MATT CRAFTON, No. 88 Menards Toyota Tundra, ThorSport Racing
What is it about the style of race tracks that suits your driving style?
“It’s just about having good trucks. These guys bring really, really good Menards Toyota Tundras each and every week to the mile-and-a-half stuff. I think our short track stuff is just as good as our mile-and-a-half stuff. I look forward to each and every week that we go to the race track to be totally honest.”
Do you feel like there’s a bull’s eye on your back in this series?
“I don’t really pay attention to it. I just go out here and do my job and not worry if there’s a bull’s eye on my back. I’m having a blast. This is the best time of my life right now. Each and every time I come to the race track and have Junior (Carl Joiner, crew chief) and these guys bring such awesome trucks to the race track. I’m just going out there and having a blast doing what I’m doing.”
How was the test at Dover and at Iowa?
“I think we had a very successful test – Cameron (Hayley) was very fast and Jesse Little was in one of our trucks as well. They got him going good at the end of the day too. I look forward to Dover and I know we learned a lot because Junior (Carl Joiner, crew chief) went and just kind of helped out and we hung out to see what we could do and help those guys as much as possible. We did the Goodyear tire test the day before yesterday at Iowa and we didn’t blow any tires so it was great.”
Do you enjoy the challenge of the young drivers coming into the series?
“It’s crazy how young they are when they’re stepping into this sport and thinking when I was 18 or 19 years old and what I was doing – I definitely wasn’t racing in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. I was wanting to be there I guess at some point, but wasn’t thinking about being at this level that quick. It’s really amazing — they’ve all done a really good job for sure.”
Is Kansas a track you look forward to and how is the racing here in recent years?
“I love coming to Kansas – the whole facility, the race track – they repaved it and the new pavement was a little bit of a bear at the beginning, but it’s starting to get some weathering. It’s getting better. The racing is getting better and they’re starting to get a second groove to it. Every year I love coming here without a doubt. I’m super stoked for each and every race, I can’t say that enough. I’ve got an awesome group of guys that bring just crazy, fast trucks and I’m lucky enough to get to drive them.”
