CRAFTON RUNS TO 14TH IN WFG 200 IN ATLANTA
Hampton, GA - Matt Crafton drove the No. 88 Menards Chevrolet to a 14th-place finish in Friday night's NASCAR Truck Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Crafton qualified 27th for the 130-lap race, but was force to take the green flag from the back of the field after his ThorSport Racing team had to change the engine after qualifying.
On the start, Crafton followed 2004 series champion Bobby Hamilton through the pack and cracked the top-20 within the first 10 laps. However, it was not all roses for Crafton as a carburetor problem caused the backup engine to skip at the end of AMS's long straightaways. Even with the persistent engine skip, Crafton was able to challenge for a top-10 finish late in the race before crossing the line in 14th at the checkered.
"After practice we thought we had a good chance to qualify in the top-10," Crafton said. "We went out and it just wouldn't run in qualifying, and we figured it was better to go to the back for the start rather than run around at the back all night long. The guys did a great job changing the engine, but for whatever reason the carburetor we had on it just didn't want to let the engine run."
With the top-15 finish, Crafton managed to stay well within the top-10 in NASCAR Truck Series points heading to the next series race at Martinsville Speedway on April 9.
"We had a rotten day today but we managed to come out of it with a decent finish," Crafton said. "I keep telling everyone not to overlook this team. We have a lot of great people here and we're going to continue to run well
week in and week out. Everyone wants to talk about Bobby Hamilton coming from the back as quickly as he did, but no one seems to realize we were right there with him. That's fine, because we plan on giving them all a reason to talk about us here really soon."
Crafton and the No. 88 Menards Chevrolet are back in action on April 9 at Martinsville Speedway. The Kroger 250 will be televised live on Speed Channel and broadcast live on selected radio affiliates of the Motor Racing Network. TruckSeries.com will provide comprehensive coverage of practice and qualifying as well as offer extensive pre- and post-race coverage at www.truckseries.com
HINES CHARGES TO 16TH IN ATLANTA
Hampton, GA - Tracy Hines drove the No.13 ThorSport Racing/David Zoriki Motorsports Chevrolet to a 16th-place finish in the World Financial Group 200 Friday night at the Atlanta Motor Speedway. Hines made a pit stop before the green flag to adjust tire pressures and was forced to start fromthe back of the pack, but quickly made his way into the top-20.
"Matt (ThorSport Racing teammate Matt Crafton) and I both started at the back of the pack, and once they dropped the green we both just took off," Hines said. "He was a rocketship right off the start, but we eventually caught up to him and passed him. I said it all weekend, this is the nicest driving truck we have. We haven't always had the finishes we wanted with it, but Shane (Tesch, crew chief) and the guys really worked hard to work on communication and they gave me something we could really take to the front."
Hines ran the third event of the 2005 NASCAR Truck Series season with a new crew chief and virtually an entirely new crew. With all of the new personnel involved, Hines was pleased with the performance of the team in their first effort together.
"The truck ran great, the guys worked their tails off all day long, and no one ever gave up," Hines said. "I am still learning who everyone is and how they fit in, and we'll all be doing that for the next few weeks. But I am really encouraged with the effort everyone gave and how hard everyone worked. We definitely have some areas we can improve, but we're heading in the right direction."
Hines and the No. 13 ThorSport Racing/David Zoriki Motorsports Chevrolet are in action on April 9 at Martinsville Speedway. The Kroger 250 will be televised live on Speed Channel and broadcast live on selected radio affiliates of the Motor Racing Network. TruckSeries.com will carry continual real-time garage and pit updates through practice and qualifying and extensive pre- and post-race coverage at www.truckseries.com
HINES-TESCH COMBINATION TO DEBUT IN ATLANTA
Sandusky, OH - Tracy Hines enters the Easy Care 200 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway with a new crew chief calling the shots on the No. 13 ThorSport Racing Chevrolet. Shane Tesch, who spent several seasons working with Mike Garvey in the defunct American Speed Association, has joined the team and will call the race from atop the pit box for the second-year driver starting this weekend.
"We did the crew chief by committee thing at Daytona and Fontana," Hines said. "The fact we were as competitive as we were is a real testament to the entire team. We have a lot of new guys, just in the last couple of weeks, but they are all working together and we all have the same goal."
Tesch has no experience working with the heavier NASCAR style chassis, but has a winning background in the ASA, which is what caught the Hines' eye.
"Anyone that has won races at a level like the ASA can come here and win races too," Hines said. "Right now he's a little green when it comes to this type of racing, so we're going to need to work over the next five or six races and really build on his knowledge and our communication. I think once we get into the real swing of the season in May and June, we'll be hitting our stride."
Tesch guided Garvey to a win in the ASA Series finale at Atlanta last fall, and comes to his first truck race with a little added confidence, if not experience.
"There's not a lot of similarities with the ASA chassis and the Truck chassis," Tesch said. "But coming off a win the last time we were there does give you a little added confidence. I've only known these guys for a couple of days, and we've really only had a few hours to start working on the truck to get it the way we want it, but I think we're going to go to Atlanta and run really well. We ran restricted there with the ASA car, and they could run flat out all the way around. The trucks have about 300 more horsepower, but if we can figure out a way that Tracy can flat foot it all the way around we're going to be happy."
Hines Atlanta Quotes
"This place really has a personality of its own. The third and fourth turns almost remind me of Winchester a little when it's slick and you have to drive it all the way up to the top. I guess you could say it's a nice mix of a Texas and Michigan. We were good there last year right off the trailer, but we slowed down in qualifying and then got trapped a lap down in a bad sequence early in the race. We made a lot of adjustments and got the thing really fast late in the race, but we just ran out of time."
Tesch Atlanta Quotes
"I had a chance to meet Tracy when I came to the shop for the first time. We sat and had lunch and had a chance to talk quite a bit and he's got the same kind of personality that Mike (Garvey) has. They both say a lot of the same things, and they seem to like the same things in the car. I know we had about 50 things we could do with the ASA car to make it turn, and most of those are illegal in NASCAR, so it's going to be quite a steep learning curve."
Hines NCTS Career Stats:
31 career NCTS Starts
Best Finish, 5th, Mansfield 2004
Best Start, 4th Texas (2) 2003
Average Finish, 20.0
Average Start, 20.9
Lead Lap Finishes, 14
CRAFTON HEADS TO ATLANTA READY FOR 100TH NASCAR TRUCK SERIES START
Sandusky, OH - Matt Crafton made his first NASCAR Truck Series start on October 28, 2000 at the California Speedway. Driving the No. 88 Chevrolet out of the ThorSport Racing shops, Crafton zipped to an impressive
ninth-place finish in his series debut, completing all 100 laps on the two-mile oval.
Fast forward four and a half years later. Ninety-eight races later, Crafton is ready to reach an important NASCAR Truck Series landmark at the Atlanta Motor Speedway. When he cranks the engine in the bright yellow No. 88
Menards Chevrolet, it will mark his 100th series start. Crafton wasn't even aware that he was preparing to hit the century mark, becoming the 17th driver in the 10-year history of the series to do so. He will also become
the sixth driver in series history to open his career with 100 consecutive appearances.
"I had no idea Atlanta was going to be my 100th start," Crafton said. "I can't believe how fast time has gone by. When you look at it that way, it really seems like time has gone by really fast."
For Crafton, making his 100th start at Atlanta Motor Speedway is a huge positive. Crafton says the wide, sweeping corners at the 1.5-mile quad oval lend themselves to great racing, and a real test of the driver's bravery.
"It is super fast. But it is really wide and you can run anywhere from the white line all the way to the top," Crafton said. "I guess the way to put it is you can run anywhere you are willing to run. Some drivers don't like the hauling off into a corner inches off the wall, but Atlanta is a place where you can do it, if you're brave enough."
After spending a season with another team, Crafton returns to the team for which he made the first 72 of his series starts, ThorSport Racing. After two more starts this season, Crafton's 75th race in the seat of the No. 88 comes at a fortuitous time. With team manager Dennis Connor overseeing the operation and crew chief Bud Haefele turning the wrenches, the team has hit their stride in the first two races of 2005.
"It's been awesome back with ThorSport and having a chance to work with these guys," Crafton said. "Working with Dennis and Bud is awesome because they have so much knowledge, but the team is so much deeper than that. We
have a bunch of great guys that actually want to be there. And it's more than a job to them. They want to go out and win races, and after the way we've started the season I really think it's closer now than it's ever been before.
"We had a great truck in California and we were just one small adjustment away from being the fastest truck in the field," he continued. "I know that was the second race of the year, but Daytona is so different than anything else we do all season long, so I would say that was our first real race working together. We learned a lot about each other and we'll carry that over to Atlanta. We're taking the same truck, and we've found what was holding us back in Fontana."
With practice, qualifying, and the race all scheduled for the same day in Atlanta, Crafton knows staying "in the zone" will be important for everyone with the No. 88 Menards team.
"I actually prefer it that way," he said. "I didn't really like the way we did it in California. I'd rather practice and qualify one day, then come back and race the next. But I don't mind the one-day deal in Atlanta either. We'll come to the track with our game faces on and we'll stay that way until the checkered flag falls."
Crafton will take the green flag for the 100th time in his NASCAR Truck Series career shortly after 9 P.M. Eastern on Friday March 18th. The World Financial Group 200 will be broadcast live on Speed Channel and select radio
affiliates of the Motor Racing Network. TruckSeries.com will provide real-time practice and qualifying updates throughout the day at
www.truckseries.com
Crafton NCTS Career Stats
99 career NCTS starts
6 Top-5 Finishes
47 Top-10 Finishes
Best Finish, 3rd, Bristol and Phoenix, 2004
Best Start, 2nd, Homestead, 2004
Average Finish, 14.4
Average Start, 14.9
51 Lead Lap Finishes
