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Tag: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series

  • Jersey Boy Paulie Harraka Set to Make Debut in Camping World Truck Series

    Jersey Boy Paulie Harraka Set to Make Debut in Camping World Truck Series

    [media-credit name=”Photo Credit: Scott Hunter” align=”alignright” width=”104″][/media-credit]With Jersey Boys continuing its strong run on Broadway, another born and bred Jersey boy is set to make his debut on another stage, this one in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.

    Paulie Harraka, from Wayne, New Jersey will be taking his show on the road with Wauters Motorsports, a new team spearheaded by veteran NASCAR crew chief Richie Wauters. And for Harraka, this is a role that he has been preparing for since he was in elementary school.

    “Having the opportunity to jump into the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series is an opportunity I’ve worked for since I was seven years old,” Harraka said. “I am fortunate to see it coming to fruition.”

    Harraka, who has participated in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West as well as the Drive for Diversity program, is more than ready to make his Truck debut, especially with championship crew chief Richie Wauters as his team owner.

    “To race with a championship crew chief like Richie Wauters and with the team he’s assembled is exciting,” Harraka said. “I’m the kind of driver that will put in whatever time, effort or work that is needed to win races and I know that Richie is the same kind of crew chief.”

    “Together, we’ll hold nothing back and that makes me confident that we’ll find the winner’s circle in short order.”

    Wauters, who as a crew chief in the Truck Series has secured 18 victories with drivers such as Shane Hmiel, Kyle Busch and Aric Almirola, shares his new driver’s enthusiasm for the team and for the competition.

    “It is something I’ve thought about for awhile,” Wauters said. “I had the opportunity to buy some trucks and have a great driver headlining the team.”

    “We’re really excited about the season,” Wauters continued. “I’m certain Paulie and the guys on this team will be in the thick of that competition.”

    Harraka, who ran just a handful of races last year, is ready to step back onto the competition stage. Although full of confidence, the young driver acknowledges that he does indeed have a few things yet to learn.

    “It’s a big step and the next logical step for me,” Harraka said of his advancement to the Truck Series. “It will come with a lot of challenges for me.”

    “I’ll be learning a new race vehicle and going to a lot of tracks that I’ve never seen before,” Harraka continued. “So, there’s certainly a number of challenges but I believe strongly in my own abilities and the group that I’ve surrounded myself with.  We will most certainly contend for wins.”

    Harraka is especially excited to kick off his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series debut at Daytona in just a few short weeks. While he has tested at that historic superspeedway, he has never actually raced there in competition conditions.

    “I’m really excited,” Harraka said. “I get to race in one of NASCAR’s top level series and the opportunity to do something that’s extremely exciting to me. I want to make the most of it.”

    Jersey boy Harraka is also excited to be able to take the Truck Series stage at tracks that are closer to home, enabling his family and friends to finally be able see him race.

    “Mom is really excited that I get to race close to home,” Harraka said. “Obviously home for me is still North Jersey but I haven’t gotten to race in the northeast for years.”

    “The opportunity to race an hour or so from home is certainly exciting for me, especially at storied tracks like Dover and Pocono,” Harraka continued. “It will be fun to see a lot of home-town fans that have rooted for me since my karting days who can finally come to see me in a stock car.”

    While Harraka is making his Truck Series debut, he is also completing his final act at Duke University, where he is a senior and will graduate in a few short months. Harraka will exit stage left from Duke with a degree in markets and management.

    “This is my last semester at Duke,” Harraka said. “I’ve got one class and one other paper and then I’m done.”

    “When I got into Duke, lots of people thought of it as a great back up,” Harraka continued. “But I’ve never looked at it that way.”

    “I’ve always looked at Duke as a way to differentiate me from other drivers as far as marketing and branding,” Harraka said. “It’s also an opportunity to connect with alumni and others associated with the University.”

    “So, my Duke experience is already paying dividends.”

    Whether walking across the stage to collect his diploma at Duke or taking the stage in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, Harraka has just one emotion.

    “I’m really happy,” Harraka said. “This is the opportunity that I’ve been waiting and working for my whole life.”

  • Ron Hornaday Makes Strong Case For Veterans and Experience

    Ron Hornaday Makes Strong Case For Veterans and Experience

    At the age of 53, Ron Hornaday won his 50th NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Kentucky Speedway on Saturday night.  While a lot of people focus on bringing forth that brand new young talent, an argument could be made that veteran experience is where it’s at.

    [media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”227″][/media-credit]The win marked his third of the season and puts him fifth in points, only 42 points behind Austin Dillon with five races left in the season. The focus on the series standings has been the young guns, Dillon, James Buescher and Timothy Peters, though here Hornaday is ready to capitalize as he’s done other years.

    A veteran is also someone that a team can look at to lead them to victories and championships, without having to worry about going through the rookie, young-gun lessons of gaining that experience. However, team owners look beyond that as they want that youth for the future.

    Following last season, Hornaday was a driver that many questioned wondered if he should hang it up after he finished seventh in points with only two wins. A season of bad luck and misfortune happens every once and awhile in a driver’s career as you can look at any driver who has been racing for a number of years and see this string.  Just the year before in 2009, Hornaday won the championship with six wins.

    The comments made were like most in racing, who say that you’re latest results are the only ones who matter. While making those types of comments and articles, Hornaday’s four championships were forgotten along with the wins. On top of that, the strength of Hornaday’s team Kevin Harvick Incorporated (KHI) was misplaced amongst the talk.

    Speaking of KHI, they announced last month that they would be shutting down operations at the end of the season as Kevin Harvick considered it a distraction. Truthfully, you could also argue that the issue of being able to find sponsorship in this economy probably played just as big as a factor.

    Regardless, the announcement leaves Hornaday without a ride for 2012 with only a month and a half left in the 2011 season. Considering the success that Hornaday has had as of late, a ride is something that he should easily be able to find. However, it’s not a guarantee as Johnny Benson wasn’t able to find a ride and now finds himself back running at the short track level.

    One scenario plays that Hornaday could find himself at Kyle Busch Motorsports, running a second truck for the team while Brian Ickler and Kyle Busch split the No. 18. It’s a scenario that has potential as Hornaday and Busch could work together to attract sponsors as Busch has proven that he has a strong team. Hornaday would also be an important asset to the KBM organization as he could possibly bring Busch his first driver’s championship.

    Silly Season always brings out the best and worst scenarios like these and in the end, you will probably see Ron Hornaday find a ride or else there will be a lot of fans confused.

  • Hornaday Scores 50th Career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Victory

    Hornaday Scores 50th Career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Victory

    Austin Dillon, driver of the No. 3 Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Chevrolet started from the pole in the Kentucky 225 at a cold Kentucky Speedway. Dillon won the pole with a track record speed of 179.868 mph. Ron Hornaday started second in the No. 2 Hollywood Casino Chevrolet driving for Kevin Harvick, Inc.

    During the first half of the race cautions were frequent, with the race seeing 7 caution flags early on. Josh Richards, driving the No. 51 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota brought out the first caution when he spun and hit the wall hard on lap 2 of the 150 lap race. On lap 51 the No. 7 of Miguel Paludo spun collecting the No. 29 of of Parker Kligerman and the No. 9 of Max Papis.

    After the half way mark the race settled into a long green flag run and drivers were forced to make  pit stops under green with about 20 laps to go.  Dillon had built up a large lead and it looked as if he would run away with yet another victory. Hornaday and his team had other plans, however, and came out of the green flag pit stop cycle with the lead. Dillon caught Hornaday once in traffic late in the race, but Hornaday was able to hold him off and score the win in his Kevin Harvick, Inc. Chevrolet.

    The win was the Hornaday’s 50th career victory and is the most wins, overall, in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Hornaday’s victory was his third win of the season. Dillon finished in 2nd , James Buescher finished 3rd in the No. 31, with Nelson Piquet Jr. 4th and Brian Ickler 5th in the No. 18 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota.

    Dillon’s second place finish helped him retain his lead in the series point standings by three points over James Buescher with five races left to run in the season. Hornaday is now fifth, 42 points out of the lead in the championship standings.

    Drivers trading the lead throughout the night included Hornaday, A. Dillon, Nelson Piquet Jr. in the No. 8, and Timothy Peters in the No. 17. Todd Bodine finished 7th, with Austin Dillon’s brother Ty finishing 18th after running out of fuel late in the race. The race was Ty’s debut in the series also driving a Richard Childress Racing truck.

    Unofficial Race Results
    Kentucky 225, Kentucky Speedway
    ==============================================
    Pos. St. No. Driver Make Points
    ==============================================
    1 2 2 Ron Hornaday Chevrolet 48
    2 1 3 Austin Dillon Chevrolet 43
    3 8 31 James Buescher Chevrolet 42
    4 3 8 Nelson Piquet Jr. * Chevrolet 41
    5 4 18 Brian Ickler Toyota 40
    6 16 4 Ricky Carmichael Chevrolet 38
    7 12 5 Todd Bodine Toyota 38
    8 10 60 Cole Whitt * Chevrolet 37
    9 20 98 Dakoda Armstrong Chevrolet 35
    10 14 81 David Starr Toyota 34
    11 5 6 Justin Lofton Chevrolet 33
    12 35 32 Blake Feese Chevrolet 32
    13 9 22 Joey Coulter * Chevrolet 31
    14 17 13 Johnny Sauter Chevrolet 31
    15 24 33 Cale Gale Chevrolet 29
    16 25 92 Clay Rogers Chevrolet 28
    17 13 17 Timothy Peters Toyota 28
    18 15 121 Ty Dillon Chevrolet 26
    19 18 62 Brendan Gaughan Toyota 25
    20 36 10 Jennifer Jo Cobb Dodge 0
    21 32 57 Norm Benning Chevrolet 23
    22 23 66 Ross Chastain Chevrolet 22
    23 6 88 Matt Crafton Chevrolet 21
    24 19 23 Jason White Chevrolet 20
    25 21 7 Miguel Paludo * Toyota 19
    26 29 93 B.J. McLeod Chevrolet 18
    27 30 7 John King Toyota 18
    28 22 9 Max Papis Toyota 16
    29 7 29 Parker Kligerman * Dodge 15
    30 34 168 Clay Greenfield Dodge 0
    31 28 87 Chris Jones Chevrolet 13
    32 26 138 Mike Garvey Chevrolet 0
    33 27 39 Ryan Sieg Chevrolet 11
    34 11 151 Josh Richards Toyota 10
    35 31 174 Mike Harmon Ford 0
    36 33 127 Brent Raymer Chevrolet 0

  • Cole Whitt Wide Open

    What makes Cole Whitt, driver of the No. 60 for Turn One/Red Bull Racing in the Camping World Truck Series, tick? Whitt explains it simply as running his life on and off the track “wide open.”

    [media-credit id=62 align=”alignright” width=”227″][/media-credit]Whitt’s exposure to his now wide open racing style started at a very young age. And, as with many drivers in the various levels of NASCAR, he credits his family with initiating him in the sport.

    “I’d say who got me hooked is my cousin Brandon,” Whitt said. “He used to race and got me started in go kart racing and then moved up into the stock car world with late models.”

    “I watched him race the trucks a lot while I was just racing go karts,” Whitt continued. “I’d say my cousin Brandon got me my real start, but my dad and my grandpa all raced so, it’s really been in my family.”

    While Whitt’s cousin may have gotten him going in the wide open world of racing, his dad is the one that he credits for his competitiveness in the sport.

    “My dad helped me be competitive,” Whitt acknowledged. “A lot of my good characteristics come from my dad.”

    “He’s a hard worker,” Whitt continued. “He just raised me that way, to be competitive and be at the top.”

    In learning to race wide open, Whitt not only credits his father with being his mentor along the way but also mentions several other racing mentors. Tops among them are Cory Kruseman and Jon Stanbrough, both from the sprint car racing world.

    “There have been a lot of people that have helped me along the way,” Whitt said. “I’d say my dad definitely got me my main start. My cousin helped me out.”

    “But even along the way in sprint car ranks there are people like Cory Kruseman, who helped me find my way to Indiana and got me my start with Skeeter Ellis,” Whitt continued. “As I was racing out there, I became friends with Jon Stanbrough, who is the ‘King of Indiana’, in sprint racing.”

    “I became friends with Jon and we really hit it off,” Whitt continued. “We became good friends and had a lot of good battles throughout our career. Jon helped me out a lot.”

    With his support wide open, when did the light bulb go off for Whitt so that he knew that racing would be his career of choice? The young rookie Truck Series driver has an interesting response.

    “I don’t think the light bulb has gone off yet if racing is it for me,” Whitt said. “Trust me, if I can do it, I want to do it.”

    “The problem is actually being able to do it,” Whitt continued. “It’s hard.”

    “So, I’m not saying necessarily this is it for me,” Whitt said. “But at the same time, this is what I want to do for sure.”

    “As a kid racing go karts and I was doing good, winning races and championships, it was so much fun just enjoying all that with my family,” Whitt continued. “That was the time where I really wanted to race. That’s when it all happened for me.”

    Progressing from his early sprint car racing roots to being wide open in the Truck Series, Whitt has seen his share of ups and downs, especially in this his rookie year. Yet Whitt remains steadfast as well as confident in his abilities.

    “You can never quit,” Whitt said. “If it was easy, everybody would do it.”

    “Racing is a hard sport,” Whitt continued. “There are ups and downs.”

    “Obviously, the days that are great are the days you live for,” Whitt said. “But then the days that are bad, you just want to come back and redeem yourself and be that much better.”

    “You love to hate it,” Whitt continued. “It’s tough but it’s almost like an obsession to me.”

    Throughout his racing obsession, Whitt has had moments to remember, as well as moments that have broken his heart.

    “I’d say probably the pole at Darlington was my best moment,” Whitt said. “Also, running second to Kyle (Busch) at Dover was good.”

    “But another good moment would be Charlotte, when we ran third,” Whitt continued. “It was the last run of the day and we were running eighth to tenth.”

    “We jumped up to the high groove and worked our way up to third at the end,” Whitt said. “I was pretty proud of that moment too.”

    As wide open exciting as his career has been, Whitt also has had his moments of heart break.

    “There’s been a few,” Whitt said. “Missing the show at Daytona was crazy and one of the worst feelings I’ve ever had.”

    “And also another heart break was blowing the motor at Texas running fourth,” Whitt continued. “And we were running fourth at Atlanta and blew a motor.”

    “It seems like we can’t get any luck,” Whitt said. “The days that we run tenth to twelfth all day, nothing can go wrong.”

    “You’re sitting there thinking ‘Why couldn’t the motor blow up on a day like that instead of when we’re running up front?’

    “I guess that’s part of rookie luck and a first season,” Whitt continued. “You’ve got to pay your dues, just hopefully long enough to cash them in.”

    Whitt admitted that he also has some interesting ways to cope with these vagaries of the sport. He not only throws himself into fishing and hunting, but channels all of his energy right back into his racing career.

    “My life is pretty much all racing,” Whitt said. “When I’m at home, I go to the shop every day and work on the truck.”

    “I grew up that way,” Whitt continued. “My dad wanted me to be ‘hands on.’ It makes me appreciate my equipment more and my team appreciates me working with them.”

    What does Whitt want to accomplish for the remainder of this 2011 season? The rookie has only one thing on his mind.

    “Hopefully we can get a win,” Whitt said. “We’ve been chasing that win since the beginning of the year.”

    “I want to be a front-runner,” Whitt continued. “When I walk through the gate, I want people to know that I’m the guy to beat and that I have a fast truck.”

    “More than anything, I want to get a win and win this rookie championship.”

    While Whitt focuses on running wide open for the win and the rookie championship, he also acknowledged the need to think, at least briefly, about his future. And that is unfortunately wide open as well.

    “I don’t know,” Whitt said simply. “It’s going to be a weird and pretty crazy off season.”

    “The rumors started flying this year earlier than they ever have,” Whitt continued. “It’s kind of tough. I really don’t know what’s going to happen.”

    “Hopefully we can finish off the season strong and move on to something different,” Whitt said.  “Racing is all I’ve ever done.”

    “It’s the only way of life that I understand.”

     

     

  • Ron Hornaday Wins the WinStar World Casino 400k at Texas Motor Speedway

    Ron Hornaday Wins the WinStar World Casino 400k at Texas Motor Speedway

    In a race that had a record number of leaders and lead changes, it was Ron Hornaday winning the WinStar World Casino 400k after a controversial call on the last lap.

    [media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”272″][/media-credit]On the final green white checkered finish, Johnny Sauter had the lead and chose to start on the outside. Before crossing the start finish line, Sauter came down in front of Hornaday, which is a no-no as according to the NASCAR rulebook. Rules states clearly that you must stay in your lane until you cross the line. As a result, Sauter was black flagged, handing the win over to Hornaday.

    “I’m not going to go down that way and judge,” he said. “I saw him sliding down and once he figured it out, he went back up there. I kind of saved my stuff just in case that happened there. It’s just an unbelievable day. I’ll take it.”

    The win marks the 48th career win for Hornaday and his third win at Texas Motor Speedway.

    “The way our year has been going, we’re gaining on them, but we’re still not right yet,” he added. “These guys never lay back. Thanks to Kevin and Delana for believing in me.”

    Sauter, meanwhile, was credited with a 22nd place finish as the last truck on the lead lap.

    “He’s got a lane to race down there,” Sauter said of NASCAR’s call. “We both spun the tires. I was just trying to save the truck.”

    Parker Kligermann, meanwhile, came home second as he scored his best career finish in 10 starts.

    “I just wanna thank these guys right here,” Kligermann said. “We don’t go to the wind tunnel; we don’t do shake-rig testing. They gave me an awesome truck and its about making the best of these opportunities. I owe to them since Phoenix and to know that we’re one spot away from right there (victory lane), is good.”

    David Mayhew also scored his best career finish in five starts as he finished third in his first start with Kevin Harvick Incorporated.

    “We had a really good truck,” Mayhew said. “I gotta thank Kevin and Delana Harvick and all these guys at KHI. Without this opportunity, you won’t be able to run like guys like that. Those guys made awesome adjustments on pit road and kept working on it.”

    For Brian Ickler, he was able to rebound to finish fourth after spinning out on lap 50 after contact with Todd Bodine.

    “We had a good truck all weekend,” Ickler said. “Bodine and I got into it in there and we spun out but we came back up there. I gotta thank Kyle and Samantha for the opportunity. I get to this one more time at Iowa and can’t wait.”

    Joey Coulter rounded out the top-five in fifth, matching the fifth place finish last week at Kansas. Ricky Carmichael finished sixth, followed by Ryan Sieg, Miguel Paludo, Justin Lofton and pole sitter James Buescher. Buescher came back to finish 10th after getting frontend damage midway through the race.

    Buescher started the race from the pole, though on lap four, Austin Dillon took the lead before the first caution for oil on the track at lap five. The restart would come at lap 10 and Buescher would jump back to first, till lap 15 when Dillon grabbed it back.

    The second caution came out on lap 23 for Chase Mattiolli going for a spin and all the leaders pitted with Steve Arpin, who was making his first ever Camping World Truck Series start, coming off pit road first. The restart came at lap 27 and by lap 31, Dillon was already back in the lead.

    The third caution came out at lap 51 for Brian Ickler spinning and the leaders would pit again, though Dillon would hold serve. The restart came at lap 56, though another caution would come out at lap 59 for Ryan Sieg spinning. The restart would come at lap 63 and on lap 64, Johnny Sauter jumped into the lead.

    The fifth caution came out at lap 66 for David Starr and Todd Bodine making contact.

    “I shouldn’t had been back there racing them,” Bodine said. “I could’ve stayed behind him or went under and I chose the wrong one of the two.”

    Some of the lead trucks pitted while nine didn’t, which handed the lead to Nelson Piquet Jr. when the restart came at lap 72. He was able to hold the lead till lap 75 when Miguel Paludo would take over the top spot, till he got passed by Joey Coulter at lap 83.

    The sixth caution would come at lap 90 when Austin Dillon and Matt Crafton made contact as Crafton tried to slide up in front of Dillon, thinking he was clear.

    “I guess he just got a run there the last second,” Crafton said. “He wasn’t there, he wasn’t there and then he was there and I tried to back off and tried to turn left, but couldn’t cause I was free and then I got hooked on the front straightaway. Kind of a hard way to go down.”

    Once again, some drivers pitted while others stayed out, which handed the lead over to Ron Hornaday for the lap 95 restart, though he’d only hold it till lap 100 when Sauter would once again take it over.

    The seventh caution would come out when Cole Whitt would blow up and everybody pitted, except Ryan Sieg who stayed out. The restart came with 55 to go and the race would only stay green for five laps as the eighth caution would fly when Justin Marks would go for a spin. Sieg pitted under the caution, giving the lead back to Hornaday. The restart came with 45 to go and with 37 to go, Sauter would go back to the front.

    The ninth caution came out with 30 to go with Steve Arpin would get loose, making contact with Austin Dillon, sending them both into the grass. The restart came five laps later and Sauter would lead all the way to the final caution with seven to go when Clay Rogers got into the wall.

    The race would go back to green with the green-white-checkered, which is where the call was made against Sauter. On the final lap, Travis Kvapil and Johanna Long made heavy contact with the wall as Kvapil got loose coming off of turn four.

    Sauter now leads Whitt in the point standings by 12 points as they’re followed by Dillon, Crafton and Timothy Peters.

    The next race for the Camping World Truck Series is on Thursday July 7th at Kentucky Speedway.

  • NASCAR Truck Series Drivers and Teams Schooled on Pit Stops, Air Force Style

    As part of the Truck Series’ visit to Dover, Delaware this weekend, several drivers and teams visited Dover Air Force Base to thank the troops for their service. But they also went to school on how pit stops are done, Air Force style.

    [media-credit id=62 align=”alignright” width=”247″][/media-credit]Several NASCAR Camping World Truck Series drivers, including Matt Crafton, Joey Coulter and Miguel Paludo, as well as their crew chiefs and team members, had a behind-the-scenes tour of the base, home of the 436th Airlift Wing and the 512th Airlift Wing, Reserve Associate.

    From piling into the hold of the C-17, a huge plane designed to transport all types of military equipment and troops, to literally standing atop the wings of a C-5 in the hangar for repairs, the teams were treated to one of the most unique military experiences in their lives.

    Matt Crafton, driver of the No. 88 Menards/Certain Teed Chevrolet truck, was one of the drivers most impressed with his visit to Dover Air Force base.

    “It meant a lot to be there,” Crafton said. “The guys and gals came out and thanked us for being here, but I mean we need to thank them a lot more for what they do for us because if they didn’t do for us, we wouldn’t be here doing what we do.”

    Joey Coulter, rookie driver of the No. 22 RCR/Rip-It Chevrolet, echoed Crafton’s sentiments about his experience at Dover Air Force base.

    “It’s been really awesome,” Coulter said. “You get a whole new respect for things that you don’t see behind the scenes that is pretty neat.”

    “It’s unbelievable the size of those airplanes,” Coulter continued.” Even in the cockpit, there were ten of us and there was still plenty of room.”

    Miguel Paludo, another rookie behind the wheel of the No. 7 Lucas Oil/K&N Oil Filters Toyota, was also amazed at the base and the size of the airplanes on which the air men and women were working.

    “I am just in awe,” Paludo said simply. “It is amazing the engineering that goes into these things.”

    While showing off the enormous hangar/garage area where planes are repaired, the air men and women were equally as thrilled to have the NASCAR drivers and teams see them in pit stop style action. One of those was Tech Sergeant and Production Supervisor, aka night shift pit boss, Matthew Ende.

    “I think it’s great to have the NASCAR teams here at Dover Air Force Base,” Ende said. “It’s a great morale booster for these guys because they work hard every day.”

    “To see these guys interact with the NASCAR folks is really good,” Ende continued. “We appreciate them coming here to hang out with us.”

    Ende, originally from update New York, has been stationed at Dover Air Force Base for sixteen years. His job is to coordinate all of the specialists, including hydraulic, electro and environmental specialists, who serve as the cargo planes’ pit crew on the night shift.

    “I pretty much run the whole shop and coordinate everyone that works on the jets on the night shift,” Ende said. “So, yes I am the pit boss.”

    Ende is not just large and in charge in his Air Force ‘garage’. He is also a true NASCAR fan.

    “Oh yes, I am a NASCAR fan and I usually go to the September race here in Dover every year,” Ende said. “My favorite driver right now is Tony Stewart.”

    All of the NASCAR Truck Series teams returned the favor of their visit to the Air Force base, inviting their Air Force counterparts to the Dover Truck race. And for most of the drivers, at least for Crafton who finished third, as well as capturing the points lead, and Joey Coulter, who finished a personal best sixth place, their Air Force partners were definitely good luck.

    Unfortunately, Miguel Paludo did not have such good luck. He ended up in the fence with a damaged race truck as a result of a tangle with Ricky Carmichael.

    Truck Series points leader Crafton summed up his feelings about his Air Force honorary pit crew best.

    “It was just an honor to have them in our pits,” Crafton said. “It was great to be with them throughout the day and have them hang out with us. They had a blast and they were all smiles.”

  • 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.”