Matt Crafton and the No. 88 Ideal Door/Menards team entered the eighth race on the 2014 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) schedule at Kentucky Speedway looking for redemption following a season-worst 26th-place finish at Gateway Motorsports Park in Madison, Ill. Crafton endured a "wicked loose" Toyota Tundra and a broken side skirt, which plagued the handling of the Menard's yellow machine in the opening laps.
“I’m really looking forward to getting back here -- we ran second here last race. More importantly, hungry for a win. There’s obviously a lot of teams that are hungry for a win, but I do believe we’re finally poised for a win. At this point in the season we’ve finally got our consistency back.
“But sitting in meetings and being around him as close as I am with our situation of the No. 48 and No. 88 being in the same shop, I see a guy that knows his race car better than ever; and a guy that’s focused on all the details. He’s thoroughly involved, is much more open and communicating on a far deeper level than I’ve seen him, especially when he started at Hendrick Motorsports.
“It’s always fun coming to Kentucky. It’s not too far from home, so friends and family have come up. It’s our first race with Fifth Third on the car this year, so we’re excited about that. They’re great people to work and partner with and they’re excited.
Ten races at 10 different tracks, all to determine the 16 drivers who will battle for one prize – the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship. That’s a lot of numbers. But there’s only one point: It’s an important time right now, and for those who remain winless, it’s vital.
Over the past four races, Landon Cassill has scored three top-15 finishes and one top 10 and has moved from 12th in Nationwide Series points to 10th. Cassill hopes to continue that momentum Friday night in the John R. Elliott Hero Campaign 300 at Kentucky Speedway. The race will be the 15th of the 33-race Nationwide Series season.
“It’s a tough track and hard to get a grip on, but I like that,” Earnhardt said. “We haven’t gotten the finishes we’ve wanted lately, so I’m looking at this weekend as a chance to kind of turn things around.”
Yes, momentum is on our side and we had a mess up on pit road in St. Louis and I stayed calm about it all. We come here calm about everything and saw what happened earlier before practice and it didn’t faze me one bit. We’re going to go take this race and finish -- that’s the only goal I have on this is to finish this race.
"I am very pleased to announce the continuation of our partnership with Caterpillar and the No. 31 Chevrolet in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series," said Richard Childress, President and CEO of Richard Childress Racing. "I am very fortunate to have met and interacted with so many Cat dealers, customers and equipment operators through the past six years.
BCL Auction has joined driver Jeffrey Earnhardt as sponsor of the team’s No. 4 Chevrolet in Friday’s Nationwide Series race at Kentucky Speedway. Earnhardt will carry BCL colors in the John R. Elliott Hero Campaign 300 as he continues his first full-season run in Nationwide racing.
Joe Gibbs Racing driver Chase Briscoe was made available to the media on Saturday after winning the pole for the NASCAR Cup Series race at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
The two-time Southern 500 champion from Mitchell, Indiana, posted a qualifying lap at 166.687 mph in 32.396 seconds to achieve the final pole position of the 2026 Cup Series season in Miami.
AUSTIN CINDRIC, No. 2 Discount Tire Ford Mustang Dark Horse – DID YOU LEAVE ANYTHING ON THE TABLE? “Not that much. I thought it was a pretty good lap."
Ross Chastain, driver of the No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet, met with the media in advance of the NASCAR Cup Series qualifying session at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
The 2020 Truck Series champion from Alpine, California, posted a qualifying lap of 160.820 mph in 33.578 seconds to achieve the pole position in his final start with Haas Factory Team and in preparation of his 2026 championship bid in Miami.
