Matt Crafton – 2017 Dover Recap

Recap:

Matt Crafton, driver of the No. 88 Ideal Door/Menards Toyota Tundra made his 17th career start at Dover (Del.) International Speedway in Friday’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) Bar Harbor 200. Starting 13th, the ThorSport Racing driver utilized pit strategy to finish inside the top-10 in Stage 1, and led 46 laps in Stage 2 – to earn his first Stage win of the 2017 season. With track position at a premium, and a mix of strategies on pit road, the Menards driver would settle for an 11th-place finish behind race winner, Johnny Sauter.

Quote:

“Track positon was everything today. Our Menards Toyota Tundra was just free to start the race, so Junior made a great call to come down pit road early, in the first stage, to work on it. We got off sequence with pit stops and took the lead to start the second stage. Once we got into clean air, I had a rocket ship. I mean, it was bad fast. But when we got back in the pack again, after pitting and restarting on the bottom, I just couldn’t make up any ground in the dirty air.”

Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

Team Information:
Started: 13th
Finished: 11th
Laps: 200/200
Laps Led: 0
Status: Running
Driver Points: 3rd
Owner Points: 4th

Notes:

• The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) had two practice sessions on Thursday afternoon in preparation for Friday’s Bar Harbor 200 at DIS. Matt Crafton was fourth and 13th-quick, respectively, in both sessions.
• Friday’s Bar Harbor 200 marked Crafton’s 17th career start at the Monster Mile. Starting 13th, Crafton led the field once for 46 laps, and finished 11th in the 200-lap event.
• The ThorSport Racing driver earned bonus points for finishing inside the top-10 in Stage 1 and earned his first Stage win of 2017 – winning Stage 2.
• In 17 starts at DIS, Crafton has led 197 laps en route to one win (2016), five top-five and 10 top-10 finishes.
• In six starts in 2017, the Menards driver has led 50 laps en route to one top-five (Atlanta), and three top-10 finishes.
• In 390 career starts, Crafton has 12 poles, and has led 2185 laps en route to 13 wins, 98 top-five, and 229 top-10 finishes.
• Crafton’s ThorSport Racing teammates finished third (Enfinger), fourth (Rhodes), and 16th (Coughlin).
• Up Next: The Rattlesnake 400 at Texas Motor Speedway on Friday, June 9 at 8:00pm ET.