Sounding Off – Matt Crafton:
“I think racing at Texas Motor Speedway this weekend will be an unknown for us – in terms of handling – until we actually get out there Thursday for practice. Yeah, we’ve all talked to the cup drivers who ran there in April – it’s a two groove race track and if you get out of the groove, you’ll bust your butt, but how those cup cars and XFINITY cars handled two months ago, will be completely different from our trucks. They are saying Texas used a lot of the same technology that Kentucky used in their repave, so we’ll see what happens when we unload. Either way, I love going to Texas, and we’ve seen some success there. I think it’s a great track for us to finally get back into victory lane, and secure a spot in the Chase.”
News & Notes:
- Chassis Chatter… The No. 88 ThorSport Racing (TSR) team will unload chassis No. 58 for Friday night’s WinStarGamingOnline.com 400 at Texas Motor Speedway (TMS) in Forth Worth. This is a brand new chassis that will make its debut in Friday night’s 167-lap event.
- Texas-Sized Stats… Among active series drivers, Crafton has the most Starts (32), the most Top-5 finishes (13), the Most Top-10 finishes (21), is tied with Johnny Sauter for the most poles (3), has completed the most laps (4899), has led the most laps (418), and has the most lead lap finishes (23).
- Birthday Candles… Crafton will celebrate his 41st birthday on Sunday, June 11.
- Intermediate Track Success… No current NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) driver is better at Intermediate-size tracks than Crafton. Dating back to 2014, Crafton has finished in the top-10 in 25 of the last 29 races at ovals measuring 1.5 or 1.54 miles. Included in that stretch are seven wins, and seven runner-up finishes.
- In the Loop – 2017… According to NASCAR’s Loop Data statistics, Crafton ranks second in Average Running Position (7.058), and Laps in the Top-15 (921). The ThorSport Racing driver ranks fourth in Driver Rating (98.7) and sixth in Fastest Laps Run (42), and Laps Led (50).
- Take Me Back – Texas, 2016-1… Making his 31st career start at TMS, Crafton started fourth, led the field five times for a race-high 133 laps, and finished second.
- Rearview Mirror – Dover… 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.
Team Stats:
2017 Driver Point Standings: 3rd
2017 Owner Point Standings: 4th
Crafton’s Texas Stats:
- Starts: 32, since 2001
- Laps Completed: 4899 of 5040 (97.2%)
- Laps Led: 418
- Wins: 2 (2014-1 & 2015-1)
- Top-5 Finishes: 13
- Top-10 Finishes: 21
- Poles: 3
- Average start: 13.0
- Average finish: 9.2
Crafton’s Career Truck Series Stats:
- Starts: 390, since 2000
- Wins: 13
- Top-five Finishes: 98
- Top-10 finishes: 229
- Poles: 12
- Laps Completed: 60,278
- Laps Led: 2185
- Average start: 12.6
- Average finish: 11.4
Texas Stages:
- Stage 1 – 40 laps (concludes at lap 40)
- Stage 2 – 40 laps (concludes at lap 80)
- Stage 3 – 87 laps (concludes at lap 167)
Race Information:
Date: Friday, June 9
Time: 8:00pm ET on FOX Sports 1
Track: 1.5-mile oval
Distance: 167 Laps, 250.5 Miles
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