Matt Crafton – 2018 Martinsville II Preview

Oct 23, 2018

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No. 88 Chi-Chi’s / Menards Ford F-150
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
Martinsville Speedway – Texas Roadhouse 200 presented by Alpha Energy Solutions
Race No. 20 of 23

Team Info/Stats:
Crew Chief: Carl “Junior” Joiner, Jr.
Driver Point Standings: 6th
Owner Point Standings: 10th
Playoff Standings: 6th
Spotter: Stevie Reeves

Chatting with Matt Crafton…

“I’m confident going into the last four races of the season. We have a few grandfather clocks at home from Martinsville, as well as a few victories at other tracks at the end of the season. The chassis we’re taking has three wins, along with poles and strong finishes, so I’m confident heading into the weekend to lock us in the Championship 4.”

Chassis No. 48

Starts: 15
Last raced: Iowa, 2018
Wins: 3

  • Atlanta, 2015
  • Las Vegas, 2015
  • Dover, 2016

Poles: 2

  • Las Vegas, 2015
  • Texas 2, 2015

Laps Led: 500
Top-five finishes: 4
Top-10 finishes: 4
Highest start: 1st
Highest finish: 1st

Crafton at Martinsville (NCWTS)

Starts: 33
Wins: 2 (2014, 2015)
Poles: 1 (2011)
Top-five finishes: 9
Top-10 finishes: 19
Laps led: 385
Highest start: 1st (2011)
Highest finish: 1st (2014, 2015)
Last race finish: 15th (2018)
Average start: 11.9
Average finish: 10.6
Laps completed: 7,365

Race Recap: Talladega

Started: 9th
Stage 1: 4th
Stage 2: 2nd
Finished: 26th
Laps: 58 / 94
Laps Led: 0
Status: Crash

News and Notes

Locked In… Crafton may have had an early end to his Fr8Auctions 250 at Talladega Superspeedway, however he and the No. 88 Menards Ford F-150 team are locked in to NASCAR’s Round of 6. Competing for what could be his third NCWTS Driver Championship in his career, Crafton has finished his last three seasons strong, including earning two wins (2015: Martinsville, Homestead-Miami Speedway), two poles (2015: Texas Motor Speedway, Homestead-Miami), six top-five and nine top-10 finishes in 12 starts. Having two wins at Martinsville previously (Spring 2014, Fall 2015), a win this weekend would lock Crafton into NASCAR’s Championship 4.