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Author: Briar Starr

  • NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Preview-Bristol

    NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Preview-Bristol

    “It’s the final countdown!” as the band Europe would sing.

    The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series makes their final stop at Bristol Motor Speedway before the playoffs begin next weekend at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park. While one driver will be crowned regular season champion, three other drivers currently sit on the bubble of making/not making the playoffs.

    Currently, there are 38 drivers entered on the preliminary entry list that will make up the 32 truck field Thursday night at Bristol.

    Here’s a look at what to expect and who might end up in the UNOH 200.

    1. John Hunter Nemechek – Nemechek has competed in the past four starts at Bristol. He and the No. 8 NEMCO Motorsports team have collected two top fives and four top-10 finishes. Nemechek has an average start of 12.5 and an average finish of 5.0. In the past five races, he finished third twice, eighth, and sixth. He has competed in the Truck Series event since 2014 and has completed 100 percent of the laps. Nemechek scored the victory at Martinsville this past April which is another short track, somewhat similar to Bristol. He finished 10th in Stage 2 in the 2017 race.
    2. Christopher Bell – Last year’s Truck Series champion returns to the field Thursday night at Bristol driving the No. 51 Hunt Brothers Pizza Toyota for Kyle Busch Motorsports. Bell has competed in two races at Bristol earning a seventh-place finish twice after starting fifth and second. He finished fourth and fifth respectively in both stages last year. KBM, however, has won here three times with Kyle Busch, who will not be able to compete in this year’s race due to restrictions. Harrison Burton was scheduled to drive the No. 51 but had to withdraw due to illness. Bell will fill in for Burton and will be tough to beat Thursday night at Bristol driving the famed No. 51.
    3. Johnny Sauter – Sauter will be crowned regular season champion just by starting the race. Even though he knows he’ll be the regular season champion, he’ll still be hungry for that first Bristol win. It will be his first win since Texas in June if he can pull it off. Sauter has competed in 10 races at the famous Bristol Motor Speedway. His first start came back in 2003 driving the No. 9 for Christopher Beckington but failed to finish that year due to an engine issue. However, Sauter returned to a Truck back in 2009 driving for Mike Curb until 2015. In the past two races, he has competed for GMS Racing. For Sauter, however, it’s been a mixed bag of results at the “World’s Fastest Half-Mile.” He has four top fives and six top-10 finishes, along with seven laps led and one DNF. With those stats, he has an average start of 12.4 and an average finish of 9.6. His best finish at Bristol was second back in 2011 after starting 12th. In the previous race, he finished eighth and seventh respectively in both stages.
    4. Parker Kligerman – If someone could upset this weekend, it could very well be the No. 75 Henderson Motorsports team of Parker Kligerman. Kligerman has four starts at Bristol with a best finish of second coming in 2012 for Red Horse Motorsports. In last year’s race, however, driving the No. 75, he finished eighth. During the span of his four starts, Kligerman has earned one top five and three top-10 finishes. For Charlie Henderson’s team, the No. 75 has competed at Bristol every year since 2012 with Caleb Holman as the driver until 2016. Their best finish came with Kligerman last year by finishing eighth. They currently have one win in the series which came last fall at Talladega. Their other best finish came this year at Charlotte, where he finished seventh.
    5. Ben  Rhodes – Rhodes has three starts at Thunder Valley. His best finish came last year where he finished fifth. In total, Rhodes has one top five and two top-10 finishes with one lap led. He has an average start of 7.3 and an average finish of 14.7. He finished seventh and fourth in both stages in 2017. Look for Rhodes to be up front and contend for the win.

    Playoff Bubble Drivers

    1. Grant Enfinger – Enfinger has one start which came in the 2017 race. He started seventh and finished fourth giving him his first top five at the track. If he continues to win stages or perhaps wins the race, he’ll be good to go for the Playoffs.
    2. Stewart Friesen- Like Enfinger, Friesen has been running somewhat consistently and is having his best year to date. He sits seventh in the Playoff standings with five Playoff points. He should be fine if there are no new winners. However, Friesen’s track stats don’t look all that great. He has two races, but no finishes inside the top 10. In 2017, he failed to finish due to an overheating problem and wound up 29th. In 2016, Friesen finished 16th. He can’t afford to have any of these issues during the race or he’ll be in jeopardy of missing the Playoffs.
    3. Matt Crafton – Crafton is the most experienced driver in the field. He’s competed at Bristol since 2003 and has 15 starts. During that span, he’s earned four top fives and nine top-10 finishes, along with 129 laps led and one DNF. His best finish came in 2017 and 2009, where he finished second. In 2016, he failed to finish with an engine problem. If Crafton can avoid any issues in Thursday’s night race and have no mechanical problems, he’ll also be locked in on points and be able to chase for his third championship.

    Outside Looking In

    1. Myatt Snider- Snider will be making his first ever Bristol start in the Truck Series driving the No. 13 Carolina Nut Company Ford. However, he has competed at Bristol before driving in the CARS Late Model Stock Tour Series. In fact, he won last year’s race at Bristol after starting on the pole and leading 80 laps. Snider also competed in this year’s Tour Series event at Bristol and finished third. He could very well end up in victory lane tomorrow night and solidify himself in the playoffs picture, possibly knocking out his teammate, Matt Crafton.
    2. Cody Coughlin – Coughlin has competed in one race here but did not finish in the top-10.
    3. Dalton Sargeant – It will be Sargeant’s first race back at Bristol since 2015, where he finished 10th after starting 18th. He has one NASCAR K&N Pro Series East start but finished 26th due to a crash.
    4. Todd Gilliland – Perhaps one driver who could spoil the spotlight is the No. 4 KBM driver, Todd Gilliland. He’ll be making his first Truck Series start at Bristol, but does have previous experience at the track. Gilliland has competed at Bristol in the K&N Pro Series East three times. During those three starts, he finished ninth, eighth, and won the event in 2018 after leading 64 laps.

    The Truck Series has competed at Bristol Motor Speedway since 1995. In those twenty starts, there have been 15 different race winners. Those winners include Joe Ruttman, Rick Carelli, Ron Hornaday, Jack Sprague, Travis Kvapil, Carl Edwards, Mike Skinner, Mark Martin, Johnny Benson, Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick, Timothy Peters, Brad Keselowski, Ryan Blaney and Ben Kennedy.

    Of those drivers, two have been able to repeat. These include Kyle Busch and Ron Hornaday with Busch having the most wins at five, and he is also the previous race winner.

    The lowest a driver has ever started to win the race is 12th back in 2003 by Travis Kvapil. The highest a driver has ever come from to win was the pole and that has been done five times by Ron Hornaday (twice), Kyle Busch (twice) and Mark Martin.

    The field of 38 that will turn into a field of 32 will have an all-day event Thursday.

    Two practice sessions will start the day for the truckers. First practice is scheduled for 9:05 a.m. ET while final practice takes place at 11:05 a.m. ET, both on Fox Sports 1. Qualifying is slated later in the afternoon at 4:10 p.m. ET on Fox Sports 1.

    Race coverage begins on FOX and MRN Radio at 8:30 p.m. ET with the approximate green flag at 8:45 p.m. ET.

     

  • Four Takeaways From The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Race At Michigan

    Four Takeaways From The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Race At Michigan

    The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series visited the two-mile racetrack located in Irish Hills of Brooklyn, Michigan, Michigan International Speedway. It proved to be another exciting race for the 15th race of the season and that action will be intense come Thursday night at Bristol Motor Speedway.

    Here are four takeaways from the Corrigan Oil 200.

    1. Last Lap Excitement – The Truck Series continued to put on another exciting race this past weekend at Michigan. It started with qualifying Saturday morning when John Hunter Nemechek beat Todd Gilliland for the pole by 0.01 seconds. This would set the tone for the day and the end of the race. In what would look like Johnny Sauter’s fifth win of the year, Noah Gragson and Nemechek hooked up with each other to catch Brett Moffitt and Sauter. It did not go as planned for them but it worked for eventual race winner Moffitt, who backed up to Nemechek’s front bumper and made a last lap pass on Sauter coming to the finish line. It was Moffitt’s fourth win of the year. If everything continues to go Moffitt’s way and sponsorship continues to come, we could see him and the No. 16 Hattori Racing team in the final four spot at Homestead-Miami in November.
    2. Stewart Friesen Continues Solid Season – Friesen continued his solid season to date on Saturday afternoon. He can breathe a little easier after winning the first stage and finishing ninth in the second stage. If Friesen and the No. 52 Halmar racing team has a clean race at Bristol and finish where he’s been finishing, then he should be able to lock himself into the Playoffs and challenge for the championship.
    3. Playoffs Set In Stone – After Michigan and with one race remaining until the Playoffs begin, the standings are pretty much set in stone. Of course, it’s not over until the checkered flag drops and we have seen stranger things happen, but the standings should stay the way they are unless one of the three bubble drivers have trouble and fail to finish. Other than that, what we see currently, will be what see for the 2018 playoff standings.
    4. Johnny Sauter One To Beat – As we’ve already seen this season and saw again on Saturday, 2016 champion, Johnny Sauter continues to be the man to beat for the championship this year. Saturday could have been his fifth win of the year but he is still sitting in good shape to clinch the regular season championship on Thursday night at Bristol. With four wins, 11 top fives, 12 top 10 finishes and 340 laps led this season, Sauter should end up in the Championship 4. If anyone wants to win the championship, they’ll have to go through Sauter and the No. 21 GMS Racing team.
  • NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Power Rankings-Michigan

    NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Power Rankings-Michigan

    With just two races remaining entering this past weekends Corrigan Oil 200 at Michigan International Speedway, the race to the Playoffs action picked up with more intensity.

    Here’s who topped this week’s power ranking.

    1. Brett Moffitt – After starting 21st, Moffitt showed he had a fast truck early in the going. Although, despite not finishing in the top 10 at all during the first stage, he found himself inside the top-10 in the second stage, finishing third. His average running position was eighth, but he led early as well. Moffitt led from laps 23-26. With a late race caution coming out on Lap 80, this bunched most of the leaders back up again. Eight laps later, Moffitt started to charge to the front and caught Sauter for the lead, racing each other for the final remaining laps. When those two started racing against each other, two other drivers (John Hunter Nemechek and Noah Gragson) worked with each other to catch the leaders and to have a shot at the win. Moffitt used this to his advantage as he laid back to Nemechek’s front bumper going into Turn 3 and was able to use the bottom to get a run on Sauter. With that being said, Moffitt wound up beating Sauter to the line by .025 of a second. If Moffitt continues this hot streak and finds sponsorship for the rest of the year, he’ll be right along with Sauter for the Championship 4 in Homestead-Miami.Previous Week Ranking: Not Ranked
    2. Johnny Sauter – Sauter was so close to earning his fifth win of the 2018 season on Saturday afternoon at Michigan. He led 16 laps and was the truck to beat. In the first stage, he finished in the eighth position and found himself outside the top-10 at the end of Stage 2 on Lap 42. However, Sauter was already back in the top-10 on Lap 54 and continued to start making his move toward the front. With 30 to go, the race leaders started to make their final pit stops for the day. GMS Racing ally, Stewart Friesen, was leading and was trying to fend off Sauter for the lead. Friesen had to pit, which saw Sauter assume the lead during that cycle until a caution came out a few laps later. After pitting, he restarted in the fifth position. He took the lead again with 12 laps to go. Sauter was in a position to win for the fifth time this year until eventual race winner Brett Moffitt, passed him at the finish line by .025 seconds. It would’ve been his first win since Texas. However, he continues to be the guy to beat for the championship this year.  It’s hard to imagine the championship race without Sauter. Although, stranger things have happened in this sport.Previous Week Ranking: Not Ranked
    3. Todd Gilliland – For not having raced at Michigan before, Gilliland looked like a pro at the two-mile track by finishing fifth. In what would set the tone for the day early in qualifying, he missed the pole by 0.01 seconds which gave him a second-place starting spot. With a track well known for track position, Gilliland showed he had a strong truck early on by finishing third in the first stage. When Stage 2 began, he restarted in the second position but slipped back to the eighth position. Gilliland remained in that position for the rest of the stage and finished there. As the final stage began, he stayed out to get track position. He pit on Lap 74, but a caution came out six laps later. With this final caution and pitting early, Gilliland saw himself in the second position for the final restart. Ultimately, the No. 4 Sherrills Ford, North Carolina driver finished fifth for his second top five of the year. Gilliland led eight times.Previous Week Ranking: Fifth
    4. Ben Rhodes – Rhodes had a decent outing at Michigan this past weekend by finishing sixth. It was his first top-10 since he won at Kentucky two weeks back. He was close at Pocono last weekend but finished 11th. Rhodes finished sixth in the first stage, but fell outside the second stage due to strategy late in the stage and wound up 17th for Stage 2. At the end of the day, the No. 41 Carolina Nut driver finished sixth for his eighth top-10 of the season. Rhodes is in a good position and will make the Playoffs by virtue of his Kentucky win.Previous Week Ranking: Not Ranked
    5. Noah Gragson – After missing the Pocono race due to sickness, Gragson came back in full force finishing fourth after starting third. He led two laps early on after battling with John Hunter Nemechek and Todd Gilliland for the lead. Gragson finished fourth in both Stage 1 and 2. In the final stage, the No. 18 Safelite driver was right behind race leader Matt Crafton on Lap 64 but went in 10 laps later for a scheduled pit stop. After the caution on Lap 80, Gragson was up front for the race lead and potential race win. Five laps after the restart, Gragson fell back to fourth. In the final laps, he tried working with Nemechek in hopes of catching the leaders and a possible race win. However, Gragson finished fourth for his fourth top-10 of the year after leading 18 laps. He currently sits second, 56 points behind Sauter in the regular season point standings.Previous Week Ranking: Not RankedFell Out
      1. Stewart Friesen – Friesen had a solid day at Michigan. He won the first stage and finished ninth in the second stage after pitting. Friesen couldn’t really rebound and was stuck in traffic, ultimately finishing in the eighth position after leading 12 laps and earning one stage point. He should be able to breathe easy when the Playoffs standings are set at Bristol this Thursday night.
      2. Dalton Sargeant – Sargeant placed the No. 25 machine 12th after a strong outing at Pocono the week before. He was only able to finish 10th in the second stage. He’ll have to win at Bristol in order to make the Playoffs this year.
      3. Grant Enfinger – Enfinger, another bubble Playoff driver, had a good day and all was not lost. He started sixth, finished fifth and won the second stage. Despite sitting on the bubble heading to Bristol, he should be okay on making the Playoffs, barring any new winners and no incidents for the No. 98 team Thursday night.
  • Brett Moffitt Wins in Dramatic Last Lap Pass at Michigan

    Brett Moffitt Wins in Dramatic Last Lap Pass at Michigan

    Already a three-time winner this year, Iowa’s own, Brett Moffitt, passed Johnny Sauter for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race win at Michigan International Speedway, crossing the finish line ahead of Sauter by .025 of a second.

    “Yeah, we were running wide open there in the whole last stint there, once me and Johnny (Sauter) got out front,” Moffitt said. “I knew his truck was really fast, so, I was just making sure if I was going to pass him, don’t give him enough time to get by or back by, and I was able to time it right and side draft him to the line, get off of him and pull away by a fender.”

    The first stage of the race featured a 20 lap segment which was caution free. It saw race leaders, John Hunter Nemechek, Noah Gragson, Todd Gilliland and Stewart Friesen battle for the stage win. Ultimately, the No. 52 of Friesen, ended up winning the first stage.

    Stage 2 began on Lap 26, but the race was slowed for the first incident of the day when Matt Mills’ No. 54 truck snapped lose in the middle of Turn 1 and 2 and back into the wall.

    Another incident came with five to go, as Justin Fontaine had an accident coming out of Turn 2.

    With this incident, it turned into a one-lap dash for the finish of Stage 2. For what would set the tone and a foreshadowing for what would come, Playoff bubble driver, Grant Enfinger, just barely fended off teammate Myatt Snider at the conclusion of Stage 2.

    The final stage began with 54 to go. Matt Crafton took the lead on the restart and held on until Gragson passed him with 37 to go. Just seven laps later, race leaders started to pit and make their final green flag pit stops at the moment.

    Sauter and Friesen battled for the race lead and Sauter took the lead with 24 to go, as Friesen pit from the second position. A late race caution came out two laps later, as Snider spun on the frontstretch. Under the caution, Friesen was penalized for improper fueling and was sent to the back.

    The final restart came with 17 to go, as Kyle Busch Motorsports teammates, Noah Gragson and Todd Gilliland, raced out front for the lead. While these two were battling for the lead and potential race win, Sauter made a three-wide pass and took the lead with 13 to go.

    As the race wound down, Moffitt began to catch Sauter. Nemechek and Gragson started to come into play and tried to catch the leaders. On the last lap before the final turns, Moffitt laid back to Nemechek and got a run underneath Sauter and passed him at the finish line.

    “Normally, the top momentum is better,” Moffitt said. “I’d been running behind them, lap after lap and I wasn’t able to get to his (Sauter’s) quarter, but laying off of him in (Turn) 1 there, gave me a good enough run where I could actually get to his quarter and side draft him, and it was just a race to the line.”

    With this win, Moffitt now has four wins in the 2018 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season.

    Points leader, Johnny Sauter, came up one spot short and was pretty disappointed in himself.

    “Yeah, I just screwed up,” Sauter said. “I should have ran the bottom, you know? You know, I kept watching him in the mirror and keep momentum by running the top, and you know, I felt like that was the preferred deal and obviously, I screwed up and so he (Moffitt) got a better run down the back straightaway than I thought he did. Just apologize to all the employees at GMS Racing and it would have been cool to get a Chevrolet win here in Detroit, but our ISM Connect Chevy was off all weekend and we rallied and had a great truck there to the middle and late stages of the race. I blew it.”

    John Hunter Nemechek, Noah Gragson and Todd Gilliland rounded out the top five finishers in the Corrigan Oil 200. Sauter leads the series with a 56-point lead over Gragson.

    There were five cautions for 22 laps, along with nine leaders among 22 lead changes. Moffitt led twice for five laps and gained five playoff points.

    The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series heads to Bristol Motor Speedway for a midweek event on Thursday night. This will be the final stop before the Playoffs begin in Canada and the site where the regular season champion will be crowned.

  • NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Preview-Michigan

    NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Preview-Michigan

    The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series continues their exciting season this week at the 2-mile racetrack, Michigan International Speedway, located in Brooklyn, Michigan and the competition gets even tighter with only two races left until the Playoffs begin. There are three drivers on the bubble; Matt Crafton, Grant Enfinger and Stewart Friesen.

    Currently, there are 34 trucks entered on the preliminary entry list.

    Here’s a look at who might end up in victory lane this weekend.

    1. Matt Crafton – Crafton has been very hungry this year in trying to end up in victory lane. It’s been a whole year now since he has a won race in the Truck Series. Crafton needs to punch his ticket to make the Playoffs and that could happen this weekend at Michigan. He is the most experienced active driver having competed in the past 16 starts dating back to 2002, in his first track start that year. In those 16 races, Crafton has three top fives and seven top-10 finishes, along with 63 laps led, four DNFs, an average start of 9.9 and an average finish of 14.2. He has three poles at the racetrack, but is still searching for his first elusive victory at Michigan. In the past five races, Crafton has finished sixth, seventh, sixth, second, and ninth. He currently sits right on the cutoff line at eighth. But this weekend could be the place he breaks through and snaps his long winless streak.
    2. Johnny Sauter – Sauter is the second most experienced veteran at the track. He has nine starts with one win, two top fives, three top-10 finishes, 47 laps led, an average start of 7.3 and an average finish of 11.8. His only victory at the track came in 2014 after starting fifth. In the previous race, Sauter started second, but finished 18th, finishing one lap down. It’s been somewhat of a win drought as well for the No. 21 GMS Racing team. It’s been six races since Sauter and the team visited victory lane, which was at Fort Worth.
    3. Grant Enfinger – Enfinger has only two starts at Michigan. But in those two starts, he has finished in the top-10. In his first outing with GMS Racing, Enfinger started ninth and finished eighth. In last year’s race, he started sixth and finished eighth. Enfinger also finished 10th in Stage 2. Enfinger could sneak his way into victory lane this weekend after having solid consecutive finishes in the past few races, especially after almost winning Eldora last month. The team is capable of winning and it’s only a matter of time before Enfinger heads back to victory lane.
    4. Noah Gragson – After sitting out Pocono a couple of weeks ago due to illness, Gragson will be back in the No. 18 Safelite Tundra at Michigan this weekend. He was devastated that he couldn’t compete at Pocono and had to sit out. Since winning at Kansas, Gragson has been close to winning again. In the past five races, he finished sixth at Eldora, eighth at Kentucky, fourth at Chicago, 10th at Gateway, and second at Iowa after almost winning. Gragson’s only start at Michigan came last year, starting fifth and finishing seventh. He also finished seventh and eighth in both stages, respectively.
    5. Ben Rhodes – Rhodes has just two starts at Michigan, all coming for ThorSport Racing since 2016. In those two starts, he finished sixth and 11th respectively. In the 2017 race, Rhodes started 14th and finished 11th, after finishing fourth and fifth, respectively in both stages. He has led four laps with an average finish of 8.5.

    The NASCAR Truck Series has competed in the past 18 races dating back to the 1999 season. In those 18 starts, there have only been two repeat winners, which came from Greg Biffle in 1999 and 2000, and Travis Kvapil in 2004 and 2007. Since then, however,  there have been  16 different race winners. Those include Robert Pressley, Brendan Gaughan, Dennis Setzer, Johnny Benson, Erik Darnell, Colin Braun, Aric Almirola, Kevin Harvick, Nelson Piquet Jr, James Buescher, Johnny Sauter, Kyle Busch, Brett Moffitt, and Darrell Wallace Jr. The lowest in the field a race winner has come from to win is 11th back in 1999. The highest a race winner has ever come from is the pole in 2007.

    There are two practice sessions scheduled for Friday afternoon. The first practice at 1:05 p.m. ET with the final practice at 3:05 p.m. ET, both on Fox Sports 1.

    Qualifying is slated for Saturday morning at 9:30 a.m. ET on Fox Sports 1 with race coverage beginning at 1 p.m. ET, live on Fox Sports 1 and MRN Radio. The scheduled green flag is 1:15 p.m. ET.

    Stages will be broken up into 30/60/100 laps.

  • Matt Crafton-The Seasoned Veteran Isn’t Slowing Down Anytime Soon After A Milestone Career

    Matt Crafton-The Seasoned Veteran Isn’t Slowing Down Anytime Soon After A Milestone Career

    Most of you have heard the name, but for those who don’t know, Matt Crafton is a two-time NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion. He has 14 race wins in 421 starts across more than 19 years spent in the Truck Series. Most of his career has been spent driving for ThorSport Racing, aside from 2004 when he signed on with Kevin Harvick.

    But before his NASCAR career took off, Crafton, like many other drivers, began racing early and eventually an opportunity came knocking at his door for a Truck Series ride in 2000.

    “My racing career got started when I was about seven years old, racing go-karts until I was about 15, then I started racing micro-midgets,” Crafton said. “Then I started racing asphalt super late models when I was about 18-years old and then from there, went straight from that and won championships in that Southwest Tour, and I got a Truck ride with Duke and Rhonda Thorson and the rest is history.”

    With ThorSport Racing being a huge part of the Tulare, California native driver’s career, he explains why the relationship has been so special and how it had a major impact on his racing career.

    “Duke and Rhonda (Thorson) have been so, so loyal, such good people to work with them,” he said. “There’s so many people in the business, it’s just so hard to trust. You always hear the nightmare stories that people come and go, but Duke is a man of work and there’s not many people I can say that about in this sport that I worked with or being around. They’ve been great people to work with, Rhonda as well. Everything they’ve said, they have done.”

    During Crafton’s 19 career Truck Series seasons, he drove for NASCAR Cup Champion Kevin Harvick for one year in 2004. He explains how that opportunity came about and how he met Harvick.

    “I actually used to race against Kevin (Harvick) out in the Southwest Tour,” the No. 88 Menards Ford driver said. “We raced against each other, were competitors. His dad was my dad’s crew chief a couple of different times out there in the west coast and then raced go-karts. My very first go-kart came from Kevin’s dad that ended up getting me that. Worked with my dad to get that kart and we raced together for a little bit, and then he moved up, got a Truck ride first, then shortly after that, I got my first Truck ride.”

    The Truck Series has been a mainstay in the two-time champion’s career with a few starts in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and one start in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. He explains why the Truck Series is so special to him and why he has been in it for so long.

    “I love the Truck Series,” Crafton said. “I’ve had opportunities to go race other places, but they haven’t been good. At the end of the day, I’m with Duke and Rhonda, and I know each and every week they can go win races and contend for championships. That’s what it’s all about. I don’t know, I was just talking to a friend of mine the other day where we talked about racing in the Xfinity and Cup Series, not doing it any different.”

    “People lose sight of why they do what they do in the series,” he said. “When I was seven-years-old, I started racing because I loved to win. I wanted to win races and I didn’t care about anything else, except winning races. And so many people lose sight of it, where they want to move to the Cup Series to go out there and run 25th, and say that’s a good day. You know, they can make more money that way, but at the end of the day, last time I checked, it was about bringing home the trophies and winning races, going to the track and having fun, knowing that you can get it done.”

    Crafton’s first start in the Truck Series was at Fontana in 2000, where he started 17th and finished ninth. Fontana is no longer on the schedule, but Crafton wishes it was.

    “Oh god, I definitely wish Fontana was back on the schedule,” Crafton said. “It’s such an awesome racetrack. Especially now, since the asphalt is so much older and just to see the Cup races and Xfinity races, where they get to run the bottom of that track and to the top of the track right up against the fence. I mean, that’s so much fun.

    “It just reminds of the big Atlanta, where you get to move to multiple lanes and so much better than the new asphalt racetracks, where you get the single grove racetracks.”

    During the Truck Series early years from 1995-2000, the Truck Series ran at a variety of tracks. The fans and some drivers want to go back to those older tracks. Crafton gives his take on what should be done to the schedule and what should be changed.

    “I still definitely have mile and a half racetracks,” he said. “I would get rid of a few of them and add some more short tracks. Go to IRP (Indianapolis Raceway Park), go back to Milwaukee (Mile), run Sonoma, run Mid-Ohio, you know, Elkhart Lake, just road courses. Just change things up. That’s what the problem is. I know the schedule, we do too much of the same thing and it just bores some of the fans. It’s just because you’re doing the same mile and a half tracks and we could go to a road course, sell the place out and have 100,000 people come in, and the writing is on the wall there.”

    When the Truck Series isn’t racing, Crafton continues to keep busy at his own shop in Mooresville, North Carolina.

    “I’m at my shop in Mooresville, North Carolina,” Crafton said. “I have my own shop and we’re building dirt cars together and working on racecars. I love to dirt race. Right now, I have a lot of fun and get to go hang out with family, and it’s just a lot of fun getting laps and always be there.”

    Crafton follows up with how the dirt racing opportunity comes about.

    “The first Truck Race,” he said. “A friend of mine, they ended up offering me a ride in a modified and I raced a handful of races, and went on to Eldora and did that for three years. I loved it and I had a lot of fun doing it, but I just wanted to have my own and built the perfect blend of science and racing on dirt to asphalt, and so I went to buy my dirt car last year, worked a lot on it, studied a lot on it, went on to win Eldora last year. And this year, we definitely had a truck capable of winning, just a few more laps at the end, I would have come from 17th to fourth in that last segment and felt like we were one of the fastest trucks on the track, but just ran out of laps.”

    With switching from dirt racing to truck racing, there isn’t that much you can apply skill wise as Crafton explains.

    “No,” he said. “Just aside from maybe you can use a little more car control, but at the end of the day, they’re so drastically different. That’s why I chose the dirt car to try and figure out to go win that golden shovel because I needed to protect that skill I had there.”

    The 2018 season has been uncharacteristic-like, to say the least, for the two-time Truck Series champion. It’s almost a replica of his 2012 season. So far, Crafton has no wins, only five top fives and seven top-10 finishes. Crafton explained why they haven’t been to victory lane yet this season.

    “We haven’t been as consistent,” he said. “We’ve been trying a lot of new stuff and working on different setup stuff, and just mechanical problems. That’s been a thorn on our side. Like Las Vegas, the third race of the season, we came on pit road and stood on the brakes coming to the pits, and sheared all of our studs off the brake caliper, something that’s unheard of. And then we go to St. Louis, lose an alternator 15 laps into the race, and we just had so many, just dumb mechanical failures.”

    Times have changed throughout NASCAR’s history. In the early years of the series, there were seasoned veterans like Ron Hornaday, Todd Bodine, Jack Sprague, and the list goes on and on. Now, it’s Crafton and Johnny Sauter with the most of the series is comprised of young stars using it as a stepping stone to the next series.

    Crafton gives his take on what he thinks of stars moving up too fast.

    “They definitely move on very fast without a doubt,” he said. “The dollars are just hard to come by right now. They’re hard to come by with sponsorship, so a lot of the younger ones come with some sponsors and make the things go.”

    It was recently announced that the Truck Series will be renamed to the NASCAR Gander Outdoor Series in 2019 replacing sponsor Camping World. Crafton elaborates on what the series and sport could look like 10 years from now.

    “It should be good,” Crafton said. “If they start switching up the schedule and changing up the schedule, and doing different things, it would definitely be a very good thing. I mean, there isn’t one race this year, when the trucks have been a short field. We’ve had a full field every race, there have been plenty of races where we sent trucks home this year. So, for some of the other series they can’t say the same thing.”

    While Crafton is a seasoned veteran with a 19-year career, he has no quit in him anytime soon.

    “I would like to do it for quite a while longer, really,” he said. “I would love to continue racing. Ron Hornaday did it until he was 50 something years old and he was wearing a lot of these young drivers out. Wearing us out too. If you still have the itch, you still want to go and make it happen, and that’s what I plan on doing.”

    Carl Joiner Jr. has been the crew chief on Matt Crafton’s No. 88 Menards Ford F-150 for a long time now. Crafton explains why they work so well together.

    “We believe in each other at the end of the day,” Crafton said. “I mean, that’s what it’s all about in this sport. Just believing in each other and he believes me when I tell him the truck is doing this, and I believe he can make all the right changes. I know there’s been times we’re not going to get it right away, but that’s happened this year. We’ve been on a new tire this year, the majority of the places the tire the cup cars are on, and it’s a different tire than we were on last year and all of our old setup stuff just hasn’t been working with what we used to run.”

    “So we’ll just keep working on that and we’ll get one by the time the season is over, if not a few.”

    Whenever Crafton hangs up the belt for the last time in his career, up until then, it will be no different than what he is doing now.

    “Just to win more championships and races,” he said. “That’s what it’s all about.”

    Over the span of Crafton’s career, he has made 421 starts collecting 14 wins, 107 top fives and 249 top-10 finishes, along with 13 poles and 2,491 laps led. And he’s not finished yet.

    You can follow Crafton on Twitter.

  • Four Takeaways from the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Race at Pocono

    Four Takeaways from the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Race at Pocono

    The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series visited the 2.5-mile racetrack located in Long Pond, Pennsylvania, Pocono Raceway. It was the 14th race of the season and there are now only two races left until the Playoffs begin at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.

    Here are four takeaways from the Gander Outdoors 150.

    1. Kyle Ties Hornaday On All-Time Wins List – Kyle Busch was finally able to tie Ron Hornaday on the all-time wins list this past weekend. Both now have 51 wins in the series, but Busch reached 51 wins in just 145 starts, quicker than Hornaday. Busch dominated most of the race by winning the pole and leading 43 of the scheduled 60 laps. By not being able to gain any stage points due to him being a Cup Series driver, Busch was able to play strategy by pitting late in the stage in order to gain track position for the restarts. He almost got passed for the lead late in the race but held on to win in his final Truck Series start of the year. When Busch returns next year and the years beyond, the sky will be the limit on how many more wins he’ll get before wrapping up his career.
    2. Stages are too short, at least for Pocono – In Saturday’s race, the stages were broken up into 15/30/60. For a track that doesn’t produce much passing, there wasn’t a whole lot of activity during the stages as they were very short. The first stage went its maximum distance, but the second stage was 10 laps with the final stage going green with 25 to go. The drivers agreed in Friday’s media availability that the race was too short in order to produce more passing or make it a more exciting race. The race featured only nine lead changes, but that all came when the stage was winding down as drivers pitted early for track position. Other than that, the field was spread out. Busch and Erik Jones finished with a margin of victory of 1.4 seconds back. However, anyone after that was five, six, seven seconds back and so on. Perhaps Pocono is a track the Truck Series shouldn’t race on or possibly it’s the number of laps in the race, but something should be done in order to see a more competitive race.
    3. Noah Gragson Misses Race – Friday night on Gragson’s Twitter page, he reported that he was feeling sick but was going to race regardless of how he was feeling. However, on Saturday morning prior to qualifying, Noah was too sick to qualify the truck and eventually, too sick to compete in the race. With him missing a race, NASCAR granted him a medical waiver so that he will be able to compete in the Playoffs. Erik Jones, the 2015 Truck Series Champion, filled in for the ill Gragson. Jones placed second.
    4. Playoff Points Race Gets Tighter – With just two races left before the Playoffs began, the fight for the final three positions gets even tighter following Pocono. Enfinger, Friesen, and Crafton continue to be winless this year and will more than likely have to point there way in, if there aren’t any new winners. Enfinger has two playoff points while Friesen has four. Crafton has none. Myatt Snider is also on the outside looking in. With a much deserved off week this week, these four drivers, among others, are working hard to contend for the 2018 Truck Series championship. When the Truck Series returns to Michigan after an off week, drivers will be on their game and make more daring moves to get into the Playoffs. Nonetheless, the run for the championship continues to be exciting and no one really knows yet who the final four drivers will be at Homestead-Miami in November.
  • NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Power Rankings-Pocono

    NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Power Rankings-Pocono

    The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series continued their mid-season run this past weekend by visiting the Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania.

    In what was the 14th scheduled race of the season, a few new drivers shined and one almost collected their first win, while familiar foes posted a top-10 finish continuing their race to the playoffs. With an off-weekend coming up, there will be two races left until the Playoffs begin.

    Here’s a look at this weeks power rankings.

    1. Justin Haley – Haley continues his strong 2018 Truck Series season by posting another top-five finish at the 2.5-mile racetrack. He started third and finished second in the first stage after almost pulling off a last lap pass to win. But he fell out of the top-10 in the second stage due to some late-race pit stops. Haley eventually fought his way back into the top-five, finishing fifth and posting his fifth top-five of the year. He continues to be a quiet contender in the run to the Playoffs and ultimately could end up being a contender in the final four as they race for the championship at Homestead-Miami. Previous Week Ranking: 5th
    2. Stewart Friesen- Friesen is oh so close to getting that first win of the season. He continues to post strong finishes inside the top-five throughout the season and continues to be a bubble driver of potentially making/not making the Playoffs in 2018. However, Friesen could breathe a little easier, but not by much, with just two races to go. On Saturday afternoon, he ran a quiet race and didn’t make too much noise. In Stage 1, he finished eighth, while he won the second stage after leading four laps to the end of the second stage, earning one playoff point. After having to pit at the end of stage two and getting shuffled back, as other leaders pit for strategy, Friesen fought his way to a fourth-place finish. Previous Week Ranking: 2nd
    3. Dalton Sargeant – If anyone could challenge the race leaders for the win, it was GMS Racing driver, Dalton Sargeant who had the best career finish of his career so far. After a qualifying effort of fourth, Sargeant stayed there for much of the race. In Stage 1, he finished third not too far behind Todd Gilliland and Haley. However, like other race leaders, he pitted near the end of Stage 2 to have track position for the end of the final stage. As soon as Stage 3 started, Sargeant took the lead from Friesen and led for four laps until getting passed by eventual race winner Kyle Busch. Ultimately, he finished third for his first top-five of the year. If the team continues to run like they did at Pocono, they could surprise the field and be in the Playoffs. Previous Week Ranking: Not Ranked
    4. Grant Enfinger – After coming close to a win at Eldora last week, Enfinger is hungry for a win as he too sits on the cut line for the Playoffs. He placed fifth in Stage 1 and second in Stage 2, respectively. However, on a track where it is tough to pass and with the field getting so spread out, Enfinger had a hard time challenging for the win. He would have to settle for a sixth-place finish, earning him his fourth top-five of the year. He’ll need to continue to have days like Saturday in order to point his way into the Playoffs. Previous Week Ranking: 1st
    5. Todd Gilliland – Gilliland made his first ever career track start at Pocono this past weekend. He had a lot of track time by racing in the shortened ARCA race on Friday where he finished sixth after pitting early on. He had two practice sessions as well to keep him busy in trying to figure out The Tricky Triangle. With the added seat time, it looked liked it helped as Gilliland started on the outside pole with his teammate Kyle Busch. Gilliland led one lap before getting passed by Busch. But toward the end of the stage, Busch, along with others, pitted to have track position for the second stage. Gilliland stayed out and won the first stage after leading seven laps. In the final stage, the No. 4 KBM driver stayed out and restarted in the 11th position. As the checkered flag fell at the end of 60 laps, Gilliland and the No. 4 KBM team found themselves finishing seventh. Previous Week Ranking: Not RankedFell Out
      1. Brett Moffitt – Moffit had right front suspension problems at the end of Stage 1 and finished 26th.
      2.  Matt Crafton – Crafton continues to have his most challenging season to date since 2012. Starting 20th, Crafton didn’t place inside the top-10 at all during either stage but fought his way to ninth place. He continues to be winless in 2018.
  • Kyle Busch drives to flawless win at Pocono

    Kyle Busch drives to flawless win at Pocono

    Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 51 Cessna Toyota in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Gander Outdoors 150 at Pocono Raceway on July 28, 2018 in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. Photo by Kirk Schroll for SpeedwayMedia.com.

    In what was a wild start for the day, before the race started, Noah Gragson, driver of the No. 18 Safelite Tundra, had to sit out the race due to being sick. He was granted a medical waiver, which means he’ll still have a Playoff spot. Erik Jones, the 2015 NASCAR Truck Series champion, filled in for the ill Gragson.

    “We kept working on it (truck) all weekend long and just never quit, got it to where we wanted it,” Busch said. “All these (KBM) guys, (Mike) Hillman and on this No. 51 Cessna Beachcraft Toyota did an awesome job. I mean, we worked it, worked it, worked it, and came up with a couple of ideas of mine own and that slowed us down, but overall Rudy and those guys on the 18 truck were stupid fast. I knew they were going to be tough to beat.”

    “I got a good restart and got out front there, and as Erik (Jones) was able to kind of run me down it seemed like he could cool his tires off by doing so,” he said. “I figured if I could at least pinch him one time and then get him behind me for a couple of laps, or a couple of corners, then I might be able to equalize his tires to mine when I was out front because I was just pushing for everything I had and I was just tight. I knew that would be my only shot to be able to hold him off, just to get his momentum broken and when I did that with a lap truck in Turn 2, it kind of seemed like that changed the race.”

    The first stage was 15 laps, Stage 2 ended on Lap 30 and the checkered flag flew on Lap 60.

    When Stage 1 began, Todd Gilliland took the lead for one lap, but pole sitter Busch took the lead one lap later and held it until four to go when he made a pit stop. Brett Moffitt also had issues which later turned out to be right front suspension problems. Gilliland went on to win the first stage by fending off Gateway winner Justin Haley.

    During the pit stops, four-time winner Johnny Sauter received a pit road penalty for being too fast on pit road.

    Busch restarted Stage 2 as the leader and held on until Lap 26, when substitute driver Jones took the lead. However, just like the first stage, Busch and Jones pit along with the other race leaders with three to go. Bubble driver, Stewart Friesen, stayed out and won the second stage.

    The third and final stage began with 25 to go.

    Dalton Sargeant took the lead for four laps, but Busch retook it on Lap 37. Jones came back to battle for the lead with eight to go, with lap traffic being an issue. Busch prevailed and held on to score his second Truck Series win of the season.

    Busch gave his thoughts on tying NASCAR Hall of Fame driver, Ron Hornaday, on the all-time wins list in the Truck Series.

    “It’s awesome,” Busch said on tying Hornaday’s record. “It’s certainly a true testament to all the people I worked with over time. I’ve raced races with Morgan-Dollar. I don’t know if I ever won races with them and then with Billy Ballew. I ran with them a lot and of course, with my own company Kyle Busch Motorsports team. A bunch of different crew chiefs, five or six crew chiefs I’ve won with here in my place. So, you know, it’s certainly been a lot of fun, a lot of dedication, a lot of hard work and perseverance for my guys and everybody at Kyle Busch Motorsports.”

    There were two cautions for eight laps, with six leaders among nine lead changes. Busch led three times for 43 laps.

    Complete Race Results

    1st – Kyle Busch
    2nd – Erik Jones
    3rd – Dalton Sargeant
    4th – Stewart Friesen
    5th – Justin Haley
    6th – Grant Enfinger
    7th – Todd Gilliland
    8th – Johnny Sauter
    9th – Matt Crafton
    10th – Joe Nemechek
    11th – Ben Rhodes
    12th – Myatt Snider
    13th – Austin Hill
    14th – Cody Coughlin
    15th – Tanner Thorson
    16th – Jordan Anderson
    17th – Justin Fontaine
    18th – Austin Self
    19th – Josh Reaume
    20th – Bo LeMastus
    21st – Wendell Chavous
    22nd – Jennifer Jo Cobb
    23rd – Todd Peck
    24th – B.J. McLeod
    25th – Norm Benning
    26th – Brett Moffitt
    27th – Ray Ciccarelli
    28th – Timmy Hill
    29th – Camden Murphy
    30th – Reed Sorenson
    31st – J.J. Yeley
    32nd – Bayley Currey
  • Erik Jones places second for ill Gragson at Pocono

    Erik Jones places second for ill Gragson at Pocono

    Noah Gragson was unable to participate in Truck Series qualifying Saturday morning at Pocono Raceway after being sick this weekend with what his team called a stomach virus. During a pre-race visit to the infield care center, he was not medically cleared to compete in the race.

    Erik Jones was chosen to replace Gragson in the Kyle Busch Motorsports No. 18 Toyota. With the driver change, Jones had to start at the back of the pack in 31st. It didn’t take long, however, for the 2015 Truck Series champion to move up to the front as he finished fourth in the first stage.

    Jones time to shine came in the second stage when he took the lead on Lap 27 but multiple battles occurred when he pitted from the lead with teammate Busch. As a result, he did not finish in the top-10 at all during the second stage.

    He continued to fight his way through traffic in the remaining laps, as did race leader Busch. At one point with eight laps to go, Jones caught Busch and was side-by-side with him for a short moment. However, race leader Busch prevailed and held on to win while Jones went on to finished second.

    “We had a really good truck, number one all day,” Jones said. “The Safelite Tundra was really fast and we just needed to get out front. I thought we were snugged on the last run. I had to use the right front up a little bit to get to him. We had a good opportunity with some lap trucks, that lap trucks gave us the opportunity and there was one more lap truck that we needed to get around that I had to check up in the tunnel which let Kyle stay on my corner and get back by.”

    “If we would’ve got out front, I think it would’ve been pretty tough on Kyle to get back around us,” he said. “A fun race, nonetheless. Not expecting to do one is a pretty solid run.”

    This was Jones first Truck Series race since 2016 at Gateway where he finished fifth.