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NASCAR Racing Schedule for Texas

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, XFINITY Series and Camping World Truck Series head to Texas Motor Speedway this weekend. The on-track action for the Sprint Cup and XFINITY Series will be televised on NBCSN, CNBC and NBC Sports Live Extra, as indicated below. FS1 will broadcast events for the Camping World Truck Series.

All times are Eastern.

Thursday, Nov. 5:

On Track:

3-4:25 p.m.: Camping World Truck Series practice (Results)
5:30-6:25 p.m.: Camping World Truck Series practice (Results)

TV Schedule- Additional NASCAR Coverage:

5 p.m.: NASCAR America Live –NBCSN
6 p.m.: NASCAR Race Hub – FS1

Friday, Nov. 6:

On Track:

12:30-1:55 p.m.: Sprint Cup Series Practice – NBCSN/Live Extra
2-4:25 p.m.: XFINITY Series Practice – NBCSN/Live Extra
4:40 p.m.: Camping World Truck Series Qualifying – FS1
6:45 p.m.: Sprint Cup Series Qualifying – NBCSN/Live Extra
8:30 p.m.: Camping World Truck Series WinStar World Casino 350 (147 laps, 220.5 miles) – FS1

GarageCam: (Watch live)

Noon: Sprint Cup Series
1:30 p.m.: Camping World Truck Series

Press Conferences: (Watch live at NASCAR.com)

11:15 a.m.: Joey Logano
11:30 a.m.: Chris Buescher
11:45 a.m.: Martin Truex Jr.
2 p.m.: Carl Edwards
2:30 p.m.: Chip Ganassi Racing Announcement
3 p.m.: Jeff Gordon
7:45 p.m.: Post-NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Qualifying
10:45 p.m.: Post-NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Race

TV Schedule- Additional NASCAR Coverage:

6 p.m.: NASCAR America Live –NBCSN
8 p.m.: NCWTS Setup – FS1

Saturday, Nov. 7:

On Track:

11-11:55 a.m.: Sprint Cup Series Practice – CNBC/Live Extra – CANCELLED
12:15 p.m.: XFINITY Series Qualifying – NBCSN/Live Extra – CANCELLED
2-2:50 p.m.: Sprint Cup Series Practice – NBCSN/Live Extra – CANCELLED
3:30 p.m.: XFINITY Series O’Reilly Auto Parts Challenge (200 laps, 300 miles) – NBC/Live Extra

Press Conferences: (Watch live at NASCAR.com)

5:45 p.m.: Post-NASCAR XFINITY Series Race

TV Schedule- Additional NASCAR Coverage:

1:30 p.m.: NASCAR America Live –NBCSN
3 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series Countdown to Green – NBC

Sunday, Nov. 8:

On Track:

2 p.m.: Sprint Cup Series AAA Texas 500 (334 laps, 501 miles) – NBC/Live Extra

Press Conferences: (Watch live at NASCAR.com)

5:45 p.m.: Post-NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Race

TV Schedule- Additional NASCAR Coverage:

11:30 a.m.: NASCAR RaceDay – FS1
1 p.m.: NASCAR America Sunday – NBCSN
1:30 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Countdown to Green – NBC
6 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Post-Race – NBCSN
6:30 p.m.: NASCAR Victory Lap – NBCSN (Re-Air 11:30 p.m. – NBCSN)
1:30 a.m.: NASCAR Victory Lane – FS1

November 5, 2015
AAA Texas 500 Preview

Leave the car at home this weekend, hop on your trusty steed and ride out west because NASCAR is riding into the Lonestar State.

This week, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series heads to Fort Worth, Texas for the AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. It will be the 34th race of the season, eighth of the Chase and second of the Eliminator Round.

I’m just going to say this up front. If you expect to see a good race at Texas, don’t. Speaking only for myself, Texas is near the bottom of my list of favorite tracks. I’ve seen very few races that could pass as good here. I’ve seen so much nothing here over the years that I’ve set my expectations for Texas at zero. The aero package we used this year didn’t make it any better.

The only thing that gives me hope that this will be worth watching is that it’s the middle race of this round. As we’ve seen the last two years, the middle race of the Challenger, Contender and Eliminator Rounds have the biggest water-cooler moments.

The powder keg erupted on pit road last year at Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington /Getty Images for Texas Motor Speedway)

New Hampshire last year had the second half wreck fest, Charlotte had the hauler scuffle between Matt Kenseth and Brad Keselowski and Texas had the pit road brawl involving Jeff Gordon and his crew fighting Keselowski and his crew.

This season we saw Kevin Harvick dominate Loudon before running out of gas with two laps to go and needing to win Dover to advance and then we had Joey Logano turning Kenseth to win Kansas.

Each race of this year’s Chase has given us moments to talk about for days (be it good or bad) and that alone gives me hope that Texas will be watchable.

Kevin Harvick will look to fire the six-shooters in Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington /Getty Images for TMS)

Kevin Harvick

Kevin Harvick enters the weekend at 9/2 as the odds-on favorite (Vegas Insider). While he’s been dominant this season, his stats at Texas are hit or miss. He’s finished in the top-10 in 52 percent of his 25 starts, has 13 top-10 finishes in 25 starts, but he has only finished in the top-five in 20 percent of his starts (five top-five finishes in 25 starts). He’s also only led 104 laps at Texas in his career and until this past April, he never led more than two laps in a single race. In his last two starts at Texas, Harvick has finished runner-up in both and led 96 laps when NASCAR was last in Denton County, Texas. Expect to see the driver of the No. 4 Chevrolet to be up front on Sunday.

Joey Logano will look to climb out of the points deficit he’s in. (Photo by Jerry Markland/Getty Images for TMS)

Joey Logano

Next is the 5/1 driver that’s been on the biggest hot streak as of late, Joseph Tomas Logano. His stats at Texas technically aren’t stellar (only five top-five and five top-10 finishes in 14 starts) but his five races at Texas with Team Penske have been among his best of any track. In his last five races, he’s finished fifth, third, first, 12th and fourth. That’s an average finish of fifth. While he’s only led 159 laps at Texas, 129 of those were in the last five races. In the nine intermediate races this season, Logano has a 5.1 average finish. With a 37-point hole to dig out of and Phoenix being Harvick’s playground, expect the driver of the No. 22 Team Penske Ford to race like hell for the checkered flag Sunday.

Look for “Bad Brad” to make some noise this Sunday. (Photo Credit: Barry Albert)

Brad Keselowski

Next at 6/1 is Brad Keselowski. Like Logano, his career stats at Texas aren’t great. With only five top-10 finishes and three top-five finishes, you might be quick to write him off. However, in his last five starts, he’s finished ninth, sixth, 15th, third and fifth. That’s a 7.3 average finish. He’s led 273 laps in his career, 164 in the last four races. While he’s not toward the top of my picks to win, I’d expect to see him near the front Sunday.

Jimmie Johnson will look to fire off the six-shooters again this weekend. (Photo by Sarah Glenn/Getty Images for TMS)

Jimmie Johnson

Finally, we come to the driver who’s both 6/1 and the all-time wins leader at Texas Motor Speedway. His name is Jimmie Kenneth Johnson. In 24 starts, he’s finished in the top-five in half of his starts and 75 percent in the top-10. In the last seven races, he’s finished second, first, sixth, first, 25th, first and first. He’s also won the last three fall races at Texas, and in pretty dominant fashion. In the five races he led a lap in, he led no fewer than 128 laps. His laps led total in each race has been 156, 168, zero, 255, zero, 191 and 128. That’s an average of 128 laps. I know Johnson hasn’t been up front much since winning at Dover in May and he’s only led 41 laps since Daytona in July, but my money is on the driver of the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet to continue his streak of being the only driver to have won at least one Chase race every year.

To find out who’ll fire off the six-shooters in victory lane, tune into the AAA Texas 500 Sunday at 2:00 p.m. on NBC. The radio broadcast can be heard on the Performance Racing Network and Sirius XM radio (subscription required). You’ll hear Doug Rice, Mark Garrow and Wendy Venturini in the booth, Rob Albright and Pat Patterson in the turns and Brad Gillie, Brett McMillan, Jim Noble and Steve Richards on pit road. The lineup is always subject to change.

November 4, 2015
NASCAR Racing Schedule for Pocono and Texas

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series heads to Pocono Raceway this weekend while the Camping World Truck Series travels to Texas Motor Speedway. The XFINITY Series is off but will return June 13 at Michigan. Please check below for the full schedule.

All times Eastern.

Thursday, June 4:

On Track:

5:30-6:25 p.m.: Camping World Truck Series practice
7:30-8:55 p.m.: Camping World Truck Series final practice

Friday, June 5:

On Track:

Noon-1:25 p.m.: Sprint Cup Series practice – FOX Sports 1
4:45 p.m.: Sprint Cup Series qualifying – FOX Sports 1
6:15 p.m.: Camping World Truck Series Qualifying – FOX Sports 1
9 p.m.: WinStar World Casino 400 – FOX Sports 1 (Green Flag 9:19 p.m. approx.)

Press Conferences (Watch live at NASCAR.com)

10:30 a.m.: Jimmie Johnson
2:30 p.m.: Jeff Gordon
3 p.m.: Joey Logano
3:15 p.m.: Dale Earnhardt Jr.
5:45 p.m.: Post-NASCAR Sprint Cup Series qualifying (time approx.)

Saturday, June 6:

On Track:

9-9:55 a.m.: Sprint Cup Series practice – FOX Sports 1
11:30 a.m.-12:25 p.m.: Sprint Cup Series final practice – FOX Sports 1

Sunday, June 7:

On Track:

1 p.m.: Sprint Cup Series Axalta ‘We Paint Winners’ 400 (160 laps, 400 miles) – FOX Sports (Green Flag 1:20 p.m. approx.)

Press Conferences (Watch live at NASCAR.com)

9:15 a.m.: Kyle Larson
3:45 p.m.: Post-NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race (time approx.)

June 4, 2015
Matty’s Picks 2015: Bristol – Part 1

It has been a couple weeks since you’ve heard from me, and I couldn’t pick a better track to make my return on. Not only is it one of the best venues on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series circuit, but its one of the best venues in all of sports. From the 160,000 seats, to the extreme banking, to the tiny pit stalls, to the extreme speeds for a short track, Bristol is a bucket list race for any NASCAR fan, despite the claims that the racing was ruined in 2007 when the track was re-paved and progressive banking added. If you’re a fan of racing, Bristol Motor Speedway is on your list.

I watched my first race at Bristol Motor Speedway in August of 2002, amongst a sold out crowd of over 150,000 when I watched Jeff Gordon execute the bump and run on Rusty Wallace with three laps remaining in the Sharpie 500. I happened to be sitting with a Rusty Wallace fan at the time, who was not happy with the move, but later on admitted if the roles were reversed, Wallace would have done the same thing. It’s just the way things went back then, if you were not on the bottom, you were losing positions. With the progressive banking, drivers are using all parts of the track to improve their position. The top side can be as good as the bottom, and the middle groove offers a safe haven for drivers with ill-handling cars that will not make it to the bottom or for those without the courage to run up next to the wall.

I will save you all the grief of reading through my last few weeks of finishes, and let you know that I am sitting fourth in the CNY Sports Fans group and 12,044th on the FoxSports Fantasy Auto Leaderboards. I will let you know that I’ve finished second and third the last two weeks on my trek out of the basement.

(more…)

April 18, 2015
Johnson’s Texas Win Solidifies Contender Status

With Jimmie Johnson’s win at the Duck Commander 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on Saturday night, the 48 team has solidified their status as the team that could possibly dethrone Kevin Harvick’s Stewart-Haas Racing team for the Sprint Cup championship in 2015.

At this point in the season, not much has changed from a year ago. He was winless yet stood sixth in points. This season, despite a 41st-place showing at Las Vegas and a 35th at Martinsville, Johnson has won twice (Atlanta, Texas) and once again sits sixth in points.

However, in 2006, 2007, 2010 and 2013 (four of Johnson’s six Cup titles), Johnson made it a point to win early and win often. Considering the elimination-style Chase for the Sprint Cup waiting after the 26th race of the season, that could prove effective in Johnson’s hunt for a seventh title.

However, Harvick is experiencing a Johnson-esque run of consistency coming off his 2014 Sprint Cup championship. He has finished in the top-10 in every race since the last visit to Texas and is consistently knocking on the door to more wins. Considering Johnson and Harvick have been swapping wins on the 1.5-mile tracks since the fall Texas race, don’t be surprised if Harvick takes Kansas, the next 1.5-mile race on the schedule.

Still, this is a position Johnson is familiar with, and one we shouldn’t be surprised to see him in. He’s a champion with a championship team, and it’s a good idea not to bet against him.

Two wins in seven starts? Competitors beware because Johnson seems to be on a mission. He’s bent on putting his dismal 2014 behind him and so far, he’s doing a great job of it. He’s won on every track coming up in the next month, so there’s no reason he won’t be able to keep up with Harvick’s SHR group.

April 12, 2015
NASCAR Racing Schedule for Texas Motor Speedway

The racing action continues this weekend as the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and XFINITY Series head to Texas Motor Speedway. The Camping World Truck Series is off for the next few weeks but will return May 8 at Kansas.

All times Eastern.

Thursday, April 9:

On Track:

4:30-5:30 p.m.: XFINITY Series practice – No TV
6:30-8 p.m.: XFINITY Series final practice – No TV

Friday, April 10:

On Track:

11:30 a.m.-1 p.m.: Sprint Cup Series practice – FOX Sports 1
2-3:20 p.m.: Sprint Cup Series final practice – FOX Sports 1
4:45 p.m.: XFINITY Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying – FOX Sports 1
6:45 p.m.: Sprint Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying – FOX Sports 1
8:30 p.m.: XFINITY Series O’Reily Auto Parts 300 – FOX Sports 1 (200 laps – 300 miles) (Scheduled Green Flag (approx): 8:46 p.m.)

Press Conferences (Watch live at NASCAR.com)

10:00 a.m.: Carl Edwards

10:25 a.m.: Kyle Larson
10:50 a.m.: Michael Waltrip Racing Announcement
3:45 p.m.: Chris Buescher
4:15 p.m.: Jeff Gordon
7:30 p.m.: Post NSCS Qualifying – Time Approximate
10:45 p.m.: Post NXS Race – Time Approximate

Saturday, April 11:

On Track:

7:30 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Duck Commander 500 – FOX (334 laps – 501 miles) (Scheduled Green Flag (approx): 7:46 p.m.)

Press Conferences: (Watch live at NASCAR.com)

4:15 p.m.: Charlotte Motor Speedway Announcement

5:00 p.m.: Duck Commander Press Conference

11:15 p.m.: Post-NSCS Race – Time Approximate

Please note that some of the press conferences may not be streamed on NASCAR.com/Press Pass. Due to changes in schedule or extenuating circumstances, streaming availabilities are subject to change without notice.

April 9, 2015
Kyle Busch Powers to Camping World Truck Series Win at Texas

October 31, 2014

FORT WORTH, Tex.—After an astounding run toward the front after a late restart in Friday night’s Winstar World Casino and Resort 350 at Texas Motor Speedway, Kyle Busch took the checkered flag under caution at the end of a green-white-checkered-flag run to the finish of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race.
In a wild final two laps that left ThorSport Racing teammates Jeb Burton and Johnny Sauter at odds on pit road, Burton finished second, followed by Timothy Peters, polesitter Tyler Reddick and series leader Matt Crafton.

Sauter went spinning through the infield grass after what appeared to be incidental contact from Burton on Lap 145 of a scheduled 147 to cause the caution that set up the green-white-checkered finish and sent the race five laps beyond its posted distance.

The victory was Busch’s seventh of the season, his third at Texas and the 42nd of his career. What made the win possible was Busch’s dramatic surge from ninth to third on the penultimate restart on Lap 143, after five drivers stayed out on old tires and three others took two tires or no tires on their final pit stops under the fifth caution.

Busch wasn’t worried about the outcome until he realized he had miscounted the number of trucks that would restart ahead of him on Lap 143.

“I thought when I saw four trucks out there (that had stayed out)… I only counted four, and then all of a sudden the 15 (Mason Mingus) popped up, and that made it five,” Busch said. “But when I counted four, that was going to put us eighth on the outside, but then the 15 was there, and so it was ninth on the inside.

“I thought the 17 (Peters) was in the catbird seat there. I figured he had the perfect strategy—two tires, and he was going to be on the outside (restarting sixth), get through those guys and get out front.”

As it turned out, Busch drove up the middle after the restart and passed Peters for second right before caution flew on Lap 145 for Sauter’s trip through the grass. As Busch would say later, his dramatic run to the front was essentially a case of “close your eyes and hold on.”

“Driving up through the middle there, the seas sort of parted ways a little bit, and they were already three-wide, and I’m like, ‘There’s a gap there—I’m taking it.’ And that put us four-wide. But in those situations, with that many laps to go, you’ve just got to do it.”

Crafton’s two closest pursuers in the series standings, Ryan Blaney and Darrell Wallace Jr., both had issues on Friday night, but Wallace got by far the worse of the exchange, as both his engine and his championship hopes expired in the same instant.

As Wallace was chasing Busch, his car owner, from the second position on Lap 106, his engine erupted in a plume of smoke and dropped a stream of oil on the race track. Wallace took his No. 54 Toyota to the garage and finished 26th, falling 43 points behind Crafton with two races left in the season.

Blaney was forced to change batteries under caution on Lap 77 and fell to 16th for a restart on Lap 82 but rallied to finish ninth and minimized the damage to his position in the standings. Blaney remained second, 23 points behind Crafton.

Note: With Busch’s victory, Toyota clinched its seventh manufacturer’s championship in the Camping World Truck Series… Busch has now led laps in 21 consecutive NCWTS starts.

Top 10 in Points:

1. M. Crafton: 756
2. R. Blaney: 733
3. D. Wallace Jr.: 713
4. J. Sauter: 704
5. T. Peters: 680
6. J. Coulter: 645
7. G. Quiroga: 636
8. J. Burton: 629
9. B. Kennedy: 619
10. R. Hornaday Jr.: 526

Finishing Order:

1. Kyle Busch
2. Jeb Burton
3. Timothy Peters
4. Tyler Reddick
5. Matt Crafton
6. Joey Coulter
7. Max Gresham
8. Joe Nemechek
9. Ryan Blaney
10. Cameron Hayley
11. Brennan Newberry
12. Ron Hornaday Jr.
13. Mason Mingus
14. Tyler Young
15. Ben Kennedy
16. Johnny Sauter
17. German Quiroga
18. Ray Black Jr.
19. Bryan Silas
20. John Wes Townley
21. Tayler Malsam
22. Ryan Lynch
23. Justin Jennings
24. Jennifer Jo Cobb
25. TJ Bell, Chevrolet
26. Darrell Wallace Jr.
27. Mike Harmon
28. Norm Benning
29. Adam Edwards
30. Caleb Roark
31. Ryan Ellis
32. Blake Koch

October 31, 2014
NASCAR Racing Schedule for Texas Motor Speedway

This week NASCAR travels to Texas Motor Speedway for a tripleheader action packed weekend.

All times ET.

Thursday – October 30:

2:00 – 3:00 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series practice
3:30 – 5:00 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series final practice

Friday – October 31:

Noon-12:50 p.m.: NASCAR Nationwide Series practice – FOX Sports 1
1-2:30 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice – FOX Sports 1
3:15 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Keystone Light Pole Qualifying – FOX Sports 1
4:30-6 p.m.: NASCAR Nationwide Series final practice – ESPN2
6:45 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying – ESPN2
8:30 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series WinStar World Casino and Resort 350 (147 laps – 220.5 miles) – FOX Sports 1

Saturday – November 1:

11-11:50 a.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice – FOX Sports 1
12:15 p.m.: NASCAR Nationwide Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying – FOX Sports 2
2-2:50 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series final practice – FOX Sports 2
3:30 p.m.: NASCAR Nationwide Series O’Reilly Auto Parts Challenge (200 laps – 300 miles) – ESPN2

Sunday – November 2:

3 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AAA Texas 500 (334 laps – 501 miles) – ESPN

PRESS CONFERENCE Schedule: (Watch live) on Nascar.com (Post race times approx.)

Friday – October 31

11:00 a.m.: Joey Logano
11:30 a.m.: Elliott Sadler
Noon: Ryan Newman
12:15 p.m.: Jimmie Johnson
2:45 p.m.: Chase Elliott
3:00 p.m.: Denny Hamlin
7:45 p.m.: NSCS Post Qualifying
10:45 p.m.: NCWTS Post Race

Saturday – November 1

10:30 a.m.: James Buescher
5:45 p.m.: NNS Post Race

Sunday – November 2

1:45 p.m.: Harlem Globetrotters (Grand Marshals) and Texas Rangers pitcher Derek Holland (Honorary Pace Car Driver)
6:45 p.m.: NSCS Post Race

October 30, 2014
Corey LaJoie is ‘Taking One Leap of Faith at a Time’

Corey LaJoie is a third generation driver with one win in the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour series, three wins in the ARCA Racing Series and five wins in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East. In 2012 he was named as one of the NASCAR Next, “tomorrow’s stars, today.”

In June 2013, LaJoie took the next step in his career, signing a development deal with Richard Petty Motorsports. Since signing with RPM, however, he hasn’t seen as much on-track action as one might imagine.

His previous starts this year were a NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Kentucky in June where he placed 16th and two races in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series with a 17th at Kentucky (June) and a 10th at Bristol in August.

However, LaJoie is now poised to finish out the season on a high note, competing in four of the remaining five Nationwide Series races, as a result of a partnership agreement between RPM and Biagi-DenBenste Racing.

In his first race of the four race series, LaJoie finished 26th at Kansas Speedway in his No. 98 Medallion Financial Ford. The following week at Charlotte Motor Speedway, he completed the race in 24th, after getting caught up in a multi-car accident on the first lap of the race. He also made his second Sprint Cup Series start at Charlotte in the No. 77 Ford of Randy Humphrey Racing, finishing 35th.

After this weekend’s races, he tweeted, “It was great to race on my home track in front of family and friends. I learned a ton. Just taking one leap of faith at a time.”

I spoke to LaJoie in Charlotte and he expressed a similar sentiment of appreciation for the opportunities he’s been given at RPM.

“They’ve been working hard,” he said. “It’s tough to find the money right now but they felt the need to get me in some races before the year was over. They’re a great bunch of guys over there and I’ve learned a lot.”

Although this partnership is a one-time deal, he is hopeful that the alliance might extend into next year but for now, LaJoie is focused on this season.

“Hopefully we get some money rolling in and I’ll get a couple of good races in this year and we’ll see what the future holds but all that is for a later date,” he told me.

LaJoie is intent on using the crucial seat time to hone his skills behind the wheel.

“I need to learn how to slow down. In everything else I drove, I’ve had to make up for the lack of equipment,” he explained. “You can’t do that in the Nationwide Series. The drivers are too good and the cars you’re racing against are really good.

“The days of driving 110 percent and making up those extra couple of tenths are over,” LaJoie continued. “I’ve got to learn how to drive 95-100 percent within the boundaries of what the cars are giving me and try to work on that and get better.”

He’s looking forward to the two remaining races with Biagi-DenBenste Racing, “They’ve got some good cars and some really good people over there,” LaJoie emphasized, “so I’m excited to see what we can do.”

Next up for the 23-year-old LaJoie is the O’Reilly Auto Parts Challenge at Texas Motor Speedway on November 1 and the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 15.

October 16, 2014
Matt Crafton: NASCAR Champ, Texas Race Winner and Elladee’s Dad

Matt Crafton may be a NASCAR Camping World Truck Champion and the most recent race winner in Texas this past weekend, but his most important role in life to date is that of being dad to daughter Elladee.

“It’s been a dream come true,” Crafton, driver of the No. 88 Menards Toyota for ThorSport Racing, said. “I had never expected it to be as cool as it’s been to be a dad without a doubt.”

Crafton credits Elladee Ann, who is now a little over a year old, to being part of the reason for his recent success, winning the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Championship last year and winning two races so far in the 2014 season, at Texas this past weekend and Martinsville in March.

With his Texas win, Crafton also assumed the points lead in the championship standings, moving eleven points ahead of Johnny Sauter, his ThorSport Racing teammate.

“She is my lucky charm without a doubt,” Crafton said. “She came into our lives and has changed it for sure.”

“She’s definitely been my little good luck charm.”

Given that she has brought so much good luck to her daddy, Elladee has not missed a single race yet in her young life. She does, however, hang back with her mother Ashley in Victory Lane until all the Gatorade is sprayed and the confetti has flown.

“She’s been in every Victory Lane and she hasn’t missed a race,” Crafton said. “It is so special to have her at the track and to be able to spend time with the family. To travel with me is the only way I would want it for sure.”

“She loves the camera and she loves people,” Crafton continued. “That’s what is so cool. Before the race, when everyone is around, she is just so happy and energetic to be there. And when she is in Victory Lane, it’s the same thing. When we won at Martinsville, she was in the middle of a nap. They woke her up to bring her to Victory Lane and she was tired but she was still hanging in there.”

Unlike other public figures that sometimes shield their children, Crafton, as do so many parents in the NASCAR garage, thinks it is very important to have Elladee not only with him but with other people to learn life lessons and grow socially.

“I know that some people hide their kids and don’t want them in the spotlight but most race car drivers have them out and about among everybody,” Crafton said. “I think that is going to be very key later in her life to be able to be around people and be able to talk and communicate instead of being sheltered.”

“I was always involved with my dad,” Crafton continued. “He raced and I can remember being at the race track from as long as I can remember. I was too young back then to even go into the pits so I would sit in the stands with my grandparents throughout practice and all that. I can remember sneaking into the pits too.”

“I’ve learned the lesson of just being involved,” Crafton said. “It’s so cool to have her and be able to do the same things with her sitting with me. To have her a part of my life the same way I was with my parents is special.”

Crafton admitted he is an involved dad, however, there are a few things that give him pause about parenthood.

“I had her this morning on my own and of course as soon as mom left, she goes ‘number two’ and I’ve got to change the diaper,” Crafton said. “I do it, but if mom’s here, I definitely try to hand her off as much as I can because I’m not going to lie, I have a weak stomach and some of that is bad.”

While her dad acknowledged that he is open to her pursuing whatever passion, whether racing or not, Elladee has already shown some proclivity toward speed even at her tender young age.

“Putting her on my quad or in my side-by-side is my favorite thing to do,” Crafton said. “That’s what we were doing this morning before my wife showed up. We were driving down the street and did about ten laps down and back.”

“She just loves, loves riding around,” Crafton continued. “It doesn’t matter what she’s in. When she was three months old, I would ride her on the golf cart at the race track and if she was fussy, she would immediately stop.”

“We have ridden for hours on that golf cart to make her happy.”

While Crafton has no specific plans for the upcoming Father’s Day weekend, he knows there is one thing that he absolutely will do and that is to spend that precious time with his daughter.

“Hopefully I’ll get to hang out with family which will be the best thing,” Crafton said. “I haven’t thought much about being a father for Father’s Day. It’s just been too hectic to think about it I guess.”

“I guess when it gets here, it will be a little bit different for sure now that I’m a dad,” Crafton said. “It’s definitely going to be awesome.”

June 12, 2014