MATT CRAFTON, No. 88 Menards Toyota Tundra, ThorSport Racing
What allows ThorSport to be consistently successful?
“It’s all about the guys just bringing great, great trucks to the track each and every week and it starts at the top with having Junior (Carl Joiner, crew chief) leading those guys bringing these trucks to the race track and that’s it – just having a great owner and great sponsor like I’ve had for so many years with them.”
Is it good for the sport to have Kyle Busch back?
“It’s good to see him back. I know it was a pretty crazy wreck that he had there and, especially as bad as he was broke, to be back this soon – I would have never imagined him being back. It’s definitely good for the sport and definitely good for him to be back in it, for sure.”
How does Charlotte compare to Kansas as a 1.5-mile track?
“This place is going to race quite a bit different. The transition getting into Turn 1 is a lot different than Kansas. Kansas has a really smooth transition getting in Turn 3 and 4.They’re like you said mile-and-a-half, but they race a lot different. But the thing is, the tires have got a lot of grip and the track is fairly new, so the side-by-side racing – you’ll definitely see a little bit more of it here than you did at Kansas just because it’s so hard to race side-by-side at Kansas just because you’re lying on the air. We’re going to put on a good show tomorrow night for sure.”
What did you do to stay busy during the schedule break?
“Really the biggest thing I do to try to stay in shape is ride a bike – bicycle on the road – and I haven’t done any Late Model racing. Johnny (Sauter) does all that. I did one off road race – stadium race – and that was it in the time we’ve had off, so I haven’t had a whole, whole lot to do to be totally honest. They need to bunch our schedule up or put some more races in there or something.”
Is it unique for ThorSport to visit Charlotte and it not be a home race?
“It’s really cool always coming to Charlotte and racing here. The team owner takes a lot of pride in it because we’re based out of Sandusky, Ohio and then to be able to come down here and race here – it’s been a while now – but we did win here in I think it was 2007, so to be able to come do that in their own backyard it was really cool to get that win here. Like I said, Duke (Thorson, team owner) always takes a lot of pride in to be able to go down there and beat these guys in their own backyard, so that’s definitely cool and plus our guest list isn’t always full here.”
CAMERON HAYLEY, No. 13 Cabinets by Hayley/Carolina Nut Toyota Tundra, ThorSport Racing
Has your rookie season been difficult?
“It’s definitely been tough. This race is going to be my fifth new track again this year, so adjusting to all the different tracks and having all the tracks being new has definitely been difficult, but ThorSport has given me great trucks week in and week out and, like you said, we’ve been consistently getting better every single race. And we’ve had great trucks and had some bad luck and I think Charlotte is going to be another one where I have lots to learn, but I think we have a great truck here and can do well.”
How have your veteran teammates helped you?
“Both of them (Matt Crafton and Johnny Sauter) have been a tremendous help for me already and, like I said, all these tracks have been new to me, so I can study race tapes, videos all I want, but until to you talk to a driver you don’t really know a firsthand account of what’s happening. Both these guys have helped me a lot. I haven’t been quite quick enough to run up beside them during races yet, but I think we’re getting there and I think I can learn a lot from that as well.”
What did you do to stay busy during the schedule break?
“Me personally, I moved down to Sandusky, Ohio, which is where ThorSport is based out of and I’ve been working down in the shop – trying to learn the trucks and trying to learn little things here and there that help me. In terms of physical performance, I don’t know about these guys, but I hit the gym every day trying to keep up mentally and physically for every race. It’s kind of a combination of both things – both technical and physical.”
Was there a big break in your career?
“Well especially being from Canada – obviously we don’t have almost any drivers coming up from Canada into the national series – it was difficult for me coming up, moving up through the ranks, but I think a couple of years ago I won the UNOH Battle of the Beach at Daytona in the K&N West car and I think that’s kind of what put me on the map with everybody. Everyone started knowing my name after that and obviously moving to the K&N East Series last year it kind of got me down into the North Carolina, Charlotte-area and I guess people started to know my name more after that. It was kind of that Battle of the Beach when that really sparked people knowing me more. It does seem like a long time ago now. I mean, it was only two years ago, but when it comes down to it — I’ve done so much since then. I’ve done so many races since then that it seems like a long time ago for sure.”
JOHNNY SAUTER, No. 98 Smokey Mountain/Curb Records Toyota Tundra, ThorSport Racing
What does it take to win in Charlotte?
“I don’t know if I know how to get to victory lane here, so – I’ve never done it. Yeah, we’ve been solid all year. Haven’t probably had the speed quite like I’d like to have had so far, but we’ve been solid just finishing races and that’s kind of a good deal at the beginning of the year just to kind of work on the points base so you can get a little cushion so you can start racing a little bit differently towards the middle part of the year. Charlotte was a decent run for us here last year and when we practice today it will be a little different for the race tomorrow. Obviously, track conditions are going to change quite a bit, so having said all that I feel like we’ve got a pretty good package. We’re are actually bringing the same truck here this weekend as we had last week at Kansas, so hopefully we learned some stuff at Kansas that we can apply here, hopefully pick up where we left off a week ago and make it a little bit better and have a shot at it tomorrow.”
What has it been like working with a young driver?
“I think Cameron (Hayley) is obviously just from my perspective looking into it – I don’t really know him, he’s a rookie new to the deal – but I think he’s got a pretty good head on his shoulders. I see him doing things that maybe necessarily don’t see from a lot of rookie drivers and I think he’s taking care of his equipment and showing speed at the same time. I think he’s been top of the board at Atlanta and Kansas, so there’s speed there and he’s only going to get better, so I think he’s doing a great job and I see some things in him that I typically don’t see in a lot of young guys at his age and at his experience level. I think he’s doing a great job.”
How does Charlotte compare to Kansas as a 1.5-mile track?
“Last week at Kansas, the race track has a lot of grip obviously, so I was impressed by how wide the groove got last week at Kansas. I felt like I was one of the first guys to the jump to the top. Having said that, this place is totally different. This will race completely different. I think if you’ll see most of the guys try to bottom feed and I think, ultimately, the winner will come from somebody running around the bottom here. By tomorrow night when it rolls around and race tracks cools off a little bit, obviously it’s been documented for years this is place is so temperamental to temperature and daytime to nighttime, so I would suspect that the race track – like I said, the winner will probably run around the bottom, but I think you’ll see people all over the race track. And that’s one of the unique things about this place is it’s so hard to get a hold of, it’s so hard to keep up with the race track from day to night and that’s something that I’m going to try to be more cognizant of than ever before going into tomorrow night.”
What did you do to stay busy during the schedule break?
“I just sit on the couch and eat potato chips and sandwiches. Yeah, I basically don’t do anything but work on my Late Model stuff it seems like, so I’ve got a little shop at my house and I’ve got a couple cars and I’ve ran a couple times this year already, so that kind of takes care of most of my free time I guess. And chasing kids around the house takes part of my free time and I try to run three miles a day, but I haven’t done it this week. I did it Monday, but I’m not very good about being regimented at it, so I’m kind of hit or miss on all that. We’re kind of fortunate that truck races are a little shorter and it’s not that totally important.”
Is it unique for ThorSport to visit Charlotte and it not be a home race?
“Yeah, there’s nothing here for me that says it’s a home game anymore I guess since moving away. Like Matt (Crafton) just talked about, ThorSport is obviously based out of Sandusky, Ohio, so it’d be cool to be able to come down here and have some success, but it is different just flying in last night and doing a little driving around this morning. Staying in a hotel in Mooresville seems kind of weird when I’ve lived here for the last 14, 15 years, but I’m digging where I’m at, so it’s all good.”
Are you satisfied racing in the Truck Series?
“I’m totally content to be in the Truck Series and I’ve said it for years. Just knowing that you have the opportunity to go to the race track and win, that means more to me than saying that you’re a Cup driver or whatever. Having said that, I’ve had some success in the Truck Series over the past five, six years, whatever it is, so I’m happy doing what we’re doing. My relationship with Doug (George, crew chief) it’s tough. We talked about it a little while ago having the big gaps in the schedule, so you start off in Daytona and you get all ready to go and then this year was a little bit different than years past, but we go to Atlanta and then you’ve got four weeks off, you go to Martinsville and then you’ve got six weeks off, so it’s kind of hard to get into a rhythm so to speak – just talking back and forth, the dialogue that a driver and a crew chief need to have with chassis stuff and things that you’re thinking about. You get those big lapses in the schedule and it makes it hard, so I’m looking forward to these next six races in the next eight week I think it is. I think that’s where we’ll hopefully get clicking. I like Doug. I like his personality. I like his energy. He’s fired up all the time, which is good. I like to see that in a person. I think we’re going to be good. We’ve just got to get to the race track a little more often and repetitively I guess and get going.”
