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Daytona International Speedway – NextEra Energy Resources 250
Date: February 22, 2013 Race: 1 of 22 Location: Daytona International Speedway Track Details: 2.5 Miles Race Length: 100 laps/ 250 Miles
Broadcast Information: SPEED TV – Live @ 7:00 PM ET MRN Radio – Live @ 7:00 PM ET
Team Facts: Current Point Standings: N/A Crew Chief: Carl Joiner Jr. Engines: Triad Racing Technologies
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Feb. 20, 2013) — ThorSport Racing driver Matt Crafton doesn’t have much recent history to rave about when it comes to Daytona International Speedway and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, but there’s no question the ability of his No. 88 Slim Jim / Menards Toyota crew has the California veteran eagerly looking ahead.
“I absolutely feel like this (2013) is the best chance I’ve had at winning a championship in the Truck Series,” Crafton said. “Working with Carl (Joiner Jr., crew chief) for a second year, the whole 88 group is as strong as it’s ever been so this is the most optimistic I’ve ever been going into a season, without a doubt.
“We ended 2012 and had such fast trucks each and every week, and that’s what makes me feel so good going into 2013. Besides, this being our second season running Toyotas is another real plus for our organization.”
Crafton’s stability and competitiveness is pointed-out by the fact that Daytona will be his 295thconsecutive Truck Series start, a string that stretches back to his series debut for ThorSport in the 2000 season finale at his home state’s Auto Club Speedway. At Martinsville Speedway in April Crafton’s set to tie the series record of 296 consecutive starts that was set by former ThorSport driver Terry Cook.
In addition, Crafton’s finished the last six seasons in the top-10 in the standings, including a best of second in 2009. And he’s achieved the top-10 in eight of his last nine campaigns as he goes into his 13th consecutive full-time season — all but one of them, the 2004 season when he raced for fellow Californian and former kart-racing foe Kevin Harvick — with ThorSport.
But Daytona’s the first hurdle. “The World Center of Racing” has allowed Crafton to earn a couple treasures, like his fifth-place finish in 2010 and a second-place start in 2009. But the frustrations are more numerous, like last year, when Crafton was wiped-out of a probable top-10 finish by a wreck coming to one of four white flag attempts in a race that had nine laps of overtime and four cautions in the last 10 laps.
“Daytona has always been a cool place to come to get the season started off,” Crafton said. “But when I think of racing at Daytona, you realize it’s a complete crap shoot… But that’s exciting for the fans and who cares what we think, right (laughing)?
“We’ve had good runs here in the past. Even though the finishes might not reflect how well we’ve competed, you just go into it knowing that it’s a crap shoot and you accept that. I just look at all the drivers that have won this race — and I can say it’s 100 percent a crap shoot. But you’ve got to be there at the end.”
Crafton hopes his two veteran teammates, Johnny Sauter in the No. 98 Carolina Nut Co. / Curb Records Toyota and Todd Bodine in the No. 13 Mattei Air Compressors Toyota, can enable all three of them to challenge for ThorSport’s first Daytona victory.
“It’s great to have two good teammates like Johnny and Todd to go into this weekend and to be able to work together — not only on the racetrack when we can, but also on strategy and setups,” Crafton said. “It’s definitely gonna be big because me and Johnny have been able to work together a little bit in the past but we’ve never had another veteran in another truck so I’m really looking forward to that.”
Bodine has victories in the 2008 and 2009 Daytona truck races and his average start and finish are both in single digits. For his part, Sauter was leading the race when he was spun out from behind to start the wreck that also eliminated Crafton.
The NextEra Energy Resources 250 is scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. ET start on Friday. Live television coverage is on SPEED Channel and MRN Radio has the live radio broadcast. |
| ABOUT MENARDS:
With 271 stores in 14 Midwestern states, Menards has the tools, materials and supplies for all your home improvement needs whether just needing a light bulb or can of paint to building a deck or new home. Menards is known throughout the home improvement industry as the low price leader; it’s no wonder their famous slogan – “SAVE BIG MONEY” – is so widely known and easy to remember. Menards does things right – the company’s strength and success can be seen in the well-stocked and maintained stores, the lowest prices in town and the way guests are always treated like family in a hometown hardware store atmosphere.
ABOUT SLIM JIM: Slim Jim® is a brand of ConAgra Foods’ Consumer Foods segment, which manufactures and markets leading branded products to retail and foodservice customers in the United States and internationally. ConAgra Foods’ products are found in 97 percent of America’s households, including major brands such as Egg Beaters®, Healthy Choice®, Hunt’s®, Orville Redenbacher’s® and PAM®, just to name a few. |
| ABOUT THORSPORT RACING:
ThorSport Racing, based in a state-of-the-art 100,000-square-foot facility in Sandusky, Ohio, is the longest-tenured active NASCAR Camping World Truck Series team. Thorsport, which has run full-season Truck Series schedules annually beginning in 1998, in 2013 will run the No. 88 Menards Toyota Tundra driven by Matt Crafton, the No, 98 Carolina Nut Co./Curb Records Toyota Tundra driven by Johnny Sauter and the No. 13 Mattei Air Compressors Toyota Tundra driven by Todd Bodine in the Truck Series and the No. 44 Ansell/Menards Toyota Camry driven by Frank Kimmel in the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards.
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