Articles For April 2005

Martinsville, Va. - Matt Crafton finished 15th in the Kroger 250 NASCAR Truck Series race at Martinsville Speedway on Saturday. Crafton started 27th and moved to into the top-10 when his ThorSport team stayed out on an early caution to gain track position. Once near the front, Crafton managed to stay out of trouble to pick up his third consecutive lead lap finish and maintain seventh in the series point standings.

"This is such a tough place to pass so we did what we needed to do to gain track position early in the race," Crafton said. "Once we got up there we thought we had a chance to stay up there and run with the leaders. We weren't the best truck out there today, but we were good enough to finish in the top-10. Unfortunately, we cut down a tire and had to pit. We lost our track position, but it's all part of short track racing."

Crafton maintains his seventh place in the point standings heading into the next event at Gateway International Raceway on April 30. He sits 114 points behind leader Bobby Hamilton, and just 13 points behind sixth-place Todd
Bodine.

"We've had a great start to the season, and I think the next two races on the schedule are going to show how good this team is," Crafton said. "I've always liked Gateway and I can't wait to get there. After Gateway we come to Mansfield. That's just down the road from our shop and we have thousands of laps there in testing. Before NASCAR scheduled a race there, we would go and test there our short track trucks there, like most of the teams in the
Carolinas go to Caraway or Greenville. It's almost like we have an unfair advantage when we get there."

The 200-miler at Gateway is scheduled for 8 P.M. Eastern on April 30 and can be seen live on Speed Channel. TruckSeries.com will have complete event coverage, including practice, qualifying, and race updates at
www.truckseries.com

Daytona: Started 25th Finished 12th 99 of 100 laps
Fontana: Started 10th Finished 6th 100 of 100 laps
Atlanta: Started 27th Finished 14th 135 of 135 laps
Martinsville: Started 27th Finished 15th 250 of 250 laps

Hines Finishes 13th in Martinsville to Make Big Leap in NCTS Points; Accident Ends Afternoon Early in Anderson Sprint

Martinsville, Va. - Tracy Hines drove the No. 13 ThorSport Racing/David Zoriki Motorsports Chevrolet to a 13th-place finish in the Kroger 250 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race Saturday at Martinsville Speedway. Hines started 20th in the 36-truck field and stayed on the lead lap all race long, and was in position to make a run at a top-10 finish before being boxed in behind a lapped truck on the final restart.

"We had a great day today," Hines said. "The truck ran great, the guys worked hard, and we had great strategy that got us up to the front. We were in position to get our first top-10 of the season, but unfortunately that last restart didn't work out the way we planned. The 8 truck got shoved up out of the low groove right in front of us and there wasn't anything I could do. We got boxed in and freight trained by everyone on the bottom groove."

Hines jumps six positions in the points, cracking the top-20 for the first time this season.

"We are starting to see the top of the hole we dug for ourselves at Daytona and California," Hines said. "We've had two solid runs in a row. I know we can run in the top-10 every week. We had some bad luck the first couple of races, but we've got some good guys here working hard to give me a competitive truck every week. Their hard work is starting to pay off."

The day after the Martinsville event, Hines drove the No. 69 Dynamics Inc. machine in the USAC Sprint car race at the tough quarter-mile track in Anderson, Ind. Hines' afternoon was cut short in the 50-lap feature when a driver crashed in front of him and bounced down the track in front of him, leaving him no where to go. The ensuing accident left Hines 18th in the 23-car field.

"Anderson and Martinsville are nothing alike, but it's hard to get your car or truck to turn through the center and it's always tough to pass at both tracks," Hines said. "There wasn't anything I could do to avoid that. It knocked the front end out from under me and I just went on a ride from there. This place is only a quarter of a mile, but you can hit hard here. Thankfully the Hoffmans put together a safe racecar for me today and we'll regroup and get them the next time."

The NCTS moves next to Gateway International Raceway outside of St.Louis. The 200-mile race will be broadcast live at 8 P.M. Eastern on April 30 on Speed Channel. TruckSeries.com will have comprehensive practice, qualifying
and race coverage at www.truckseries.com

Daytona:          Started 5th     Finished 22nd
California:          Started 19th     Finished 33rd
Atlanta:          Started 22nd     Finished 16th
Martinsville:          Started 20th     Finished 13th

Sandusky, OH - Matt Crafton returns to Martinsville Speedway for the fourth event of the 2005 NASCAR Truck Series season with an abundance of optimism. The driver of the ThorSport Racing No. 88 Menards Chevrolet has had this
race circled on the calendar since the end of the 2004 season. Crafton had two top-10 finishes in the two Truck Series races at Martinsville last season, and believes he and his team can improve on those results.

"I had two good races at Martinsville last year," said Crafton of his seventh-place and sixth-place finishes. "I know ThorSport had two really good races here last year too, even if the finishes didn't show it. Tracy (teammate Tracy Hines) was strong here in the 88 truck last spring and in the fall Andy (Houston) had a great run going in the 13 truck until he got taken out in a crash that wasn't his fault late in the race. It's a place that the team has always run well, and it's seems to suit my style too."

With two short tracks on the schedule in the coming weeks, Crafton looks forward to getting back to his racing roots.

"I wish we had a couple more short tracks in there too," Crafton said smiling. "I don't mind mixing it up every now and then. I've always liked Martinsville and we have more laps in a truck around Mansfield than anyone. I am pretty excited about these next several races. I think it would surprise a lot of people if we won one of these short track races, but it shouldn't if you look at how well we've done there in the past."We've had a great start to the year and have been very close to getting that first win. We were in the top-5 on the last lap at both Daytona and Fontana. These guys have really worked hard to give me the best trucks I've had in my career. Dennis (Connor) and Bud (Haefele) and the rest of the team have been on it since we tested at Daytona in January. We all have one goal, and that's to put the Menards Chevy in victory lane."

6 NCTS Starts
3 Top-10 Finishes
Best Finish 6th, twice (April 2001 and October 2004)
Average Finish, 13.3
Best Start 5th (October 2004)
Average Start, 18.7
1312 of 1404 laps completed (93.4 %)

April 6, 2005

Hines Looks to Continue to Build Momentum at Martinsville

Sandusky, OH - Tracy Hines enters the fourth event of the 2005 NASCAR Truck Series with the confidence that he has always run well at Martinsville Speedway. However, after two hard-luck races in 2004, he's looking for some
redemption and a chance to run the No.13 ThorSport Racing/David Zoriki Motorsports Chevrolet into the top-10 and finish there.

"We had a decent starting spot last spring and we were running pretty strong right off the drop of the green," Hines said. "But before we even had 20 laps in we had an oil leak we had to get fixed. We found the loose line and went back out and ran times as fast as the leaders the rest of the day. We had a top-5 truck last spring and no one knew it but us."

In the fall event at Martinsville, Hines was caught up in someone else's problems and received damage to the nose of his machine, eventually overheating the engine and sending him to the sidelines.

"That can happen very easily at Martinsville," he said. "You're so hard on the brakes anyhow coming into the turns, if someone has a problem a couple of trucks in front of you it's hard to get stopped in time. Martinsville has so many unique characteristics to it, and that is one of them."

While his finishes in 2004 don't reflect how well he ran at Martinsville, Hines has reason to be optimistic in 2005.

"I am really looking forward to Martinsville this year," Hines said. "We brought Shane (Tesch, crew chief) in for Atlanta and we've had about a month to work together and build a solid foundation. We had a good run in Atlanta last race and that momentum will carry over to Martinsville. And last fall the 13 team was really good here and should've had a top-10 finish. Andy (Houston) had a great run before they started wrecking in front of him and he had no where to go. The key for us is to make it to the end without that stuff happening to us again. If we can avoid all the problems out there and run all the laps, you'll see the No. 13 truck up in the top-10."

To keep sharp during the series' three-week hiatus, Hines was scheduled to pilot a sprint car at Perris Auto Speedway and Eldora Speedway. A ninth-place finish at Perris was followed by last week's rainout at Eldora. Hines also spent a day testing on the treacherous high banks of Winchester Speedway preparing for the USAC Sprint Car Series return to that track on April 24th.

The NCTS Kroger 250 from Martinsville Speedway will be broadcast live at 1 P.M. Eastern on April 9 on Speed Channel. TruckSeries.com will have comprehensive practice, qualifying and race coverage at www.truckseries.com

Hines Career Stats at Martinsville

3 NCTS Starts
Best Finish, 13th (October 2003)
Average Finish 25.7
Best Start, 16th (April 2004)
Average Start 19.3
549 of 654 laps completed (83.9 %)



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April Articles

	April 10, 2005 Crafton Finishes 15th in Martinsville; Stays Seventh in NCTS Standings Martinsville, Va. - Matt Crafton finished 15th in the Kroger 250 NASCAR Truck Series race at Martinsville Speedway on Saturday. Crafton started 27th and moved to into the top-10 when his ThorSport team stayed out on an early caution to gain track position. Once near the front, Crafton managed to stay out of trouble to pick up his third consecutive lead lap finish and maintain seventh in the series point standings. "This is such a tough place to pass so we did what we needed to do to gain track position early in the race," Crafton said. "Once we got up there we thought we had a chance to stay up there and run with the leaders. We weren't the best truck out there today, but we were good enough to finish in the top-10. Unfortunately, we cut down a tire and had to pit. We lost our track position, but it's all part of short track racing." Crafton maintains his seventh place in the point standings heading into the next event at Gateway International Raceway on April 30. He sits 114 points behind leader Bobby Hamilton, and just 13 points behind sixth-place Todd Bodine. "We've had a great start to the season, and I think the next two races on the schedule are going to show how good this team is," Crafton said. "I've always liked Gateway and I can't wait to get there. After Gateway we come to Mansfield. That's just down the road from our shop and we have thousands of laps there in testing. Before NASCAR scheduled a race there, we would go and test there our short track trucks there, like most of the teams in the Carolinas go to Caraway or Greenville. It's almost like we have an unfair advantage when we get there." The 200-miler at Gateway is scheduled for 8 P.M. Eastern on April 30 and can be seen live on Speed Channel. TruckSeries.com will have complete event coverage, including practice, qualifying, and race updates at www.truckseries.com Matt Crafton 2005 Results Daytona: Started 25th Finished 12th 99 of 100 laps Fontana: Started 10th Finished 6th 100 of 100 laps Atlanta: Started 27th Finished 14th 135 of 135 laps Martinsville: Started 27th Finished 15th 250 of 250 laps April 10, 2005 Hines Finishes 13th in Martinsville to Make Big Leap in NCTS Points; Accident Ends Afternoon Early in Anderson Sprint Martinsville, Va. - Tracy Hines drove the No. 13 ThorSport Racing/David Zoriki Motorsports Chevrolet to a 13th-place finish in the Kroger 250 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race Saturday at Martinsville Speedway. Hines started 20th in the 36-truck field and stayed on the lead lap all race long, and was in position to make a run at a top-10 finish before being boxed in behind a lapped truck on the final restart. "We had a great day today," Hines said. "The truck ran great, the guys worked hard, and we had great strategy that got us up to the front. We were in position to get our first top-10 of the season, but unfortunately that last restart didn't work out the way we planned. The 8 truck got shoved up out of the low groove right in front of us and there wasn't anything I could do. We got boxed in and freight trained by everyone on the bottom groove." Hines jumps six positions in the points, cracking the top-20 for the first time this season. "We are starting to see the top of the hole we dug for ourselves at Daytona and California," Hines said. "We've had two solid runs in a row. I know we can run in the top-10 every week. We had some bad luck the first couple of races, but we've got some good guys here working hard to give me a competitive truck every week. Their hard work is starting to pay off." The day after the Martinsville event, Hines drove the No. 69 Dynamics Inc. machine in the USAC Sprint car race at the tough quarter-mile track in Anderson, Ind. Hines' afternoon was cut short in the 50-lap feature when a driver crashed in front of him and bounced down the track in front of him, leaving him no where to go. The ensuing accident left Hines 18th in the 23-car field. "Anderson and Martinsville are nothing alike, but it's hard to get your car or truck to turn through the center and it's always tough to pass at both tracks," Hines said. "There wasn't anything I could do to avoid that. It knocked the front end out from under me and I just went on a ride from there. This place is only a quarter of a mile, but you can hit hard here. Thankfully the Hoffmans put together a safe racecar for me today and we'll regroup and get them the next time." The NCTS moves next to Gateway International Raceway outside of St.Louis. The 200-mile race will be broadcast live at 8 P.M. Eastern on April 30 on Speed Channel. TruckSeries.com will have comprehensive practice, qualifying and race coverage at www.truckseries.com Tracy Hines 2005 NCTS Results Daytona: Started 5th Finished 22nd California: Started 19th Finished 33rd Atlanta: Started 22nd Finished 16th Martinsville: Started 20th Finished 13th April 6, 2005 Crafton Ready to Attack Season's First Short Track at Martinsville Sandusky, OH - Matt Crafton returns to Martinsville Speedway for the fourth event of the 2005 NASCAR Truck Series season with an abundance of optimism. The driver of the ThorSport Racing No. 88 Menards Chevrolet has had this race circled on the calendar since the end of the 2004 season. Crafton had two top-10 finishes in the two Truck Series races at Martinsville last season, and believes he and his team can improve on those results. "I had two good races at Martinsville last year," said Crafton of his seventh-place and sixth-place finishes. "I know ThorSport had two really good races here last year too, even if the finishes didn't show it. Tracy (teammate Tracy Hines) was strong here in the 88 truck last spring and in the fall Andy (Houston) had a great run going in the 13 truck until he got taken out in a crash that wasn't his fault late in the race. It's a place that the team has always run well, and it's seems to suit my style too." With two short tracks on the schedule in the coming weeks, Crafton looks forward to getting back to his racing roots. "I wish we had a couple more short tracks in there too," Crafton said smiling. "I don't mind mixing it up every now and then. I've always liked Martinsville and we have more laps in a truck around Mansfield than anyone. I am pretty excited about these next several races. I think it would surprise a lot of people if we won one of these short track races, but it shouldn't if you look at how well we've done there in the past."We've had a great start to the year and have been very close to getting that first win. We were in the top-5 on the last lap at both Daytona and Fontana. These guys have really worked hard to give me the best trucks I've had in my career. Dennis (Connor) and Bud (Haefele) and the rest of the team have been on it since we tested at Daytona in January. We all have one goal, and that's to put the Menards Chevy in victory lane." Crafton Career Stats at Martinsville 6 NCTS Starts 3 Top-10 Finishes Best Finish 6th, twice (April 2001 and October 2004) Average Finish, 13.3 Best Start 5th (October 2004) Average Start, 18.7 1312 of 1404 laps completed (93.4 %) April 6, 2005 Hines Looks to Continue to Build Momentum at Martinsville Sandusky, OH - Tracy Hines enters the fourth event of the 2005 NASCAR Truck Series with the confidence that he has always run well at Martinsville Speedway. However, after two hard-luck races in 2004, he's looking for some redemption and a chance to run the No.13 ThorSport Racing/David Zoriki Motorsports Chevrolet into the top-10 and finish there. "We had a decent starting spot last spring and we were running pretty strong right off the drop of the green," Hines said. "But before we even had 20 laps in we had an oil leak we had to get fixed. We found the loose line and went back out and ran times as fast as the leaders the rest of the day. We had a top-5 truck last spring and no one knew it but us." In the fall event at Martinsville, Hines was caught up in someone else's problems and received damage to the nose of his machine, eventually overheating the engine and sending him to the sidelines. "That can happen very easily at Martinsville," he said. "You're so hard on the brakes anyhow coming into the turns, if someone has a problem a couple of trucks in front of you it's hard to get stopped in time. Martinsville has so many unique characteristics to it, and that is one of them." While his finishes in 2004 don't reflect how well he ran at Martinsville, Hines has reason to be optimistic in 2005. "I am really looking forward to Martinsville this year," Hines said. "We brought Shane (Tesch, crew chief) in for Atlanta and we've had about a month to work together and build a solid foundation. We had a good run in Atlanta last race and that momentum will carry over to Martinsville. And last fall the 13 team was really good here and should've had a top-10 finish. Andy (Houston) had a great run before they started wrecking in front of him and he had no where to go. The key for us is to make it to the end without that stuff happening to us again. If we can avoid all the problems out there and run all the laps, you'll see the No. 13 truck up in the top-10." To keep sharp during the series' three-week hiatus, Hines was scheduled to pilot a sprint car at Perris Auto Speedway and Eldora Speedway. A ninth-place finish at Perris was followed by last week's rainout at Eldora. Hines also spent a day testing on the treacherous high banks of Winchester Speedway preparing for the USAC Sprint Car Series return to that track on April 24th. The NCTS Kroger 250 from Martinsville Speedway will be broadcast live at 1 P.M. Eastern on April 9 on Speed Channel. TruckSeries.com will have comprehensive practice, qualifying and race coverage at www.truckseries.com Hines Career Stats at Martinsville 3 NCTS Starts Best Finish, 13th (October 2003) Average Finish 25.7 Best Start, 16th (April 2004) Average Start 19.3 549 of 654 laps completed (83.9 %)