Sounding Off – Matt Crafton:
“Bristol is a unique, half-mile, high –banked, bullring-type race track. You are flying around the place, and it gets crowded with 32 other trucks vying for position. It’s a fun race to drive, but an even better track for the fans. We have been close there. 2015 was a heartbreak, for sure. We were leading it, and I felt like I had a pretty comfortable lead, and then we had a yellow for whatever reason. We thought we were gonna win it. Then when it started raining, I was leading the race, and then when we went back green after the rain, I think it was like 7 to go, 10 to go, something right in there, if that. On that restart, the fuel just didn’t pick-up in the fuel cell. I went thru the gears and I took-off okay, and then just before the start/finish line it laid over on its nose, and we ended up finishing seventh. We were running inside the top-five there last year, until we had engine problems. It’s on the bucket list to win, that’s for sure.” 
Team Stats:
2017 Driver Point Standings: 3rd
2017 Owner Point Standings: 3rd
2017 Stage Wins: 2
2017 Stage Points: 136
2017 Playoff Points: 7
News & Notes:
- Chassis Chatter… The No. 88 ThorSport Racing (TSR) team will unload chassis No. 48 for Wednesday night’s UNOH 200 at Bristol Motor Speedway (BMS). This is the same chassis Crafton piloted at Iowa Speedway (19th), Dover International Speedway (11th), and Charlotte Motor Speedway (6th), earlier this season.
- Thunder Valley Stats…The Menards driver will make his 15th career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) start on Wednesday night at BMS. Among active series drivers, Crafton has the most starts (14), the most top-10 finishes (8), has completed the most laps (2684), and has the most lead lap finishes (11).
- Playoff Status… Following Crafton’s first win of the 2017 NCWTS season at Eldora Speedway, the TSR 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 – Bristol, 2016… Making his 14th career start at BMS, Crafton started 17th, ran as high as eighth, and finished 30th, due to an engine problem.
- Rearview Mirror – Michigan… Starting first, Crafton finished second in Stage 1, fourth in Stage 2, and sixth in the LTi Printing 200 at Michigan International Speedway.
Crafton’s Bristol Stats:
- Starts: 14, since 2003
- Laps Completed: 2684 of 2821 (95.1%)
- Laps Led: 39
- Poles: 0
- Wins: 0
- Top-5 Finishes: 3
- Top-10 Finishes: 8
- Best start: 5th (2003)
- Best finish: 2nd (2009)
Crafton’s 2017 NCWTS Stats:
- Starts: 13
- Laps Completed: 1949 of 1968 (99.0%)
- Laps Led: 106
- Poles: 1 (Michigan)
- Wins: 1 (Eldora)
- Top-5 Finishes: 3
- Top-10 Finishes: 9
Crafton’s Career Truck Series Stats:
- Starts: 397, since 2000
- Wins: 14
- Top-five Finishes: 100
- Top-10 finishes: 235
- Poles: 13
- Laps Completed: 61,249
- Laps Led: 2241
- Average start: 12.5
- Average finish: 11.4
Bristol Stages:
Stage 1 – 55 laps (concludes at lap 55)
Stage 2 – 55 laps (concludes at lap 110)
Stage 3 – 90 laps (concludes at lap 200)
Broadcast Schedule – Bristol:
Wednesday, Aug. 16
- 9:00-9:55 a.m. ET – Practice (FS1)
- 11:00-11:55 a.m. ET – Final Practice (FS1)
- 4:30 p.m. ET – Qualifying (Starts on FS2, switches to FS1)
- 8:00 p.m. ET – NCWTS Setup Show (FS1)
- 8:30 p.m. ET – UNOH 200 (FS1)
Race Information:
Date: Wednesday, August 16, 2017
Time: 8:30 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1
Track: .533-mile oval
Distance: 200 Laps/106.6 miles
Social: @BMSUpdates #UNOH200
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