Matt Crafton – 2018 Atlanta Preview

Feb 21, 2018

Hero Card Requests:

Send a Self Addressed Stamped Envelope to: ThorSport Racing Attn: Hero Card Request PO Box 2218 Sandusky, OH 44871

Team Info/Stats:

Crew Chief: Carl “Junior” Joiner, Jr.
Driver Point Standings: 12th
Owner Point Standings: 13th
Spotter: Stevie Reeves

News and Notes:

  • This Week’s No. 88 Rip It/Menards Ford F-150… The No. 88 ThorSport Racing team will unload chassis No. 48 for Friday night’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) Active Pest Control 200 at Atlanta Motor Speedway (AMS). Nicknamed “Tom Brady,” this particular chassis boasts three wins (Atlanta Motor Speedway, Texas Motor Speedway and Dover International Speedway), and two poles, but was recently rebuilt at the end of 2017.  
  • All About Atlanta… 2015 AMS winner, Matt Crafton, will make his 17th career start at the 1.54-mile track Saturday. The Menards driver has led 173 laps en route to five top-five and nine top-10 finishes. Additionally, Crafton has the most starts (16), the most top-10 finishes (nine), has completed the most laps (1,993), and has the most lead lap finishes (12) of any other active series driver at the 1.54-mile track.
  • Intermediate Track Facts… No current NCWTS driver is better at intermediate-size (1.5 or 1.54-mile) tracks than Crafton. In 144 starts, the ThorSport Racing driver has nine wins, eight poles, and has led 1,203 laps en route to 14 runner-up finishes, 46 top-five and 90 top-10 finishes.
  • Take me back – Atlanta, 2017… Starting seventh, Crafton finished third in Stage 1, fifth in Stage 2, and led two laps in the final stage, and brought home a second-place finish.
  • Veteran-Size Stats…  Crafton holds the record for consecutive starts (408) in the NCWTS. Among his success in the past 17 seasons, the two-time champion has earned 13 poles, and led 2456 laps en route to 14 wins, 102 top-five and 242 top-10 finishes.  

Chatting with Matt Crafton…

 

Atlanta has historically been one of your favorite race tracks. What is it about the track that you enjoy racing on?

“Atlanta, I always look forward to going there. That’s by far my favorite race track that we go to because of the old, aged asphalt. The best racing you’re ever going to see is on the older asphalt. You always have great side-by-side racing. You can run the bottom, and you can run the top. That’s when our season really kicks into high gear. That’s the bread-and-butter of our races. The majority of our races are on the mile-and-a-halves, so that’s where we’ve really got to focus on our program.”