MATT CRAFTON, No. 88 Menards Toyota Tundra, ThorSport Racing
How is contending for this year’s championship different from last year?
“I feel a ton less pressure on me. There is not one sleepless night that I’ve worried about if we’re going to win this championship, how can we screw this thing up, how can we lose this thing. Last year every two hours I’d wake up from about mid-season on, but now if it’s meant to be it will be. It’s all about having fast trucks and we’ve had some very, very fast race trucks this year. That starts with Junior (Carl Joiner, crew chief) and every one of the guys from there on down at the shop.”
What has been the biggest improvement with the team from last year to this year?
“I think the biggest thing from last year to this year is the manufacturer — the body change was one of the things. Our Toyota Tundras have been very, very good from Daytona on. It’s all about the guys at the shop. You’re only as good as the stuff you sit in and it all started with those guys building some great stuff last winter.”
How has the team progressed each season?
“Each and every year you have to keep getting better and better. Junior (Carl Joiner, crew chief) has gotten better. This is his third full season in trucks — first year he came in we had just switched to Toyota and we were switching everything over and trying to learn what the Toyotas wanted. Last year we had to race smart. Midway through the season we had a 50-whatever point lead and I didn’t want to be that guy of blowing that lead and had to race smarter and not quite as aggressive as I wanted to and I made that promise to Junior this winter that we’re not going to points race. From Daytona to Homestead I haven’t been that guy and don’t want to sit out there and be fine with a fifth place. We are going to do whatever we can to win races and lead more laps.”
What has the relationship been like with Toyota since 2012 and what does the record wins say for 2014?
“It says a lot — it’s all about the manufacturer giving us all the tools that they give us. Toyota is a great, great company to align yourself with. From 2012, which was the first year we were with them, and kind of learned everything they wanted from the other manufacturer we were with and that was a learning year. It’s all about having the tools and the right people to work with and it starts from the manufacturer to the guys that build them and put them together and using all their tools.”
CARL ‘JUNIOR’ JOINER, crew chief, No. 88 Menards Toyota Tundra, ThorSport Racing
How is contending for this year’s championship different from last year?
“I think Matt (Crafton) hit the nail on the head when he said last year that we don’t want to be the boneheads to lose a 50 point lead. We just did everything right and made sure that we showed up with something strong and Matt did it best. We didn’t turn a fifth-place truck into a third-place, we took our fifth and we went home and worked on it the next week. When we finished seventh or eighth, same thing stood. He didn’t put himself in a position to be the boneheads and lose 50 points. This year I feel like from a manufacturer’s standpoint, we are a lot closer now. I feel like we are showcasing a lot more speed because we’ve done our homework over the winter and we’ve built fast trucks.”
How is the team impacted with such large breaks early in the season?
“I think midway through the year, especially with a new truck this year and me being so green last year, I think it was beneficial giving us a little time, but then we really have to step up at the end. I think our guys in the shop — hats off to them — we built seven trucks for the last five races and that’s pretty phenomenal for a truck team. The same guys that build our trucks pit our stuff. Everybody is the same — we ride in the van together and we’re like one big family. We fight, we laugh, we play. We have a couple guys that stay back at the shop, but it’s very minimal. For the most part every one of those guys that you see in the pit stall today, hats off to those guys. They are the ones that build these trucks, pit these trucks, they unload them, they load them — we do everything together. That’s what makes the Truck Series special.”
DAVID PEPPER, general manager, ThorSport Racing
What has the Toyota relationship brought to ThorSport Racing?
“Toyota has a tremendous program, which can be seen by them winning a majority of the races. They have some great teams and obviously we would like to win a few more than Kyle (Busch, owner of Kyle Busch Motorsports) because we are so competitive. We both do a great job. From our standpoint the Toyota relationship — you can kind of look at our history. We were competitive and we won races, but when the relationship with Toyota started that really turned the corner for us to allow us to have the resources and the support to go out and be one of those elite teams that we always wanted to be. I don’t think enough is said about the manufacturers and a lot of support they give you, you don’t see on the forefront. It’s in the background, it’s the engineering, the test time, the wind tunnel time and they probably do it better than anybody right now.”
How is Toyota able to support ThorSport with engineering with the team based in Ohio?
“I think patience would be probably the best thing I can say. I have to give Andy (Graves, TRD) and all his guys and Tyler (Gibbs, TRD) and those folks a lot of credit for being very patient with us because we require a little more pampering when it’s time for wind tunnels and test time. We ask for it all to be lumped together and longer days instead of short shifts because we can’t just drive over and pull down a truck. They have been very, very patient and accommodating — probably more so than I would have been if I were them.”
