts at LVMS have all resulted in a top-five finish.

DEUCES WILD: This weekend when Crafton takes the green flag, he will officially surpass Dennis Setzer for second in all-time consecutive starts in the series with 268. Terry Cook is the current record holder with 296, which Crafton can break at the end of the 2012 season if the schedule has 25 or more races.

SAIL THE OPEN SANDS: In addition to running 219 miles behind the wheel of the No. 88 Chevrolet Silverado, Crafton's week in Vegas includes some extracurricular driving activities. Crafton will embark on the maiden voyage of his newly built sandrail, a lightweight motor vehicle designed for off-road driving and skimming the surface of sand dunes. Be sure to tune in to this weekend's NCWTS Setup on SPEED to see Crafton hit the dunes with Ray Dunlap.

COME SAY 'CIAO' AT THE RIVIERA: This weekend, both the No. 88 and No. 13 trucks will carry the Riviera Hotel & Casino on board as the official Las Vegas hotel of ThorSport Racing. Crafton and teammates Sauter and Dakoda Armstrong will also be making an appearance at the 'Riv,' signing autographs at a meet and greet on Friday, October 14 from 7:30-9:00 p.m. local time. Visit www.rivierahotel.com for more information.

YOU KNOW YOU WANT TO SHOP: The ThorSport Racing online store is open for business and is now accepting credit cards. Head over to http://store.thorsport.com or click the Merchandise tab on ThorSport.com to find gear for all of the ThorSport Racing drivers.

CHASSIS HISTORY: The No. 88 team will utilize chassis No. 41 this weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. This is the chassis Crafton drove to the pole position earlier in the season at Michigan International Speedway. Crafton most recently raced No. 41 at Kentucky Speedway two weeks ago.

PREVIOUS RACE RECAP: Crafton and the No. 88 team rallied back from mechanical issues on the first lap to finish 23rd at Kentucky Speedway. After being forced into the garage immediately after the green flag due to a bad vibration, the team quickly repaired the Menards/Ideal Door Chevrolet and returned to the track, earning back several laps and gaining many valuable positions before taking the checkered flag in the Kentucky 225.

THOUGHTS FROM THE DRIVER: Matt Crafton

Do you like going out to Las Vegas?
"I love going out there, it's the West Coast, that's where I'm from. I always go out there early to head home for a bit and spend some time in the desert. I just finished building a brand new sandrail, so I'm really looking forward to getting out onto the dunes to break it in. Everyone says it's so hot out there, but it's a dry heat. It's definitely a little different than hot weather on the East Coast."

What do you like about Las Vegas Motor Speedway?
"I love racing at Las Vegas Motor Speedway because there's always a great turnout in the stands, and it has been a really good racetrack for ThorSport. Two years ago, me and Johnny [Sauter] finished one and two, and we both ran well and finished in the top five last year too."

How does Las Vegas Motor Speedway compare to other intermediate tracks?
"It has definitely gotten more of a second groove over time. When we first went there, everyone would run around the bottom, but now the groove has moved up, especially in 1 and 2. That's what I really like about the place, the fact that the groove has moved with age. It also has one of the best garages in the sport."

10-01-11

Matt Crafton - Kentucky Speedway Recap -
Early Issues Result in 23rd-Place Finish for Matt Crafton at Kentucky Speedway

Matt Crafton and the No. 88 team rallied back from mechanical issues on the first lap to finish 23rd at Kentucky Speedway. After being forced into the garage immediately after the green flag due to a bad vibration, the team quickly repaired the Menards/Ideal Door Chevrolet and returned to the track, earning back several laps and gaining many valuable positions before taking the checkered flag in the Kentucky 225.

After laying down the sixth fastest lap in qualifying, Crafton was relegated to the back of the pack for the green flag for an engine and transmission change prior to the start of the race. Immediately after the green flag waved, Crafton relayed to crew chief Bud Haefele that he had a terrible vibration, and Haefele quickly directed the No. 88 Chevrolet Silverado to the garage on lap two.

Crafton and crew quickly diagnosed the problem and got to work on a gear and drive shaft change. Fortunately, a long caution on lap five bought the team some extra time, and Crafton was able to return to the track when green flag racing resumed on lap 13. Now 11 laps down and mired in the 36th position, Crafton and the No. 88 crew were determined to make the best of their night, and a caution on lap 22 allowed the team to remain on the track as the leaders pitted, resulting in Crafton earning back one of his laps due to the wave around. A quick string of cautions put Crafton in the lucky dog position, earning him two more laps back as the free pass beneficiary.

Despite being eight laps down, Crafton’s truck was one of the fastest on the track, allowing him to make up position after position. While other drivers showed their inexperience by crashing out of the race, Crafton raced smart to advance through the field, ultimately making up 13 spots to finish 23rd.

“I’ve got to thank my guys tonight,” said Crafton. “They worked really hard to make the motor and transmission change prior to the race, and they were really quick to change out the gear and drive shaft in the garage. On top of that, they continued to make good pit stops throughout the race and improve our truck. This wasn’t the finish we wanted, by far, but we still had a really fast truck tonight and we learned a lot about the setup which will help us in the upcoming intermediate track races.”

The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series enjoys a week off before heading to Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the Smith’s 350 on Saturday, October 15th.

09-28-11

Matt Crafton - Kentucky Speedway Preview -

BACK TO BLUEGRASS: Matt Crafton and the No. 88 Menards/Ideal Door team head back to the Bluegrass state for a second round at Kentucky Speedway. The team visited the 1.5-mile tri-oval in July when Crafton had a top-10 truck but finished 32nd after an engine failure on lap 19.

SPARTA STATS: With 11 previous starts at the track, Crafton has solid stats at the Sparta, Kentucky facility. With three top-five and seven top-10 finishes, Crafton has racked up an average start of 12.6 and an average finish of 11.5. He has a best finish of 3rd, which he earned consecutively in 2008 and 2009. Crafton's engine failure at the spring race is his only DNF at Kentucky Speedway.

IT'S A TIE: When Crafton takes the green flag in this weekend's event at Kentucky Speedway, his total number of consecutive NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race starts will hit 267, tying Dennis Setzer for second in all-time consecutive starts in the series. Crafton will take over second place exclusively in the following event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Terry Cook is the current record holder with 296, which Crafton can break at the end of the 2012 season if the schedule has 25 or more races.

GET OUT THE PLASTIC: The ThorSport Racing online store is open for business and is now accepting credit cards. Head over to http://store.thorsport.com or click the Merchandise tab on ThorSport.com to find gear for all of the ThorSport Racing drivers.

CHASSIS HISTORY: The No. 88 team will utilize chassis No. 41 this weekend at Kentucky Speedway. The team debuted this chassis at the spring Kentucky race. Crafton most recently used this truck at Michigan International Speedway where he won the pole and dominated the race before getting taken out in a late-race wreck.

PREVIOUS RACE RECAP: Crafton earned a top-10 finish for the third week in a row in a wreck-free race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. After running in the top five for most of the event, strategy in the final pit stop of the day resulted in a sixth-place finish for the No. 88 Menards/Great Lakes Wood Floors Chevrolet.

THOUGHTS FROM THE DRIVER: Matt Crafton

How do you feel going into the race at Kentucky Speedway?
"I'm really looking forward to getting back to Kentucky, especially after the way our race went earlier this season. We had a very good truck when we went to Kentucky in July, and unfortunately we didn't really get to show it when the engine blew. We're planning to go back with the same chassis, which was really fast in Pocono and Michigan too, and I definitely think we're capable of bringing that truck to victory lane."

09-25-11

Matt Crafton - New Hampshire Motor Speedway Recap -

Matt Crafton earned a top-10 finish for the third week in a row in a wreck-free race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. After running in the top five for most of the event, strategy in the final pit stop of the day resulted in a sixth-place finish for the No. 88 Menards/Great Lakes Wood Floors Chevrolet.

After taking the green flag from the 10th position, it took only two laps for Crafton to advance his position and nine laps before he worked his way into the top five. Once in the fifth position, Crafton relayed that the truck was too tight in the center of the turns, but he continued to run times consistent with the race leader. With the field spaced out over a long green-flag run, Crafton remained in the fifth position through the first caution flag of the day waving for debris on lap 62. Still too tight, the team called Crafton into the pits for four tires, fuel and an air-pressure adjustment.

A quick stop put Crafton back on the track in the fifth position once again when the field went green on lap 66. The caution waved for the second and final time for debris on lap 71, just as Crafton overcame the No. 33 truck for the fourth spot. Remaining on the track through the quickie yellow, Crafton picked up another position immediately after green-flag racing resumed. Crafton maintained the third spot for over 50 laps, only slipping into the fourth position right before green-flag pit stops began.

Coming to pit road on lap 131, the team serviced Crafton with four fresh tires, fuel and a track-bar adjustment to improve the truck's handling, which had continued to be tight off the corner throughout the previous run. With several of the leaders opting for two tires, Crafton was scored in the sixth position when pit stops cycled through. With the field too spread out to gain any ground, Crafton took the checkered flag in sixth place.

"I absolutely think we could have had a better finish today, we were in the top-five all night, but we've been consistent through the entire month of September and we just need to keep this consistency up," said Crafton following the event. "The guys built me another fast truck this weekend and I'm looking forward to heading to Kentucky next week where we can hopefully get back into victory lane."

The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series heads to Kentucky Speedway on Saturday, October 1st. Crafton remains sixth in the championship standings, 51 points behind leader Austin Dillon. Crafton is now four points outside the top five.

09-20-11

Matt Crafton - New Hampshire Motor Speedway Preview -

FAST FACTS: Matt Crafton heads to New Hampshire Motor Speedway with some solid stats at the 1.058-mile track. In 10 starts at the track, Crafton has two top-five and five top-10 finishes. He has an average start of 13.0, an average finish of 12.0 and he has led 30 laps around the oval.

A FAST FIRST: Crafton scored the first pole award of his career at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in the fall of 2005 after laying down a lap speed of 128.819 m.p.h. This was the first of five poles Crafton has earned in his 11 full seasons in the series, the most recent of which came last month at Michigan International Speedway.

TIME TO GO SHOPPING: Can't get to the new ThorSport Racing shop in Sandusky to pick up your Matt Crafton merchandise? The ThorSport Racing online store is now open for business. Head over to http://store.thorsport.com or click the Merchandise tab on ThorSport.com to find gear for all of the ThorSport Racing drivers.

CHASSIS HISTORY: The No. 88 team will utilize chassis No. 34 this weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Crafton most recently drove this chassis to a sixth-place finishafter starting eighth at Lucas Oil Raceway in July. Crafton also utilized No. 34 at Phoenix International Raceway and Martinsville Speedway at the beginning of the season, scoring seventh and 11th-place finishes, respectively.

PREVIOUS RACE RECAP: A solid one-day show for the No. 88 Menards/Fisher Nuts team at Chicagoland Speedway earned Crafton a seventh-place finish in the Fast Five 225, his 10th top 10 finish of the season. The consistent top-10 night for Crafton closed the gap in the championship hunt to less than 50 points and earned him one spot in the championship standings, putting him only two points outside the top five in points.

THOUGHTS FROM THE DRIVER: Matt Crafton

What are your thoughts on New Hampshire Motor Speedway?
"I really enjoy going to New Hampshire. I won my first pole ever there, and I've had a lot of good finishes in the past, so when you have those kinds of experiences, you're always looking forward to going back."

What is this track's biggest challenge?
"To me, the biggest challenge at New Hampshire Motor Speedway is the track itself. It's tough to really run side-by-side. They made it a lot better when they reconfigured it, but there is really only one preferred groove. It's tough because you can have a better truck than the guy in front of you but you might have to sit and ride behind him for a while until he makes a mistake. The challenge is to stay patient and not do anything to get you caught up in a wreck trying to make something happen."

09-12-11

Matt Crafton - Chicagoland Speedway Preview -

GOING NUTS: Matt Crafton rolls into the Windy City in the No. 88 Menards/Fisher Nuts Chevrolet Silverado in the first of two appearances for Fisher Nuts in 2011. Fisher Nuts will also grace the hood of the No. 88 in the penultimate race of the season at Texas Motor Speedway.

THIRD TIME'S A CHARM: Crafton has two starts under his belt in the Windy City, and he's hoping his third will run will end in victory lane. In his two visits to Chicagoland Speedway, Crafton has a best finish of seventh, which he earned in his last visit to the track in 2010. One of Crafton's five career pole awards was won in Chi-Town in 2009. Crafton has led 23 laps at the 1.5-mile D-shaped oval and has an average finish of 10.5.

GET 'EM WHILE THEY'RE HOT: Can't get to the new ThorSport Racing shop in Sandusky to pick up your Matt Crafton merchandise? The ThorSport Racing online store is now open for business. Head over to http://store.thorsport.com or click the Merchandise tab on ThorSport.com to find gear for all of the ThorSport Racing drivers.

CHASSIS HISTORY: The No. 88 team will utilize chassis No. 37 this weekend at Chicagoland Speedway. This chassis made its debut laps two weeks ago at Atlanta Motor Speedway where Crafton started and finished seventh.

PREVIOUS RACE RECAP: Crafton scored his ninth top-10 finish of the season at Atlanta Motor Speedway two weeks ago. With one of the fastest trucks under the lights, fuel strategy ultimately resulted in a seventh-place finish in the Good Sam Club 200.

THOUGHTS FROM THE DRIVER: Matt Crafton

What are your thoughts on Chicagoland Speedway?
"Chicagoland is a track I really enjoy, and our team has always performed really well on the 1.5-mile tracks. This year we haven't brought home some of the finishes we deserved at the intermediate tracks due to a little bad luck, but we've always had a fast, competitive truck. These are the tracks where we really excel."

How do you feel about finalizing your contract to continue driving for ThorSport Racing in 2012?
"I'm glad the paperwork is signed, but I was never looking to go anywhere else. This is where I've been committed to since the beginning. Duke and Rhonda Thorson have been so great to me, you couldn't ask for better bosses. Anything I've ever needed from them or anything I've needed to talk to them about, whether it's about racing or life in general, they've always been there for me. It means everything to be able to continue a relationship with a team this long, as well as with my sponsor Menards. If you've got a supportive sponsor and supportive, top-performing team, there's nothing more you can ask for."

09-03-11

Matt Crafton - Atlanta Motor Speedway Recap -
Seventh-Place Finish at Atlanta Motor Speedway Gives Crafton Ninth Top 10 of 2011

Matt Crafton scored his ninth top-10 finish of the season in the Good Sam Club 200. With one of the fastest trucks under the lights, fuel strategy ultimately resulted in a seventh-place finish at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Taking the green flag from the seventh spot, Crafton advanced to fourth place by lap eight. When the caution waved for the first time on lap 20, Crafton relayed to crew chief Bud Haefele that the No. 88 Menards/Zecol Chevrolet was a little free but coming to him. Crafton opted to pit with his competitors, taking four scuffed tires, fuel and a small air-pressure adjustment. Quick work by the No. 88 crew gained Crafton a position on pit road, placing him third when green-flag racing resumed on lap 27.

Crafton quickly informed his crew that the truck was now a little bit tight, but when the caution flag waved on lap 38, Crafton remained on track with the rest of the leaders. Still in third when the green flag waved on lap 43, Crafton was laying down fast lap times, but he slipped back to the seventh position on lap 56, radioing that the truck had become too free over the course of the run. When the yellow came out for a spin on lap 60, Crafton came in for service in the seventh spot, taking four sticker tires and fuel. Another speedy stop got Crafton back on track in fifth for the restart on lap 65.

Crafton took over fourth after the green flag waved, but the yellow flag would appear just eight laps later. Crafton and the crew discussed coming in for fuel, but the No. 88 team opted to maintain track position and save their final set of sticker tires for as long as possible. After the track went green on on lap 77, Crafton notified his team that the truck's handling was really good with the sticker tires, and on lap 83, Crafton maneuvered into the second spot, challenging the leader for first place. Unfortunately, the truck once again became too loose, and the Menards/Zecol machine dropped to fifth by lap 101.

As a long green-flag run unfolded, pit stops began on lap 105. Crafton brought his truck into the pits under green on lap 112 to fill the No. 88 with fuel and take on his remaining set of sticker tires. As stops cycled through, it appeared that Crafton would once again enter the top five, but a varying fuel strategy allowed a small number of trucks to not have to pit. Ultimately, once all of the trucks requring fuel pitted in the final laps, Crafton took the checkered flag in seventh place.

"I'm really surprised how this race ended," said Crafton after the race. "We knew there were a few trucks on varying fuel strategies but historically there have always been late-race cautions at this track. Our strategy was to hang onto our sticker tires until as late in the race as possible so that we could have the advantage of new tires to pass the trucks that didn't need to pit for fuel, but that final caution never came and we were too spread out over that long run to take advantage of our tires."

The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series next has an off-weekend before heading to the Windy City on September 17th at Chicagoland Speedway. Crafton remains seventh in the point standings, now 53 points behind the leader and five points outside fifth place.

08-29-11

Matt Crafton - Atlanta Motor Speedway Preview -

PICKING FAVORITES: Matt Crafton has frequently stated that Atlanta Motor Speedway is his favorite on the circuit, and the numbers add up. Crafton scored a top-five finish in his AMS debut in 2004, earning a fifth-place finish after starting sixth. In total, Crafton has three top fives and five top 10s, and he has completed 95.4-percent of scheduled laps at the track. He has led 10 laps at the 1.54-mile quad oval, and has an average finish of 13.0.

WHERE ARE WE NOW?: With 16 races in the books in 2011, Crafton has some impressive stats behind him. For the first time in career, Crafton has earned both a win (Iowa Speedway) and a pole (Michigan International Speedway) in the same season. He has three top-five and eight top-10 finishes, and has led 76 total laps. Crafton has an average start of 10.8, an average finish of 13.4, and has led the point standings for 3 of the last 16 weeks.

CHASSIS HISTORY: The No. 88 team will utilize chassis No. 37 this week at Atlanta Motor Speedway. This is a brand-new chassis that will make its first laps when the Menards/Zecol team hits the track in Atlanta.

PREVIOUS RACE RECAP: Crafton and the No. 88 crew were poised for a comeback when a tire leak put the team two laps down at Bristol Motor Speedway. After battling a tight truck in the early laps, the team worked diligently to improve the handling, but a tire going down required Crafton to pit under green, ultimately resulting in a 21st-place finish despite being one of the fastest trucks on the track.


THOUGHTS FROM THE DRIVER: Matt Crafton

How do you feel about Atlanta Motor Speedway?
"I say over and over again that Atlanta is by far my favorite track we go to. The track is so fast, the banking is high, you can hold it wide open and the tires really wear so you slide around the track. It's got multiple grooves so you can run two and three-wide, I love the fact that you can drive anywhere from the white line up to the wall. It's a fun place to race, hands down my favorite."

How do you feel going into the last nine races?
"I'm glad the August races are behind us, that's for sure. Our last few races have been uncharacteristic in terms of finishes and we just had some really bad luck the last two races. We're going into a string of tracks that I really like, and I'm hoping that we'll be able to get another win before the season comes to a close."

08-25-11

Matt Crafton - Bristol Motor Speedway Recap -
Tire Leak Results in 21st-Place Finish for Matt Crafton

Matt Crafton and the No. 88 Menards/Goof Off crew were poised for a comeback when a tire leak put the team two laps down. After battling a tight truck in the early laps, the team worked diligently to improve the handling, but a tire going down required Crafton to pit under green, ultimately resulting in a 21st-place finish despite being one of the fastest trucks on the track.

Taking the green flag from the 18th position, Crafton immediately relayed to crew chief Bud Haefele that the No. 88 Menards/Goof Off machine was "crazy tight," but Crafton still was able to wheel the truck up to the 13th position by lap 20. By lap 30, the No. 88 was getting a little better as air pressures built up, and Crafton battled his way into the top 10, taking over the ninth spot on lap 37.

Despite two early race cautions on laps 11 and 32, strategy and track position kept the No. 88 on the racetrack until the yellow flag waved on lap 53. Crafton brought the truck in for four tires, fuel and an air-pressure adjustment, before returning to the track in the 13th position for the lap 59 restart. The caution flag flew again only five laps later, and Crafton had slipped back to 16th, stating that the truck was still "tight, tight, tight." When pit road opened, Crafton brought the No. 88 in for further chassis adjustments to improve the handling.

Emerging from the pits in 26th, Crafton felt an improvement to his truck, but unfortunately, seven laps later, he felt something else: a right-front tire going down. Crafton made three more laps to confirm his suspicion, and when Haefele concurred that the tire looked soft, Crafton brought the No. 88 to pit road for two right-side tires and fuel.

Despite fast work by the crew, Crafton emerged from the pits in 28th and two laps behind the leaders at the tiny 0.533-mile bullring. Now one of the fastest trucks on the track due to the crew's previous round of adjustments, Crafton progressed to 26th by the halfway point, but unfortunately was unable to earn a free pass or wave around as the race wore on. Safely dodging a string of wrecks and outrunning competitors who fell victim to fuel mileage, Crafton picked up five spots in the final 100 laps, ultimately crossing the finish line 21st.

The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series next heads to the ATL for a race under the lights at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Friday, September 2nd.

08-23-11

Matt Crafton - Bristol Motor Speedway Preview -

THE BIG TEN: With 15 races in the books for 2011, the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series has only 10 races remaining this season. In the first 15 events of the year, Crafton has scored one win, one pole, three top-five and eight top-10 finishes. The No. 88 team has earned an average start of 10.3, an average finish of 12.9 and led the field for 76 laps. Crafton has not visited victory lane at any of the final 10 tracks on the schedule, but four of his five career poles have been earned at tracks the series will visit before the end of the year: New Hampshire Motor Speedway in 2005, Chicagoland Speedway in 2009, and Texas Motor Speedway in the fall races of 2009 and 2010.

BRISTOL BREAKDOWN: Crafton heads to Bristol Motor Speedway with eight starts under his belt, having earned two top-five and four top-10 finishes. Crafton earned his best Bristol start (fifth) in his 2003 debut at the track, and his best finish (second) in 2009. Crafton has completed 1610 laps at the 0.533-mile oval, but has never led a lap at the concrete track.

CHASSIS HISTORY: The No. 88 team will utilize chassis No. 33 this week at Bristol Motor Speedway. The Menards/Goof Off team most recently used this chassis at Dover International Speedway in May where Crafton piloted it to a third-place finish.

PREVIOUS RACE RECAP: Crafton clearly had the fastest truck in the field after taking the pole position by nearly half a second at Michigan International Speedway, but when a late-race wreck erupted in front of him, the No. 88 Menards/Schrock Chevrolet Silverado had nowhere to go, resulting in heavy right-front fender damage which ultimately took Crafton out of the race in the 21st position.

THOUGHTS FROM THE DRIVER: Matt Crafton

How do you feel about Bristol Motor Speedway?
"Bristol is a great racetrack, and it's I've had some really good finishes there in the past, including a second-place finish in 2009, but the key to Bristol is ultimately survival. It can be one of those wild card races where your destiny isn't really in your hands. You can run great all night and someone else's mistake can put you on the trailer."

What was the ThorSport Racing Grand Opening like?
"It was absolutely unbelievable. This entire team was already proud of the shop, but we never would have anticipated the number of people who came out for the Grand Opening. Literally thousands of people showed up from the community, NASCAR and the media. It was a constant stream of people all day. It really made us realize how much the shop means to the community of Sandusky, Ohio, as well as the racing community. This has always been a championship-caliber team, but now we've got the championship-caliber facility to match."

08-21-11

Matt Crafton - Michigan International Speedway Recap -
Matt Crafton Wins Pole at MIS, Gets Collected In Late-Race Incident

Matt Crafton clearly had the fastest truck in the field after taking the pole position by nearly half a second, but when a late-race wreck erupted in front of him, the No. 88 Menards/Schrock Chevrolet Silverado had nowhere to go, resulting in heavy right-front fender damage which ultimately took Crafton out of the race in the 21st position.

Taking the green flag from the point position, Crafton immediately pulled away from the field, moving 15 truck lengths ahead of second place after only four laps, and running way from the field when the first caution flag of the day waved on lap nine. Crafton radioed crew chief Bud Haefele that the Menards/Schrock machine was "just a hair to the snug side," but it was too early in the 100-lap race to visit pit road. Restarting on lap 11, the caution waved once again three laps later, but Crafton and crew opted to remain on track in order to maintain the lead position.

Restarting on lap 17, Crafton held the lead until lap 20, running in the top four as a long green-flag run unfolded. Crafton brought his truck down pit road under green on lap 38 in the 3rd position, and the crew serviced the No. 88 with four tires and fuel before sending him back on track. Once pit stops cycled through on lap 55, Crafton was in the fifth position and still on the move, taking away fourth on lap 59.

The long green-flag run continued, and Crafton moved into second as green flag pit stops began once again on lap 68. Running in third on lap 75, Haefele told Crafton to pit next time around, but before Crafton could complete his lap, he keyed the radio to tell the team he was out of fuel. Crafton coasted into the pits just as the caution waved for debris on lap 79, and the crew pumped the truck full of fuel and sent him back onto the track to catch up with the field. Crafton returned to his pit box when pit road opened for four tires and a top-off on gas.

Crafton was scored in 20th as the first truck one lap down when green-flag racing resumed on lap 83, and luck was on their side when the yellow flag waved on lap 87, allowing the No. 88 to take the free pass back onto the lead lap. Restarting in 18th on lap 90, Crafton and the Menards/Schrock team were determined to make the march back to the front of the field with their lightning-fast machine, but before Crafton had a chance to stretch his truck's legs, a spin at the front of the field unleashed a chain reaction, resulting in a major multi-truck wreck. With a truck sliding directly in front of him, Crafton had nowhere to go and made hard contact, tearing up the right-front fender of the Menards/Schrock Silverado.

Crafton brought the No. 88 Chevrolet to pit road to patch up the damage and return to the track to salvage a few positions, but the damage was too severe to complete the remaining laps, and Crafton was forced to retire nine laps before the scheduled finish, ultimately scoring the team in the 21st position.

"Today's finish was disappointing and definitely not what this team deserved after how well we ran, but we've got to walk away with the positives," said Crafton after the race. "This truck was ridiculously fast all day, and we were absolutely one of the best in the field. These guys have worked so hard this week, completing our brand new shop for the grand opening and building this fast truck. Now we've got to turn around and head to Bristol, and hopefully we'll get the finish we should have gotten today."

The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series has only a few short days off before heading to Bristol Motor Speedway for a race under the lights on Wednesday, August 24. Crafton remains sixth in the championship standings, 44 points behind leader and teammate Johnny Sauter.

08-17-11

Matt Crafton - Michigan International Speedway Preview -

MOTORING IN THE MOTOR CITY: It's all about the motors when Matt Crafton and the No. 88 Menards/Schrock team visit Michigan International Speedway, just 75 miles outside the Motor City of Detroit. Engine issues have historically plagued teams across all three series at the 2.0-mile tri-oval, and Crafton has experienced it firsthand with three engine failures in his nine previous starts at the track, resulting in a 17.8 average finish. However, Crafton comes armed with an ECR engine under the hood, which the team switched to in 2011. Following the switch this season, ThorSport Racing has two drivers in the top six in points, and two wins after 14 races.

100(K) GRAND: This week, ThorSport Racing officially opens their brand new 100,000 square foot shop in Sandusky, Ohio. Just a stone's throw away from their former facility, the new shop is the largest of any in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. The week's festivities kick off with Cedar Point's Wheels of Thunder IV on Tuesday, August 16, where all three ThorSport Racing drivers will visit the amusement park to ride the roller coasters and meet with fans and media. The official grand opening is August 17, with a public grand opening during the day, and a VIP media opening beginning at 6:30 PM.

CHASSIS HISTORY: The No. 88 team will utilize chassis No. 41 this weekend at Michigan International Speedway The No. 41 chassis made its debut last month at Kentucky Speedway where the truck was fast in the opening laps but retired early due to engine failure. No. 41 was most recently raced at Pocono Raceway earlier this month, where Crafton finished eighth.

PREVIOUS RACE RECAP: In the record-breaking 354th NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race for ThorSport Racing, Matt Crafton earned an eighth-place finish in a two day event at Pocono Raceway. After rain forced an overnight delay after 18 of 50 scheduled laps, Crafton battled a tight handling truck, but soldiered on to earn his eighth top-10 finish of 2011.

THOUGHTS FROM THE DRIVER: Matt Crafton

How do you feel about Michigan International Speedway
"Most drivers love racing at Michigan because it's wide and fast. Now that we've had some years on the pavement, it's almost like Atlanta where the tires wear and you slip and slide. Atlanta is by far my favorite racetrack, so I like Michigan more and more as time goes by."

What do you think about the new ThorSport Racing shop?
"There aren't even words for how unbelievable it is. It's a beautiful shop, and it's so big, the biggest of any Truck Series team. Duke and Rhonda Thorson don't do anything halfway, and this is just another example of that. And it isn't just about the size, just like everything else they do, it's about quality and technology and building smartly. Everyone associated with the team is really proud of this new shop. I think it probably has the biggest trophy case I've ever seen in a shop. When I saw how big it was, it blew my mind. It's going to take a lot of work to fill that case up, but the way this team his headed, I don't have any doubt that we'll be able to fill it."

08-01-11

Matt Crafton - Pocono Raceway Preview -

SECOND TIME'S A CHARM: This Saturday, Matt Crafton and the No. 88 Menards/Ideal Door team head to Pocono Raceway, where Crafton came up just shy of the win in 2010. In the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series debut at the 2.5-mile triangle, Crafton was in a heated three-way battle for the win in a green/white/checkered finish, ultimately bringing the No. 88 home third following an aggressive move for the lead on the final restart.

ANY QUESTIONS?: Stop by the Chevy stage at Pocono Raceway on Friday, August 5th where Crafton and teammate Johnny Sauter will be doing a Q&A session at 2:30 p.m. ET. The ThorSport Racing drivers will discuss Pocono Raceway and the 2011 season as we cross the halfway point.

CHASSIS HISTORY: The No. 88 team will utilize chassis No. 41 this weekend at Pocono Raceway. The No. 41 chassis made its debut last month at Kentucky Speedway where the truck was fast in the opening laps but retired early due to engine failure.

PREVIOUS RACE RECAP: Crafton and the No. 88 Menards/Ideal Door team earned a sixth-place finish and closed the gap in the points lead under the lights at Lucas Oil Raceway. After early wrecks and a brief rain delay, Crafton battled hard with his competitors, bringing home his seventh top-10 finish of 2011 and inching himself within 38 points of the championship lead.

THOUGHTS FROM THE DRIVER: Matt Crafton

After the series made its debut in 2010, what are your feelings on Pocono Raceway?
"Until last year's race, I had only seen Pocono Raceway on TV, but TV just doesn't do the place justice. The race was an absolute blast, one of the most fun races of the season. We had to start from the drawing board when we unloaded last year, and our team made so much progress between the first practice and the race. Now we're going back there with notes and experience, and I think we're completely capable of picking up where we left off and getting even better. There's no doubt we can get to victory lane this year."

07-29-11

Matt Crafton - Lucas Oil Raceway Recap -

Matt Crafton and the No. 88 Menards/Ideal Door team earned a sixth-place finish and closed the gap in the points lead under the lights at Lucas Oil Raceway. After early wrecks and a brief rain delay, Crafton battled hard with his competitors, bringing home his seventh top-10 finish of 2011 and inching himself within 38 points of the championship lead.

Taking the green flag from the eighth position, the yellow flag was in the air before the completion of the first lap for a multi-truck wreck. Restarting on lap six, Crafton immediately improved his position by two spots, then battled into the fourth position on lap 34. Just seven laps later, the yellow flag would wave for rain over the short track, with Crafton still in the fourth spot.

Fortunately, the brief shower passed without the need for a red flag, and the jet dryers had the track ready to race by on lap 58. Concerned that more rain was coming, Crafton opted not to pit under the long caution, restarting in fourth. With a strong restart, Crafton elbowed his way up to second on lap 59, maintaining his position until the caution flew on lap 81 for a two car wreck.

Running lap times faster than the leader, the No. 88 team opted for no changes when Crafton brought his truck down pit road for service. After providing him with four tires and fuel, Crafton took the green flag on lap 85 from 13th behind several competitors who chose not to pit. Only seven laps later, the yellow flag waved for the fourth and final time with Crafton in 10th.

The track went green on lap 94, and Crafton quickly advanced to eighth by lap 95. Over the course of the next 40 laps, Crafton battled side by side and three wide, making the pass for third on lap 134. Crafton maintained the third spot until lap 181, running lap times faster than the leaders. On lap 182, fuel mileage calculations indicated that Crafton would have to pit, and he brought the Menards/Ideal Door machine in for two tires and a top off on fuel. Crafton returned to the track even better than before, but with several of the leaders gambling on fuel, Crafton could only advance to sixth before the checkered flag waved on lap 200.

"God that was fun," said Crafton after the race. "We should have had a better finish tonight, because we were clearly one of the best trucks in the field, but it still was a really good race for our team, both on track and in the points. The guys worked all day to improve our Menards/Ideal Door truck through practice and qualifying, and they really got it right when it came down to crunch time. It was a lot of fun to run like we did."

The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series hits the track next on Saturday, August 6th for the Good Sam RV Emergency Road Service 125 at Pocono Raceway.

07-26-11

Matt Crafton - Lucas Oil Raceway Preview -

SEEING DOUBLE: This weekend, Matt Crafton will be pulling double duty when he heads to Lucas Oil Raceway in Indianapolis, Indiana. In addition to piloting the No. 88 Menards/ Ideal Door machine in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, Crafton will be making his second ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards start of the 2011 season, the fourth of his career. Crafton will get behind the wheel of the No. 88 Messina Wildlife Management/Menards Ford from Kimmel Racing. This is the first appearance at Lucas Oil Raceway for ARCA since 1985.

PERFECT RECORD: In his ten previous starts at Lucas Oil Raceway, Crafton has completed 100 percent of all scheduled laps, making 2001 circuits around the 0.686-mile oval. That is a total of 1372.686 miles around the 50-year-old facility, the equivalent of travelling from the ThorSport Racing facility in Sandusky, Ohio to Indianapolis five times.

PASTRANA-MANIA: This weekend, Motorcross/Supercross/X Games superstar Travis Pastrana will make his much-anticipated NASCAR Nationwide Series debut at Lucas Oil Raceway. Matt Crafton has served as driver coach for Pastrana in preparation for his debut, testing with him and coaching him throughout the beginning of the 2011 season.

CHASSIS HISTORY: The No. 88 team will utilize chassis No. 34 this weekend at Lucas Oil Raceway. Crafton most recently raced this chassis to an 11th-place finish at Martinsville Speedway in April. Crafton also drove this truck to a seventh-place finish at Phoenix International Raceway in February.

PREVIOUS RACE RECAP: Crafton battled the handling of the No. 88 Menards/Goof Off Chevrolet Silverado for the duration of the Lucas Deep Clean 200 before following up last week's win at Iowa Speedway with a top-15 finish. With long green flag runs and few cautions to make adjustments, Crafton fought hard to bring home an 11th-place finish.

THOUGHTS FROM THE DRIVER: Matt Crafton

How do you feel about Lucas Oil Raceway?
"Lucas Oil Raceway is one of my favorite short tracks that the Truck Series travels to. It has that Friday night, short track racing feel, and it always provides a lot of hard, side-by-side racing. It's a fun track to drive and it always puts on a good show for the fans."

What is different about a double duty weekend?
"It can get busy when you're doing two races in one weekend, but it's always fun to race in a different series. It gives you the chance to get some seat time on the track with a different group of guys and just have fun because you're not racing for points. I think that doing the ARCA race can do nothing but help me in terms of the track, and hopefully I can earn two wins in one weekend."

What do you think about Travis Pastrana making his NASCAR debut this weekend?
"I'm excited to see what he can do out on the track. It has been a great experience working with him this season and prepping him for this race. He's a legend in the Motorcross and X Games world, so it will be interesting to see him begin his NASCAR career. I really enjoy working with rookies and coaching young drivers, so to work with guys like Travis is always fun."

07-24-11

Matt Crafton - Nashville Race Recap -

Matt Crafton battled the handling of the No. 88 Menards/Goof Off Chevrolet Silverado for the duration of the Lucas Deep Clean 200 before following up last week's win at Iowa Speedway with a top-15 finish. With long green flag runs and few cautions to make adjustments, Crafton fought hard to bring home an 11th-place finish.

Taking the green flag from the 15th position, Crafton quickly navigated up to 12th before the completion of the first lap. After a spin on the racetrack slowed the field on lap five, Crafton relayed to crew chief Bud Haefele that the No. 88 machine was tight off but not bad on entry. However, slipping back to 13th on lap 12, Crafton stated that the truck was getting tighter center off and anticipated that he would need a track bar adjustment on their first visit to pit road.

Green-flag conditions forced the team to pit under green while running in 10th place on lap 54, and Crafton exited pit road with four tires, fuel, a track-bar adjustment and an air-pressure adjustment. When pit stops cycled through on lap 59, Crafton was 12th, but he wheeled his truck back to 10th on lap 62.

Crafton told Haefele that their adjustments had freed up the truck in the center but that it didn't help exit. Crafton would have to hold out until lap 103 before a caution for debris allowed him to come to pit road for more adjustments. Entering the pits in 11th, the No. 88 crew gave Crafton four tires, fuel and an air-pressure adjustment before sending him back out onto the track in 10th.

Green flag resumed on lap 106, but the yellow was quickly displayed again only two laps later for a fiery blown engine. Taking the green for the final time of the night, the racing quickly got intense, and Crafton went four wide to pass for the eighth position. Crafton remained 8th until lap 136, but he relayed that the right rear tire was "mad," and he was overtaken for eighth. Dropping two more spots on lap 140, Crafton held onto his top until three to go, furiously battling his competitors before taking the checkered flag in 11th.

"After the race we had last week, anything less than a win is disappointing," said Crafton after the race. "But unfortunately we just couldn't make it happen tonight. There were times when we were running laps faster than the leaders, but I had nothing in my right rear tire on that final run. The guys worked hard tonight, and I'm hoping we'll be able to bring the No. 88 Chevrolet to victory lane next week in Indianapolis.

The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series goes under the lights next Friday, July 29th for the AAA Insurance 200 at Lucas Oil Raceway.

07-19-11

Matt Crafton - Nashville Race Preview -

LUCKY THIRTEEN: This weekend, Matt Crafton heads to Nashville Superspeedway to make his 13th start at the 1.333-mile D-shaped oval. In his 12 previous starts, Crafton has racked up seven top-10 finishes, including a sixth-place run when the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series visited the track earlier this season. In his most recent 10 starts, Crafton has completed 100% of all scheduled laps on the concrete track. Crafton has only one DNF (Did Not Finish) at the facility, which he endured in his Nashville Superspeedway debut in 2001 when his engine expired after 59 laps.

CONCRETE CRAFTON: Although he's the first to admit that he prefers asphalt tracks, Crafton has a solid record on concrete surfaces in this season. Following up his sixth-place finish at Nashville Superspeedway in April, Crafton finished third at Dover International Speedway, giving him an average finish of 4.5 on concrete in 2011.

CHASSIS HISTORY: The No. 88 team will utilize chassis No. 35 this weekend at Nashville Superspeedway. This race-winning chassis visited victory lane last weekend at Iowa Speedway. This is the same chassis Crafton drove to a sixth-place finish at Nashville Superspeedway in April.

PREVIOUS RACE RECAP: Crafton drove the No. 88 Chevrolet Silverado to victory lane last weekend at Iowa Speedway, breaking a 79-race win drought. After fighting an extremely loose truck early in the evening, stellar pit stops, the right adjustments and patient determination led to Crafton taking the checkered flag. The win was Crafton's second of his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career.

THOUGHTS FROM THE DRIVER: Matt Crafton

What does last week's win at Iowa Speedway mean to you?
"Our win at Iowa Speedway was exactly what we needed. After the struggles we've had in the last four weeks, it means so much to me, the team and all the sponsors that believe in me. It was a huge momentum-builder for the team and I'm hoping that we can take that momentum into Nashville."

Do you go into a week after a race win any differently than a typical weekend?
"Obviously there is the additional press and appearances that comes with a race win, but I'd say the biggest thing after a weekend like we had is just trying to keep that momentum. I'm actually a pretty superstitious guy and so is everyone on my team, so it's funny the lengths everyone goes to in order to keep the good luck coming. Before last week's race a few guys on the crew shaved their heads into Mohawks for luck, and we joked that they'd have to do it every week if we won. I think we might see a few more guys on the crew with Mohawks this week."

How do you feel going into Nashville Superspeedway?
"I feel great going into the next race after our win last week, and I'm pumped to be bringing the same chassis we just took to victory lane. It's also the same chassis we brought to Nashville earlier in the year. We had a solid sixth-place finish the last time we went to Nashville, and we learned a lot in the race to get the truck even more dialed in for the track. I'm generally the type of guy who prefers asphalt to concrete, but this team is capable of bringing home a win in Nashville. I took a tour of the Gibson Guitar Company the last time we were in town, and it made me want that guitar trophy even more."

07-17-11

Matt Crafton - Iowa Race Recap -
Matt Crafton Reverses His Fortune & Out-Wheels Austin Dillon to Win at Iowa Speedway

Matt Crafton and the No. 88 Menards/Ideal Door Chevrolet team began the Coca-Cola 200 presented by Hy-Vee with one mantra: "today is the new tomorrow." After four straight finishes outside the top-15 due to on-track incidents and an engine failure, the team was determined to turn around their luck in the 11th race of the season. After fighting an extremely loose truck early in the evening, stellar pit stops, the right adjustments and patient determination led to Crafton taking the checkered flag at Iowa Speedway.

Taking the green flag from the 11th position, Crafton immediately relayed to crew chief Bud Haefele that the No. 88 machine was extremely loose and stepping out. The first caution of the night waved at lap 12 with Crafton in the 10th spot, but the team determined that it was too early to visit pit road. The field returned to green flag racing on lap 15, but was once again slowed by a yellow on lap 18. Still in the 10th position, Crafton stated that the truck was "eight to nine loose" on a scale of 1-10, but once again the No. 88 team opted to maintain track position and remain on the track.

Restarting on lap 22, Crafton immediately made the pass for ninth, initiating a fast march to the front of the field. Within 10 laps, Crafton was running in the seventh position, and by the third caution of the day on lap 65, Crafton had entered the top five. Crafton explained that the handling of the truck had come to him, and that he did not require the wholesale changes they had anticipated at the beginning of the race. The team serviced the No. 88 machine with four tires, fuel and an air-pressure adjustment.

Returning to the track in the fifth position, Crafton was patient and disciplined once green flag racing resumed on lap 71. Slipping to seventh on lap 81, Crafton remained focused on hitting his marks and maintaining momentum, and on lap 111 he re-entered the top five and never looked back. Crafton was running fourth when the final caution of the night waved on lap 154, bringing the Menards/Ideal Door Chevrolet Silverado into the pits for four tires, fuel and another minor air-pressure adjustment. The team provided one of the fastest stops on pit road all evening, sending Crafton back onto the track in fourth for the lap 161 restart.

It took only one lap for Crafton to dart to the front of the field, quickly pulling away from his competitors. He relinquished the lead only briefly in a battle with Austin Dillon, but Crafton clearly had the truck and the determination to re-take the lead on lap 188, maintaining it until the checkered flag waved.

"This win was exactly what we needed," said Crafton in victory lane. "This means so much to me, the team and all the sponsors that support us. This is really a huge momentum-builder for the team. In the last four weeks, anything that could have gone wrong did, and now here we are in victory lane. Our truck was really loose at the beginning, but once it came to me, we only needed minor air pressure adjustments for the rest of the night."

Crafton's win was the second of his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career, his first since his victory at Charlotte Motor Speedway 79 races ago. Crafton gained three points in the driver standings, and is currently ranked fifth, 44 points out of the championship lead.

The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series goes under the lights next Friday, July 22nd for the Lucas Deep Clean 200 at Nashville Superspeedway.

07-13-11

Matt Crafton - Iowa Race Preview -

PERFECT RECORD: The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series has made two previous appearances at Iowa Speedway, with Crafton competing in both events. In his two starts at the 0.875-mile tri-oval, Crafton has scored top-10 finishes in both events, and has completed 100% of the laps scheduled. Crafton has earned one top five and has led 17 laps on his way to earning an average start of 6.5 and an average finish of 4.5. Crafton has also competed in one ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards event at the track, scoring a fifth-place finish in the 2010 race.

FAN CENTRAL: Although he'll be far from his hometown of Tulare, California when he arrives at Iowa Speedway, there is no doubt that Crafton will receive a warm welcome. State capital Des Moines, Iowa, which is only 30 miles from the Newton, Iowa track, was recently ranked by The Daily Beast web site as the city with the most dedicated NASCAR fans in the United States. According to the website, 40.3-percent of the population likes the sport.

CHASSIS HISTORY: The No. 88 team will utilize chassis No. 35 this weekend at Iowa Speedway. The team most recently unloaded this chassis at Kansas Speedway in June where Crafton finished 18th. Crafton also drove this chassis to a sixth-place finish at Nashville Superspeedway in April.

PREVIOUS RACE RECAP: Engine failure ended a promising race for Crafton at Kentucky Speedway last Thursday night. The No. 88 Menards/Tarkett Chevrolet Silverado was headed straight to the front, advancing nine positions before the motor on the truck let go on lap 19, ending the night early for Crafton.

THOUGHTS FROM THE DRIVER: Matt Crafton

How do you feel going into Iowa Speedway?
"I'm looking forward to getting to Iowa Speedway. We've only raced there twice before, but I've had good results in both races, finishing in the top-10 in both. I also did well in the ARCA race I did there last year, so overall it's a good track for me. Plus, it's always fun to head to Iowa because the fans are incredible."

Does Iowa Speedway race more like a short track or an intermediate?
"Even though it's only 7/8 of a mile, I think Iowa drives more like a mile and a half track to me. Its length gives it some characteristics of a short track, but the way it drives and the banking is more like intermediate tracks like Kansas or Kentucky. It's a fast track, so it's not a place you want to get into someone going into the corners like a Martinsville or a Bristol."

07-07-11

Matt Crafton - Kentucky Race Recap -
Engine Woes Relegate Matt Crafton to 32nd-Place Finish

Engine failure ended a promising race for Matt Crafton at Kentucky Speedway. The No. 88 Menards/Tarkett Chevrolet Silverado was headed straight to the front, advancing nine positions before the motor on the truck let go on lap 19, ending the night early for Crafton.

Crafton took the green flag from the 15th position, gaining five positions in only two laps. Crafton radioed crew chief Bud Haefele that the No. 88 was a little free and needed a little side bite, but that the truck was really good overall.

Crafton remained in the 10th position when the first yellow of the night waved on lap seven, and the team opted to remain out on the track to maintain track position. Restarting on lap 13 in 10th place, Crafton relayed that the truck was a "rocket ship" from the center of the corner off.

Advancing into the sixth position on lap 14, Crafton kept improving his entry, hitting his marks and closing in on the competitors in front of him. Suddenly, on lap 18, smoke began to billow out of the No. 88. Instantly, Crafton keyed the radio, stating that the engine had blown up. After he rolled the Menards/Tarkett machine into the garage, the team confirmed that the engine failure was catastrophic and that they'd be retiring for the night.

"We just blew up," Crafton said after emerging from his truck. "It came out of nowhere, it really gave me no warning. This Menards/Tarkett Chevy was really fast, and the guys worked really hard. This is a brand new truck and they put a lot of hours in to get it here this weekend. I hate it for our team so much, because we really had a truck that could compete for the win."

The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series hits the track next Saturday, July 16th for the Coca-Cola 200 presented by Hy-Vee at Iowa Speedway.

07-05-11

Matt Crafton - Kentucky Race Preview -

BLUEGRASS BOUND: Returning from the longest break of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season, Matt Crafton heads to the "Bluegrass State" to take on the D-shaped oval of Kentucky Speedway. Crafton has a decade of experience and success at 1.5-mile track, earning three top-five and seven top-10 finishes in 10 previous starts. Crafton has been running at the finish of each of his past 10 starts, and has completed 98.9% of the scheduled laps in those events. With an average finish of 9.5, it's likely that Crafton will bring home another top-10 finish in the Thursday night race.

BUILT LIKE FORT KNOX: Crafton and his ThorSport Racing teammates Johnny Sauter and Dakoda Armstrong are making a special stop during their trip to Kentucky. The three drivers are scheduled to visit Fort Knox for a hands-on day of training and meeting with military members at the U.S. Army post.

CHASSIS HISTORY: The No. 88 team will utilize chassis No. 041 this weekend at Kentucky Speedway. This is a brand-new chassis which will make its first laps when it hits the track in Kentucky.

THOUGHTS FROM THE DRIVER: Matt Crafton

How do you feel going into the race in Kentucky?
"I love going to Kentucky, It's one of the places I'm always looking forward to. The fans there are just awesome, and the Truck Series has always drawn a good crowd here. Everyone always wants to talk about the 'cookie cutter' mile and a half racetracks, but Kentucky is so, so different. Some of these mile and a half tracks you can hold it wide open so long and whoever has the most horsepower and the best body is going to go fastest that day. But a place like Kentucky, where there's so much character and a lot less banking, we really have to drive the truck a lot more. You have to lift through the corners and the bumps make it a real challenge, so you need the entire package when it comes to good handling."

You're bringing a brand new chassis to Kentucky Speedway. Do you prefer to bring a new truck versus a chassis you've raced in the past?
"New trucks have always been good to us in the past. Each and every time ThorSport brings something new to the racetrack, they show just how much they improve. It's nice to bring something to the track that you know you're familiar with, but when we bring something to the track that's new, 9 times out of 10 it's better than anything we've raced in the past. We're hoping our batting average stays the same with the new truck this weekend."

Did you do anything exciting during our longest break of the season?
"In our time off, I went up to the shop, checked out the new building and hung out with the guys, which is always fun. I also spent a lot of time at home getting all my spring cleaning done. Getting stuff done around the house was the biggest thing I did in these last three weeks."

Are you looking forward to spending some time at Fort Knox with the military?
"Our trip to Fort Knox is going to be great, I'm looking forward to that, without a doubt. You can't thank those people in the military enough for what they do for us. Without them, we don't have jobs and we don't have a free country, so it's always special to spend time with those people and show how grateful you are."

06-07-11

Matt Crafton - Texas Race Preview -
Crafton Ups the Ante in Texas

Matt Crafton, driver of the No. 88 Menards/Certainteed Chevrolet Silverado, makes his 21st NASCAR Camping World Truck Series start at Texas Motor Speedway for ThorSport Racing Friday, June 10th. Fourth in points after an unavoidable pit road crash in Kansas, Crafton is ready to gain back the No. 88 team "mojo." In two of the last three races at Texas, Crafton has started from pole position (the third race, he started second on the grid). A comfortable track, fast speeds and a focused team give Crafton the confidence he feels can get the job done this weekend.

"It's like I was telling everyone after Kansas this weekend - we're solely focused on getting this team back to running on all eight cylinders," said the veteran. "We've had some bad luck at both Charlotte and Kansas, but we're still consistent in the points going into the summer. Texas, a place that I've run really well and a track I like that I've driven most of my life in two Series, should be the place that we can get this done and have a shot a Victory Lane."

Crafton's thoughts on the points: right now, it's anyone's game, so just keep driving. "Being fourth is great, that means we don't have to dig ourselves out later this summer - but there is still a lot of really great racing to get through. Texas is a place that you've got the advantage if you stay up front consistently - it's not a track where you can hang back in the top five most of the race, then be stealth about passing for the checkers. You've got to be dominant from practice to qualifying to race night. We've got the truck to do it this year."

The No. 88 team will have a chance to become honorary "cowboys" on a special VIP tour with their teammates on the No. 13 Safe Auto/Curb Records/Carrier Chevy team at Cowboys Stadium on Friday morning. They will get an inside look from the Dallas Cowboys management team at the operations, locker room and get to "pull the Heisman" on the playing field. "I have a bunch of competitive guys on the team, and this is a congrats to them for having such fast pit stops in Kansas - it really was the positive in our day there. They deserve a chance to hang out and see what another sports team does and how they operate. That's pretty neat. I don't know if any of them are going to quit their day jobs to become offensive linemen any time soon, anyway!"

The team will also host Kyle Mohan, ultimate drifter from Kyle Mohan Racing on Friday - the guys are all going to learn how to Ultimate Drift. ThorSport Racing will also take part in a "TweetUp" with IndyCar team Andretti Autosport on Friday for crossover fans.

06-05-11

Matt Crafton - Kansas Race Recap -
Crafton Learns From Experience, Looks Ahead to Texas; 4th in Overall Points

Matt Crafton, driver of the No. 88 Menards/Ideal Door Chevrolet Silverado, fought loose conditions and a mid-race pit road unavoidable accident to power home in the 18th position in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series O'Reilly Auto Parts 250 at Kansas Speedway. With ten previous starts, four top tens and a career best fifth place finish here - Crafton had solid practice runs Friday plus some impressive loop statistics on track despite the disappointing finish. He sits fourth in overall NCWTS driver points going into Texas Motor Speedway.

"We just struggled all day; it's all I can say. I wanted to post a higher qualifying time (17th), but we were working pretty heavily on our setups during practice. It happens. I was solidly running in fourth to sixth there for a good stretch, and we even had the chance to lead a few laps there on a cycle, so we were gaining some momentum until the pit road crash happened."

Crafton encountered pit road contact with the No. 66 of Justin Marks, whose pit stall was adjacent to the No. 88 pit stall. "I was coming out, and Justin was coming in. It wasn't anyone's fault, it just happens and it's bad luck all around. It really did change our momentum, because the right front headlight was completely caved in and we had aerodynamic issues the rest of the race. My guys did their best on our pit road recovery time, putting as much Bondo fiberglass cloth tape on that thing as they could to get me back out there without vibrations - but it had a big effect on where we could run."

Despite the finish, several positives came out of the Kansas race. The veteran driver still showed he could post superior numbers - to include the second most green flag quality passes throughout the race - with 82 green flag passes after pass leader Kyle Busch. He also posted two of the fastest race lap times and raced 108 laps in the top 15 - even after the pit road crash - giving him 65% of the race in the critical top 15 range, which is important going into the summer series of Truck races. The No. 88 crew also posted the fastest pit stop times of the year during the race.

"I'm really proud of my team on getting me out there for track position in Kansas," Crafton continued. "I can't say enough about how hard they are working to get better each week on pit road, and it's really showing now as we're getting into the summer. We just need to regroup in general, not look backwards and focus this week on Texas. I run well there and I like the track, so we're pouring all of our time and energy into setting up that truck."

05-31-11

Matt Crafton - Kansas Race Preview -
Crafton Looks to Top Best Finish at Kansas

Matt Crafton, driver of the No. 88 Menards/Ideal Door Chevrolet Silverado, returns for his 11th NASCAR Camping World Truck Series start at Kansas Speedway on Saturday, June 4th with ThorSport Racing. With ten previous starts, four top tens and a career best fifth place finish here - the third place driver points leader is ready to show that consistency can still reign supreme with the No. 88 Sandusky, Ohio-based crew.

The flat corners of Kansas Speedway are tricky for any driver, but Crafton thinks being fast is key - something he and crew chief Bud Haefele have been all year with the intermediate trucks. "I like intermediate tracks, and Kansas has always been a challenge for me. I've had some bad luck here early on in my career, but I've also had some great finishes. Bud and the guys have worked so hard on our intermediate package this year, and it's showing in our progressive finishes at Phoenix, Nashville and Dover. There's no reason we can't do really well here with the momentum we're building in 2011."

The No. 88 team and Crafton, known for its legendary consistency in the Series, looks to get back to its "consistency streak" in Kansas after an unavoidable incident in Charlotte resulted in a tough finish. "I always say that we just look forward. Kansas is known for being pretty hot, which as most drivers know, creates a lot of issues with grip on the track. Without the banking that you see in some of the other mile and a half tracks, it means you've got to find the perfect groove to gain your speed. As long as the guys set me up with a super fast truck, which they have been all year - I know I can find the right groove to have a chance to win."

Crafton, who last year visited the families of the Ronald McDonald House during his stay, will this year focus on the Tornado Relief Effort with the Red Cross. "We're donating some of our previous firesuits and hoods, along with my teammate Johnny Sauter making donations, to the NASCAR Unites campaign for Tornado Relief," he said. "It's unbelievable, the devastation that this region has witnessed and suffered. It's whatever we can do to help. We're also going to have two families as our guests in Kansas who have been affected by the disaster, just to get their minds off any stress they might be facing in their day-to-day lives."

Crafton will be sporting Ideal Door on the hood of the No. 88 Menards Chevy Silverado this weekend. For over three decades, IDEAL Door has been one of the trusted leaders in providing homeowners with the finest residential garage doors and businesses with commercial and industrial doors. IDEAL Door has played a leading role in creating and updating industry technical standards and national building codes. "I'm looking forward to having Ideal Door on board with me this weekend," Crafton continued. "I've had two top tens this year with that hood, in Phoenix and in Nashville - so I hope we can continue that consistency in Kansas and bring them home a great finish or even a trip to Victory Lane.

05-22-11

Matt Crafton - Charlotte Race Recap -
Wild Tangles & Wide Open Racing for Crafton in Charlotte

Matt Crafton, driver of the No. 88 Menards/Great Lakes Flooring by Mullican Chevrolet Silverado, entered Charlotte Motor Speedway on Thursday with a spring in his step. The 2008 Charlotte race winner was first in points and had finished every lap of every Charlotte race he'd ever entered - in the top 10 or better in all of his eight starts. After a high number of cautions, wide open racing and an unavoidable tangle on track, however, his night ended with a 26th place finish.

After two strong practice sessions on the one day show, Crafton qualified fourteenth on the grid Friday afternoon. "Bud and I weren't worried at all," he said. "I told the guys earlier in practice that we didn't need to over adjust - Charlotte's a full day, and the track conditions are so drastically different even from qualifying to race time. Grip's always an issue, and track position counts in the last 50 laps. So we had a good truck going into the race."

He quickly made headway through the field early on in the race, gaining ground to as high as fifth position after expertly wheeling through some near-misses in early cautions. The driver fought loose left rear grip throughout the night and chose to pit early for an advantage on tires and fuel - putting him back on the grid in 10th position. Crafton was left with nowhere to go, however, after the midpoint of the race when a competitor pushed into the wall within inches of his truck and made contact - causing excessive damage to the front end of the No. 88 Menards Chevy. The No. 88 team charged to rebuild the truck in the garage in record time, putting him back out on track in the 28th position with 30 to go; he would later finish 26th.


"We got caught in a bad spot, and I had nowhere to go - I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time and it was a bad deal that happens a lot at Charlotte. Look at all those cautions overall. Totally wide open racing all day with 36 trucks, really, but we had a good truck to do this. I'm really proud of my guys though, because this truck was really in pieces, and they rallied fast to get me back out on the track so we could salvage a finish. It's not what we wanted here, but we're looking towards a championship. It's a big goal. We'll take the energy to Kansas and focus on really preparing the intermediate trucks for that track as well as Texas - two places I like going." Crafton is now fourth in overall driver points in the NCWTS and has finished in the top 10 in five of seven races this season.

05-17-11

Matt Crafton - Charlotte Race Preview -
Previous Charlotte Winner Crafton Returns to the Queen City to Defend the Ohio "Ice Palace"

Matt Crafton, driver of the No. 88 Menards/Mullican Great Lakes Flooring Chevrolet Silverado, returns for his ninth NASCAR Camping World Truck Series start at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Friday, May 20th with ThorSport Racing. With two top five finishes and seven top ten finishes here - capped off with a best finish win in 2008- the current Series points leader is ready to return to the Queen City of Charlotte with his No. 88 Sandusky, Ohio-based crew.

ThorSport Racing is the only Ohio-based NASCAR team...dubbed the "Ice Palace" by Krista Voda on a Setup show for SPEED Channel in Daytona of this year due to its chilly weather and icy conditions. The No. 88 Menards Chevy team is used to the questions on operating competitively outside of the NASCAR hub city of Charlotte.

Crafton, who holds one of the longest relationships in the Series with the same sponsor and same race organization at ten years strong, likes to hear the questions. "They aren't new questions, I've heard them my whole career at ThorSport Racing and we've never really given it a second thought," said the veteran driver. "We've heard things like, 'You have to be in Charlotte to be successful.' 'There are no equipment suppliers or people in Ohio.' 'What about the wind tunnel or technology?' 'How can you win a championship from somewhere other than the heart of racing?' All valid questions, but all questions we've either answered or solved in a really humble way - quietly - through great people, partners, technology and track performance over the last few years as we've hit our stride."

"With all due respect, I love Charlotte. This is my adopted city, after being from California and driving for a team from Sandusky. We have so much momentum this year, coming off a great season last year - my teammate, Johnny Sauter, and I being third and fourth in points; me winning at Charlotte in 2008; and doing pretty well the first six races this year. Many of our extended families and friends live here, and it's a place to pay homage to our racing forefathers, just as Daytona is for all of us racers."

"ThorSport Racing opens a brand new, 100,000-sq. ft. race facility in Sandusky in August, though, and it's a source of huge pride in where we've come from and to in ten years. We can't wait to celebrate with our Ohio family and NASCAR fans everywhere. This continues to be a great year. But we'd like to prove, in a subtle, humble way of sorts - that you don't necessarily have to live and work here as a team, to be successful & win championships in this business."

Bringing the Great Lakes to the East Coast

The No. 88 Menards/Mullican Great Lakes Flooring Chevrolet will sport a hood featuring the Great Lakes by Mullican brand. Offering an array of hardwood floor options for buyers, the line is available at Menards locations across the country. Visit www.menards.com for more information.

"I'm looking forward to this race and having Great Lakes by Mullican on the hood. I spent two extra days in Sandusky with my guys after racing Toledo on Sunday in the ARCA Racing Series. It gave us a chance to connect over the Charlotte truck, and it also gave us the mental gains to prepare for this week. Every week is a big race week, but our 1.5-mile program is dominant this year. I'd like to come back and really see if we can get this truck in Victory Lane again."

05-14-11

Matt Crafton - Dover Race Recap -
Matt Crafton Moves Mountains at the "Monster"

Matt Crafton, driver of the No. 88 Menards/Certainteed Chevrolet, came off a strong two days at Dover International Speedway by placing third in the Lucas Oil 200 on Friday afternoon.

After two strong practice sessions on Thursday, Crafton qualified tenth on the grid Friday morning with a lap time of 23.181 seconds. He quickly made headway through the field early on in the race, gaining ground to as high as first position. The driver fought loose conditions throughout the race, but he was able to battle off the pack with impressive driving, pit strategy and cycling to keep in the top three at the checkers. The third place finish allows Crafton to claim the points lead in the Truck Series.

"At the beginning of the race, I couldn't fire off and I was really, really loose," Crafton said. "But at the end of the run, we'd be one of the best trucks on the race track."
This was Crafton's sixth top-10 finish in 11 races at the Monster Mile. He is now leading the points by five over ThorSport Racing teammate Johnny Sauter.

"It's great to be the points leader," Crafton continued. "We just need to keeping doing what we're doing and running top five every week and having these top three finishes and throw a couple of wins off and see where we are at Homestead."

The 2008 Charlotte race winner now sets his sights on a return win at Charlotte Motor Speedway next Friday night. He also competes in the ARCA Racing Series Menards 200 on Sunday afternoon at Toledo Speedway in Toledo, Ohio.

05-10-11

Matt Crafton - Dover Race Preview -
Crafton Does Double Duty in Dover

Matt Crafton, driver of the No. 88 Menards/Certainteed Chevrolet Silverado, makes his eleventh NASCAR Camping World Truck Series start at Dover International Speedway on Friday, May 13th for ThorSport Racing. With four top ten finishes and his best finish of fifth in 2008 for Crafton, currently third in driver points, he feels as ready as he'll ever be to take on the "Monster Mile."

"I've had concussions here, been life-flighted out of here, had good days and had bad days," the driver said. "Welcome to the Monster Mile, it can eat you alive or give you the best ride you've ever driven. It's one of my favorite racetracks, and I really mean that. It's crazy to say at a place that's beaten me up before, but that's the beauty of Dover. You have to trust your instincts and not make any mistakes. We're ready this year from all fronts to attack."

Doing "double driver duty," Crafton will fly directly from the Truck Series race to compete in the ARCA Racing Series Menards 200 in a Kimmel Racing-fielded entry, the No. 88 Menards Ford Fusion.

"Speaking" for Autism in Dover
The No. 88 Menards/Certainteed Chevy will also don the Autism Speaks Puzzle logo for the Dover Lucas Oil 200 on Friday as a tribute to children with autism. "This is the second year in a row that we've supported Autism Speaks, and it's a great way that we can raise awareness for a group doing good things across the country," Crafton continued.

Adopting Service members for the No. 88

The No. 88 pit stall will have three extra "honorary pit crew" on Dover weekend, as the ThorSport Racing team supports members of the Dover Air Force Base. Staff Sergeant Erik Chittick, the 436th Civil Engineer Squadron Crew Chief; Technical Sergeant Heather Michaud, the 436th Civil Engineer Squad Fire Inspector; and Technical Sergeant James Ellis of the 9th Airlift Squadron; will all get to "catch tires" with Mechanixwear gloves alongside the No. 88 crew.

"It's really neat to have any kind of military members with us at any race, but Dover is very special," said Crafton. "They do so much at Dover AFB and are usually not recognized, to include the 'honor flights' of our fallen service men and women. These are folks who quietly serve, and it's an amazing facility that I've toured before. I'm glad we can show them a fun day of racing and being part of our team."

Carrier Joins Forces with TSR to "Keep Racing Cool"

Carrier, the world leader in air conditioning, heating and refrigeration systems, has joined forces as the Official HVAC provider for ThorSport Racing. As part of the partnership, Carrier will provide heating and cooling systems for ThorSport Racing's new 100,000-square foot facility in Sandusky, Ohio - opening to the public in August 2011. For more information on Carrier, visit www.Carrier.com.

Getting "CSI" on the "ISO" at Dover AFB

As a "thank you" from the Dover AFB staff, the ThorSport Racing No. 88 and No. 13 teams will be touring the C17 Flight Line and the C5 ISO-Chronical Inspection on Thursday night alongside Max & Tati Papis; and crew members from Red Horse Racing. Well known as the "CSI" of Dover AFB, the crew will be touring wings and tails of planes - watch out drivers, no wing walking!

04-24-11

Matt Crafton - Nashville Race Recap

Matt Crafton, ThorSport Racing driver of the No. 88 Menards/Ideal Door Chevrolet Silverado, powered home in Nashville in sixth position at the Bully Hill Vineyards 200 in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS). Starting in the 15th position on the grid, the driver powered to his fourth top ten finish in five races this year - placing him solidly in the top three in driver points going to Dover on May 13th.

One of the only drivers to participate in all 200 of the SPEED-broadcasted races, he took time to visit with SPEED Setup host Krista Voda pre-race with a cake on-air. His "celebratory cake smash" has become a viral social media hit, seen here:

On the first lap of the race, Crafton started to pull down the positions to 11th by lap five. Fighting loose conditions all night, the driver restarted after the first pit in eighth position on lap 62 and held ground for the remaining 138 laps. For most of the race, Crafton and teammate Johnny Sauter traded position for the tenth and eleventh spots. Losing ground in second gear several times during the evening, Crafton was able to pilot his Menards/Ideal Door Chevy to a solid sixth place finish.

"We fought really, really loose all night," said Crafton. "I couldn't get the back end into the race track. That's about how I always run at Nashville though, in fifth to eighth spots or so. I just wish we could have gotten the back of that truck to match up with the front. I felt like a basketball around lap 87, bouncing all over and sliding the nose. Bud and my guys made the truck better all night, but it just wasn't enough to take on the top five and not right where we needed to be. We had some transmission issues holding us back on the restarts, but we'll get it worked out before Dover. That is one of my favorite all-time tracks, and I want that Monster Mile trophy."

Crafton continued about the cake smash and some good advice he received. "Krista said I was just getting some much needed practice for my wedding coming up. Somehow I don't think my fiancee Ashley would agree...but I sure did have a lot of icing on my hands to prove the practice! I did have a chance to eat some of the cake, and it was awesome. So to the bakers, thanks...and I think Krista liked the icing! Congratulations to SPEED on their 200th broadcast. It is a special year for many of us."

04-21-11

Matt Crafton - Nashville Race Preview
Matt Crafton Looks to "RIFF" with Legends

Matt Crafton, driver of the No. 88 Menards/Ideal Door Chevrolet Silverado for ThorSport Racing, sums up Nashville in two words. Fired up. The veteran driver, on a quest for the championship in 2011, looks in the rearview at an 11th place finish in Martinsville and knows it's time to prove how his team can perform this year at Nashville and beyond. Sitting second in driver points contention going into the race, as well as one top five and five top 10s in eleven apperances - a seventh place finish or better in the last three races - he knows what is possible.

"Yep, I'm fired up. There is no other way to say it. Me and my guys were seeing red, blood red, after Martinsville," said Crafton. "We knew we were a better team than that performance, especially this year. It takes perfection at the race track week in, week out to beat the field in this environment in the Truck Series. We know we can do it. So I told my guys this week when I flew to Sandusky - 'we are going to finish where we left off in Martinsville.' We are, and we will, prove that we can win races and hopefully win championships with consistent performances."

ThorSport Racing Sets Standard in 2011

The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series recently reported that "ThorSport Racing is, arguably, the team to beat in 2011." Crafton is five points away from the leader spot where his teammate, Johnny Sauter sits. Crafton has been atop the standings for the first four races of the season.

Nashville Superspeedway's Bully Hill Vineyards 200 marks ThorSport Racing's 327th consecutive race, matching that of Circle Bar Racing for second all-time. Crafton has been a part of the organization since 2001, one of the longest-standing driver/team owner relationships in the Series. That determination and loyalty sits well with the driver and his confidence on the race track.

"I say this all the time - Duke and Rhonda Thorson are like second parents to me. Duke and I talk on the phone sometimes twice a day, just talking about life," says Crafton. "They are such a strong, supportive leadership team for all of their drivers. I am so confident going to the track that they 'have my back,' in however we perform. So me and my guys know on the 88 that we have a responsibility to that family. The Menards family, and also the ThorSport family. This can be our year."

He went on to say that it's time to really tackle this track. "It's no secret that I really love asphalt tracks, and I'm pretty outspoken about it. Concrete is a challenge. But again, we really are not just competitive this year, but ready to win races at any track. We're bringing the No. 35 chassis for the 88 team - used most recently at Darlington. It was strong there, and Bud and I have worked on it since. Time to race and show how we can make it happen in Nashville. I want a Gibson guitar."

04-03-11

Matt Crafton - Martinsville Race Recap
Tire Wear, Track Conditions & On-Track Incidents End Crafton's Hopes of Truck Series Victory at Martinsville

ThorSport Racing driver, Matt Crafton, wheeled the No. 88 Menards/Tarkett Chevy Silverado to an 11th place finish at the Kroger 250 on Saturday afternoon in Martinsville. Leading the driver points going into the weekend, Crafton made a strong showing in both practices - posting second fastest times. Starting seventh on the grid, the driver battled tire wear, track debris and incidents to drive it home in the 11th spot.

"It was a disappointing day for us on the No. 88 team," said Crafton. "We typically have a top five truck coming into this race track, and we thought we had it in practice. We fought tire management all day here, as well as our setup and stops - it was just an off day. Am I going to worry about it from right now on? No. We're a team, and we're in this for a championship this year. The mark of a championship team is admitting it was an off day, then going to work at the shop the next day on the next race. We're managing expectations and focused on the long haul. We're moving on, it's time to make Nashville our race."

Crafton led five laps on the restart at lap 94, as well as led the speed board during the same time frame, but had to overcome debris on the tires over the course of the race's six cautions. Avoiding the outside line as much as possible due to debris the whole day, the team pitted at lap 56 in sixth position. After the first pit, the team fought forward bite issues and two on-track incidents with truck damage.

After the second pit stop for the last set of tires and adjustments on lap 180, Crafton restarted in 17th place and maneuvered through slippery mid-track conditions and competitors to finish in the 11th position at the checkers.

"Again, off day - yes. We're a team though, and if an off day is an 11th place finish in a tough, tough Series out right now, and still being second in overall driver points and sharing the top spot with a ThorSport Racing teammate - that speaks for something. 'The streak' of top 10s was great and consistent and it's a shame it was broken - but we have higher overall expectations this year. They include top fives, wins, poles, championships. ThorSport Racing is a strong organization this year, and the No. 88 Menards Chevy team is going back to the drawing board. We're going to use the next three weeks to put everything into that Nashville truck. Preparation is our statement, and we'll be happy to show it on the racetrack in Tennessee. It just wasn't our day, and it happens. This is a strong team with a lot of resources and effort - we'll be back, and back 150% stronger."

03-31-11

Matt Crafton - Martinsville Race Preview
2011 Current Driver Points Leader

ThorSport Racing driver Matt Crafton and the No. 88 Menards/Tarkett Chevy team return to Martinsville Speedway this weekend. The current points leader makes his 19th appearance at the famed "Paperclip" short track. The only driver to have three top 10 finishes in as many races in the 2011 NCWTS season, Crafton's results speak for themselves in consistency - four top 10 finishes in the last four appearances.

On the Race Track & New Partners
"It's a fun track, short tracks are always fun to race, but there are so many unknowns there as to other drivers. It's really tough to pass there, so track position is everything at 'The Paperclip.' The ones who stay up front and don't get involved in the wrecks are the ones who stay up front for a while. You've either got it or you don't."

"We're happy to add Eibach Springs as a partner this year, starting at Martinsville. Great equipment is a big part of our success & strategy at ThorSport Racing, and we're looking forward to working with them."

On Strategy
"It's a short race on a short track, so you have to qualify well, then stay up front. Of course you have to have a good truck and a great team behind you in the pits and on top of the pit box, but overall it's track position. We've seen a lot of different pit strategies over the years, and with the new Goodyear tires, we might get back to a two-stop race. So I'm sure there are lots of shops talking right now about how they are going to handle it. On the Menards Chevy team, it's track position and a great truck for qualifying."

On Favorite Tracks
"Being able to race every week is a privilege, so every weekend I get to race is a good one. I'm not shy about the fact that Martinsville is a track that has so many different twists to it based on outside elements - and as a driver, I want control of as many elements as I can have. So in that sense, it's not a favorite of mine - but as to competitive racing, absolutely, it's one of the best for head to head competition and lots of action. I'm looking forward to seeing how it all shakes out, since it's a hard place to stay conservative."

On Leading Points, the "Famous Hot Dogs"
"We talk a lot about the points. Again, it's so early on in the year, and while it's great to be on top and we're not in a position to have to 'come back' later on - I don't put a lot of stock in it. There's just too much competition to say that. And I haven't had a famous Martinsville Hot Dog. Maybe it's the time factor, we're so busy when we're there...anyone want to pass me one going out the tunnel?! We'll put out a sign saying 'will work for food' in the pit box. The guys would love it!"

03-13-11

Matt Crafton - Darlington Race Recap
Crafton Stays "Too Tough to Tame" at Darlington Raceway

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series points leader Matt Crafton, driver of the No. 88 Menards/Tarkett Chevy Silverado for ThorSport Racing, powered home in fourth position at the notorious Lady in Black on Saturday night. The finish kept him securely on top of the series points boards, as well as gave the team the third top 10 finish of the season's three races and first top five.

Nicknamed "Mr. Consistency" this year by the motorsports press, Crafton was true to form from practice to qualifying to race night in the one-day show. Running in the top 10 in both practices, Crafton started the race in fourth position with a qualifying lap time of 28.448 - just one tenth out of pole range.

Running sixth through the first caution of a record 11 for the night, Crafton and crew chief Bud Haefele decided to stay out. On the second caution of the night at lap 25, he brought the truck in for four tires and fuel, saying it was free and lots of debris on the track.

"The truck was super free at the start of the race. I felt we could've been up front a little more but weren't - I just wasn't racing the race track as much," said Crafton. "People were taking chances early, so Bud and I were just trying to be smart."

Restarting 14th and still feeling loose, the team went on to battle for position over the course of the next 92 laps and five cautions. Pitting twice, once at lap 58 and next at lap 88, Crafton wheeled as high as seventh position while still giving feedback that the truck was "free, free, free." Crafton would restart 23rd and make an impressive drive through the pack to the fourth position at the checkers. The solid performance delivers not only his first top five finish this season, but also his 75th consecutive top 10 series finish and third top 10 finish in as many races this season.

"Coming back for a top five after restarting 23rd with 46 laps to go - that's really good and I'm proud of how we can dig. I can't thank the guys enough for working their tails off and giving me a great truck to be able to drive through it like we did at the end. I just wish we hadn't lost track position today - I think we could've had something for the 18 without that loss. We live and die as a team though, and we're going to take that to Martinsville."

03-11-11

Matt Crafton - Darlington Race Preview
Consistency, Championships & Long-Term Relationships

Matt Crafton will make his 250th consecutive start this Saturday at the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Too Tough to Tame 200 at Darlington Raceway. The Tulare, Calif. veteran, driver of the No. 88 Menards/Tarkett Chevrolet Silverado, holds a single-point lead in series point standings over Clay Rogers. Driving for the series' longest tenured active owner, ThorSport Racing will make its 343rd and 344th starts over the weekend (along with championship-contending teammate Johnny Sauter in the No. 13 Safe Auto/Curb Records Chevrolet Silverado). Crafton also has the longest-running consecutive sponsor relationship in the NCWTS, with Menards, Inc. for the past ten years.

Crafton finished seventh at Phoenix International Raceway just two weeks ago to rank among the top 10 in points for the 74th consecutive race - a streak that stands fourth in series history. ThorSport Racing continues to dominate with its teams, finishing among the top 10 in points seven times with both trucks in 2009-2010.

ON THE RACETRACK:
"I'm not going to lie, Darlington is not my favorite race track to run. You definitely race the track - it's not about the competition around you, and that will play mind games on you. I was running as high as third last year, and I realized you just can't go side by side here. It's miserable to pass, and that's just being honest! You won't see much passing going on by the veterans - it's just tough and the track is not very wide. You really have to trust your instincts and what you feel in the truck on the track, rather than go for position against your competitors."


ON LEARNING FROM OTHERS:
"It's funny, I don't normally say that I learn a lot from other drivers - this is my 10th year in the NCWTS. Hopefully, I know what I need to improve upon since I'm my own worst critic. But last year, Bodine passed me at a pivotal point in the race. I remember saying to myself at that point, 'Wow. That just helped me. I'm doing that next lap.' So he's the one to watch here, and he just performs so well at this track. If I learn anything, it will probably be from Todd."

ON PREPARATION:
"It's mental. I do TiVo races, and Darlington is definitely one I'll be watching this week (the race from 2010). That was an exciting race, but a lot of veteran drivers got taken out. Since the repave, it's a lot like Daytona when you're talking about surface. I loved the old pavement, it was just enough grip. Now, it's so much grip that it gives a false sense of security. It's still an amazing track that we as drivers have to respect - I mean, it IS Darlington after all."

ON BEING FIRST IN DRIVER POINTS:
"Talk to me in ten weeks! When we have ten races to go, or even five races to go, I'll really care. Yes, I'm happy to be at the top of the boards, but no, it doesn't mean anything right now with all the racing we have left this season. It is unreal, the competition this year in our Series. I love it. What I will tell you is that I'm proud that we're ahead of the game already this year. Last year, we started having some challenges right about this time - it was Atlanta for us. I think our energy is high coming into Darlington - the whole team- so it makes a huge difference. We have to keep it up!"

CHASSIS INFORMATION:
Chassis No. 30. Last used in Homestead, Florida in 2010 where Crafton qualified in seventh position and finished sixth.

02-27-11

Matt Crafton - Phoenix Race Recap
Crafton & the No. 88 Menards/Ideal Door Team Collect a Top-10 & Bank the Top Driver Points Spot

ThorSport Racing's No. 88 Menards/Ideal Door team showcased their talents at Phoenix International Raceway and proved that they were a team in the Championship running this year by demonstrating a solid performance and bringing home a seventh-place finish in the 2011 Lucas Oil 150.

Matt Crafton lined up the No. 88 Menards/Ideal Door Chevrolet Silverado in the 6th position and ran as high as fifth in the race's first 20 laps, before the first caution flag flew on lap 41. On the restart in 8th position after four tires & fuel, he motored to as high as third position behind Clint Bowyer and Kyle Busch. As the caution flags were more prevalent with 50 to go, Crafton wheeled the No. 88 through two more pit stops, coming out in 4th position at lap 111; then taking two tires at lap 132's caution and coming out in 6th position. In the final laps, Crafton navigated through several on-track incidents to power his No. 88 Menards/Ideal Door Chevrolet Silverado into the 7th position at the checkers.

The solid finish not only gives Crafton his second top 10 in two races (after Daytona's 10th finishing spot) for ThorSport Racing, but also lands him in the top position in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver points going into Darlington on March 12.

Matt Crafton Quote:

"We had a great truck in Phoenix, it was awesome on the long runs. Bud (Haefele, crew chief) and the guys set it up perfectly. It's a shame we had to take 2 tires to try for track position late in the race, happened with several other frontrunners too. We know we're fast and my team is fast, but if we can't beat them off pit road, then we can't win races. We're going to keep working towards Darlington and stay up in the points race. It's great to be first in driver points, but we're on race 2 of 25. We're looking to keep that consistency over the race season."

Next Race:

Too Tough to Tame 200
Darlington Raceway
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Practice: 9am-10am and
10:30am-12:00pmET
Qualifying: 3:15pm
Race: 5:00pm on SPEED, SiriusXM Radio, MRN Radio

02-22-11

Matt Crafton - Phoenix Race Preview

Matt Crafton returns to his favorite racetrack - Phoenix International Raceway - this week with the Menards/Ideal Door team.  It's his favorite for a reason - his 11th visit in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series comes with a lot of street credibility.  In his ten appearances, he's had three top 5 finishes and four top 10s.  In 2010, he started second and finished fourth. 
Notes & Quotes on PIR

ON THE RACETRACK:
"PIR is one of my favorite racetracks. I've been coming here since I was in diapers with my family - growing up pretty close by in California.  This is one of those tracks, for those of us racers from the West Coast that you just HAVE to win.  I raced this track on the old Southwest Tour when I was just starting out and won here.  That gives you a lot of confidence when you're younger, so when you come back, it means more.  That was a big win for me. It's just a lot of fun to race."
 
ON RACING HIS TEAMMATE:
"Johnny (Sauter, in the No. 13 Safe Auto/Curb Records Chevrolet Silverado) and I are great teammates.  We work together on the track, but we're also racers.  It's pretty natural to know that we're going to race each other to the checkers every race.  Here at Phoenix, we've both qualified and finished well all the times we've been here.  So I'm expecting it to be pretty tight at the end of the day.  He's definitely one of the ones to beat here, and I know he likes this track too.  So we're competitors, and we both like to win.  We'll see how it all goes!"
 
ON BEING "COACH CRAFTON":
"Wow, that just sounds strange hearing it! I don't think I'm actually called "coach' anywhere...at least not by Travis!  I'm the driver coach for Travis Pastrana in his K&N Pro Series races, so I'll be helping him this week.  They race on Thursday afternoon, and I think he's really ready.  It has been a lot of fun to help him get comfortable in the stock cars.  We have a lot of practical jokes happening at the tests and the tracks, but he's a serious racer.  He's getting this down pretty quickly, so look for him to be a serious competitor in the Nationwide Series this year.  Hopefully, I've helped teach him some things!"
 
OVERALL VIEWPOINTS:
 "Daytona is over, and we're moving on in the season.  We say it all the time - the season starts in Phoenix.  This is where we're going to see a lot of the teams start to show what they are made of in the way of finishes and points.  I had an appearance at a Menard's grand opening earlier this week, and it's so neat to see so many fans supporting us throughout the country.  I'm looking forward to a strong finish for the No. 88 Menards/Ideal Door Chevrolet this week."

02-20-11

Matt Crafton No. 88 Menards/Herculiner Chevrolet Recap: Daytona

Despite a demolition derby-style season opener at Daytona International Speedway's NASCAR Camping World Truck Series NextEra Energy Resources 250 - and being involved in one of the three "big ones" of the night - wheelman Matt Crafton was able to run as high as first, as well as bring home his No. 88 Menards/Herculiner Chevrolet Silverado to a top-10 finish at the checkers. The night's finish also placed him on the points board at sixth going into Phoenix International Raceway's Lucas Oil 150 this coming Friday.

Crafton started the night at the back of the field due to unscheduled truck changes after qualifying, in which he posted a seventh-fastest lap time of 50.988 seconds and speed of 176.512mph. Strategizing with crew chief Bud Haefele, as well as ThorSport Racing teammate Johnny Sauter and the No. 13 crew chief, Joe Shear, Jr - the team elected to run a conservative race at the back of the field to avoid any major altercations that are so characteristic of the 2.5-mile superspeedway. The strategy paid off early on, as both avoided the accident that caused the first yellow flag of six that flew on lap 37. Pitting for four tires and fuel, Crafton relayed to the crew that the outside line was having trouble making headway, as well as agreeing with teammate Sauter that the track has so much grip with the new surface. Haefele agreed that they would need to pair up with a nearby team or Sauter, in the No. 13 Safe Auto/Curb Records Chevrolet, to draft back to the top earlier than expected.

Over the course of the third major pit stop at lap 65's caution, the Menards/Herculiner pit crew put their No. 88 truck back out to the field seven stops higher at position 16. Crafton noted to Haefele over the radio that "these trucks are getting pretty brave - we've got a lot of confidence out here, and it's looking like a big wreck is coming soon." His prophecy would come all too true at lap 75, after having a successful draft session for several laps with Sauter and the 13; the 51 truck of Aric Almirola and the 18 truck of Kyle Busch - stemming from an earlier agreement mid-race between teams to link up for the draft to make the push.

The plan worked from laps 58 to 64, then again after the caution at lap 65 until the first major "big one" involved 14 trucks, to include the Menards/Herculiner Chevrolet. Crafton brought the truck in for right tires at lap 75 first, then more repairs at lap 76 under caution. His damage included a bent back spoiler, extensive rear and right fender issues. The damage was so heavy to the right side that it took Crafton's right side tires down three more times within 18 laps - a testament to his on-track handling skills to keep the truck in the top 20 the entire time.

Just as the field came by the start/finish line with four laps to go, the third huge crash happened in front of Crafton's Menards/Herculiner Chevrolet Silverado. The race was red flagged while track crews cleaned up the mess from the nine-truck pile-up that severely damaged several contending trucks. Crafton, even after his third right side tire change and a spoiler taping at lap 96, was able to navigate the debris, spinning trucks and extra pit road time to finish the race 10th at the checkers.

"Today wasn't what we expected at all as far as racing or finishing goes," said Crafton after the race. "I've got to thank my guys on the No. 88 team for salvaging and digging so many times on pit road. It could have been a whole lot worse, since so many teams got taken out of the running completely - but we wanted a top five with how well the truck was running at the start. This is our season to show what we can do with the new horsepower."

"Riding in the back is what you've got to do at this track. It can pay off, and it can also work against you with this new surface. The grip on that track is major, which doesn't work in our favor when we're trying to push up the field. So it takes longer to head back to the front, and when you're navigating through so many wrecks, it gets interesting."

"We'll take a top ten finish and a top sixth in points, but we're not going to let up when this truck comes back in action at Talladega. We're concentrating on the Phoenix setup now, and it's a good track. Last year we finished fourth there in the No. 88, so it's time to focus on doing that or better for our Menards team in 2011. The year is still early, and we've got a lot of racing to do."

Crafton and the ThorSport Racing No. 88 Menards/Ideal Door Chevrolet Silverado will head west to Phoenix for a Friday night showdown in the Lucas Oil 150.

02-15-11

Matt Crafton No. 88 Menards/Herculiner Chevrolet Preview: Daytona

Matt Crafton is looking forward to getting back in the seat of the No. 88 Menards/Herculiner Chevrolet to kick off the 2011 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season. Crafton's consistency was key in 2010, scoring one pole, ten top-five finishes, ten top-ten finishes and a fourth-place finish in the series championship standings. His 2011 goal is simple: to get into Victory Lane as much as possible and gain wins to add to the consistency boards. Period.

ON PRE-SEASON PREDICTIONS:
"Daytona is the track that everyone wants to race - not to mention, it's our 'Super Bowl' every year. So there is a lot of pressure, especially based on pre-season predictions, for the veteran teams to perform. The 88 team is no different - we're coming off a 2010 season with a solid 4th place points finish. We've got a simple strategy this year on the 88 team - that's to win races as much as possible and not listen to the predictions. There is a lot of competition in Trucks this year, and I can't wait - it's time to get down to business and show that the 88 can hit Victory Lane in 2011. It's my job to take it to the track and wheel it. The guys have really put in the hours in the shop in the offseason."

ON CHANGES MADE AT TSR FOR THE 88:
"We changed to ECR engines, and that has made a huge difference in horsepower, which is where we had challenges last year. At Daytona, it's what it's going to take to bring the last push home and what will distinguish the veteran drivers - since we all want a strong finish. We also made a few personnel changes, so it's a strong team. I'm proud of my guys, and it's great to be with Bud (Haefele) again this year. We finish each other's sentences - and he knows when something's up in the Truck just by my differences in breathing over the radio. It's a great bond."

ON THE NEW SURFACE/SPEEDS AT DAYTONA:
At Daytona, we're dealing with a lot more grip thanks to the new surface - so handling won't be an issue. What Bud and I will be watching out for is the rest of the field. This is going to be exciting, fast racing; pair that with a great big mix of aggressive veterans and young rookies, and we'll be making the spotters earn their keep more than usual up in the stand. We'll definitely be using the last few years of track history, fuel management and the 'luck factor' to determine our last 10 laps - since the first 90 will be spent staying clear."

OVERALL VIEWPOINTS:
"I'd love to say I'm gunning for a win at Daytona - but that would be pretty rash. It's safe to say that the entire field wants a win, especially at Daytona...and a lot of guys out there will do anything to get it. I'd rather say that I want a strong finish, and I know I've got the Truck and team that will push for the 88 to get a strong finish. And there is nothing more that I'd like to do, in the 10th anniversary of Menard's with ThorSport Racing in the Series, than to give that to my sponsor."

Matt Crafton at Daytona: Matt has started ten NCWTS races at Daytona, with three top-ten finishes in his past four attempts. His best finish is fifth in 2010. He has completed 900 of 1012 possible laps (88.9%) and has led one lap in competition at Daytona, that being in 2009. He started outside the front row in 2009, his best qualifying effort at Daytona.

Crafton's Daytona Truck: The truck Crafton will pilot at Daytona is ThorSport Racing Chassis No. 24. It's the truck Crafton drove at both Daytona and Talladega in 2010 and 2009. In 2010, it qualified 17th and finished fifth in Daytona; and qualified 11th and finished 4th in Talladega. In 2009, it qualified second and finished eighth at Daytona; and qualified seventh and finished tenth at Talladega.

ThorSport remains the longest-tenured team in the NCWTS: With the departure of the Roush Fenway Racing organization from the Camping World Truck Series following the 2009 season, ThorSport Racing is now and remains the longest tenured team in the series. The team made its debut in the series at Milwaukee in 1996, and has entered at least one truck in 315 races. The Daytona race will be the No. 88 truck's 322nd consecutive NCWTS race.
Crafton's consecutive starts streak continues as the longest: Matt Crafton has the longest active streak of consecutive starts in the Camping World Truck Series. Crafton has started 247 consecutive races dating to his series debut at the season-ending race at California Speedway in 2000. Crafton has been in every NCWTS race since.

ThorSport Racing No. 88 Menards/Herculiner Chevrolet Pit Crew:
Crew chief: Bud Haefele
Jackman: Cody Jarrett
Truck chief: Jeriod Prince
Rear tire changer: David Sumner
Front tire changer: Tommy Jacobs
Rear tire carrier: Chris Rock
Front tire carrier: Ed Riley
Gasman: Rich Riley
Spotter: Tad Boyd
Transport driver: Bob Tebo

Next Race: The 2011 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series kicks off with the NextEra Energy Resources 250 at Daytona International Speedway on Friday February 18th. The first practice is a 3 hour + 20 minute session scheduled for 4:40 P.M. on Wednesday February 16th, with the final 50-minute session slated for Thursday February 17th at 12:10PM. The 36-truck starting field will be determined in two-lap qualifying runs at 6:05 P.M. on Thursday evening. The tweltfh annual NextEra Energy Resources 250 will go green shortly after 8 P.M. on Friday night; it can be seen live on SPEED and heard live on select affiliates of the Motor Racing Network and on Sirius NASCAR Radio Channel 128.

02-03-11

Crafton and Menards Ready for Record-Breaking Season in 2011

Matt Crafton is ready. His fleet of No. 88 Menards/SealBest Chevrolets is ready. His crew is ready.

All they need is to see the first green flag of the 2011 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season.

After finishing second in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series standings in 2009, Crafton was pegged as a favorite for the 2010 series championship. Looking at his performance in the No. 88Menards/SealBest Chevrolet Silverado over the final 16 races of the season, it's hard to believe he wasn't fighting for the title. Crafton closed the season with 16 consecutive top-ten finishes and moved from eighth in the series standings back up to fourth. But uncharacteristic troubles over the first nine races of the season - in which Crafton was involved in a couple of fender-benders and had his first engine failure in more than two years - left him in a deep points deficit that he wasn't able to overcome.

So what are Crafton's goals heading into 2011?

"Our main goal is really simple, we want to win," Crafton said. "That's the only thing we've been missing over the past two years. We've had poles. We've had a ton of top-fives and top-tens. We've been right up there in the points for the last three years. But we've only had that one win (Charlotte, 2008). We've been so close so many times it hurts to think about it. Our goal is to get back to victory lane. We have a lot of momentum on our side after finishing the season as strong as we did last year. We're ready to head down to Daytona and pick up right where we left off."

Crafton, crew chief Bud Haefele and the rest of the ThorSport Racing crew aren't going to change much in their approach to the new season, but they're hoping to catch a couple more good breaks and fewer bad breaks in 2011.

"We hadn't had a DNF (did not finish) in more than two years," Crafton said. "But we got caught up in a wreck at Atlanta and another one in Kansas. We had some motor trouble in Michigan. Those things hadn't happened to us in a long, long time. It's just bad luck, and you can't really do anything about it other than to wait it out and hope eventually it changes. If we can keep those things from happening this season, and get the Menards Chevy into the winners circle a couple of times, I think we'll be a lot closer to the championship than we were last year and even in 2009."

Crafton and his ThorSport Racing team will celebrate a unique milestone in 2011: their sponsorship with Menards will enter its tenth full season, making it the longest team and primary sponsor relationship in NASCAR Camping World Truck Series history.

"Breaking that record is something we're all proud of," Crafton said. "It says a lot about our team owners Duke and Rhonda Thorson, who have been committed to this series for 16 years and it says a lot about Menards. I'm proud to have been a part of it for nine of the ten years. One of the really cool parts about working with Menards is going to the stores and seeing the race fans. We'll go out to somewhere in Minnesota or North Dakota in the middle of winter, and it
feels like it's 50 below zero, and there are people there lined up to see the Team Menards racecars. It's been great to be a part of it and hopefully we can end our record-breaking season with a championship celebration in Miami."

11-21-10

Crafton’s Season Ends with Sixth at Homestead

Matt Crafton concluded the 2010 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season at Homestead-Miami Speedway with his 16th consecutive top-ten finish, a sixth, in the No. 88 Menards/McGuire-Nicholas Chevrolet. Crafton encountered a tight condition early in the race which kept him mired in a pack of traffic racing between the sixth and 12th positions, but adjustments on the final pit stop and fortuitous timing of the caution flags allowed Crafton to get in position to race for his fourth consecutive top-five finish.

“I was right there with (Aric) Almirola at the end and I could see Johnny (Sauter) and (Ron) Hornaday right there too, but I just couldn’t get up there with them,” Crafton said. “Our truck was better up in the middle and higher grooves but that’s were Aric was running. We only had four laps to go after the final restart and we just didn’t have enough time to make it work on the bottom to get past him.”

Crafton spent much of the night racing among a pack of trucks that swapped positions almost continuously throughout the evening, and that hard racing saw numerous three- and even four-wide moves through the progressively banked turns.

“It was a lot of fun out there tonight. This is a great track to come to and actually race because you can go anywhere your truck takes you and make it work,” Crafton said. “We really needed to be on the high side but we could dive in down on the bottom and then slide up in front of someone and make it work. Whenever you try that you’re on pins and needles waiting for your spotter to call you clear. We didn’t have many close calls out there tonight but I know there’s a lot of rubber marks on the walls. They were racing hard and whenever you do that for that long you get some bent sheet metal, but it’s the last race of the year and you always want to close out the season with a good finish. If you tear your truck up a little at least you have a few months to get it fixed.”

Crafton ends the 2010 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season fourth in the championship standings, his third consecutive top-five result. He scored 10 top-five finishes and 20 top-ten finishes, including a season-best 16 consecutive to close the season. Following the race at Iowa Speedway in July, Crafton never finished lower the tenth and moved from ninth to fourth in the standings.

Crafton, and the rest of the top five in the NCWTS championship standings, will be honored for their achievements throughout the season at the series awards banquet at the Loews Miami Beach Hotel on Monday November 22. After a three month hiatus, the series returns to action in the 2011 season opener, the NextEra Energy Resources 250 at Daytona International Speedway on Friday February 18.

11-16-10

Matt Crafton No. 88 Menards/McGuire-Nicholas Chevrolet Preview: Ford 200 at Homestead-Miami Speedway

Entering the final race of the 2010 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season at Homestead, Matt Crafton looks back with mixed emotions. Of course he’s proud of the No. 88 Menards/SealBest Chevrolet team’s accomplishments – one pole, ten top-five finishes and 19 top-ten finishes in the 24 races to this point which has left him fourth in the championship standings – but he also looks back at missed opportunities. A rough stretch early in the season, including wrecks at Atlanta, Kansas, and Texas, and a blown engine at Michigan, left Crafton tenth in the standings but more importantly left he and his ThorSport Racing teammates mystified. But a well-time four-week break in the schedule following the Michigan race allowed the team to rebuild and regroup, and they haven’t finished outside the top-ten since. Crafton carries a season-best 15-race top-ten streak into the finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway and just by starting the race he’s assured of a stage appearance at the NCWTS Awards Banquet at the Loew’s Miami Beach Hotel on Monday night.

Do you look back on the first eight races of the season and think what might have been or has it been easy to get that out of your mind over the final two-thirds of the season? “I have thought about it quite a bit. We had four races where we were down in the 20s at the finish. If we could have had three of those back and finished where we think we should have, we’d be right there with (Todd) Bodine. It’s hard to accept some of that but that’s racing. We had really good luck for a few years now and we just hit a rough patch. We were able to overcome it and we’ve been really solid the rest of the season. But we’re looking forward, not backwards. We don’t let what happened in the past distract us from what we’re here to do.”

By taking the green flag you assure yourself of a top five position in the championship for the third consecutive year; how do you feel about that accomplishment personally and as a team? “It’s a huge accomplishment, both for me and for my guys. But we all had much higher expectations for this season than just finishing in the top five. I think a lot of people down in the Carolinas overlook our team because we aren’t down there and they can’t see what we’re doing. Most of my guys have been up in Ohio working in the Truck Series ever since it started and they’ve always been on a competitive team but never really considered to be a real threat. So it’s a huge deal for them to be contending for wins and contending for championships, and getting three straight top five finishes in the points is as big a deal to me for them as it is for me myself.”

ThorSport Racing has placed both of its trucks in the top five in six races this season, including the last three; how difficult is it on you and your team to run that well and not have a victory yet? “I think it’s incredible that we’ve had three races in a row that we’ve both been in the top five. It was really frustrating at Texas because I knew we had a truck to win that race, but when we left there I knew we still had Phoenix yet to come. I really thought we had their number at Phoenix. We led both practices and I really thought we were going to get the pole and win the race to sweep the weekend. It’s tough to let them slip away like that, but we are still up in the top five, having good finishes and being competitive. It’s not quite a win but we’re always happy to get out with a top five.”

What do you and your team have to do to win at Homestead? “I wish I knew because then we wouldn’t have to worry about it! Actually, I feel really good about it. We were second down there last year and we’re going to go with the same setup that we used then. I love Homestead because you can run down on the white line or six inches from the wall. You might be up on the wall in one and two and then down on the line through three and four. It’s an awesome racetrack and I know we’ll have a really good truck I just can’t wait to get there and get the season closed on the right note and head into the off season with a lot of really good momentum.”

Matt at Homestead: Matt has nine previous NCWTS starts at Homestead with a best finish of second in November 2009. He has two top-five finishes and four top-ten finishes; his best start was second in 2004. His average start is 15.1 and his average finish is 12.0. He has completed 1,242 of a possible 1,248 competition laps and has led 24 laps. In 2003, Crafton made his only career start in the No. 98 Menards Chevrolet for ThorSport Racing; in that race, Buddy Rice (who would go on to win the Indianapolis 500 in 2004) drove the No. 88 Menards Chevrolet.

Crafton Season Stats: Entering Homestead, Matt Crafton has the longest active top-ten finishes streak in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series; he’s been among the top ten at the finish in 15 consecutive races. He has 10 top-five finishes this season and 19 total top-ten finishes, and one pole (Texas 2). He’s completed 3,664 of a possible 3,750 competition laps (97.7%) with an average start of 8.0 and an average finish of 9.0.

Matt’s Homestead truck: Matt will drive ThorSport Racing Chassis No. 35 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. This truck was new this season. Its first race was at Kentucky Speedway where Crafton qualified tenth and finished tenth. He also drove it at Las Vegas Motor Speedway where he qualified third and finished fifth.

11-12-10

Crafton Extends Top-10 Streak with Fourth in Phoenix

Matt Crafton racked up his 15th consecutive top-ten finish with a solid fourth-place run in the Lucas Oil 150 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Phoenix International Raceway. Crafton started outside the front row after qualifying second, stayed near the front all night long – avoiding an accident involving the defending series champion Ron Hornaday on the way – and guided the No. 88 Menards/Australian Gold Chevrolet to his tenth top-five finish of the season.

Crafton led both practice sessions on Thursday which gave him added confidence going into the race, but a change in track conditions led to a change in the truck’s handling that kept him from contending for the win.

“We kept getting on the splitter and that kept us from getting up there and racing for the win,” Crafton said. “After yesterday I really thought we had the truck to win the race. We’re obviously happy to be up in the top five but this team should be up there winning races and we thought we had a great shot to get one tonight so we’re a little disappointed too. But it’s great to come out of here with both ThorSport trucks finishing three-four (teammate Johnny Sauter finished third). I can’t wait to get down to Homestead and close out the season with a win down there.”

Crafton narrowly avoided disaster on lap 115 when Austin Dillon and Hornaday got together in turn one directly in front of him.

“I saw the 3 (Dillon) down on the inside and he got loose and had to chase it up the track and he got into the 33 (Hornaday),” Crafton said. “Thankfully they both slid up the track and I pointed it to the bottom and drove past. It could have been a real mess if I was up on the outside of the 51 (Aric Almirola).”

Crafton solidified his fourth position in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship standings; he’s now 93 points ahead of fifth-place Austin Dillon. Crafton trails his ThorSport Racing teammate Johnny Sauter, who is third in the standings, by 109 points. Over the second half of the season, starting with the 12th race of the season at O’Reilly Raceway Park, Crafton’s average finish is 5.8 and he has moved from seventh to fourth in the standings.

Next up Crafton and the No. 88 Menards/SealBest Chevrolet is the Ford 200 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Friday November 19. The final event of the 2010 season is set for 8 P.M. Eastern and will be televised live on SPEED; the race can also be heard live on select affiliates of the MRN Radio network nationwide and on Sirius NASCAR Radio Channel 128.

11-09-10

Matt Crafton No. 88 Menards/Australian Gold Chevrolet Preview: Lucas Oil 150 at Phoenix Int’l Raceway

If there is one racetrack on the schedule that Matt Crafton looks forward to going to a little more than the others, it’s Phoenix International Raceway. Crafton would tag along with his father, Danny, to watch him race in the biggest Southwest Tour events of the season, the Copper World Classic in early February and, in later years, the season finale in conjunction with the Sprint Cup Series in November. It’s a racetrack that holds a lot of sentimental value to the Tulare, Calif. native and a victory there in this weekend’s Lucas Oil 150 would almost be like a win at Daytona.

What do you remember about your first race at Phoenix? “It was in 1997. I don’t remember how we finished so it must not have been that good, but I do remember how anxious I was getting to go there. That whole week leading up to that race I could feel the butterflies. At that point the biggest track I’d ever raced a stock car on was a quarter mile. We took the car to Bakersfield to get some test laps in before we went to Phoenix just so I would have a little better feel for the speed involved. This was before they had a committee to review your resume, so really all you had to do was file an entry and go. I remember getting there and I couldn’t believe how big the place was compared to everywhere else we’d raced. It really was like racing at Daytona to me then.”

Why is Phoenix such a big deal to you? “Well it all goes back to when I was a kid, watching my dad race there. And once I started having the chance to run there, we were always so fast but we just had the worst luck. We started on the pole there a few times and had the fastest car out there. One race we were leading by half a lap and the rear gear went out, and the next race we were there leading by a straightaway and we lost another rear gear. It’s always a place I’ve wanted to win at, so I built my own car to run the last Copper World there. I had three guys in a 15 passenger van and a little box trailer and we went out and won the race. It was great to finally get that win but I really want to get a Truck win there.”

What do you and your team have to do to get into Victory Lane this weekend? “We just need to have everything go right. I know we had the truck to win last weekend but something outside of our control took away our chance to win. We qualified on the pole but had to start from the back. We could run with Kyle (Busch) and Johnny (Sauter) but it was like a brick wall of air whenever we got within a couple of lengths of them. I know we’ll have a truck just as capable of running up front this weekend, we just need to get track position. That’s what cost us last weekend.”

Matt at Phoenix: Matt has nine career NCWTS starts at PIR; he has two top-five finishes (third, 2004; fifth, 2006) and six top-ten finishes. His best start was second in 2007. His average start is 10.4 and his average finish is 9.3. He has completed all 1,362 possible competition laps at PIR.

Matt’s Phoenix Truck: Matt will be driving ThorSport Racing Chassis No. 43 this weekend at PIR. This chassis was brand new for the Iowa race in July and has also been used at Gateway, ORP, and New Hampshire. It has four top-five finishes in the four races in which it has been used.

11-06-10

Pole Starter Crafton Races from Tail to Take Third in Texas

Although he earned it in qualifying and the record books with show that he started from the pole, Matt Crafton was forced to race from the tail at the start on Friday’s WinStar World Casino 350 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Texas Motor Speedway. Crafton dodged a lap one crash and quickly knifed his way through the field, making his way into the top ten by lap 41 and breaking into the top five less than ten laps later. Once there, he challenged teammate Johnny Sauter for second over the final 15 laps before settling for third position at the checkered, his 14th consecutive top-ten finish.

After qualifying, Crew chief Bud Haefele threw the cover over the No. 88 Menards/McGuire-Nicholas Chevrolet and left it locked in the garage area, impounded by NASCAR, as is the procedure at each NCWTS race on the schedule. But sometime between the end of qualifying and the next morning the bed rail at the base of the rear spoiler was damaged, forcing the team to make repairs and, per NASCAR rule, forcing them to the back for unapproved adjustments in the impound.

“I have no idea what happened to the truck over night,” Crafton said. “It looked like someone sat on it, leaned on it, or dropped something heavy on the bed at the base of the spoiler. We had to go in and do some welding and NASCAR said we had to go to the back. I was anxious because this is a fast track and there were some drivers in the field that had never been here before. And, just as I expected, there was some trouble on the first lap and it was right in front of us. I barely got by, but we could have been knocked out of the race on the very first lap when we should have been up there leading.”

Crafton was happy with the performance of his truck coming through the field, but disappointed not to be up at the front of the field fighting for the lead and the win.

“This place is all about track position,” Crafton said. “I really think if we could have started where we qualified we’d have at least had a chance to be over where Kyle (Busch, race winner) is now. But the Menards Chevy was strong all night long. We ran through traffic pretty easily, but with every one you pass the next one is that much harder. We’re happy with a third but we really thought tonight was going to be our night.”

Crafton solidified his fourth position in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship standings as he now has an 84-point advantage over fifth-place Austin Dillon. Crafton is 104 behind his ThorSport Racing teammate Johnny Sauter in third.

Next up for Matt Crafton and the No. 88 Menards/SealBest Chevrolet is the Lucas Oil 150 at Phoenix International Raceway on Friday November 12. The race will be shown live on SPEED starting with a 30-minute pre-race show at 7:30 P.M. Eastern. The race can also be heard live on select affiliates of the MRN Radio network nationwide and on Sirius NASCAR Radio Channel 128.

11-04-10

Crafton Captures Pole for WinStar World Casino 350 at Texas

Matt Crafton will start Friday night’s WinStar World Casino 350 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race from the pole after blistering the field in time trials at Texas Motor Speedway on Friday night. Crafton’s fast lap in the No. 88 Menards/McGuire-Nicholas Chevrolet was 29.964 seconds, averaging 180.216 miles per hour. He was the only driver to break the 180 mph barrier during qualifying.

It’s the fourth career pole for Crafton, and his first since winning the pole for this race last year.

Teammate Johnny Sauter will start seventh after turning a lap of 30.129 seconds/179.229 miles per hour in the No. 13 Farmpaint.com/Curb Records Chevrolet.

“It had been a year since we won a pole, but I knew coming here we’d have a great chance to make it happen,” Crafton said. “Whether it’s the 88 truck or the 13 truck, ThorSport Racing has had an awesome intermediate program the over the last few years. Our guys know what it takes to get us around these tracks. We lost what had been our best intermediate truck in a crash here in the spring, but the guys have this truck running every bit as good as the other one. And Texas is definitely a horsepower track and we had a ton of it under the hood tonight. I’d like to thank Mark Smith and everyone at PME for all their hard work to help make this happen.”

With the majority of NCWTS qualifying sessions happening the day of the race, there is one benefit to qualifying the night before: Crafton and the team now have a little time to enjoy their accomplishment.

“At least we get a night to enjoy it,” Crafton said. “But the big thing is for us to come back here tomorrow and end up first again tomorrow night. We’ve proved that we can be fast for one lap, now we have to be fast for 147 laps. We aren’t going to go out and celebrate like we won the race, but my guys definitely have a little bounce in their step and their heads up high. It never hurts to come back to the track with some momentum and we’ll surely have that tomorrow when it’s time to race.”

Crafton will be looking to extend his consecutive top-ten finishes streak to 14 straight, and he has an idea on the perfect way to do it.

“We aren’t looking at this weekend as a chance to make it 14 straight top tens, we’re looking at it as a chance to get a win,” he said. “If we end up in victory lane, that streak continues on and takes care of itself.”

Sauter, who has also won a pole at Texas in June 2009 driving for ThorSport Racing, is cautiously optimistic about his chances for victory tomorrow night.

“We have an awesome truck for tomorrow,” Sauter said. “This is our favorite truck and it drove just like we expected it to. We’d like to be up where Matt is right now, but tomorrow is when it counts for us. For us it’s not about where you start, it’s where you finish and we really think we’ve got a good chance to go fight for the win.”

The WinStar World Casino 350 will be broadcast live on SPEED starting with a 30-minute pre-race show starting at 8:30 PM Eastern. The race can also be heard live on select affiliates of the MRN Radio Network and on Sirius NASCAR Radio Channel 128.

11-03-10

Matt Crafton No. 88 Menards/McGuire-Nicholas Chevrolet Silverado Preview: Texas Motor Speedway

After a tough ending to the race there in June, Matt Crafton is ready to head back to Texas Motor Speedway to right the ship. Crafton and his ThorSport Racing team have excelled on the 1.5-mile superspeedways over the course of the past five seasons, but Crafton left Texas with a disappointing 18th-place finish after getting caught up in a crash with less than ten laps to go. The disappointment has long been forgotten and Crafton has returned to his trademark consistency, racking up 13 consecutive top-ten finishes, including a fourth-place in last Saturday’s event at Talladega Superspeedway, and he has climbed to fourth in the series championship standings.

Is there any score to settle with the track heading back to Texas Motor Speedway this weekend? “No not really. We’ve run really good there over the years and we’re confident going back there that we’ll be just as good as we have been in the past this weekend. We tried some things there in the spring and we were a little bit off. We made some adjustments and we were as fast, or faster, than the leaders and then we got crashed. It’s just part of racing and we’ve put that out of our minds. We’re going back with the plan of qualifying up front, running up front, and being a contender for the win. That’s always our goal, so it’s not like we have to rethink what we’re doing to try to settle the score or anything like that.”

Have you changed your approach to the late-season races now that you’re battling for a top five position in the points? “Not at all. We’re here to win races and run up front. If we’re doing that, then the points will take care of themselves. We aren’t here to race the 3 truck (Austin Dillon) for points, we’re here to win. If we can’t win, we want to be second, and if we can’t be second we want to be third. If he tries something strategy-wise that’s different than what we’re doing and gets off sequence we’ll keep an eye on it and monitor it but we aren’t going to change what we’re doing just because they try something.”

How hard is a fast lap at Texas? “Physically it’s not hard. It’s not like running a fast lap at Bristol or Darlington where you really have to fight to get the truck around the track. Mentally it can be pretty difficult. You have to get it into your mind that you’re going to drive the truck down into the corner and not lift. When you’re in traffic and the air is bouncing you around you can’t hold it wide open so it’s about how long you can stay on the gas and how soon you can get back to the gas. As you’re putting laps on the tires that’s going to change how the truck is handling too. We’ll work on that in practice, trying to get our setup so we can run wide open or as close to wide open as we can for as long as we can.”

Crafton at Texas: Matt will make his 20th NASCAR Camping World Truck Series start at Texas Motor Speedway this weekend. In his previous 19 starts, he’s earned three top-fives (fifth, June 2005 and second in both 2009 races), and nine top-ten finishes. He has started among the top three in each of the past three races; he started from the pole last November and outside the front row earlier this season. His average start is 17.4 and his average finish is 11.6. He has completed 2,941 of a possible 3,002 competition laps (98.0%); he’s led three different races for a total of 33 laps including 26 in this race last season.

Matt’s Texas Truck: Matt will drive ThorSport Racing Chassis No. 32 this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway. He has driven this chassis earlier this season at Nashville (sxith), Kansas, Michigan, Pocono (third), and Chicagoland (seventh).

McGuire-Nicholas on for the ride at Texas: McGuire-Nicholas, providers of quality work wear since 1932, will be on the hood of the No. 88 Menards Chevy for the third of four times in 2010 at Texas Motor Speedway. McGuire-Nicholas will also be on the hood with the team for the finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The McGuire-Nicholas product line includes tool aprons, knee pads, work gloves, plastic storage systems, back support belts, and other products for use in all work fields.

10-30-10

Crafton Evades Trouble, Finishes Fourth at Talladega

Every driver fears “the big one” when racing at Talladega, and Matt Crafton came as close as possible to getting swept into a big accident yet still managing to avoid it as possible en route to a fourth-place finish in the Mountain Dew 250 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Talladega Superspeedway. Crafton’s finish extends his top-ten streak to 13 consecutive races, the longest such streak of any driver in the NCWTS this season.

Crafton was running 15th when several trucks immediately in front of him tangled, sending many of them sideways across the racetrack and Ron Hornaday up into the air and onto his roof. Crafton held his line and missed the spinning trucks- some just by inches – and once the race restarted tagged onto the bumper of his ThorSport Racing teammate Johnny Sauter and chased him towards the front. Crafton pushed Sauter to a third-place finish, crossing the line just behind his teammate in fourth, just 70 one-thousandths of a second behind winner Kyle Busch.

“We hung out in the back for most of the race because we knew it would be rough up towards the front,” Crafton said. ‘We were right, there was a lot of trouble up in the lead draft so we definitely made the right call. We raced up into the front when Busch was pushing us but he hung us out to dry so I went to the back of the lead draft because even with 10 laps to go there’s still too much time for something big to happen. Then it looked like the 30 got turned and it started a huge wreck. I only had one choice, to ride right where I was next to the wall and thankfully everyone went down to the inside. But it was definitely close. Another foot or two and we’d have been right in the middle of it.”

Coming to the checkered flag on the final lap, Crafton saw then second-place Busch rub the back bumper of leader Aric Almirola. Both trucks got sideways and broke momentum, which gave Crafton’s teammate Sauter a run to the outside. Crafton followed; he needed to give Sauter a shot in the bumper but just couldn’t get close enough to make it happen.

“I saw Johnny get a run to the outside when Busch got into Almirola but I just couldn’t get close enough to give him a shot in the bumper to get him past,” Crafton said. “If I could have pushed him he’d have sailed right past and won the race. He had so much momentum that if the race was a few feet longer he’d have won. There’s no disappointment here at all though, to come out of here with two trucks both in the top five and both in one piece is a big accomplishment. I’ve been wrecked at the beginning of these races, in the middle of these races, and at the end so to make it to the checkered and get a top five at both Daytona and Talladega in the same season is huge.”

Crafton leapfrogged into fourth in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship standings, seven points ahead of fifth place Austin Dillon. Crafton trails teammate Johnny Sauter by 94 points with three races remaining in the 2010 season.

Next up for Crafton and the No. 88 Menards/SealBest Chevrolet is the Winstar World Casino 350 at Texas Motor Speedway on Friday November 5. The race will be televised live on SPEED starting with a 30-minute pre-race show at 8:30 P.M. Eastern. The race can also be heard live on select affiliates of the MRN Radio network nationwide and on Sirius NASCAR Radio Channel 128.

10-28-10

Matt Crafton No. 88 Menards/Australian Gold Chevrolet Preview: Mountain Dew 250 at Talladega

Matt Crafton heads to Talladega riding a 12-race top-ten streak, but for each of those 12 races, Crafton’s ultimate destiny at the finish was the result of his efforts and the efforts of his team on pit road. At Talladega, Crafton certainly has a chance to wind up in victory lane and it will take as much effort on behalf of the driver and pit crew as anywhere else on the schedule. But if he wants to win – or even just to stretch his top-ten streak to 13 races – he will need help from his competitors. Crafton worked the draft well in Daytona in February, well enough to finish fifth, and he did it all without help from his ThorSport Racing teammates Johnny Sauter and Landon Cassill, both of whom were eliminated in a lap one crash. Should Crafton and Sauter stay out of the trouble that so often happens at Talladega, he thinks he can better his Daytona finish by four positions.

Does your finish at Daytona offer you any sort of advantage at Talladega? “Not really, but that’s the nature of restrictor-plate racing. We had a great run at Daytona, but we had a real good run at Talladega last year too and didn’t get the finish to show for it. We had the lead down the backstretch and into turn three on the last lap and we ended up tenth. A lot of it is circumstance and what happens around you. For some reason we’ve always been able to stay out of the majority of the trouble there, so hopefully we can do it again this time and make it to the end. If we do that we’ll have as good a chance as anyone to come out of there with a win.”

How difficult is it to put together a plan with your teammate Johnny Sauter and stick to it throughout the race so you’re in position to win on the last lap? “We talked about a plan and we’re both going to do everything we can to stick to it. I think you’re definitely going to need some help to win this race, just like the Billy Ballew teammates did last year. We might get separated at some point but if we’re both around with 10 or 15 laps to go we’re going to find a way to get hooked up and go to the front.”

Are you anxious heading into Talladega or is this a race you look forward to? “I love the actual racing at Talladega and being at Talladega. But there’s also a part of you that is a little anxious going there because so much of what happens there is outside of your control.”

What was your favorite Halloween costume as a kid? “When I was in seventh grade a bunch of my friends dared me to dress up as an Indian girl. Well, all it took was for them to dare me and I did it. I put on the black wig and Indian dress and the whole thing. I don’t know if it was my absolute favorite costume, but it was definitely the most memorable. None of them could believe I had enough guts to do it.”

Australian Gold back on the hood on Halloween: Australian Gold will be on the hood of the No. 88 Menards Chevy driven by Matt Crafton for the fifth time in 2010 at Talladega Superspeedway. For over 20 years, Australian Gold brand tanning lotions have produced superior bronzing power, advanced skin care, and unbeatable results. The Accelerator lotion continues to be the number one seller in the industry, and new technologies such as the DermaDark blend keep Australian Gold in the forefront of the industry as the most recognized brand in indoor tanning. For more information, log onto AustralianGold.com.

Matt at Talladega: Matt has competed in all four previous NCWTS races at Talladega Superspeedway, with a best finish of tenth in 2009. He has completed all 380 possible competition laps at Talladega; his average start is 17.2 and his average finish is 15.5.

Matt’s Talladega truck: Matt will drive ThorSport Racing Chassis No. 24 at Talladega; it’s the same truck he drove at Daytona (started second, finished seventh) and Talladega (started seventh, finished tenth) in 2009 and the same truck he piloted to a fifth-place finish at Daytona in February.

10-24-10

Crafton Keeps Top-10 Streak Alive at Martinsville

Despite the typical short track beating and banging, Matt Crafton was able to extend his top-ten finishes streak to 12 consecutive races with a tenth-place finish in Saturday’s Kroger 200 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Martinsville Speedway.

Crafton started second and settled in among the top five early before pitting under an early caution for tires and fuel. Crafton worked his way back up through the field and pitted again with 50 laps to go, but a spate of caution flags kept the number of green flag laps to a minimum and hampered his chances of racing back through the field.

“It’s good to come out of here and the top-ten streak is alive, but that’s not really what our goal was today,” Crafton said. “We had a good truck but it just wasn’t quite good enough to get up there and race for the win. It was probably a fifth to seventh place truck we just didn’t have enough laps at the end to get back up there. It’s always a gamble you take when you pit late in the race at Martinsville and it bit us this time. We’re glad we were up in the top ten but we’d be a lot happier to come out of here with a top five.”

Crafton was nearly swept up in one of the five cautions that slowed the race’s final 50 laps.

“It looked like the 3 (Austin Dillon) and the 17 (Timothy Peters) got together coming off turn two,” Crafton said. “Peters fought it all the way down the backstretch and wasn’t ever able to get it back under control. I was stacked up with two guys underneath me and we caught him going into the turn and he tried to turn in and bounced off me. We’re lucky he hit square and didn’t get into the right rear tire. We could have easily ended up in the wall too.”

Crafton stays in fifth position in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship standings, breaking a tie with Peters to claim the position. He closed the gap on fourth-place Dillon to just 16 points and maintains a 30 point lead over sixth-place Ron Hornaday.

Next up for Crafton and the No. 88 Menards/SealBest Chevrolet is the Mountain Dew 250 at Talladega Superspeedway on Saturday October 30. The race will go green shortly after 3 P.M. Eastern and will be televised live on SPEED; the race can also be heard live on select affiliates of the MRN Radio Network nationwide and on Sirius NASCAR Radio Channel 128.

10-20-10

Matt Crafton No. 88 Menards/Tide Chevrolet Preview: Kroger 200 at Martinsville

Matt Crafton heads into Martinsville with the longest top-ten finish streak of any driver in the 2010 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season. With eleven consecutive top-tens, six of which have been top-five finishes, Crafton is heading to the 0.526-mile paperclip with momentum and confidence – so much so that he and his team think they can close out the season with five more and a chance to win at each of the remaining races on the schedule.

How confident are you and the team for the final five races of the season? “We are as confident as we’ve ever been. We’ve run incredibly well since the start of the summer and every time we unload we know we are going to be running somewhere up front. We have five really good racetracks for us coming up and we think we can go to each race and have a chance to win. It says something about the strength of this team to have eleven straight top tens, especially after the start we had to this season, but if all we have to show for these next five races is five more top tens we’re going to be a little disappointed. We want to be running up front, in the top five, with a chance to win and we think we can do it.”

How does your strategy differ in the fall when it’s a 200-lap race versus the spring in a 250-lapper? “It used to be that with the harder tire you wanted to pit as soon as your fuel window opened and that would be it. Now the tires are a little softer and they give up just a little so new tires are an advantage. I think you’ll see some cautions that will keep the field bunched up and a lot of people on the lead lap, so you won’t want to pit too late if you make a second stop but if you do make a second stop it won’t kill your chances to win like it would have a few years ago.”

With the shorter race does that make it even more intense out on the track, knowing you have 50 less laps to work through traffic and get to the front? “It’s always intense at Martinsville. We’re so close to each other and there’s really no room to get away from anyone. We are all trying to get down to the bottom. We are all dealing with someone right on the back bumper. On the restarts you’ll have someone three inches off your door. It all depends where you’re running on how the shorter race plays out. If you’re leading you’re glad it’s shorter because the last lap can’t get there quick enough. If you’re working your way through the field or even if your in second place you might wish you had those extra 50 laps to make something happen.”

Tide on for the ride at Martinsville: Procter and Gamble’s Tide detergent will be on board the No. 88 Menards Chevrolet for the second and final time of the 2010 season at Martinsville. Crafton finished third at Pocono with the bright orange Tide hood earlier in the season and knows the “Tide Ride” driven by former Sprint Cup Series champion Darrell Waltrip has seen victory lane at Martinsville, a feat he hopes to match on Saturday.

10-13-10

Crafton Still Set on Top Five Result in 2010 Truck Series Championship Standings

Matt Crafton has had to readjust his goals for the 2010 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season. Leaving Daytona with his first ever top-five finish had Crafton in the frame of mind that a championship wasn’t out of the question. After all, he’d been a solid contender for the top spot in 2009.

But disappointing finishes for the No. 88 Menards/SealBest Chevrolet at Atlanta (27th), Kansas (25th), Texas (18th), and Michigan (27th) left Crafton thinking it might be a stretch to crack the top ten in the standings at the end of the season. Despite the disjointed first third of the season, Crafton is not only solidly among the top ten but sitting fifth with five races to go. And he has a realistic chance at staying in the top five for the third consecutive season.

“I said then that the start of our season was the worst we’ve ever had,” Crafton said. “We just had terrible luck and got caught up in some situations that took us out of a chance to not only finish well but to win. It was frustrating because we tore up a lot of good equipment and our guys had to spend a lot of time getting caught up. It’s hard to look forward when you’re sitting on a pile of wrecked stuff. But once we did get caught up we got focused and have been really steady ever since.”

Steady is an understatement: Crafton hasn’t finished outside the top ten since June. His eleven-race top-ten streak is the longest this season in the NCWTS, and during that time he’s also collected six top-five finishes and moved from tenth to fifth in the standings.

“We knew we didn’t have a realistic chance at the championship when we left Michigan,” Crafton said. “It’s not that we gave up on it but we were 350 points out and that’s tough to make up. So we focused on getting the best results we could, winning races and scoring points. We’ve had eleven top tens in a row. We’ve got our consistency back and we’re not just in the top ten we’re in the top five. We think we can get a win before the season is over.”

Consistency has been Crafton’s trademark. Over his 242-race Truck Series career Crafton has rung up 124 top-tens, with 40 of them in the top-five.

“We’ve grown as a team together,” Crafton said. “We’ve all been together for five or six years. We know each other inside and out and that’s what makes this such a great team. Bud (Haefele, crew chief) knows what I am going to say before I say it and he knows what a little tight or a little loose means and exactly how to fix it.”

The longevity of the Crafton-Haefele combination, in place since the start of the 2006 season, is only overshadowed by the longevity of the team itself. ThorSport Racing has fielded at least one entry in each series race since the first race of the 1998 season at Walt Disney World Speedway. The team’s relationship with primary sponsor Menards has endured since the start of the 2002 season, the longest team/sponsor relationship in series history. All told, the team has had 468 entries in 335 races.

“Duke and Rhonda Thorson are absolutely the type of owners NASCAR needs,” Crafton said. “They are committed to building a strong team and they haven’t ever wavered in their support. They give us everything we need. They treat us like family and it’s been an honor to drive for them. We’d like to get them a win before the season is over and get ourselves in a position to fight for the championship again next year. That’s the ultimate goal, getting to sit at the head table in December.”

09-26-10

Crafton Continues Top-10 Streak with Fifth in Las Vegas

Matt Crafton stretched his summer hot streak into fall as he racked up his eleventh consecutive top-ten finish by crossing the line in fifth in Saturday’s Smith’s Food at Drug Stores 350 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Crafton started the No. 88 Menards/Australian Gold Chevrolet in third and, despite getting off of pit sequence with much of the lead pack early on, spent much of the evening riding just outside of the top five. With a couple of late-race cautions bunching the field, Crafton took advantage on the restarts to gain several positions and move back into the top five.

“We had a great truck tonight,” Crafton said. “It was a little slippery way up high but if you didn’t get up out of the groove you could make up some ground. We went to the top on those restarts and made up some positions. Bud (Haefele) and the guys always give me a truck that works around the outside and our mile-and-a-half program is as strong as it’s ever been. It would have been nice to get up and get ThorSport Racing another 1-2 finish tonight like we did last year but we’ll take a fifth.

Crafton spent a good portion of the race directly in front of, alongside, or just behind his ThorSport Racing teammate Johnny Sauter. While they weren’t able to repeat last year’s 1-2 result, combined with Sauter’s second-place finish it was the fourth time in 2010 both drivers finished among the top five.

“It’s a great night for the entire team whenever we can both finish in the top five,” Crafton said. “I didn’t want to come out here and finish second, especially to Johnny. I told him in the conference call this week if I was leading not to try to pass me on the outside because I’d make my truck awfully wide. It’s a shame we couldn’t settle it between ourselves like we did last year but putting two trucks in the top five against the level of competition we have right now in the Camping World Truck Series is awesome.”

Over the course of Crafton’s eleven-race top-ten streak he has averaged a 5.2 finishing position; six of the eleven races resulted in a top-five finish with the best being three third-place runs. Crafton is pleased with those results, especially considering the halting start to the 2010 season he and his team suffered through, but there is still something missing.

“What’s missing is that win,” Crafton said. “We’ve been so close so many times since we won at Charlotte (May, 2008). It’s really hard to get a top-five finish in this series so to have as many as we do is a huge accomplishment. But to be that close to the front and not have another win can be frustrating. You have to be close if you’re going to get a win so we’re doing exactly what we need to do.”

Crafton dropped one position in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship standings to a tie for fifth place with Timothy Peters just 35 points behind race winner Austin Dillon with five races remaining in the 2010 season. Crafton has an 86-point advantage over Ron Hornaday heading into the Kroger 200 at Martinsville Speedway on October 23. The final short track race of the season is set for a 1 P.M. green flag and will be televised live on SPEED; it can also be heard live on select MRN Radio affiliates nationwide and on Sirius NASCAR Radio Channel 128.

09-22-10

Matt Crafton No. 88 Menards/Australian Gold Chevrolet Preview: Smith's 350 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway

Matt Crafton fondly recalls the 2009 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race for the 1-2 finish he and teammate Johnny Sauter scored for ThorSport Racing. But, he also has a touch of regret when thinking back to last year since it was he who crossed the line in second place. Crafton would like to replicate last year’s 1-2 finish for the team, but this year he’d like to be the one who crosses the line first.

What did it mean to you to be a part of a 1-2 finish last year for ThorSport Racing? “It was definitely one of the highlights of the year. To give Duke and Rhonda Thorson a 1-2 finish, after all this team has been through over the years, it was definitely a huge accomplishment. I was really happy for Johnny and all the guys on the 13 team, but at the same time I was really disappointed too. I really wanted to be the one to win if there was a 1-2 finish, and coming up short like that hurt.”

Have you and Johnny talked about how you’re going to race each other if it’s a shootout for the win again? “I told him if it comes down to the last lap he shouldn’t try to pass me around the outside (laughing). We haven’t really talked about it. He knows how bad I want to win and I know how bad he wants to win. Johnny and I get along really good and we race each other hard but clean on the track. If it comes down to the last lap and we both have a shot to win, it’s all hands on deck. As far as one of us being upset by the way the other is driving, well, we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.”

Las Vegas is a fun town; is LVMS a fun track to race at? “I really liked the old layout. It reminded me of Kentucky because it was a lot flatter. I didn’t really like racing on the new track the first couple of times we went out there. But the last two years I have had a lot of fun. We had a great race in 2008 and ended up third. Last year we didn’t have any business running up near the front but we ended up second. It’s fast and it’s widened out quite a bit so I think we’ll have a great race out there. I really think we’ll have a good shot to win too.”

Vegas Odds: The Las Vegas Hilton Sportsbook has set 10-1 odds on Matt winning this weekend at LVMS; Crafton has finished third and second in his last two appearances at Las Vegas.

Matt at LVMS: Matt has nine previous NCWTS starts at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, with two top-five finishes (third, 2008; second, 2009) and three top-ten finishes. His average starting position is 16.0 and his average finish is 16.3. He has completed 1,256 of a possible 1,321 competition laps (95.1%) and has led 18 laps (8 in 2004; 10 in 2009).

Matt’s Las Vegas truck: Matt will drive ThorSport Racing Chassis No. 35 this weekend at Las Vegas. This truck was new and driven for the first time at Kentucky Speedway earlier this month where Matt drove it to a tenth-place finish.

09-19-10

Crafton Racks Up Sixth Top-5 of 2010 at New Hampshire

Matt Crafton consistently ran among the top five throughout the day and crossed the line to finish Saturday’s TheRaceDayRaffleSeries.com 175 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in the fourth position. Crafton has now piloted the No. 88 Menards/SealBest Chevrolet to six top-five finishes in 2010 to solidify his chances to race into the top five in the championship standings over the course of the final six races of the season.

It wasn’t all roses for Crafton as there were some anxious moments late in the race as leaders Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick mixed it up directly in front of him. As the two leaders ricocheted off one another, Crafton had to be ready for anything in case one or both of them lost control.

“It was intense at the end,” Crafton said. “It was a pretty calm race until 15 to go. Then they really started to race hard and they bounced off each other a couple times. The guys I was racing with all just calmed down for a second just in case we had to react to something in front of us. I would have liked to have seen them get a little rougher, maybe it would have opened the door for us and we could have snuck past and had a chance to win.”

Crafton’s solid performance also resulted in his tenth consecutive top-ten finish to continue the series’ longest streak by any driver this season.

“We’ve definitely found that consistency we were looking for early in the season,” Crafton said. “One side of your brain wishes you could have a do-over and try to change those bad finishes but the other knows if you spend any time thinking about it you aren’t looking at what’s next. Yeah, it would be nice to have those races back but we aren’t looking behind us, we’re looking at the next six races and focused on doing what we need to do to win at least one of them and get us into the top five in the points.”

Crafton jumped two positions in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship standings to fifth, just 63 points behind fourth-place Timothy Peters. He has a slim five-point advantage over Austin Dillon and a 66-point cushion over seventh-place Ron Hornaday.

Next up for Crafton and the No. 88 Menards/SealBest Chevrolet is the Smith’s Las Vegas 350 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The 20th race of the 2010 season is scheduled to go green shortly after 9:30 P.M. Eastern on Saturday September 25. The race will be televised live on SPEED and will be broadcast live nationwide on select affiliates of the MRN Radio network and on Sirius NASCAR Radio Channel 128.

09-15-10

Matt Crafton No. 88 Menards/Fishers Chevrolet Silverado Express Notes: New Hampshire

Although he has become on of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series’ leading drivers on the high-banked intermediate speedways, Matt Crafton always enjoys returning to the flat tracks. The flat mile at New Hampshire Motor Speedway gives Crafton and the No. 88 team a comfort level and some expectations of success.

You have had some previous success at New Hampshire, does that raise the expectations when you go back? “We got our first pole there in 2005 and we finished fourth there last year. We’ve had some really good runs there. Whenever you have a track that you’ve had those kind of runs in the past you think you should be at least able to go back and do it again. We’re thinking we can at least go back and run in the top five and probably even better.”

What’s the biggest challenge at New Hampshire? “To me it’s the track itself. It’s tough to really run side-by-side. They’ve made it a lot better when they reconfigured it but there is really only one preferred groove. It’s tough because you can have a better truck and you might have to sit and ride behind someone for a while until he makes a mistake. The challenge is to stay patient and not do anything to get you caught up in a wreck trying to make something happen.”

How does the shorter race change your strategy? “The race will only be 25 laps shorter, so it’s not like they changed it into a sprint race like we had at Pocono. You still have to manage tires and stay up on fuel mileage, depending on how the cautions come out. Even at 175 laps, it’s still a long race. You need to get to lap 125 and be somewhere near the front so you can race to win over the final 50 laps.”

09-04-10

Crafton Scores Ninth Consecutive Top-10 at Kentucky

Matt Crafton worked out the “new truck bugs” with a solid tenth-place finish in Friday’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race. Crafton was driving a new chassis that had never seen track time, and learning the nuances of a new truck and what it takes to make it go fast led to an up and down night for the driver of the No. 88 Menards/Ideal Door Chevrolet.

Crafton started tenth but rocketed towards the front during the first 21-lap green flag run, moving to third while running laps up to three-tenths of a second faster than the next fastest truck on the track.

As the race wore on Crafton reported to crew chief Bud Haefele that the truck was loose through the corners, almost to the point where Crafton couldn’t turn into the corners without spinning out. A caution flag at lap 78 allowed Haefele and crew to make an adjustment to tighten the truck up, and Crafton responded by racing from tenth to fourth with 20 laps to go.

Unfortunately, Crafton was forced to pit for fuel dropping him back to 12th with ten laps to go. He was able to make up a couple of positions to cross the line tenth, his ninth consecutive top-ten finish dating back to Iowa Speedway in July. Crafton’s top-ten streak is now the longest of the season by any driver in the NCWTS.

“It was another good day for the Menards Chevy,” Crafton said. “We didn’t think there was any we’d run the last 50 laps without a yellow but we did. We were hoping to get another caution and fill up the fuel cell under caution but we didn’t get it. If we had a caution I thought we had a truck that could finish in the top three tonight.”

Crafton was happy with the new chassis’s performance in its debut.

“That’s a good piece,” Crafton said. “Any time you have a new truck there is a learning curve. We learned a ton about this truck tonight. The good news is it’s really fast. We learned on how to adjust on this truck so when we go to places like Vegas or Homestead with it later in the year we’ll know exactly what it needs.”

Crafton dropped one spot in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series to seventh, just three points behind sixth-place Austin Dillon and just 75 points out of the top five.

Next up for Crafton and the No. 88 Menards/Sealbest Chevrolet is the RaceDayRaffleSeries.com 175 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Saturday September 18. The race will be televised live on SPEED starting at 2:30 P.M. Eastern; it can also be heard live on select affiliates of the MRN Radio network and on Sirius NASCAR Radio Channel 128.

09-01-10

Matt Crafton No. 88 Menards/Ideal Door Chevrolet Express Notes: Kentucky Speedway

Matt Crafton is ready to close down a nine-races-in-eight-weeks stretch by chasing the checkered flag at one of his favorite tracks: Kentucky Speedway. Crafton scored his eighth consecutive top-ten finish at Chicagoland Speedway last Friday, and he has been strong at Kentucky in the past. Crafton and his Bud Haefele-led team have arguably had the best truck at Kentucky in each of the past two races but circumstance has prevented him from making the hard left turn into victory lane after the finish.

What’s the biggest challenge to racing at Kentucky? “It’s got to be getting over the bumps. Kentucky has a lot of character to it. There’s a lot of speed but the banking isn’t as steep as some other tracks so you have to let up off the throttle through the corners. Handling is very important. You need the complete package at Kentucky but making the truck handle over the bumps is a real challenge. Even with the coil binding setups we run now, you still have to work with the shock packages to get it right. I think that’s one of our team’s biggest strengths, our shock program.”

Why is Kentucky one of your favorite tracks? “I always say Atlanta is my favorite because of the way the tires wear and how you slide around the track. Kentucky is a close second. You can’t hold it wide open there like you can at some of the other tracks like Texas and Charlotte. There isn’t enough banking to run wide open. And then the bumps give the track a lot of character too. To me it puts the driver into the equation more than some of the other tracks.”

Does Kentucky Speedway owe you one after the last couple of years? “We had a great truck there last year and the pit road rules bit us. We had the entire field a lap down during green flag pit stops and the caution came out. That let everyone back on the lead lap and we dropped back to 14th. The year before we had a great truck too. I don’t think it owes us one, that’s not how we look at it. We look at it knowing we’ve run really good there in the past and if we do everything right we’ll be in position to win again this year.”

08-28-10

Crafton Rallies to Seventh at Chicagoland

After spending much of the first 120 laps outside the top ten or just barely inside it, Matt Crafton rallied over the final 30 laps to bring the No. 88 Menards/Fishers Chevrolet across the stripe in seventh position at the finish. Crafton reported a loose condition throughout the early stages of the race, even discussing the possibility of a deflating right rear tire with crew chief Bud Haefele, but as the night wore on the truck got better and better and Crafton was able to work his way towards the front.

“It seemed like the right rear might have been going soft,” Crafton said. “We were just all over the racetrack and it felt like I might spin out. It wasn’t the tire losing air but it definitely felt like it. We got the tires changed and the truck was a lot better. We didn’t have any track position and it’s hard to pass at a place like this when you’re all bunched up and running the same speed. But we had a couple of late cautions and we had a chance to get past about six or eight of them. I always feel like I am pretty good on restarts just about every week, but once we got past the first lap on a restart tonight it would take us a few laps for the truck to come in.”

Crafton’s seventh-place finish was his 12th top-ten result of the season. Despite a difficult stretch from April through mid-June, Crafton is still in position to make a run at finishing among the top five in the final series standings, something for which he gives all the credit to his team.

“It’s all because of my guys,” Crafton said. “Bud and the guys have worked their tails off all season. We got behind a little bit in April and May where they had to worry about fixing some wrecked stuff instead of focusing on building better race trucks. Once we shook that bad luck they’ve been able to focus on getting our stuff better. We still have a good chance at getting up into the top five. We have some of our best tracks left to go, which gives me a lot of confidence, but we can go and win anywhere.”

Crafton remains sixth in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship standings, 56 behind fifth-place Ron Hornaday.

Next up for Crafton and the No. 88 Menards/SealBest Chevrolet is the Built Ford Tough 225 at Kentucky Speedway on Friday September 3; the race will be televised live on SPEED starting at 6:30 P.M. Eastern. It can also be heard live on select affiliates of the MRN Radio network and on Sirius NASCAR Radio Channel 128 (XM 104).

08-25-10

Matt Crafton No. 88 Menards/Fishers Chevrolet Express Notes: EnjoyIllinois.com 225 at Chicagoland Speedway

Matt Crafton and the ThorSport Racing team have anxiously awaited the end of summer. It’s not that they don’t like the hot and humid “dog days” of summer, and it’s not that they don’t enjoy racing on the wide variety of racetracks that make up the summer segment of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series schedule. But they do know that five of the final eight races of the season, starting this weekend at Chicagoland Speedway, are on the 1.5-mile tracks that the No. 88 Menards Chevrolet has excelled on over the past five seasons.

What does going back to the 1.5-mile tracks to finish out the season do for the team’s confidence? “It gives us all a ton of confidence. We’ve been so good on the mile and a half tracks since 2005. We like racing on all the different types of tracks we go to, but we also know how good we are at Chicago, Kentucky, Las Vegas, Texas, and Homestead so we’re ready to get at it. We think we can keep up the hot streak we’ve been on and actually do even better. We’re going to go after a win or two and try to jump back up into the top five in the points.”

How does Chicagoland Speedway differ from the other 1.5-mile tracks on the schedule? “Every one of these intermediate tracks has its own characteristics and personality, but at the same time they all have a lot of similarities. Some might have a little more or a little less banking but the way we set the trucks up and with the tapered spacer we run we can run wide open all the way around. That’s the goal every week, to get it to where we can run it wide open. So we’re going to go with our basic mile and a half setup and tune on it from there.”

How do you put the disappointment at Bristol behind you? “We don’t even think about it. It’s just a part of racing. If you let those things get to you it would drive you crazy. We take the positives out of there. We had a great truck, the strategy worked absolutely perfectly, we had a good pit stop and the driver didn’t knock the fenders off getting through traffic. We came out of there with a top ten but we should have been second or a third. But you can’t let it bother you, you just move on and look ahead to the next one.”

Matt Visits Chicago Area Menards: Matt and fellow Menards-sponsored driver, nine-time ARCA Racing Series champion Frank Kimmel, will meet with race fans at the Menards store at 17411 Weber Road, Crest Hill, Illinois, 60403 on Wednesday, August 25 from 6 – 7:30 P.M. CDT.

08-18-10

Up-and-Down Night for Crafton at Bristol

Excuse Matt Crafton if he feels like he got bucked off a trampoline following the O’Reilly 200 at Bristol Motor Speedway. Crafton started mid-pack, then dropped to the back after an early stop to attend to an overheating problem, raced to second-place with less than five laps to go, and ended up tenth after low fuel pressure forced a pit stop for a splash of fuel just before the final restart of the night. And to top it all off, a scrape with a lapped truck coming to the white flag while racing for position left Crafton’s No. 88 Menards/Ideal Door Chevrolet with more damage than he picked up all night racing from the back.

“We had to pit early (lap 40) because we were running way hot,” Crafton said. “We were running at 255 degrees (water temperature) and blowing water out the overflow. We had to cut a hole in the nose and add water otherwise we’d have burned the engine up. That put us way in the back and it took some time and patience to get back up to the front.”

Crafton methodically worked through traffic, skillfully missing the numerous accidents along the way, taking just 30 laps to move from 31st to tenth. By the halfway point Crafton had moved to sixth, and at lap 160 he was fifth. On a restart at lap 169 Crafton took advantage of the low line bogging down and moved from fourth to second, where he stayed until coming to pit road just before the final restart at lap 203.

Dropping back to 12th, Crafton had to make some aggressive moves with just a two-lap dash to the checkered. Racing for position to crack into the top ten, Crafton was trapped behind a lapped truck and made contact which eventually led to the final lap of the race to be run under caution due to a crash.

“That’s the last thing I wanted to happen,” Crafton said. “We were racing the 9 (Max Papis) for position and the 3 (Austin Dillon) was in the low lane holding us up. I wanted him out of the way but I didn’t want to wreck him or anyone else. The 3 was a couple of laps down and we’re racing for every point we can and a top ten finish.”

Crafton moved up one spot to sixth in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series standings; he now sits sixth 355 points behind leader Todd Bodine and just 35 points behind fifth-place Ron Hornaday.

Up next for Matt Crafton and the No. 88 Menards/SealBest Chevrolet is the EnjoyIllinois.com 225 at Chicagoland Speedway on Saturday August 27. The 17th race of the 2010 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season will be televised live on SPEED starting at 8:30 P.M. Eastern; it will also be broadcast on select affiliates of the MRN Radio network nationwide and on Sirius NASCAR Radio Channel 128 (XM 104).

08-16-10

Matt Crafton No. 88 Menards/Ideal Door Chevrolet Express Notes: O’Reilly 200 at Bristol Motor Speedway

Despite a rough start to the season that saw Matt Crafton’s trademark consistency take a beating, he’s back in contention to pick up another top-five finish in the championship standings. Crafton is looking for every point he can get, and he knows the best way to close the gap between himself and the drivers in front of him is to win races. He finished second at Bristol last August and has run near the front there frequently; he has rarely put himself in a position to wrinkle up his No. 88 Menards Chevy and he believes his best shot to win at Bristol is now.

Why are you so confident heading into Bristol? “I am always confident whenever we go to the racetrack, but we’re especially confident heading back to Bristol this year. We had a great race there last year and we think we can pick up that one position we missed out on when we were second. But the key to Bristol is survival. It’s like Daytona and Talladega that your destiny isn’t really in your hands. You can run great all night and someone else’s mistake can put you on the trailer.”

You have always been steady and consistent, what has changed over the years to take you from a driver racing for the top ten at the end of the season to racing for the top five and even the championship? “A lot of it is the equipment and the guys on the team improving. But the biggest part for me as a driver is that I keep learning. Even last week at Darlington, we were running third and Todd Bodine passed me. I followed him for five or six laps and used his line and it immediately helped me getting into turn three. I had to go over and thank him after the race. If you aren’t learning when you’re out there then you should probably quit because that’s the only way to make yourself better.”

Did you like racing on the “old” Bristol or do you like the “new” reconfigured Bristol with progressive banking? “I liked the old Bristol because it was a little more physical. It’s great that we have all the room we have to race now but there was nothing like getting out there and trading a little paint and using the bump and run. With all the room to race there now you don’t see that quite as much. But I like the new configuration too. It was really good for us last year.”

What does Bristol have in common with the short tracks you grew up racing at in California? “The old Bristol really reminded me of the way you drove Mesa Marin. If you’re truck wasn’t handling right you could hook the apron and it would help loosen you up just enough. We used to hook the left side tires down in the grass at Mesa Marin to do the same thing. Now that they’ve reconfigured the track you can move up the track to see if you can change your handling if you need to.”

08-14-10

Crafton Knifes Through Darlington Field to Finish Sixth

After making a late-race pit stop for tires and fuel, Matt Crafton weaved through traffic and stayed out of trouble to pick up a sixth-place finish in the No. 88 Menards/Ideal Door Chevrolet in Friday night’s Too Tough to Tame 200 at Darlington Raceway.

Crafton patiently worked his way through traffic throughout the evening, concentrating on racing the racetrack and not the other competitors. And a gamble to pit just 12 laps after most of the field made their final pit stops of the night nearly paid off with even bigger dividends.

“Everyone pitted with that caution around the halfway point and we knew it would be close to make it on fuel if it went green from there,” Crafton said. “We had another caution about 10 laps later and we came down to take tires and top off the fuel. We were hoping for some more green flag racing in the second half because a lot of those guys would have had to pit again for fuel.”

Even without the top five drivers stopping to top off their fuel cells, Crafton was able to race back towards the front despite a couple of close calls.

“Everyone talks about how tough this place is and then a lot of them go out and run hard and bounce off the fence and use their stuff up or wreck it and we didn’t want to do that,” Crafton said. “We knew we had to be smart here. I saw the 51 (Aric Almirola) slide up and smack the fence right in front of me. Sometimes you just get racing someone too hard and it takes your focus off racing the track and you get into trouble. We said we wanted to get this one in the rearview mirror and come out of here with a good finish and we did. It would have been great to get another top-five but we’ll take sixth and head on down to Bristol.”

Crafton unofficially dropped one position in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship standings to seventh, but he’s just one point behind sixth-place Ron Hornaday and just 16 points behind fifth-place Austin Dillon.

“We need to go to Bristol and stay out of trouble and finish in front of the 3 and the 33,” Crafton said. “The best way to do that is to go down there and win. Once we get past Bristol there are a lot of tracks where we’re going to be really strong. We haven’t given up on the championship yet.”

Next up for Crafton and the No. 88 Menards/SealBest Chevrolet is the O’Reilly 200 at Bristol Motor Speedway on Wednesday August 18. The race will be televised live on SPEED starting at 7:30 P.M. Eastern. The race will also be broadcast live on select affiliates of the MRN Radio network nationwide and on Sirius NASCAR Radio Channel 128 (XM 104).

08-11-10

Matt Crafton No. 88 Menards/Ideal Door Chevrolet Express Notes: Too Tough to Tame 200 at Darlington Raceway

After a five-year absence, the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series returns to the fabled Darlington Raceway for the Too Tough to Tame 200, a race Matt Crafton and his ThorSport Racing team can’t wait to put in their rear view mirror.

Are you looking forward to racing at Darlington, or anxious to get it behind you? “I can’t wait to get it behind us. There are so many variables there, things outside of your control. It might not be in the same league as a Daytona or Talladega but it’s close. We need to make sure we keep the right front fender on the truck and not be up scraping against the wall. These trucks are so aero dependent now that anything that damages that right front will end your chances pretty quick. It’s not a long race, just 200 miles, so we’ll need to drive hard but drive smart. We need to worry about racing the racetrack and not get carried away racing someone too hard too early.”

Is there anything you can take from your previous experience there or have things changed so much since 2004 that nothing carries over? “We’re going there with an empty notebook. So much has changed. The trucks are so much more dependent on aero now. The engine package is different. The track has been repaved and is a lot faster now. What we do know is that we’re going to be driving it a lot like some of the mile and a half tracks, especially through turns one and two. We should be running wide open through there.”

Have you noticed a change in your team from the early part of the season to now? “It’s tough on everyone when you’re running well but not getting the finishes you deserve. We have been fast every week but for a couple of months we just didn’t have anything to show for it. It was tough on my guys when we were going though that streak of bad luck. But now that we’re running better, I can definitely see a change. A lot of it is because they aren’t working on fixing wrecked stuff, they can focus on making our stuff better. Now we’re getting the finishes and we’re back in contention for the championship and my team is as focused as I am.”

08-08-10

Crafton Fights Handling Issues to Finish Seventh in Nashville

Matt Crafton fought a handling issue throughout the night but caught a lucky break with just a handful of laps left to score a seventh-place finish in the Nashville 200 on Saturday night. Crafton’s No. 88 Menards/Ideal Door Chevrolet was fast on short runs, but with just four cautions those short runs were short lived; as the green flag laps ticked off Crafton’s issues became more pronounced.

“It just felt like the truck was riding up on the track instead of down in the track like you want it to be,” Crafton said. “No matter what we did we couldn’t get it fixed. The guys made a lot of changes on the two pit stops but for whatever reason nothing seemed to help. It’s almost like something broke or worked loose in the suspension. It was a handful, that’s for sure.”

The handling difficulties caused Crafton to slowly drift through the back half of the top ten over the final 30 laps. He dropped back to ninth and it looked like that was where he was going to finish – that is until the two drivers racing for seventh directly in front of him came together with just four laps to go.

“I saw Justin Lofton inside of Brian Ickler and it looked like Lofton got loose and slid up into Ickler and left me a huge hole down on the bottom,” Crafton said. “They were racing hard for position. They had both passed me just a few laps earlier so I really didn’t think I had anything left for them at that point, but they shot up the track. It wasn’t our greatest night but at least we had a little good luck there at the end. We’d have much rather have run better than we did, but any time someone wants to give you two positions with a couple of laps to go you take it and don’t look back.”

Crafton dropped one position in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship standings to sixth, just six points behind second-place finisher Austin Dillon.

Next up Matt Crafton and the No. 88 Menards/SealBest Chevrolet is the Too Tough to Tame 200 at Darlington Raceway on Saturday August 14. The race is scheduled for a 7:30 P.M. Eastern start and will be televised live on SPEED. The race will also be carried live on select affiliates of the MRN Radio network nationwide and on Sirius NASCAR Radio Channel 128 (XM 104).

08-05-10

Matt Crafton No. 88 Menards/Ideal Door Chevrolet Express Notes: Nashville 200 at Nashville Superspeedway

Matt Crafton remains hotter than the mid-summer weather after picking up his fourth consecutive top-five finish in the last NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Pocono. While the temperatures were relatively cool in the mountains, Crafton turned up the heat racing from 18th at the start to third at the finish and jumping into the top five in the championship standings for the first time since he left Daytona in February. Crafton is making gains in the points but knows he needs a solid finish at Nashville – one of his least favorite tracks on the schedule – to keep the pressure on.

You’ve said many times Nashville isn’t your favorite track but it would be one if it was paved with asphalt; why would asphalt improve the track in your opinion? “Concrete doesn’t give you a reliable second groove. It doesn’t wear out like an asphalt track does so the bottom groove is always going to be the fastest. On an asphalt track the more you run the bottom thee slicker it becomes and you have to move up the track to find some grip. As a driver all I want is an option, and I think the fans want to see a race where the drivers can run side-by-side too.”

Although it isn’t one of your favorites you’ve had some good runs there; why have your performances been better there recently? “My crew chief Bud (Haefele) and the rest of the guys have figured out what I need to be good there. We have definitely gotten our stuff better there over the past couple of years. We ran second for most of the race there this spring, so I am really confident we’ll have a good truck there this weekend. Even though the track isn’t one of my favorites you do have to look forward to going there when you know you’ll have a good truck and a chance to win the race.”

Some people counted you out of the championship but you haven’t given up on it; are points your main focus or is running to win? “Our approach to the points deal is simple, if we run up front every week and we’re in the top five and we are in position to win a couple of races the points will take care of themselves. We aren’t going to quick racing hard, we’ve been doing that all season long but we’ve had some really rotten luck. I’m not wishing bad luck on anyone but we’ve had a our share of bad luck this year and you have to think the guys in front of us will have a race or two of bad luck too. If we can keep that bad luck away from us we’ve shown we have the ability to be just as consistent as we were last year. We’ve already made up a lot of points just in the past month and we’re going to keep it going until we get to Homestead.”

Ronald McDonald House Visit on Friday August 6: Matt and his ThorSport Racing teammate Johnny Sauter will visit the Nashville Ronald McDonald House this coming Friday, August 6, from 4 to 6 P.M. to visit with the families who are residing there while their children are in local hospitals receiving medical treatment. “We visited the Ronald McDonald House in Kansas City earlier this season and we had a lot of fun with the families there. It has to be incredibly hard to be going through what they are going through so we just want to help put a smile on their face. We’re happy to do whatever we can to take their minds off of hospital rooms, operations, and medical bills even if it’s just for a little while.”

07-31-10

Aggressive Crafton Zips to Third in Pocono Truck Sprint

Although he qualified in the middle of the field, Matt Crafton became a factor at the front in the middle stages of the Pocono Mountains 125 and when a couple of late-race cautions allowed for two attempts at a green-white-checkered finish, Crafton expertly and aggressively weaved his way through traffic to bring the No. 88 Menards/Tide Chevrolet home in third position.

Crafton’s third-place finish came in ThorSport Racing’s 500th NASCAR Camping World Truck Series start. ThorSport Racing is now just the second team in series history to have reached the 500 start plateau.

“I learned so much here this weekend,” Crafton said after the race. “I’ve only seen this place on TV and let me tell you TV doesn’t do this place justice at all. I only have 75 laps total here, 20 in practice and then the 55 here in the race, and that’s it. We were out to lunch yesterday but once we got me up to speed and I figured this place out we shot up towards the front. I know the fans here saw a great race with a lot of action packed into a very short sprint but I wish we had another 50 laps to go. We run 100 laps at Daytona. Who knows, with another 25 laps of experience here we might be the ones sitting in victory lane.”

Over the final two-lap dash to the checkered Crafton was locked in a side-by-side battle for second with Kasey Kahne. While those two raced alongside one another Elliott Sadler was able to stretch out an advantage, and although Crafton knew running in single file formation would be quicker and might allow them to close the gap, he wasn’t willing to roll over and give up second without a fight.

“I knew if we got in line we’d be faster but there was no way I was going to just give up second,” Crafton said. “If we were going to chase down Elliott, I wanted to be the one to do it. I was listening to the spotter and he kept saying ‘at your door, at the quarter panel, at the bumper’ but he never did tell me I was clear. If we could have cleared Kasey I think we might have had a chance to chase down Elliott but he was able to hang out there and use the air to stall me out a little. I had an absolute blast out there today. I threw a couple of Hail Marys on the last couple of restarts and they paid off. Some of the other guys got trapped in traffic and we didn’t, it all seemed to work out for us perfectly today.”

Crafton’s fourth consecutive top-five finish – and his third third-place run over that four-race stretch – also boosted him three positions in the championship standings to fifth, the first time Crafton has cracked the top five in the standings since finishing fourth in the season opener at Daytona. He is now 245 points behind leader Todd Bodine, 96 points behind second-place Aric Almirola, 52 points behind ThorSport Racing teammate Johnny Sauter for third and just nine points behind Timothy Peters in fourth.

“I’ve said all along we’re not out of this championship yet,” Crafton said. “We had an absolutely horrible start to the year and we’re in fifth halfway through the season. I know my guys are going to keep working as hard as they have been, and hopefully we’ve had all the bad luck we’re going to have. Some of those guys in front of us haven’t had their bad luck yet. We’re going to keep racing as hard as we can and try to get us some wins and close up that gap in the points and go get us a championship.”

Next up for Crafton and the No. 88 Menards/SealBest Chevrolet is the Nashville 200 at the 1.33-mile Nashville Superspeedway on Saturday August 7. The race is scheduled for an 8 P.M. Eastern green flag and it will be televised live on SPEED. The 14th race of the 2010 season will also be broadcast live on select affiliates of the MRN Radio network nationwide and on Sirius NASCAR Radio Channel 128.

07-28-10

Matt Crafton No. 88 Menards/Tide Chevrolet Silverado Preview: Pocono Mountains 125 at Pocono Raceway

It is a monumental weekend as ThorSport Racing heads into the Pocono Mountains for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series’ first ever visit to the Pocono Raceway. While the team and driver Matt Crafton will make their first start at the triangular 2.5-mile track, ThorSport Racing will reach its milestone 500th cumulative start in NCWTS competition.

You haven’t raced at Pocono before, are you nervous about going in to a new track for the first time? “No not at all. It’s just like in the old Southwest Tour days, we go in and get some practice laps and get used to the track and then we go race. We aren’t going in totally blind either. I’ve talked to some guys, like Paul Menard, who have been there a few times to get some setup advice. We’re going to basically go with our mile-and-a-half setup and we can work from there. I think that will get us in the ballpark, I just need to get myself used to the track. I’ve been racing in the Truck Series since 2000 and I get to be a rookie again this weekend.”

How hard is it to adapt to a new track? “We have a lot of practice time so it shouldn’t be too bad. That’s part of coming from a touring series like the Southwest Tour that really helps. We never had a lot of time to get up to speed when we went someplace new. I’ll have to learn the braking points and where the bumps are and the best line to get through the corners, but that should come pretty quickly. Once we get the driver up to speed we can work on getting the truck as good as we can get it. Pocono has three very different corners so you have to make some compromises but I know Bud (Haefele) and the guys will work hard to make it as good as we can make it.”

ThorSport Racing is reaching its 500th start this weekend, what are your feelings on your team owners Duke and Rhonda Thorson’s commitment to the series? “It’s awesome. Even today after 500 starts, they are as involved as they were when the team first started. They have put a lot of time and invested a lot of their own money into building this team into a winner and a championship contender. I can’t thank them enough for the opportunity they’ve given me over the past ten years and they’ve made me feel like a part of their extended family. They are awesome owners to drive for and I hope we can get them a win here at Pocono to make their 500th start really special.”

07-25-10

Crafton Sweats Out Third Place at ORP

Matt Crafton continued to be as hot as the sweltering Midwestern weather by finishing a strong third in Friday night’s AAA Insurance 200 at O’Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis. Crafton qualified fourth in the No. 88 Menards/Ideal Door Chevrolet and stayed up front all evening long, at one point passing and pulling away from the two drivers that finished in front of him – winner Ron Hornaday and runner-up Kyle Busch – but an air pressure adjustment on the final pit stop didn’t produce the results Crafton and crew chief Bud Haefele anticipated.

Despite not pressuring Hornaday and Busch for the top two positions over the final 50 laps, Crafton was able to comfortably cruise home in the third position, just ahead of ThorSport Racing teammate Johnny Sauter. It was Crafton’s third consecutive top-five finish, his fourth overall, and his seventh top-ten finish in twelve starts so far in 2010.

“After such a horrible start to the season it’s great to get some momentum and start picking up some top five finishes,” Crafton said following his third consecutive top-five run. “We had a pretty good truck in practice and we knew the track would change once the sun went down. We were looking for some forward bite off the corner on the final pit stop. The guys made the adjustment but the truck just didn’t drive like we thought it would. I was better than everyone else out there on the long runs except the 33 and the 18. We had a good clean night tonight, there aren’t too many scratches on the truck and that’s pretty rare for a short track race for the Truck Series.”

The heat, which was in the upper 90s with the heat index over 110 degrees, was a factor for the second consecutive week.

“It was hot out there tonight but it didn’t seem as hot as last week,” Crafton said. “It cooled off at night, but it was still really warm. It wasn’t so much the heat here but it was the humidity. It’s like you could cut the air with a knife it was so thick.”

Crafton now moves up to seventh in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship standings; he sits just one point behind sixth-place Austin Dillon and 66 points behind a tie for fourth between Hornaday and Timothy Peters. Crafton is just 101 points out of second.

Next up for Matt Crafton and the No. 88 Menards/SealBest Chevrolet is the Pocono Mountains 125 at the 2.5-mile triangular Pocono Raceway on Saturday, July 30. As a team, ThorSport Racing will be participating in its 328th race all-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, moving into second place behind only Roush Fenway Racing with 353 races and into the lead among active teams. The green flag will fly shortly after 1 P.M. Eastern live on SPEED. The race will also be broadcast live on select MRN Radio affiliates nationwide and on Sirius NASCAR Radio Channel 128 (XM104).

07-21-10

Matt Crafton No. 88 Menards/Ideal Door Chevrolet Silverado Express Notes: O’Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis

After a rough start to 2010, Matt Crafton has the monkey off his back with two consecutive top-five finishes to his credit heading into the AAA Insurance 200 at O’Reilly Raceway Park. Despite not racking up the finishes he and the ThorSport team deserved over the first ten races of the season, Crafton is happy with the way the team has performed. The only component his team has been missing to this point, he says, has been luck.

It seems you and the team have turned a corner with your results the past two weeks, what’s been the difference? “The only difference has been luck. We have run great all season long. We’ve qualified great week in and week out and for the most part we’ve run really good. But we haven’t had the luck to go along with it. It’s not like someone flipped a switch and all of a sudden the 88 truck is starting to run good. We’ve been good all season long. But we just couldn’t get the luck to go our way. I keep telling people I didn’t need any good luck, I just didn’t want any bad luck. That’s how it’s been at Iowa and Gateway and our results finally show it. I keep telling people the championship isn’t over and it’s not. We lost a lot of points with a few bad races, and those other guys could too. We’re staying focused and we’re going to go out and try to win every week, and if we can’t win we’re going to go after a top-five. If we do that, we should get ourselves back in the points battle.”

You’ve had very good finishes at ORP in the past; what is it going to take to move up from a top-three finish to a win? “You need everything to go your way the whole night. You need a great truck, you need great pit stops, you need the cautions to fall your way and you need those silly things that always seem to pop up to not pop up. Like last year, we had a great truck and we could have been in the lead group at the end, but there was a caution late in the race. I was on the radio asking the crew chief if he wanted me to pit and he was telling me at the same time to come down pit road. Neither of us heard each other and I drove on past the entrance to pit road. We just need those things to not happen and we’ll have a shot to win.”

How do you work on your setup at ORP? “I’ve always liked racing at ORP, it’s a flat short track and that’s what I grew up racing on. The big difference is you run right up next to the wall here. We always work on getting the truck to run well in that top groove first. Once you’re good up there, you work on getting it to cut low off the corners. That’s where you make most of your passes, so it has to be able to turn left coming off and get traction off the corner.”

ThorSport Longevity: With the AAA Insurance 200 at ORP, ThorSport Racing will have competed in 327 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races, tying team owners Duke and Rhonda Thorson for second all-time with Tom Mitchell and Circle Bar Racing. ThorSport should move into second-place all time, behind only Roush Fenway Racing’s 353 races, in the next series race at Pocono. ThorSport Racing is the active team leader in series starts and driver Matt Crafton is the current leader in consecutive series starts at 233.

07-17-10

Crafton Fights Slick Track and Heat to Score Fifth-Place at Gateway

With his in-cockpit cooling system giving him problems on the hottest raceday of the season, it would have been understandable if Matt Crafton let the extreme temperatures derail his chances for a top-five finish in Saturday’s delayed CampingWorld.com 200 at Gateway International Raceway. But Crafton stayed strong, and when the coolbox unit kicked on over the final 50 laps it gave Crafton an added boost to race up to fifth at the finish in the No. 88 Menards/Ideal Door Chevrolet.

“The cool box wasn’t working for most of the day and it was miserable in the truck,” Crafton said. “It came back on in the second half of race and after that I felt like a million bucks. It was just so hot out there today. I’m sure a lot of drivers were dealing with the same issues we were.”

Crafton was forced to race up through the field late after taking four tires on the final pit stop, when many of the lead teams took two.

“I thought we had a second or third place truck but we kinda got snookered on pit strategy there at the end,” Crafton said. “We came down and took four tires and most everyone else took two so we had to work our way back up to the front. If we had a little more time I think we could have made up a few more spots. But that’s two good weeks in row for us. I keep telling everyone we’re not out of this championship yet and runs like we’ve had the past two weeks prove it. It’s a great way to start off this summer stretch with some momentum.”

Crafton now jumps to eighth in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship standings, 297 points behind leader Todd Bodine and just 38 points behind Mike Skinner in fifth.

Next up for Crafton and the ThorSport Racing No. 88 Menards/SealBest Chevrolet is the AAA Insurance 200 next Friday night at O’Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis. The race is scheduled to go green shortly after 8 P.M. Eastern and will be televised live on SPEED. It can also be heard live on select affiliates of the MRN Radio network nationwide and on Sirius NASCAR Radio Channel 128 (XM 104).

07-14-10

Matt Crafton No. 88 Menards/Ideal Door Chevrolet Express Notes: CampingWorld.com 200 at Gateway

After four races in which Lady Luck wasn’t on his side, Matt Crafton and the No. 88 Menards Chevy team finally got the monkey off their collective back with a solid third-place finish in last week’s Lucas Oil 200 at Iowa Speedway. Crafton carries that momentum back to Gateway, where he nearly had last season’s race won until two controversial incidents with Todd Bodine and Ron Hornaday while racing for the lead and the win late in the event. Crafton has pushed that disappointment way out of his mind as he returns to the 1.25-mile oval within the shadows of the St. Louis Arch. All Crafton and his Menards team are focused on is finishing what they started last season by going to victory lane.

How are you approaching Gateway after all that happened there last season? “It’s really easy; to us it’s just another race. All we want to do is go back and close the deal. We’ve run so well there over the years, and last year we had a chance to win and it all went out the window so that’s what we’re working on, we want to go back and finish up what we should have done last year. We’ve had some people ask us about last season but it’s not anything we want to focus on or even think about. ”

Is Gateway a driver oriented track or do the long straightaways and different radius corners put a premium on the truck? “It does put the driver back into the deal more than some of the other tracks. But you still need a strong truck underneath you. To me handling is so important there, and it’s a challenge because both ends of the track are different. In a perfect world you want a truck that has the most horsepower and handles better than everyone else, just like any other track we go to, but a good handling truck and the driver can help make up for a little less horsepower.”

You were and still are a fan of the late Davey Allison. It has been 17 years since he passed away, what memories do you have of him and do those memories still motivate you? “I can’t believe it’s been 17 years. Davey was such a great person and it just happened that he could drive a racecar better than most too. I always try to do what I think he would want me to do, things like always trying to take care of my fans. I got to meet him a few times when I was a kid because he used to come out west and run my dad’s late model. One time he was racing for my dad at Madera and they wouldn’t let me in the pits there because I was so young, and he told them that he wasn’t going to race unless I was in the pits with him. Things like that really stick out in my memory. He took me out to dinner with him a couple of times and he even invited me to go hunting with him the year that he died. I just found the hand-written letter he sent me inviting me on that hunting trip. I thought it was lost forever so when I found it that really made my day. I still think about him all the time and it really makes me sad to think about what might have been if he was still here.”

07-12-10

Two Top-Fives for Crafton in Iowa

After a bout of rough racing luck throughout May and June, Matt Crafton kicked off the summer stretch with a strong third-place run in the Lucas Oil 200 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Iowa Speedway. Crafton also finished fifth in Saturday night’s Prairie Meadows 200 ARCA Racing Series event after leading 30 laps during the middle stages of the race.

Crafton started the No. 88 Menards/Ideal Door Chevrolet in tenth but made a strong move into the top six on the start, eventually cracking into the top five after the first round of pit stops at lap 42. From there, Crafton stalked the leaders for the next 100 laps before a restart at lap 150. At the drop of the green, Crafton’s lane jammed up and he dropped back to seventh. Two more late-race restarts allowed Crafton to stay in contact with the leaders, allowing him to move up to fifth by lap 195. When a caution for debris on the frontstretch on lap 198 sent the race into overtime, he jumped to third when Justin Lofton ran out of fuel just before the restart.

“I was lined up in fifth waiting for the restart and the 7 truck about stopped in front of us and pulled off the track,” Crafton said. “Maybe our luck has finally changed. At Dover the same thing happened just after they threw the green flag and we just about wrecked and it cost us a win. I guess it’s all about timing.”

Crafton nearly had a shot at ThorSport Racing teammate Johnny Sauter for second on the final restart.

“I saw Johnny had to check up when the 3 didn’t go at the restart,” Crafton said. “I thought I might be able to get inside him going into one but he came down to block. The 3 was definitely the truck to beat today but it’s awesome for everyone involved here to get both ThorSport trucks in the top three. We’d have liked to have won but after the last couple of months we’ll take third. Hopefully it gives us some momentum for the next six weeks and we can get some more top fives, get a win or two and get back in the points.”

Crafton moves up one position to ninth in the Camping World Truck Series championship standings, just three points behind eighth-place David Starr and just 101 points behind third-place Ron Hornaday.

Next up for Crafton and the No. 88 Menards Chevrolet is the Camping World 200 at Gateway International Raceway on Friday July 16. The race will be televised live on SPEED at 8 P.M. Eastern and broadcast live on select affiliates MRN Radio affiliates nationwide and on Sirius NASCAR Radio Channel 128 (XM 104).

07-07-10

Matt Crafton No. 88 Menards/Ideal Door Chevrolet Silverado Express Notes: Lucas Oil 200 at Iowa Speedway

Matt Crafton returns to Iowa Speedway for the second-annual running of the Lucas Oil 200 looking to better last year’s sixth-place result. Crafton will be busier than usual this weekend as he competes in both the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race and the ARCA Racing Series Prairie Meadows 200 in a second Menards-sponsored entry for Kimmel Racing. Crafton will practice and qualify the No. 88 Menards/Ideal Door Chevrolet and practice, qualify, and race the No. 88 Messina Wildlife Control/Menards car in the ARCA Racing Series on Saturday. All told, Crafton will be in the cockpit for nearly eight hours.

How does racing in the ARCA race on Saturday help with getting to victory lane on Sunday in the truck? “I don’t care what I am racing, any time I drive I am out there to win. We’re taking the ARCA race on Saturday very seriously. On top of that we get another chance to go out and win a race for Menards, and being they are a Midwest company it would be nice to get a couple of wins for them close to home. The ARCA race runs at night and the Camping World Truck race on Sunday is during the day so we won’t have a lot of information on what the track will do since the races are at different times, but any laps you make always helps. Getting out there and winning the ARCA race would give us a lot of confidence going into the Truck race on Sunday.”

Last year’s Truck race was a night and this year’s is during the day; is there any information you can use from last year or is this year’s race a clean slate? “Last year we got really tight late in the race. It’s probably because the track tightens up as it gets cooler but we don’t know for sure. But all of the practice we did last year was during the day and this year we practice during the day and race during the day so we should be able to use our practice notes from last season and build on them this year to know what to expect during the race.”

Being 7/8 of a mile, does Iowa race more like a short track or a superspeedway? “Iowa drives like a mile and a half track to me. It does have some characteristics of a short track, but the way it drives and the banking reminds me of Kansas or Kentucky. It is really fast so it’s not a place you want to get into someone going into the corners. It’s not like racing at Martinsville that’s for sure.”

Ideal Door on at Iowa: Ideal Door returns for its second appearance of the 2010 season on the hood of the No. 88 Menards Chevrolet at Iowa Speedway. Since 1963, Ideal Door has been an industry leader in sectional garage doors and the preferred choice of home owners, architects and builders for their current and future door needs. For more information, visit www.idealdoors.com.

06-12-10

Engine Problems Sideline Crafton at Michigan

After running among the top five in the early going and then charging from the tail of the field to the front following a penalty on a pit stop, Matt Crafton was sidelined early when the engine in his No. 88 Menards/NIBCO Chevrolet went sour with 17 laps to go in Saturday’s VFW 200 at Michigan International Speedway. Crafton finished 27th in the 36-truck field.

After starting third, Crafton quickly established the strength of his truck by leading the second lap and then staying among five in the early going. But on a fuel stop under the second caution on lap 12, the fuel can became lodged in the fuel filler as Crafton tried to leave his stall, dragging the can and fuel man Rich Riley out of the stall and drawing a tail-of-the-field penalty. Not to be deterred, Crafton made short work of the field and quickly raced back into the top ten.

With less than 20 laps to go, Crafton was set to battle for a position among the top five when he suddenly slowed down the backstretch. After a short stay on pit road, crew chief Bud Haefele determined the engine problems to be terminal and Crafton retired for the afternoon.

“It’s disappointing because we probably had one of the top three trucks here,” Crafton said. “We never worried about restarting at the back because we knew we were good enough to get back to the front. Our engines have been bullet-proof the last couple of seasons. It felt like we had a valve spring break. We’ll put this behind us and regroup in the month off we have between now and Iowa and focus on winning some races between now at the end of the season.”

Crafton now sits tenth in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series standings, nine points behind ninth-place Ricky Carmichael and 81 points behind teammate Johnny Sauter in fifth.

The next race for Matt Crafton and the No. 88 Menards/SealBest Chevrolet is the Iowa 200 at the 0.875-mile Iowa Speedway on Sunday July 11. The race will be televised live on SPEED starting at 2 P.M. Eastern; it can also be heard live on select affiliates of the MRN Radio network nationwide and on Sirius NASCAR Radio Channel 128 (XM 104).

06-08-10

Matt Crafton No. 88 Menards/NIBCO Chevrolet Silverado Express Notes: VFW 200 at Michigan International Speedway

Matt Crafton has had a season’s worth of racing misfortune in the first eight races of the 2010 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season. However, that bad luck hasn’t disheartened him or his team as they head to the Irish Hills of Michigan for the VFW 200 at Michigan International Speedway.

How do you handle the rough luck that’s started the season? “It would be one thing if we were running horrible and get wrecked running around in the back. But we’ve been really fast every week, it’s just things outside of our control happening that take us out. Last year it seemed no matter what happened we’d recover from it and finish in the top five, and even if we didn’t finish that high we were still in the top ten. But we aren’t looking back and thinking what if. We’re focused on the races in front of us and doing all we can do to get into victory lane.”

Is Michigan a place you look forward to going to? “We all love racing at Michigan. It’s wide and fast and now that I’ve finally figured out how to run there we’ve had a lot of success there. It took me a few years to figure out how to race at Michigan. And now that it’s had some years on the pavement it’s almost like Atlanta where the tires wear and you slip and slide and that’s what I like about it.”

Do you work on your setup to race in multiple grooves at Michigan or does it just seem to happen on its own? “We don’t purposely work on the setup to race around the high groove. The last couple of times we went to Michigan we struggled to make the truck work up top. But no matter what your plan is there you always seem to move up off the white line and up the track. I think we learned some stuff at Texas last week by running around the top groove that could help us at Michigan this week too. Michigan is a little bigger and the turns are a little more sweeping than some of the other intermediate tracks but the same basic setup transfers over. We’ll take what we learned last week and try to apply it for this week too.”

Matt Racing in the Midwest: Crafton already has one top five finish in the books before the NCWTS gets its annual tour of the Midwest started. Three weeks ago Crafton finished fourth in the ARCA Racing Series Menards 200 at Toledo Speedway, which is located just about an hour southeast of MIS. Crafton will jump back aboard the No. 88 Messina Wildlife Control/Menards car during the ARCA/NCWTS doubleheader at Iowa Speedway on July 10 and 11.

NIBCO on at MIS: NIBCO, a worldwide manufacturer of flow control products for residential, commercial construction, industrial, and irrigation markets, will be featured on the hood of Matt Crafton's No. 88 Menards Chevy at Michigan. NIBCO has 11 manufacturing plants throughout the United States, Mexico and Poland and employs more than 2,600 people.

06-05-10

Tough Luck Derails Crafton in Texas

If it weren’t for bad luck at Texas Motor Speedway, Matt Crafton wouldn’t have had any luck at all during Friday’s WinStar World Casino 400. After starting on the front row, Crafton fought a tight condition that forced the No. 88 Menards/Australian Gold Chevy to drift back through the top ten during the early stages of the race. After a couple of adjustments to loosen it up, Crafton’s truck was as fast as the leaders but trapped a lap behind.

Just as he was set to challenge for the free pass position and be eligible to rejoin the lead lap should a caution come out, Crafton was nicked by another truck and forced to pit to remedy a left rear tire rub. Then, after a subsequent caution, Crafton was swept up in an accident involving David Starr on lap 164 after Starr punctured a right front tire going into turn one. Crafton was forced to retire with terminal damage and relegated to an 18th-place finish.

“It was just a bad night for the Menards Chevy,” Crafton lamented afterwards. “We were too tight early on and lost a lap to the leaders. Once we loosened the truck up we were just as fast as the leaders were but couldn’t get track position to get the free pass. We eventually got into position to get the free pass but we got hit by someone else and it pushed the left rear fender in on the tire. This isn’t a place where you want a tire to blow out so we came to get it fixed and it cost us another lap. We were just out riding around trying to make it to the end when the 81 (Starr) blew a right front right when we were on his outside going into turn one. We bounced off the fence and wadded up the truck pretty good. It’s a little frustrating because we know we’re a better team than our finishes have shown the last month but we aren’t giving up. We know we can go to Michigan and win and we’re going to give it the best we can to make it happen.”

Crafton now sits seventh in the NASCAR Camping World championship standings, 252 points behind Texas winner and leader Todd Bodine. He’s just 33 points behind Mike Skinner for sixth and 47 points behind ThorSport Racing teammate Johnny Sauter in fifth.

Next up for Matt Crafton and the No. 88 Menards/SealBest Chevrolet is the VFW 200 at Michigan International Speedway on Saturday June 12. The race is scheduled for a 2 P.M. Eastern start and will be televised live on SPEED and broadcast on select affiliates of the MRN Radio network nationwide as well as on Sirius NASCAR Radio Channel 128 (XM 104).

06-02-10

Matt Crafton No. 88 Menards/Australian Gold Chevrolet Silverado Express Notes: WinStar World Casino 400 at Texas

With two consecutive second-place finishes at Texas Motor Speedway behind him, Matt Crafton heads back to the Lone Star State with one goal in mind: bettering those finishes by one position in Friday night’s WinStar World Casino 400.

What do you need to do as a team to get that one position you needed after last year’s dual second-place finishes? “Last year we had the truck to beat in both races but things outside of our control got us. In the first race the pit rules got us because we had to come down pit road for tires and then fuel on the last stop and the Toyotas only came for tires. I had to come from seventh with about 30 laps to go and by the time I cleared all the traffic Todd Bodine was too far out to catch. In November we had to make an extra pitstop for tires because the pace truck ran over some debris and it cut down our left rear tire. If we can eliminate all that stuff and deal with only what’s inside of our control we should have a really good chance at winning.”

How happy are you to go back to more traditional pit road procedures? “I am super happy about it because we lost at least three races last year because of the two-stop rules. It’s one thing if everyone has to make one pit stop and can take tires and add fuel because you only have to come down pit road once. It’s the losing time to come down pit road again that hurts in that situation. The Chevrolet engine makes great power but it doesn’t get the mileage the Toyota engine does so those guys could skip fuel and only take tires, which is what happened at Texas last summer and cost us the race. But going back to the old rules evens up the playing field again which is all we’re asking for as competitors.”

How does TMS rate for you as a driver? “I love racing at Texas. It’s big and fast and there are a few grooves to choose from. When I first raced there in 2001 it was still pretty much a one groove track but now that the pavement has aged the groove has widened out and you can run anywhere from the white line all the way up next to the wall. It’s one of the best tracks we go to all season long.”

05-25-10

Loose Truck Keeps Crafton Just Shy of Top-10 in Charlotte; Late Race Charge Earns Top-5 at Toledo

Matt Crafton had his streak of seven consecutive NASCAR Camping World Truck Series top-ten finishes broken on Friday night in Charlotte but concluded his double-header weekend with a strong charge to fifth-place in Sunday’s Menards 200 for the ARCA Racing Series at Toledo Speedway.

Crafton fought a loose truck throughout the night in Charlotte. Repeated adjustments to the No. 88 Menards/McGuire-Nicholas Chevy only made a minor difference and Crafton eventually ran out of laps to make his way into the top ten, finishing one spot shy in eleventh. After a short night’s rest, Crafton and the ThorSport Racing crew jetted to Toledo where Crafton practiced and qualified for his ARCA debut on Sunday. After starting seventh and surviving a multi-car tangle in turn one that left his No. 88 Messina Wildlife Management/Menards car with damage to the right front fender Crafton and crew persevered to collect a fifth-place finish, right behind fellow Menards driver and nine-time series champion Frank Kimmel.

“We’re disappointed we didn’t run better at Charlotte than we did because that’s one of our better tracks,” Crafton said. “We were just loose all night and when you’re in traffic with a loose truck it isn’t a very comfortable feeling. We would have liked to salvage a top ten finish but we ended up one spot short. A few years ago a night like that might have ended up with a 25th or 30th place finish so it just shows how far we’ve come as a team.

“We didn’t get a lot of sleep in Friday night and then flew up to Toledo for the ARCA race. It was cooler on Saturday and then it got really hot on Sunday so we didn’t really know what to expect from the track, but we were really loose early. Then we got caught up with the 60 car (Patrick Sheltra) in turn one and it knocked out or brake blowers and that just built up our front pressures. We had to make about four pit stops to get the pressures right but once we did we were fast. I don’t think there was anyone as fast as we were the last 25 laps. We raced from twelfth to fifth and put both of Frank’s cars in the top five. I had a blast and hopefully we’ll have a chance to run a few more of these.”

Crafton stays fifth in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship standings, 166 points behind leader Todd Bodine and just 63 points behind fourth-place Ron Hornaday, Jr.

The next race for Crafton and the No. 88 Menards Chevrolet is the Winstar World Casino 400 at Texas Motor Speedway on June 4. The race will be televised live on SPEED starting with a 30-minute pre-race show at 8:30 P.M. Eastern. The race will also be broadcast live on select affiliates of the Motor Racing Network nationwide and on Sirius NASCAR Radio Channel 128 (XM 104).

05-18-10

Matt Crafton No. 88 Menards/McGuire-Nicholas Chevrolet Silverado Express Notes: North Carolina Education Lottery 200 at Charlotte Motor Speedway

Many racing fans consider Memorial Day Weekend to be their longest weekend of racing action throughout the year with the Indy 500 and Coke 600. For Matt Crafton, the weekend before Memorial Day is going to be his longest racing weekend of the year. First he returns to Charlotte Motor Speedway, the site of his first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series win in 2008 to compete in the North Carolina Education Lottery 200. Then, immediately following that event, he will climb aboard a plane and head north to Toledo, Ohio, to make his ARCA Racing Series debut in the Menards 200 at Toledo Speedway.

What do you like about racing at Charlotte? “For me the best part is it’s wide and you have different grooves to choose from. I don’t like racetracks that are one-lane and all you do is hug the white line all day long. Charlotte has always had a couple of grooves, even when they paved it. That’s really what a driver wants, a couple of options and let him do the rest. We’ve always been really good there so whenever we go to Charlotte we’re thinking we have a chance to win and that’s another reason to like going there.”

Charlotte is just a one-day show with practice, qualifying, and the race all on Friday. Does your background in the Southwest Tour give you an advantage in that format? “I think most of the field has some sort of short track experience where you do everything in one day, so that’s not where the advantage comes from. I think the fact that I raced in the Southwest Tour instead of just one track every week helps us. A lot of drivers raced at one track and they didn’t have to learn how to adapt right away. When we pulled into a different track every week, we had a short practice to get ready and that was it. Then we qualified and raced. Learning how to adapt to different racetracks and do it quickly really helps in these one-day shows in the Camping World Truck Series.”

Are you ready for your ARCA debut? “I was ready for it last year when I practiced the car for Paul (Menard). I can’t wait. We’re going up there and we’re going to do everything we can to win. The car is coming from Frank Kimmel’s team and we know how good his stuff is. Paul ended up with a top-five there last year and I think we can do a little better this year since I’ll be in the car all weekend. My guys have had it at the shop getting it ready for me and I’ll have them all with me in the pits too. I really think we have a great chance to win two races this weekend.”

05-15-10

Crafton scores seventh-place run in rough-and-tumble Dover 200

Matt Crafton kept the No. 88 Menards/Zecol Chevrolet out of trouble for 200 miles around the brutal high-banks of Dover International Speedway on Friday, coming home with a solid seventh-place finish. However, if not for the leader running out of fuel on a restart with just four laps to go, Crafton could have racked up a top-three finish or possibly even stole the win.

“We weren’t as good as we needed to be in practice on Thursday so Bud (Haefele, crew chief) and the guys came up with some things to try today and they worked, we were a lot better,” Crafton said. “We stayed out of all the trouble out there and we were in a real good position for that restart with four laps to go. We were running third right behind Johnny (Benson, leader) and ready to make a run at those guys but he didn’t go at all when the green came out. We got trapped behind him and lost about five positions. There wasn’t enough time to get any of them back at that point so we finished seventh.

“I think we had a truck that could have raced with the 51 (of eventual winner Aric Almirola), it’s just a shame we got trapped behind Benson there because we were sitting third and both of the guys in front of us ran out of fuel. But the truck is in one piece and we made up some ground in the points on some people. All in all I’d say it was a decent day.”

On the strength of his fourth top-ten finish of the season Crafton jumped one position in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series standings to fifth, 148 points behind leader Aric Alrmirola and just 23 points behind Ron Hornaday, Jr. for fourth.

Next up for Crafton and the No. 88 Menards Chevrolet is the North Carolina Education Lottery 200 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Friday May 21, which Crafton won in 2008. The race will be televised live on SPEED at starting with a 30-minute pre-race show at 7:30 P.M. Eastern. The race can also be heard live on select affiliates of the Motor Racing Network and on Sirius NASCAR Radio Channel 128 (XM104). Crafton will also make his ARCA Racing Series debut next weekend, driving the No. 98 Menards/Messina Wildlife Control car in the Menards 200 at Toledo Speedway on Sunday May 23.

05-13-10

Matt Crafton No. 88 Menards/Zecol Chevrolet Silverado Preview: Dover 200 at Dover International Speedway

Matt Crafton has had a love-hate relationship with Dover International Speedway. Crafton thoroughly enjoys all that racing at Dover brings, from the leisurely drive from North Carolina to Delaware in his motorcoach, to the activities found in the area surrounding the track, to the competition on the speedway. But, he’s also felt the bite of the Monster Mile, and it’s not something he’s anxious to repeat anytime soon.

Do you have some unfinished business after coming so close to victory at Dover last year? “I thought we had a truck that could have won last year. But we were running with (Ron) Hornaday for the championship and couldn’t gamble like some of the others did. Brian Scott didn’t take any tires on the last caution and he ended up winning. Johnny (Sauter) took two and he ended up fifth right in front of us. We were in a position where we had to take four just because of the points deal.”

What stands out more, the good runs and solid finishes at Dover, or finding out how hard the walls are there? “To me, Dover is what racing is all about. The groove will move up as the race goes on and it opens up the options for the drivers. But the other side is I’ve had a couple of the hardest hits of my career there. After the one in 2002 I saw about three of everything for a week. If we can come out of there with a win it would definitely help erase some of those bad memories, but we don’t spend a lot of time thinking about them as it is.”

How do you rate your team’s performance over the first quarter of the season? “Right now we’re running as well as we ever have as a team. I think in the first five races we’ve qualified in the top three every week except Daytona and even there we were in the top ten. My guys haven’t let it get to them; they know it’s just some bad luck. Hopefully we’ve gotten all of our bad luck out of the way for this season and we’ll and go get us some wins.”

Zecol on the hood for only 2010 appearance: Zecol will be in the hood of the No. 88 Menards Chevrolet this week at Dover. Zecol produces de-icers, including Incredible Orange Anti-Ice kit which is sprayed onto surfaces prior to a storm to prevent snow and ice build up and is rated to -27 degrees Fahrenheit, radiator sealers, anti-freeze, and Purple Power windshield washer fluid.

Matt at Dover: Matt Crafton has nine previous NCWTS starts at Dover International Speedway with one top-five finish and four top-ten finishes. His best finish was fifth in 2008; his average start is 20.4 and his average finish is 16.4. He has completed 1,468 of a possible 1,800 competition laps (81.6%) and has led 3 laps.

Matt’s Dover Truck: Matt will be driving ThorSport Racing Chassis No. 33 at Dover this week.

05-02-10

Accident Leaves Crafton 25th at Kansas

Matt Crafton started second and ran among the top-five in the early stages of the O’Reilly 250, but damage to the No. 88 Menards/McGuire-Nichols Chevrolet in an accident on lap 42 put Crafton in the garage for repairs and left him 25th at the finish.

Crafton was running among the top five on lap 35 when several trucks in front of him spun and crashed. While avoiding the accident Crafton sustained minor damage to the right rear fender, necessitating an unscheduled pit stop for repairs. Restarting from the back of the field on lap 42, Crafton attempted to go low to pass some slower trucks but contact was made and Crafton sustained severe right side damage.

“I don’t know what happened down there,” Crafton said. “I went down low to get by some of those slower trucks and the next thing I know I got hit in the right rear and it was on from there. We had some pretty hard contact with the right side and Bud (Haefele) and the guys had to work to get us back on the track. But we’re in this to win the championship so we don’t give up. My guys did a great job to get us back out so we could pick up some positions and some points. It wasn’t a really good points day for us today but thanks to my guys on this Menards Chevy it wasn’t as bad as it could have been.”

Crafton now sits sixth in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship standings, 17 points behind teammate Johnny Sauter for fifth and 134 points behind leader Timothy Peters.

Next up for Crafton and the No. 88 Menards Chevrolet is the Dover 200 at Dover International Raceway. The race will be televised on a same-day tape-delayed basis on Friday May 14 at 8 P.M. Eastern. It will be broadcast live on select affiliates of the Motor Racing Network nationwide and on Sirius NASCAR Radio Channel 128 (XM104).

04-28-10

Matt Crafton No. 88 Menards/McGuire-Nicholas Chevrolet Preview: O’Reilly Auto Parts 250 at Kansas Speedway

Matt Crafton heads to Kansas Speedway coming off a sixth-place finish at Nashville Superspeedway, a finish that he says could have been better based on the performance of the No. 88 Menards Chevy. Unfortunately a narrow racing groove and racing circumstances prevented a top-five result, but that race gives Crafton and his team confidence headed into the fifth race of the 2010 Camping World Truck Series season.

What’s the most difficult challenge to racing at Kansas Speedway? “For every year we’ve been racing there except last year it’s been so hot there that you’re fighting to get grip. The track just gets so slick. There is a second groove there and you can race side by side, but it’s not like Atlanta where you can run from the white line to the wall. There isn’t a lot of banking either but there’s still a lot of speed. It’s a challenge to get the truck just right but Bud (Haefele, crew chief) and the guys know how to make our Menards Chevy go fast on the mile and a half tracks so we should be right there at the end.”

How much do you look forward to racing on the mile-and-a-half tracks? “We have such a great intermediate track package that every time we go to the track we know we have a chance to win. We had an awesome truck at Nashville, probably the best truck we’ve ever had there but just couldn’t pass because the racing groove there is so narrow. Kansas has a couple of groove you can race in and we’ve had some good races there in the past so we’re going there with a great chance to win.”

Getting Crafton Comfortable: The challenge of setting up the truck to handle the high speeds and relatively flat corners at Kansas Speedway falls on crew chief Bud Haefele’s shoulders. He has developed a solid intermediate setup that has put Crafton in contention to win at the 1.5-mile tracks several times over the past four seasons. “The best way to get the driver comfortable at Kansas or any racetrack is to give him a truck that handles good and is fast,” Haefele said. “We have good horsepower and a good mile-and-half package so Matt is usually pretty happy, so we really concentrate on making fine adjustments. The challenge at Kansas is it’s usually really hot and the track gets slick. We start with our baseline mile-and-half setup and work with the changing track conditions. Most years we’ve gone there, even in the spring, and it’s been really warm. Last year it was cool and wet and that threw everyone for a loop.”

Matt at Ronald McDonald House: Along with his ThorSport Racing teammate Johnny Sauter, Matt Crafton will visit the Ronald McDonald House in Kansas City on Friday April 30. Crafton will tour the facility and playground being built in memory of former Sprint marketing exec Tom Murphy. “It will be fun to visit with the families at the Ronald McDonald House,” Crafton said. “These families have a lot going on in their lives, so hopefully we can help take their mind off some of those things and have some fun talking racing with them.”

McGuire-Nicholas on the hood: McGuire-Nicholas, providers of quality work wear since 1932, will be on the hood of the No. 88 Menards Chevy for the first of four 2010 races at Kansas Speedway. Other races include Charlotte, the November race at Texas, and the season finale at Homestead. The McGuire-Nicholas product line includes tool aprons, knee pads, work gloves, plastic storage systems, back support belts, and other products for use in all work fields.

Matt at Kansas: Matt Crafton has raced in all nine previous NCWTS events at Kansas Speedway. He has one top-five finish and four top-ten finishes, with his best finish of fifth coming in 2004. He finished seventh in 2009. His average start is 16.2 and his average finish is 15.7. He has completed 1,428 of a possible 1,471 competition laps (97.1%) and has led six laps. Crafton has made 105 NCWTS starts on “intermediate” tracks between 1.33 and two miles in length, with one win, 19 top-five finishes, and 51 top-ten finishes.

04-23-10

ThorSport Racing Drivers to Visit the Ronald McDonald House in Kansas City

ThorSport Racing drivers Matt Crafton and Johnny Sauter will make an appearance at the Ronald McDonald House in Kansas City on Friday April 30. The NASCAR Foundation is partnering with Sprint and Turner Construction to build a playground in honor of Tom Murphy, the Sprint vice president who passed away in an accident one year ago. ThorSport Racing is assisting with the build by donating over two tons of FunSand colored play sand.

Crafton and Sauter will tour the Ronald McDonald House and the playground site then meet with the children and their families.

“This is a really great cause and we’re happy to be a part of it,” said Johnny Sauter, driver of the No. 13 In Country Television/Curb Records Chevrolet. “Tom was a great guy and he did a lot to help move NASCAR racing forward. We were all shocked when we heard the news last spring about his accident, but this is a great way for the sport to honor his memory and all he did. I’m looking forward to getting there and seeing the kids and meeting their families. I’m sure there will be some NASCAR fans among them so it will be fun to talk racing with them and give them a chance to think about something fun for a while.”

Fun Sand colored play sand can be used both indoors and outdoors, and thanks to the Dust Lock Formula additive provides a clean, dustless play environment. It can be molded into shapes without water and its brilliant blue or purple color will not run or stain. Its lifelike textural experience is ideal for childhood development and it is also perfect for non-traditional uses such as in reptile enclosures.

“We’re honored the NASCAR Foundation thought high enough about us to reach out and ask us to participate,” said Rick Noon, director of research and development for ThorWorks, manufacturer of Fun Sand. “It’s a great product that allows families and businesses the chance to have a traditional sandbox for kids to play in without all of the mess that goes along with it. It will be a great fit on the playground at the Ronald McDonald House and we hope it helps bring a little enjoyment to some families that are going through a rough time.”

Fun Sand is available at stores nationwide. For more information, log on to www.funsand.net.

04-03-10

Crafton Sixth at Nashville

Matt Crafton raced the No. 88 Menards/Ideal Door Chevrolet to a sixth-place finish in Friday night’s Nashville 200 at Nashville Superspeedway. Crafton qualified in the third position and battled a tight condition in the cool night, eventually settling in one position short of the top-five.

Crafton started third but quickly darted into second on the start. He held that position until the first round of pit stops. Crafton’s pit crew made an adjustment to loosen up the Menards Chevrolet, the extra time for the adjustment costing Crafton three positions for the restart. Crafton was able to race into the top five following the second round of pit stops but the tight condition gradually worsened, forcing him back to sixth at the finish.

“We were a little tight out there tonight,” Crafton said. “The last run we were just way too tight to make a run for fifth. That’s what we fight every time we come here, and racing at night made it worse. Bud Haefele and the rest of the guys did a great job making adjustments to the Menards Chevy but we couldn’t get it loosened up enough to get up there and race for the win.”

Crafton remains fifth in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship standings, 128 points behind leader Timothy Peters and 22 points behind Kevin Harvick in fourth.

The next race for Crafton and the No. 88 Menards Chevrolet is the O’Reilly Auto Parts 250 at Kansas Speedway on Sunday, May 2. The race will be televised live on SPEED starting at 12:30 P.M. Eastern with the green flag scheduled for shortly after 1 P.M. The race will also be broadcast on select affiliates of the MRN Radio network and on Sirius NASCAR Radio Channel 128.

03-31-10

Matt Crafton No. 88 Menards/Ideal Door Chevrolet Silverado Preview: Nashville 200 at Nashville Superspeedway

Matt Crafton heads to Nashville Superspeedway coming off a seventh-place finish in the short track battle at Martinsville. While Crafton and the ThorSport Racing Team excel on the intermediate tracks such as the 1.33-mile Nashville tri-oval, the track’s concrete surface is not high on Crafton’s list of favorites.

Do you enjoy racing at Nashville? “I like the town and the fans there are great. The facility at Nashville Superspeedway is pretty nice too. But I am not a real big fan of the concrete surface there. The other concrete tracks at Dover and Bristol have a lot more banking and that allows you to race up in the high groove if you need to. Nashville is pretty flat compared to those other tracks so you have to keep it right on the line through the corners. If they’d put a layer of asphalt down over the concrete I think you’d see two- and three-wide racing there. The drivers would like it a lot more and the fans would love it.”

So you spend all your time and effort in practice working on getting the truck to work on that white line in the corners? “It’s all about staying low. Last year after a couple of green flag laps into every run our truck would start to push pretty bad. I kept it right down on the bottom and left the entire outside lane wide open and every time someone tried to go up and pass they’d lose grip and get passed by three or four other trucks.”

Do you head over to downtown Nashville for any music and nightlife while you’re in town? “No, we leave that to the other teams. If they can go out and listen to loud music all night and then get up early the next morning and be ready to race more power to them. We’ll hang out at the track, maybe go out and get some dinner somewhere, and put all of our energy and focus into winning on Friday night.”

Intermediate Prowess: On tracks between one mile and two miles in length, Matt Crafton has 134 career starts, with one win (Charlotte, 2008), 22 top-five finishes, 70 top-ten finishes, and three poles.

Ideal Door on the Hood: Ideal Door will make its first of eight 2010 season appearances on the hood of the ThorSport Racing No. 88 Menards Chevrolet. Since 1963, Ideal Door has been an industry leader in sectional garage doors and the preferred choice of home owners, architects and builders for their current and future door needs. For more information, visit www.idealdoors.com.

Matt Crafton at Nashville Superspeedway: Crafton is one of two drivers to compete in all nine previous NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races at Nashville Superspeedway. He has one top-five finish (August, 2009) and four top-ten finishes. His average starting position is 15.3 and his average finishing position is 12.1. He has completed 1,261 of 1,356 competition laps (93.0%).

03-27-10

Crafton Takes Seventh in Short Track Clash at Martinsville

Matt Crafton scored a solid seventh-place finish in Saturday’s Kroger 250 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Martinsville Speedway. Crafton started outside the front row and stayed with eventual race winner Kevin Harvick for much of the early going before dropping towards the bottom of the top-ten as differing pit strategies scattered the field. Despite numerous late-race caution flags – including one that forced ThorSport Racing teammate Johnny Sauter from the second position - Crafton remained solidly among the top ten eventually bringing the No. 88 Menards/Australian Gold Chevrolet across the stripe in seventh.

“That was a pretty solid afternoon for the Menards Chevy,” Crafton said after the race. “We’ve put a lot of extra effort into our short track program over the off season trying to bring it up to pace with our intermediate program and I can say that it’s paid off. The truck was really strong and we were right there in contention for a top five finish. Track position is so important here and it’s hard to pass and we got caught behind a couple of guys I thought we were better than there at the end of the race but we couldn’t get past them.

Crafton, like most of the drivers who took any of the many restarts in the outside groove, was not happy with the disparity between the inside lane and outside lane.

“The double file restarts are tough at a place like this and we got hung out in the outside once and lost a ton of track position, but once we were restarting on the bottom lane we were okay,” he said. “You definitely didn’t want to restart on the outside if you could help it. But the guys did a great job getting the truck up to speed and out pit stops were solid so we’ll take it and head on to Nashville.”

Crafton jumped up three positions to fifth in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series standings, just 113 points behind leader Timothy Peters and two points behind Harvick for fourth position.

Next up for Crafton and the No. 88 Menards Chevrolet is the Nashville 200 on Friday April 2 at Nashville Superspeedway. The fourth event of the 2010 NCWTS season is a one-day show with practice slated from 11 A.M. through 1:30 P.M Eastern. Qualifying will follow at 5 P.M. with the 150-lap/200-mile race scheduled for 8 P.M. Eastern. The race will be televised live flag-to-flag on SPEED and can be heard on select affiliates of MRN Radio nationwide and on Sirius NASCAR Radio Channel 128 (XM104).

03-25-10

Matt Crafton No. 88 Menards/Australian Gold Chevrolet Silverado Preview: Kroger 250 at Martinsville

Matt Crafton has a four-race streak of top-ten finishes on the line this weekend at Martinsville Speedway. But a top-ten finish is not what Crafton has in mind; he wants to re-establish the ThorSport Racing Team’s strength on short tracks by collecting his first win on a track less than a mile in length. The Kroger 250 is also a milestone of sorts for the team, with the No. 88 truck making its 300th consecutive appearance in NCWTS competition.

The style of racing is a little different at Martinsville, almost like a road course race because of the way teams work their way from the end of the race with their pit strategy. Do you like that type of racing? “The best truck doesn’t always win that way. You can have someone who has a tenth-place truck get the timing of their pit stop right and win the race off pit road, and because it’s so hard to pass at Martinsville that can end up winning the race for them. I’d rather see us out there racing for it. The guys put a lot of effort on making our short track program better over the winter, so I am expecting to be up there fighting for the win.”

Is it hard to be patient and aggressive at the same time? “It is, but you have to do it for the whole race. You have to be smart for 250 laps. I hate to say you have to points race but sometimes you need to look at the bigger picture. I was running second a couple of years ago and got turned around on the last lap trying to make a move for the win. But you can’t wait around all day either. If you take it easy early in the race you’ll end up a lap down in a hurry and your day can be ruined that way too.”

Matt at Martinsville: In 16 career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series starts at Martinsville Speedway, Matt Crafton has scored two top-five finishes and eight top-ten finishes, including a best finish of second in the March, 2008 event. He has four consecutive top-ten finishes, including two ninth-place finishes in 2009. His average start is 17.1 and his average finish is 12.9. He has completed 3,494 of a possible 3,661 competition laps (95.4%).

Matt’s Martinsville Truck: Matt will drive ThorSport Racing Chassis No. 28 this weekend at Martinsville. It is the chassis Matt used in the majority of short track races in 2009, including both races at Martinsville.

300 Straight for the 88: The Kroger 250 will be the 300th consecutive NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race in which the ThorSport Racing No. 88 Chevrolet has competed. The streak dates back to the opening race of the 1998 season at Walt Disney World Speedway in Orlando, Fla.

03-06-10

On-Track Scuffle Leaves Crafton 27th in Atlanta

An on-track scuffle with another truck ultimately forced Matt Crafton into the garage area for repairs and ended his chance for a top-five finish with the No. 88 Menards/Australian Gold Chevrolet in Saturday’s E-Z-Go 200 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
 
To underscore the strength of Crafton’s ride, he led the opening 10 laps after powering past front row starters Ron Hornaday and Kyle Busch before the field had even reached the first turn of the first lap.
 
While Crafton was racing Todd Bodine through turn two on lap 61 for a spot among the top-five, Bodine’s truck sucked the air off Crafton’s spoiler. Crafton chased the truck up the track but made contact with Bodine, sending Bodine into a spin and Crafton into the outside barrier. The ThorSport Racing crew made quick repairs to the truck, but on lap 68 the right front tire was cut down and Crafton smacked the wall again in turns one and two. Crew chief Bud Haefele ordered Crafton to the garage area for repairs, costing Crafton 35 laps and relegating him to 27th at the finish.
 
“It’s the second year in a row we’ve had one of the best trucks here and we are leaving here without the finish to show for it,” Crafton said. “I hate it for the guys on the Menards Chevy team and I hate it for the guys on the 30 truck with what happened down there. I was super loose all day and when he got to the outside of me it sucked the air off the spoiler and it started to go around on me. I tried to catch it but we got together and wrecked. We went back out then cut down a right front tire and that did some real damage and we had to come in and fix it. The guys did a great job all weekend. We definitely had a top five truck here and it’s a shame we didn’t get the finish our team deserved.”
 
Crafton maintains the eighth place in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship standings, 98 points behind leader Todd Bodine and just 30 points behind fifth-place Aric Almirola.
 
Next up for Crafton and the No. 88 Menards/Australian Gold Chevrolet is the Kroger 250 at Martinsville Speedway on Saturday March 27. There will be two rounds of practice on Friday March 26, the first at 10 A.M. Eastern and the second at 1:10 P.M. The 36-truck starting field will be set immediately following Sprint Cup Series qualifying. The race will be televised live on SPEED starting with a 30-minute pre-race show at 1:30 P.M. Eastern. The race can also be heard live on select affiliates of the Motor Racing Network nationwide and on Sirius NASCAR Radio Channel 128 (XM 104).

03-02-10

Matt Crafton No. 88 Menards/Australian Gold Chevrolet Preview: Atlanta

Matt Crafton is anxious to return to the intermediate speedways that make up a significant portion of the 2010 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series schedule. The 1.5-mile tracks have given the team numerous top-five and top-ten finishes over the past several seasons, including Crafton’s first career win at Charlotte in 2008. Crafton returns to Atlanta Motor Speedway looking for some redemption after a late-race scrape with another driver cost him a chance for a top-five result.

Do you have some unfinished business at Atlanta after last year? “The most frustrating part of that race last year was that we had one of the best trucks we had all season and we ended up with one of our worst finishes. We ran with Kevin (Harvick) all race long, it was just the two of us up at the front. Every time there was a caution, the green would come back out and we’d just take off and hide. Late in the race we lost a lot of track position because we took tires and a bunch of the other guys either didn’t take tires or just took two. Once we were in the back we just couldn’t get back up to the front no matter what. Then Ron (Hornaday) got to racing us really hard. We ended up eleventh with a truck that could have won the race, so yeah, we’re going back there with some unfinished business to take care of.”

Why do you and the No. 88 team perform so well on the mile-and-a-half speedways? “When Bud (Haefele) joined the team a few years ago and became the crew chief we looked at where we needed to improve. Our short track program was really good then but we were a little weaker on the intermediate stuff. He came in and really stepped up our entire program, and our performance at the intermediate tracks has been a big part of that.”

How much of a boost does coming out of Daytona with a top-five finish give you for the rest of the season? “As long as I have been going to Daytona and as brutal as that place has been to us over the years, it is really awesome to come out of there with a top five finish and not have a huge points deficit to overcome. You can always use momentum to your advantage and it’s given the guys back at the shop a big boost in confidence too.”

Crafton at Atlanta: Matt Crafton has ten previous starts at Atlanta Motor Speedway, collecting three top-five finishes and five top-ten finishes. His best finish is third, coming in the March race in 2007. His average start is 17.6 and his average finish is 11.6. He has completed 1,267 of a possible 1,313 competition laps (96.5%) and has been running at the finish of all ten previous starts at Atlanta.

Crafton’s Atlanta Truck: Crafton will race ThorSport Racing Chassis 31 at Atlanta. No. 31 is the truck Crafton raced at the majority of the intermediate tracks in 2009, including runner-up finishes at Texas (June), Las Vegas, Texas (November) and Homestead. It is the first time Crafton will race this chassis in 2010.

02-13-10

Patience the Keyword for Crafton as He Scores Top-Five at Daytona

Despite losing his two teammates and drafting partners in a lap one crash, Matt Crafton played his strategy perfectly to score a fifth-place finish in the No. 88 Menards/Herculiner Chevrolet at the season-opening NextEra Energy Resources 250 for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series at Daytona International Speedway.
 
Crafton patiently spent much of the race several seconds behind the lead pack, preferring to ride outside the danger zone at the front of the field while the pack was constantly whittled down by numerous accidents. In all, more than two-thirds of the field was involved in the seven cautions that slowed the 250-mile race, including ThorSport Racing teammates Johnny Sauter and Landon Cassill.
 
“We ran at the back of the pack on purpose,” Crafton said. “That was one of the hardest races I’ve ever driven to just sit back there and ride around. But we had two trucks wiped out on lap one because of someone else’s mistake. Our whole plan was to get the three of us lined up and ride and then be there with ten laps to go and it was out the window on lap one. I kept telling Bud (crew chief Bud Haefele) and the guys that we had a good truck and I knew we’d be able to race up to the front, but I didn’t want to be up in that pack and get wrecked. Every time the green would come out and we’d drop back we had to wonder if that was the last caution but as wild as it was out there we knew there would be more.
 
“We had a restart with about 13 laps to go and that was when it was time to go racing. We tried to get something going in the outside lane at the end but couldn’t get any help so I worked down to the bottom and that’s when we were able to get a little closer to the front. I saw those guys bumping like crazy on the last lap and thought we might have a chance to win if they took each other out but they all held on to their trucks until after the checkered and then they wrecked. I’m disappointed for our team that we had two trucks get wrecked, but I am really happy to come out of here with a top five finish and our Menards/Herculiner Chevy in one piece.”
 
Crafton leaves Daytona unofficially in fifth in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship standings, 30 points behind leader – and race winner – Timothy Peters.
 
The next race for Crafton and the ThorSport Racing No. 88 Menards Chevrolet is the Atlanta 200 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Saturday, March 6. The 135-lap/200-mile race will be televised live on SPEED starting with a 30-minute pre-race show at 1:30 P.M. Eastern. The race will also be broadcast live on select affiliates of the Motor Racing Network nationwide and on Sirius NASCAR Radio Channel 128 (XM 104).

02-09-10

Matt Crafton No. 88 Menards/Herculiner Chevrolet Preview: Daytona

Matt Crafton is anxious to get back in the seat of the No. 88 Menards/Herculiner Chevrolet to kick off the 2010 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season. Crafton accomplished much in 2009, scoring two poles, eleven top-five finishes, 21 top-ten finishes and a career-best second-place finish in the series championship standings. But victory lane eluded him – something he’s anxious to change in 2010.

How driven are you to get back into victory lane in 2010? “It’s everything for us. We want to win with everything we have. As a team we did a lot last year; we ran up front and had a ton of top fives and top tens and we were really consistent. But the one thing that was missing was that win. I think some of that was out of our hands because of the pit road rules we used last year. The Chevrolets had a ton of power all season long but we just didn’t get the mileage that the other manufacturers had so when they could come down late in the race and pit for just tires, we’d have to come in for tires and the next lap come back in for fuel too. I know we gave a couple races away with the pit rules, and I am really happy we’re going back to the normal pit road rules this year. There’s a lot of pressure on my shoulders to get us another win, but the way both ThorSport trucks ran last season I think you’ll see us get our share of wins this year.”

Do you enjoy the racing at Daytona – big drafting packs, racing at high speeds inches apart for 250 miles? “Last year I went up and led a lap early then dropped to the back and just rode around. I was a straightaway behind the lead pack just logging laps. That’s what you have to do to make it to the end at Daytona and Talladega. You can get up there and run at the front all day where they are beating and banging on each other, but you know there’s going to be a big crash that’s going to take half of you out. That’s what happened to (teammate) Johnny Sauter last year. He didn’t do anything wrong but was in the wrong place at the wrong time and got taken out. It looks cool from the grandstands and on TV but it’s not a lot of fun out there in that big pack like that. We’ll do it when we have to, but I’d rather drop to the back and log some laps and know I am going to make it to the end.”

After a career-best year in 2009, what can you and the team do in 2010 to perform even better? “The guys have worked all winter long on every aspect of our program. They’ve torn down every truck in the shop and rebuilt them from the ground up. The mile and a half program has been really strong for a couple years and they’re still working on making it even better. We need to get our short track program a little better. I don’t think we were there on the short tracks last year so I know the guys are putting a ton of effort into getting our short track trucks up to speed.”

Matt Crafton at Daytona: Matt has started nine NCWTS races at Daytona, with two top-ten finishes in his past three attempts. His best finish is a pair of eighth-place finishes, coming in 2007 and 2009. He has completed 800 of 912 possible laps (87.7%) and has led one lap in competition at Daytona, that being in 2009. He started outside the front row in 2009, his best qualifying effort at Daytona. His average start at Daytona is 18.4 and his average finish is 17.6.

Crafton’s Daytona Truck: The truck Crafton will pilot at Daytona is ThorSport Racing Chassis No. 24. It’s the truck Crafton drove at both Daytona and Talladega in 2009, qualifying second and finishing eighth at Daytona and qualifying seventh and finishing tenth at Talladega.

ThorSport now the longest-tenured team in the NCWTS: With the departure of the Roush Fenway Racing organization from the Camping World Truck Series following the 2009 season, ThorSport Racing is now the longest tenured team in the series. The team made its debut in the series at Milwaukee in 1996, and has entered at least one truck in 315 races. The Daytona race will be the No. 88 truck’s 298th consecutive NCWTS race.



Crafton’s consecutive starts streak now the longest: Matt Crafton has the longest active streak of consecutive starts in the Camping World Truck Series. Crafton has started 222 consecutive races dating to his series debut at the season-ending race at California Speedway in 2000. Crafton has been in every NCWTS race since.

Kitrick Schrader on the mend: ThorSport Racing crew member Kitrick Schrader’s recovery from injuries in an early January snowmobile accident is continuing. Schrader has been released to his home to continue therapy and recently visited the team shop, supervising some last minute preparations on the two TSR Daytona trucks.

ThorSport Racing No. 88 Menards/Herculiner Chevrolet Pit Crew:

Crew chief: Bud Haefele
Jackman: Cody Slater
Truck chief: Jeriod Prince
Rear tire changer: Jeriod Prince
Front tire changer: Tommy Jacobs
Rear tire carrier: Marshal Zalewski
Front tire carrier: Ed Riley
Gasman: Rich Riley
Spotter: Tad Boyd
Transport driver: Bob Tebo

Next Race: The 2010 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series kicks off with the NextEra Energy Resources 250 at Daytona International Speedway on Friday February 12. The first practice is a 90-minute session scheduled for 6 P.M. on Wednesday February 10, with the final two-hour session slated for Thursday February 11 at 9 A.M. The 36-truck starting field will be determined in two-lap qualifying runs at 6 P.M. on Thursday evening. The eleventh annual NextEra Energy Resources 250 will go green shortly after 8 P.M. on Friday night; it can be seen live on SPEED and heard live on select affiliates of the Motor Racing Network and on Sirius NASCAR Radio Channel 128.

01-13-10

ThorSport Racing Crew Member Kitrick Schrader Injured in Accident

ThorSport Racing crew member Kitrick Schrader was injured in a snowmobile accident Saturday January 9. Schrader was en route to meet friends for a late night snowmobile ride when he collided with a fire hydrant hidden in drifting snow, causing serious injuries to his left leg, hip, and pelvis.

Schrader is a native of Ft. Wayne, Indiana and a current resident of Sandusky, Ohio. He serves as a fabricator and general mechanic in the shop and is the rear tire carrier on Matt Crafton’s pit crew at the track.

After the accident, Schrader was air lifted from Firelands Regional Medical Center in Sandusky to Cleveland Metro, a level one trauma care center.

“We were shocked at the news, and we ask that everyone in the NASCAR community keep Kitrick in their thoughts and prayers,” said ThorSport Racing team manager David Pepper. “We’ve all been out to visit him and have already heard from a lot of our friends in the Truck Series offering their support. We’re behind him 110 percent. We know it’s going to be a long rehab process, probably ten to twelve months. All of us on the ThorSport team want him to know we love him like a brother and he’s still a very important part of the team.”

Pepper said that Schrader’s absence has already had an impact on the team.

“The guys in the shop are a tight bunch,” he said. “Everyone does whatever it takes to get the trucks ready to race. Kitrick is a talented mechanic and fabricator and much more. Whether it was installing a windshield or working on crush panels, it didn’t matter. If it needed to get done, he’d be helping. We’re just now starting to realize just how many different things he would work on.”

Cards and other well wishes can be sent to:
Kitrick Schrader
C/O ThorSport Racing
PO Box 2218
Sandusky, Ohio 44870

Matt Crafton 2009 Headlines

11-23-09

Crafton Charges to Second-Place Finish in Homestead Finale

Matt Crafton charged to a season-ending, second-place finish in the Ford 200 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Friday.

“We just came up short tonight,” Crafton said. "I pumped those tires up on that last run. The run before that one, we got behind, caught some lapped traffic, and the No. 4 and No. 17 got too far away from us. We could slowly run them down, but they just had too much distance on us. The crew chief made a great call to take four tires right there at the end. I said I wanted to go down swinging, and we did. But overall, our No. 88 Australian Gold Chevy was really strong. The guys worked on it a bunch from the time we rolled it off the trailer. We qualified seventh for the race, and we knew we’d have a great shot to win. We wanted to win so badly, but it wasn’t to be for us. Our guys did a heck of a job, like they have all season, and I really appreciate everything they’ve done for me.”

It was Crafton’s fifth second-place finish this season, and his second in the last three races. He finished in second-place in the NCWTS standings. For the season, Crafton racked-up a career-high eleven top-five and twenty-one top-ten finishes. He won Pole Awards at Chicagoland and Texas.

“We did some good things this season, and there’s no doubt we expect to be right there battling for the championship again next season,” he said. “There’s no reason we shouldn’t be better next season. We’ve sold a few trucks already here at the end of the season, and we’re building new trucks for next season. We know what we need to do to make our trucks just that much better, and our sights are set on a championship run. This team has come a long way in a few years, and we just keep getting better. I’m thankful to (owners) Duke and Rhonda Thorson for providing us all of the resources we need to try to win races and a championship, thankful to Menards and Chevy for all of the great help they continue to provide to us. Hopefully, we can bring a championship home next season."

11-16-09

Crafton Looks to Cap Season with Win at Homestead

Matt Crafton raced to an eighth-place finish in the Lucas Oil 150 at Phoenix International Raceway on Friday, and heads for Homestead-Miami Speedway with victory on his mind.

Crafton has finished in the top-ten in twenty of twenty-four races this season, and owns a career-high ten top-five finishes entering Friday’s Ford 200 season-finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. He has won a couple of Keystone Light Pole Awards this season, and battled for a championship throughout the season. He is in second-place in the NCWTS standings. Victory at Homestead-Miami would seem a fitting cap to Crafton’s ultra-consistent season.

“We always talk about putting ourselves in position to win races, and, for the most part, we’ve done a really good job of it this season,” Crafton said. “We’ve been right there at the end with a shot to win so many times, but it just hasn’t fallen our way yet. We’ve had strong trucks all season, and I’m really thankful to Bud (crew chief Haefele) and the guys for their efforts. A win at Homestead would be a great way to end the season for us.”

In eight career starts at Homestead-Miami, Crafton owns three top-ten finishes. His best finish at the track is fifth.
“The banking at Homestead makes for great racing,” said Crafton. “You can race side-by-side, and from up against the wall down to the bottom. It’s a fast, wide, multi-groove track, and it keeps getting better. I think drivers in all forms of racing love to race at Homestead. It’s always an exciting show for our fans.”

As consistent as Crafton has been this season, he continues to seek improvement.

“We’ve done some good things this season, and we keep looking for ways to get better, and I’m proud as heck of our guys,” Crafton said. “We’re happy with our performance, but far from satisfied. We expect to take our No. 88 Menards Chevy to Victory Lane each week, to win a championship, and we’ll keep pushing to do it. I feel like we’re right there on the verge. We’ll just keep bringing our best, and see where it takes us.”

11-11-09

Crafton Just Wants Win at Phoenix

Matt Crafton rolls into Phoenix International Raceway for the Lucas Oil 150 on Friday seeking the victory to which he has come oh-so-close numerous times this season.

Crafton has been in the thick of contention for his first NCWTS championship throughout the campaign, and has racked-up career-highs in top-five (ten) and top-ten (nineteen) finishes along the way. He has captured Keystone Light Pole Awards at Chicagoland and Texas thus far. He is in second-place in the NCWTS standings. He has finished second in four races this season, including last week at Texas. Now, he simply wants to win Friday’s race.
“We’ve been really close a number of times this season, have been right there with great shots to win races, but it just hasn’t fallen our way,” Crafton said. “It’s frustrating, but, at the same time, we always talk about putting ourselves in position, and we’ve been able to do that consistently. I’m really proud of this team, and, hopefully, we can break-thru and take our No. 88 Menards Silverado to Victory Lane on Friday.”

Crafton’s record at Phoenix would seem to suggest he’ll again be in the victory mix this time around. In eight career starts at the one-miler, he owns a pair of top-five finishes, and has finished in the top-ten five times.
“Phoenix has always been a special place to me,” said Crafton. “It’s one of my favorite tracks.”

The Tulare, CA native has paid many a visit to Phoenix as a driver and fan over the years. He won the final Copper World Classic Southwest Series 100 at PIR a few years ago. "That win meant a lot to me because of the race's place in the history of the track," he said.

Crafton welcomes the challenges inherent to racing at Phoenix.

“The racing at Phoenix is outstanding,” Crafton said. “There’s great side-by-side racing, but the track is a little tricky, too. You have two completely different ends of the track, and it’s a big challenge to get your truck to handle well at both ends. But that’s what makes it fun. It’s a ‘driver’s track’, and I always look forward to that."

11-09-09

Crafton Roars to 2nd Place Finish at Texas

Matt Crafton roared to a second-place finish in the WinStar World Casino 350 at Texas Motor Speedway on Friday night. Crafton started the race from the pole position. He also finished second in the spring race at TMS.

“Our No. 88 Menards/McGuire-Nicholas Silverado was really fast tonight,” Crafton said. “Unfortunately, we just came up a little bit short. We were trying to save fuel a bit toward the end, because we knew we were gonna be close, and we probably waited too long to try to catch (race-winner Busch) Kyle. It was one of those situations where you just really don’t know, because, at the same time, if we’d tried to run him down earlier, we might’ve run out of gas at the end. I can’t thank our guys enough. They brought an awesome race truck, and we really thought we had the truck to beat. In clean air, our Silverado was better than any of ‘em tonight. It just wasn’t meant to be for us.”

Crafton remains in second-place in the NCWTS standings with two races remaining as he heads for Friday’s Lucas Oil 150 at Phoenix International Raceway. He owns a pair of top-five and five top-ten finishes in eight career starts at Phoenix.

11-06-09

Crafton Captures Pole Award At Texas

Matt Crafton posted a lap of 179.354 miles per hour to capture the pole position at Thursday’s 7-Eleven Qualifying Day for the WinStar World Casino 350k NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Texas Motor Speedway.

The pole was Crafton’s second of the year and third of his career, with his previous ones coming at New Hampshire in 2005 and earlier this season at Chicagoland. Crafton’s previous-best qualifying effort at Texas Motor Speedway was third in June’s WinStar World Casino 400.

Todd Bodine, a record five-time truck series winner at Texas Motor Speedway, qualified on the outside pole with a lap of 178.235 mph. Rounding out the top five were Chad McCumbee at 178.212 mph, points leader and defending race champion Ron Hornaday Jr. at 178.183 mph and David Gilliland at 178.083, respectively.

Rookie James Buescher, of Plano, qualified 10th with a lap of 177.288 mph to pace the trio of Texans competing in the WinStar World Casino 350k. David Starr, a Houston native who lives in Fort Worth, qualified 16th at 176.327 mph and Colin Braun, of Ovalo, was 19th at 176.131 mph.

SOURCE: Texas Motor Speedway

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