MATT CRAFTON TEXAS PREVIEW
Driver of the No.88 Menards/Certainteed Chevy Silverado
NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES * WINSTAR WORLD CASINO 400k * TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
Sandusky, Ohio -June 7th, 2011 – Matt Crafton, driver of the No. 88 Menards/Certainteed Chevrolet Silverado, makes his 21st NASCAR Camping World Truck Series start at Texas Motor Speedway for ThorSport Racing Friday, June 10th. Fourth in points after an unavoidable pit road crash in Kansas, Crafton is ready to gain back the No. 88 team “mojo.” In two of the last three races at Texas, Crafton has started from pole position (the third race, he started second on the grid). A comfortable track, fast speeds and a focused team give Crafton the confidence he feels can get the job done this weekend.
“It’s like I was telling everyone after Kansas this weekend – we’re solely focused on getting this team back to running on all eight cylinders,” said the veteran. “We’ve had some bad luck at both Charlotte and Kansas, but we’re still consistent in the points going into the summer. Texas, a place that I’ve run really well and a track I like that I’ve driven most of my life in two Series, should be the place that we can get this done and have a shot a Victory Lane.”
Crafton’s thoughts on the points: right now, it’s anyone’s game, so just keep driving. “Being fourth is great, that means we don’t have to dig ourselves out later this summer – but there is still a lot of really great racing to get through. Texas is a place that you’ve got the advantage if you stay up front consistently – it’s not a track where you can hang back in the top five most of the race, then be stealth about passing for the checkers. You’ve got to be dominant from practice to qualifying to race night. We’ve got the truck to do it this year.”
The No. 88 team will have a chance to become honorary “cowboys” on a special VIP tour with their teammates on the No. 13 Safe Auto/Curb Records/Carrier Chevy team at Cowboys Stadium on Friday morning. They will get an inside look from the Dallas Cowboys management team at the operations, locker room and get to “pull the Heisman” on the playing field. “I have a bunch of competitive guys on the team, and this is a congrats to them for having such fast pit stops in Kansas – it really was the positive in our day there. They deserve a chance to hang out and see what another sports team does and how they operate. That’s pretty neat. I don’t know if any of them are going to quit their day jobs to become offensive linemen any time soon, anyway!”
The team will also host Kyle Mohan, ultimate drifter from Kyle Mohan Racing on Friday – the guys are all going to learn how to Ultimate Drift. ThorSport Racing will also take part in a “TweetUp” with IndyCar team Andretti Autosport on Friday for crossover fans.
Race Stats:
Texas Chassis: 36
Crew Chief: Bud Haefele
Track: 1.5 miles
Length: 167 laps, 250.5 miles/400k
Starts: 20
Top 10: 7 Top 5: 3
Current Driver Points Standing: 4th
Winstar World Casino 400k
Friday, June 10th, 2011
Race Broadcast: 8:30pmET (NCWTS Setup Show on SPEED); 9pmET Race on SPEED, MRN & Sirius NASCAR 90
