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  • Kyle Busch Wins Monster of a Truck Race; Nemesis Kevin Harvick Finishes Fifth

    Kyle Busch, behind the wheel of No. 18 Traxxas Toyota, put the controversy and trash talking with Kevin Harvick from last week’s Darlington race behind him to win the Lucas Oil 200 Truck Series race at the Monster Mile in Dover, Delaware.

    [media-credit id=62 align=”alignright” width=”264″][/media-credit]Busch’s win also tied him with Mark Martin for the most wins in all three series, with both drivers now at 96 victories. He is also the first two-time winner in the Camping World Truck Series at Dover International Speedway.

    This was Busch’s 27th victory in 90 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races. The win also was his third victory and fifth top-10 finish in 2011.

    “It was a really good truck,” Busch said. “I can’t say enough about this Toyota.”

    While Busch seemed to dominate most of the race, he affirmed that it was not as easy as it seemed.

    “Overall the race went pretty well for us,” Busch said. “It wasn’t quite the walk in the park it seemed.  This place is so difficult and so challenging and you feel like you’re always on edge.”

    Busch said that he and his nemesis Harvick managed to race each other clean and without issues.

    “I thought today’s race was good,” Busch said of his competition with Harvick. “We had some close moments and we raced each other hard but it was fine. All is good as far as I know.”

    For his part, Kevin Harvick finished fifth after an eventful race. Harvick, piloting the No. 2 Bad Boy Buggies Chevrolet, had to rebound from a speeding penalty to work his way back through the field to score that top five finish.

    Red Bull rookie Cole Whitt had almost as good a race as winner Kyle Busch, finishing in the runner up position. The driver of the No. 60 Red Bull/Fuel Doctor Chevrolet posted his first top-10 finish, his first top five and his career best finish.

    “It’s crazy,” Whitt said. “I’m happy to be here in the first place. Trying to live the dream and chase it and drive door to door with half these guys, let alone Kyle Busch, is pretty cool.”

    “We had a great truck all weekend and this thing’s been pretty spot on,” Whitt said. “We’ve just been turning things around from the way the season started.”

    “Early in the race, we were good on long runs and our truck just couldn’t do it on short runs,” Whitt said, crediting that issue to his runner up status. “That’s what it just turned in to be. It was all short runs after that.”

    Whitt also acknowledged that he went to school at the feet of Kyle Busch, especially on those late race restarts.

    “Kyle is one of the best in the business on restarts,” Whitt said. “He definitely schooled me a few times and then I felt like I got a good one there at the end but it wasn’t good enough.”

    “We’re all small team trying to make it big.”

    Matt Crafton, driver of the No. 88 Menards/Certain Teed Chevrolet, came in third but that was good enough for him to claim the points lead in the Truck Series.

    “At the beginning of the race, I couldn’t fire off and I was really, really loose,” Crafton said. “But at the end of the run, we’d be one of the best trucks on the race track.”

    This was Crafton’s sixth top-10 finish in 11 races at the Monster Mile. He is now leading the points by five over teammate Johnny Sauter.

    “It’s great to be the points leader,” Crafton continued. “We just need to keeping doing what we’re doing and running top five every week and having these top three finishes and throw a couple of wins off and see where we are at Homestead.”

    Austin Dillon, behind the wheel of the No. 3 BassProShops/Remington/Tracker Boats Chevrolet, finished in the fourth spot. Harvick rounded out the top five.

    Another notable in the race finishing order was rookie Joey Coulter, who qualified fifth and finished sixth in his No. 22 RCR/Rip-It Chevrolet. This was Coulter’s first trip to the Monster Mile and the driver and his family were thrilled with the result.

    Brendan Gaughan, James Buescher, Ron Hornaday, Jr. and Justin Marks, the pole sitter rounded out the top ten.

     

  • Matt Crafton Enters ARCA Racing Series’ Menards 200

    Next weekend for Matt Crafton just got a little busier as he will attempt to qualify and race in the ARCA Racing Series’ Menards 200 at Toledo Speedway in Ohio. The race will be held on Sunday May 15th, less than 24 hours after Saturday’s Camping World Truck Series race at Dover International Speedway.

    This isn’t the first time that Crafton has attempted doing this as he has done it the past two years. Two years ago, he flew from Charlotte to Toledo to qualify a car for Paul Menard to race. Last year, he flew in again from Charlotte, qualifying the car seventh and finishing fifth.

    Crafton, who currently sits third in Truck points, will be driving the No. 88 Messina Wildlife Management/Menards Ford Fusion for the ARCA race, which will be prepared by Kimmel Racing. The opportunity to do this came forth as a result of the overall Menards Racing program in ARCA and the business relationship that they have with Crafton in the Camping World Truck Series.

    “I’m looking forward to getting back to Toledo – it’s a great racetrack with great fans,” Crafton said in the press release. “The track is awesome and I really like racing it. Pit strategy is huge at this track, since the tires fall off early and the rookies will be looking to their crew chiefs to really learn. We’ve learned a lot about tires this year in the Truck Series on repaved surfaces and different tires, so I’m interested in seeing what these Hoosier tires do next week.”

    For Crafton, he is going into this race with one thing on his mind – winning.

    “It’s great to race in the ARCA Racing Series, because this is just plain fun,” he said. “I’m going to race to win, I’d be ridiculous not to say that and there is some great competition in ARCA. Trucks this year is pretty cut-throat – every team and every driver has to be on their game 150% of the time to get a win and even get in the top ten. I’m proud of the momentum we’ve had so far, and it’s a great time for Ohio-based racing. Toledo Speedway shines a spotlight on Midwest racing at its finest, and I think it’s going to spotlight some really great talent there.”

    The Tulare, California native is no stranger to Ohio as he is regularly in Sandusky, Ohio to check on his truck team.

    “I come check in on my guys and my No. 88 fleet of trucks, meet with Bud (Haefele), crew chief, and get setups done with the team,” he said in the press release. “My owners, Duke and Rhonda Thorson, believe in Ohio for racing and know it’s a place where we can focus on the sport without a lot of chatter or noise from other teams.  It’s good chi overall, keeps the guys motivated.”

  • Matt Crafton and Johnny Sauter Put the Thor in ThorSport Racing

    Matt Crafton and Johnny Sauter Put the Thor in ThorSport Racing

    While most know Thor as either a Norse god wielding a hammer or as the star of an upcoming movie based on the Marvel Comic Series character from the realm of Asgard, NASCAR Camping World Truck teammates Matt Crafton and Johnny Sauter are hoping to put their own brand of ‘Thor’ in their team, ThorSportRacing.

    [media-credit name=”Shell Sparrow” align=”alignright” width=”229″][/media-credit]Crafton, behind the wheel of the No. 88 Menards Chevy race truck, is showing his domination of the Truck Series, currently sitting in the points lead. Teammate Sauter, driving the No. 13 Safe Auto/Baker Curb Records Chevy,  is not far behind in the fifth position in the point standings.

    “Life’s good right now,” Crafton said. “I mean it’s early in the season. But the guys have been bringing great trucks. And we’ve had luck on our side and that’s a huge, huge part of it.”

    “It feels good to be noticed and recognized,” Crafton continued. “To be one of the championship contenders is an awesome feeling.”

    In Thor-some style, Crafton likens his ascension to the top of the series, as well as his work ethic, to that of his ThorSport team owners Rhonda and Duke Thorson.

    “I haven’t always had things handed to me,” Crafton said. “And I’ve had to work really hard all my racing career to get to where I am.”

    “Duke and Rhonda Thorson started really small and they’ve made their team better and better every year,” Crafton continued. “Now all of a sudden everyone is looking over their shoulders wondering where they came from but we’ve been here all the time.”

    “We’ve grown together as a race team,” Crafton said. “It’s awesome to contend for a championship for them.”

    While Crafton is happy with his performance to date in the Truck Series, he still is searching for that first win of the young 2011 Truck season.

    “I have not had a win this season,” Crafton said. “And that’s what we strive for each week. But we’ve got to be smart at the same time and be there at the end of the day for all of them.”

    “I hate to say we’re points racing but you’re always trying to be smart,” Crafton continued. “It’s even more critical now with the points system to not have those bad races.”

    In spite of being winless, Crafton would not trade a win for being on top of the point standings. And he definitely thinks that this will be his version of a ‘Thor’ season.

    “Yes, without a doubt, this is the year of Matt Crafton,” Crafton said. “We’re really going to shine.”

    While Crafton may think that it his year to be the champion, his teammate Johnny Sauter is hoping to bring his own Thor strength to the competition.

    Sauter, who wielded his god-like powers sealing his driveway during the two-week off period, is ready to give his ThorSport teammate a run for the money in the points race.

    “It’s the best start to a season in the Truck Series that I’ve ever had, that’s for sure,” Sauter said. “I feel good where we’re at right now.”

    When asked if his team, ThorSport Racing, was the up and coming powerhouse in the Truck Series, Sauter was quick to agree with that assessment.

    “You almost have to look at it that way,” Sauter said. “Matt’s leading the points right now. Last year we finished third and fourth in points. How can you not?”

    “Last year, I had 16 top fives and Matt’s on this insane stretch of top-ten finishes,” Sauter continued. “We’re there every week.”

    “The one thing I think me and Matt need to work on and improve, and I speak for both of us, is we need to try to win more races.”

    “But as far as being a powerhouse in the Truck Series, ThorSport is there already,” Sauter said. “We’ve just got to get over the hump and get a few more ‘W’s.”

    “It’s just not as easy as everyone thinks it is,” Sauter continued. “There’s so many elements that are even out of us as drivers’ control. It takes the whole package.”

    According to Sauter, part of that whole package includes the great chemistry between him and his ThorSport teammate Crafton. The teammates, as well as their significant others, are often at each other’s houses, hanging out or having dinner together.

    “The difference is the people,” Sauter said. “That’s the secret to Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus. And it makes a difference for us too.”

    “I hang out with him more than I have any other teammate,” Sauter said of Crafton. “At the end of the day, don’t get me wrong, we are competitors and we’re racing against each other. But we have a good time.”

    Whether teammates or fierce competitors, both Matt Crafton and Johnny Sauter hope to show their super-human strength in the Truck Series this year.

    “I think ThorSport as a whole is off to the best start ever,” Sauter said. “Who knows, maybe this is the year.”

  • Matt Crafton Eyes the Championship After Solid Start to Season

    Matt Crafton Eyes the Championship After Solid Start to Season

    [media-credit name=”mattcrafton.com” align=”alignright” width=”290″][/media-credit]So far this season, Matt Crafton is having one of the best seasons of his career as he currently leads the point standings.

    “The season has been good so far,” he told me earlier this week. “It hasn’t great so far that we’ve got two top five finishes and a top 10. The last race at Darlington we had a really truck. That will help towards building for the next race at Martinsville and build off the momentum for the team and having momentum is huge in this sport.”

    The last race at Darlington was a trying race for the No. 88 team as they got stuck back outside the top 20 late in the going with a late pit stop. Though Crafton proved that his team is ready to make a run at the championship as he drove back to a fourth place finish.

    “It was cool that we had as good as a truck as we did to come back to finish fourth,” he said. “That was awesome. I think if we had better track position, we would’ve had a better shot.”

    One of the keys to Crafton’s run at Darlington was working with teammate Johnny Sauter, who he has a good relationship with.

    “It’s awesome,” he said. “Things are great. If we’re off a little bit in practice, you can over there and see what they’re doing and get your program with what they’re doing. We actually went to them at Darlington. And that’s go back and forth as they can come to us.”

    Crafton is set to go for the championship after watching ThorSport Racing grow through the years.

    “It would be everything,” he said. “I mean, that’s what we all strive for. We’re all here to win the championship. That weekend is one thing, but its all part of working towards that.”

    He got the call to drive for them in 2000, after winning the Featherlite Southwest Series Championship. When he first joined, they were a team that was just starting out, though have since grown to a three-truck organization. ThorSport Racing announced last week that they’d be adding a third truck to the organization with Dakoda Armstrong behind the wheel.

    “I remember when it was just one team and not a whole trucks and to keep adding to it makes it better and better every year,” he said. “That’s pretty awesome to have another truck at the race track; I look forward to working with him.”

    Key highlights to his career to date include his first racing memory of winning his first ever go-kart racing and his first career Camping World Truck Series win at Atlanta, followed by the win at Charlotte. Though one track that he has yet to win at that’s on his radar is Bristol, following the second-place finish last year.

    Outside of his driving commitments, Crafton has also been working with Travis Pastrana in helping him learn the ropes of driving stock cars.

    “He is going to be a good racecar driver,” he said. “He has been good to work with. He has already done well. To finish sixth in his first ever start and then the second one, he got caught up in someone else’s mess.”