Sounding Off – Matt Crafton:
You’ve been pretty strong at Michigan in the past. Has the track aged at all since the repave?
“Before they repaved it you could run all over the place. Then they paved it, and the racing groove got narrow. The groove is widening out – the inside lane is a little bit faster now – and there is some passing. The first year we were there, it was really bad, and you couldn’t move two feet out of the groove – you were slippin’ and slidin’. It’s gotten a little bit better, for sure. I know restarts will be tricky, and drafting partners will be key. Michigan is a home-track, per se, for ThorSport Racing, so hopefully we can put on another great show this weekend for all of our friends, family, and employees that are coming out to the race.”
Team Stats:
2017 Driver Point Standings: 4th
2017 Owner Point Standings: 4th
2017 Stage Wins: 2
2017 Stage Points: 121
2017 Playoff Points: 7
News & Notes:
- Chassis Chatter… The No. 88 ThorSport Racing (TSR) team will unload chassis No. 58 for Saturday’s LTi Printing 200 at Michigan International Speedway (MIS). This is the same chassis Matt Crafton piloted to a ninth-place finish at Texas Motor Speedway, and an eighth-place finish at Kentucky Speedway, earlier this season.
- Michigan Minute… Crafton has 15 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) starts at MIS. In fact, among active series drivers, Crafton has the most starts, has the most pole awards (2), has completed the most laps (1382), and has the most lead lap finishes (11).
- Playoff Status… Following Crafton’s first win of the 2017 NCWTS season at Eldora Speedway, the ThorSport Racing driver has locked himself into the first round of the Playoffs, that kicks-off at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in September. Crafton was in the inaugural Chase in 2016, finishing third overall.
- Take Me Back – Michigan, 2016… Making his 15th career start at MIS, Crafton qualified second, led the field four times, for 23 laps, and finished seventh in the rain delayed event.
- Rearview Mirror – Pocono… Starting ninth, Crafton finished fifth in Stage 1, 16th in Stage 2, and sixth in the Overton’s 150 at Pocono Raceway.
Crafton’s Michigan Stats:
- Starts: 15, since 2010
- Laps Completed: 1382 of 1504 (91.9%)
- Laps Led: 53
- Poles: 2 (2011 & 2015)
- Wins: 0
- Top-5 Finishes: 3
- Top-10 Finishes: 6
- Average start: 10.5
- Average finish: 14.7
Crafton’s Career Truck Series Stats:
- Starts: 396, since 2000
- Wins: 14
- Top-five Finishes: 100
- Top-10 finishes: 234
- Poles: 12
- Laps Completed: 61,149
- Laps Led: 2231
- Average start: 12.5
- Average finish: 11.4
Michigan Stages:
- Stage 1 – 30 laps (concludes at lap 30)
- Stage 2 – 30 laps (concludes at lap 60)
- Stage 3 – 40 laps (concludes at lap 100)
Broadcast Schedule – Michigan:
LTI Printing 200: Saturday, August 12 at 1 p.m. ET on FS1, SiriusXM, MRN
Keystone Light Pole Qualifying: Saturday, August 12 at 9:30 a.m. ET on FS1, SiriusXM, MRN
Race Information:
Date: Saturday, August 12. 2017
Time: 1:00 p.m. ET on FOX and MRN
Track: 2-mile D-shaped oval
Distance: 100 Laps, 2000 miles
Social: @MISpeedway #LTI200
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