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Indianapolis 500: Rain Cancels Wednesday Practice Session

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SM Staff
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For the third time this week, rain has canceled a practice sesson as the Wednesday practice was a no-go due to the steady rain fall.

The rain has spoiled the plans of practicing for many drivers, including rookie Scott Speed.

“As a rookie, having less track time is definitely not the best thing in the world,” Speed said. “It definitely makes things a little more difficult. We’ll do our best to take it in stride. I think we’ll be OK with it. We have a lot of resources here. There’s nothing extra you can really do to prepare for the race, but I feel good right now. I think we’re making good moves and going about everything intelligently. I can’t ask for anything more right now. At this point, it’s all about track time. I mean, we’re just waiting.”

Fellow rookie Pippa Mann says that its just going to make things interesting.

“We only wanted to get out there and do a couple of runs today, to see if we finally had a handle on this small niggle we’ve got going on, but unfortunately the weather is just not playing ball,” Mann said. “It’s going to make the next few days pretty insane, not just for us but for everyone. the track is going to be extremely busy, and it’s going to be fairly intense. But, to use an American phrase, it is what it is!”

She says that today she got further than days before as they were almost ready to go.

“Actually, today wasn’t quite Groundhog day because we did get as far as pit lane, and I actually got as far as being strapped into my car before it started to rain again,” she said. “One minute to green – I’m sitting there, and suddenly the rain started coming down all around me, so we headed back to the garage area.”

Veteran Townsend Bell is not worried, though.

“I’m used to it now,” he said. “As long as I’ve driven a little bit this month, I feel fine at least in terms of knowing what I’ve got and knowing that we’re strong. So, the anxiety is much less, especially having done this for a few years. You learn rain is always going to be an issue.”

Michael Annett Iowa News and Notes

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SM Archive
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Drew Herring / No. 20 Sport Clips Toyota Preview – John Deere Dealers 250 at Iowa Speedway

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SM Archive
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McCumbee Will Turn Left and Right At the ModSpace 150

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SM Archive
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NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Dover

By
Jeffrey Boswell
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Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

1. Carl Edwards: Edwards posted his fifth straight top-10 finish, and ninth of the year, with a seventh in the Fed Ex 400 at Dover. Edwards led 117 laps, and like Jimmie Johnson, who led 207, took four tires instead of two on the race’s final pit stop, which cost him a chance for the win. Edwards leads the Sprint Cup point standings with a 24-point edge over Jimmie Johnson.

“It appears we were outsmarted by Matt Kenseth,” Edwards said. “Two tires was the right call. I’ve made some regrettable decisions during my career, most involving the Keselowski’s, Kevin Harvick, or the lids to oil coolers, but this one really pains me. Bob Osbourne yelled ‘Four!’ and the No. 99 Aflac Ford ‘ducked,’ out of contention.

“In most cases, Matt’s not known for his bravery, but I have to commend him for such a ‘courageous’ call. I honestly thought with four tires we could catch him. It most cases, when Matt has seen me coming, he’s ran away. This time was no different, except that he ran away, with victory.”

2. Kyle Busch: A week after his near throwdown with Kevin Harvick at Darlington, Busch registered a solid fourth at Dover despite an engine change that rendered him at the rear for the start. With his seventh top 10 of the year, Busch maintained the third spot in the Sprint Cup point standings, and trails Carl Edwards by 37.

“I can’t let a disciplinary ruling from NASCAR get me down,” Busch said. “I went from ‘probation’ to ‘ovation.’ Frankly, I like it better when anyone but Kevin Harvick is giving me ‘a hand.’

“Now, Unlike Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota engines, there’s no ‘quit’ in me. Thankfully, the new engine lasted. It was the ‘little engine that could.’ As for the Gibbs engine department, it’s a case of ‘so little engines that can.’”

3. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson started on the pole at Dover and led the most laps, 207, but his decision to take four tires on the final pit stop proved costly, as several drivers, including eventual winner Matt Kenseth, chose two. Johnson restarted 11th, and could only regain two spots and finished ninth. He remained second in the points, 24 behind Carl Edwards.

“Now that’s what I call ‘championship caliber,’” Johnson said, “but only in that we were right on target in shooting ourselves in the foot.

“Last week, Chad Knaus called Juan Montoya a ‘douchebag.’ Oh how the tables have turned. This time, however, it looks like Chad’s the douchebag, for calling for four tires instead of two. In short, it’s a case of ‘touché, douché.’

“As expected, after last week’s Kyle Busch-Kevin Harvick fiasco, nothing interesting happened at Dover. It went from ‘boor-dom’ to ‘boredom.’”

4. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth opted for two tires on the final pit stop at Dover and led the final 39 laps to win the Fed Ex 400, his second win of the year. On the crucial pit stop, Kenseth overruled crew chief Jimmy Fennig, who wanted four tires, and outsmarted Jimmie Johnson and Carl Edwards, who had shared domination of the race to that point.

“Not to toot my own horn,” Kenseth said, “but that was a gutsy call on my part. People can question my fortitude all they want, but I proved that it takes a ‘pair’ to take ‘two’ in that situation. That’s why I told Fennig to ‘Take two, and call me ‘champ’ in the morning.’”

5. Kevin Harvick: Harvick finished 10th at Dover, posting his sixth top 10 of the year. He remained fifth in the Sprint Cup point standings, and trails Carl Edwards by 54.

“Congratulations to Matt Kenseth on the win,” Harvick said. “Matt is well-liked among other drivers. Ironically, he, like Kyle Busch, deserves everything coming to him.

“NASCAR has ordered me to stay in my car. In other words, I should keep my HANS to myself. As such, I’ve come to appreciate the art of ‘restraint,’ at least until June 15th. I call that date the ‘Ides Of June.’ And Busch should heed the warning to beware the Ides of June. Why is it called the ‘ides?’ Because, if I were Busch, I’d watch my back, and I’d expect some payback,’ and I’d be on the lookout for the Budweiser car.”

6. Dale Earnhardt, Jr.: Earnhardt led one lap at Dover, piloting the No. 88 Amp Energy Sugar Free/National Guard Chevy to a 12th-place finish. His winless streak now sits at 104 races, and Earnhardt admitted that he doesn’t feel a win is close.

“It took 104 races,” Earnhardt said, “but finally, I’m able to admit defeat.

“As of now, I’m not eligible to compete in the All Star Race at Charlotte on May 21st since I haven’t won. But even if I don’t win the Sprint Showdown, I fully expect the fans to vote me in. So, I’m appealing to my fans to vote for me, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. I call that ‘cAMPaigning.”

7. Clint Bowyer: Bowyer held the lead when Juan Montoya’s spin brought out the race’s last caution on lap 361, and the No. 33 team’s decision to bolt on four tires seemed to be the right call. But Matt Kenseth took only two and left the pits in second, and soon overtook Mark Martin for the lead. Bowyer settled for sixth, his sixth top-10 finish of the year, and is now ninth in the point standings, 80 out of first.

“I was beyond stunned,” Bowyer said, “that a Montoya spin could involve only him. Of course, I was also shocked that a four-tire stop was not the correct call. Sure, we were wise to put on right-side tires. That is, until we put on the ‘wrong-side’ tires.”

8. Ryan Newman: Newman finished 21st at Dover, two laps down, after struggling with handling issues on a miserable day at the Monster Mile for Stewart Haas Racing. Newman fell one spot in the point standings to seventh, and is now 76 out of first.

“Only one thing went ‘right’ for us at Dover,” Newman said, “and that was Juan Montoya’s No. 42 car, into the wall. That’s two weeks in a row in which someone’s said of Montoya, ‘I bet that left a mark.’ Take it from me. There’s a party-like atmosphere in the NASCAR hauler. Ask Juan. He’ll tell you they even serve ‘punch.’”

9. Mark Martin: While most of the field pitted for tires during Sunday’s final caution, Martin chose to stay out, and that decision gave him the runner-up spot in the Fed Ex 400 at Dover. It was Martin’s best finish of the year and vaulted him three places in the point standings to 11th, 92 out of first.

“How’s that for irony?” Martin said. “Everyone ‘re-tired,’ except me. For once in my life, the decision was easy to ‘stay out.’”

10. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin finished 16th at Dover after battling handling conditions all day, unable to keep his short streak of top-10’s alive. However, he vaulted three places in the Sprint Cup point standings to 13th, 112 out of first.

“I envy Kyle Busch,” Hamlin said. “He’s only got four weeks of probation. I’ve already suffered through a year’s worth of stagnation.

“I’ve been quite entertained by the Busch-Harvick feud. Over the years, I’ve had my disagreements with both of them. Luckily, NASCAR acted quickly and thereby prevented one or both from acting rashly and hurting someone. I think Kyle and Kevin are safe from harm anyway, because both their cars are equipped with drivers-side windbags.”

What six points means; Morgan Shepherd and his Faith Motorsports team

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SM Staff
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If you thought six points isn’t a big deal, think again. Six points is the amount Nationwide Series driver Morgan Shepherd and his Faith Motorsports team trail owner Mark Smith by, the team that ranks 30th in Nationwide Owner Points. Not only do teams ranked 30th or higher get a guaranteed starting position for the next race, it also provides for bonus money.

[media-credit name=”Barry Albert” align=”alignright” width=”241″][/media-credit]Shepherd finished 26th at Dover after completing 184 laps. Charles Lewandoski finished 42nd after completing just four laps, due to a reported ignition problem. But since Shepherd’s team ranks 31st in owner’s points, he only received a check for $12,700. Lewandoski received $11,950. Even though Shepherd finished 180 more laps, he only received $750 more, or $4.17 more per lap. That $750 doesn’t cover half a set of tires. Had Shepherd been in the top 30, he would have received money similar to Derrike Cope. Cope’s owner, Jay Robinson is 28th in owner points. Cope was befallen by an engine problem, but received $19,518. A safeguard, in effect for a bad race.

Meanwhile, McDonald Motorsports ran afoul of such a system. Ranked 27th in owner’s standings; Donnie Neuenberger was flagged off the track after 70 laps for failing to maintain race pace after being involved in an accident not of his own making. He received a check for $18,743. The team’s second car, driven by Blake Koch was caught in the same accident and only won $11,892, due to being a part-time team. Even though it appears they had intentions of running a full race, they won the smallest piece of the pie.

In the confusing world of NASCAR, teams in the top 30 in owner’s standings receive a bonus payout for each race they enter. The posted purse was $1,014,243. Part of that money comes from the TV contracts and part of it comes from the track itself. NASCAR also offers others plans, such as the aforementioned “top 30” money. The purse is rounded out by contingency funds. For example, Coors Light posts a $3,300 for the driver who sits on the pole, so long as qualifying isn’t rained out. Featherlite offers a $2,400 bounty for the driver who improves their finishing position the most, compared to their finish in the previous race. Sunoco, Goodyear…it’s enough to make your head spin.

An e-mail to NASCAR seeking further clarification on the purse structure wasn’t immediately returned.

Some owners, such as Shepherd and Smith run a second or third car to help their underfunded operations. That car often parks in a short amount of time. That’s shouldn’t be seen as a problem—these teams aren’t trying to raid the purse—teams use that money to help fund their primary car, not to make money. Even that second car doesn’t help out a lot. “It costs $1200 to enter each race and a set of tires is $1900,” explained Shepherd. “Teams are in survival mode, but it’s all a chance. If there’s a problem…”

In comparison, teams have existed such as Phil Parson’s MSRP Motorsports. From 2008-2009, Parsons’ two cars completed exactly one race. That one finish came under clout; reportedly, another team was simply using the MSRP name. When Car and Driver’s Bob Zeller attempted to interview Parsons, he brushed off questions regarding MSRP.

The purse structure is a convoluted mess. NASCAR needs to do more to balance the money situation out, especially in the Nationwide Series. There’s a distinction between teams that actually show up to race, as opposed to those who cheat the system and take purse money from other hard working teams, especially with the Nationwide Car of Tomorrow going full time this season, a move that was supposed to be cost beneficial, according to Shepherd. “That was [NASCAR’s] thinking to get everything alike so we could use the same car everywhere. It came at a hard time with sponsorships and attendance being down. Teams are basically in survival mode,” he concluded.

Many fans watching the end of Sunday’s FedEx 400 noticed that during the last commercial break, a so-called “side-by-side” telecast aired. This wasn’t an accident, according to Dan Bell, Vice President, Communications for FOX Sports. “The idea [to go “side-by-side] re-surfaced earlier this week and after some discussion it was decided we would experiment with it if we could get enough advertisers to go along with it”, said Bell. “Three ardent NASCAR on FOX supporters, Sprint, Pizza Hut and Fed Ex all…agreed to work with us with the spots they planned to run in the race’s final break. At this point, the fan feedback from we’ve seen via social media has been very positive.”

FOX deserves kudos for listening to fans and delivering coverage that is enjoyed by many. This weekend’s All-Star Race airs on Speed, while the Coca-Cola 600 and the Kansas Speedway 400 wrap up FOX’s coverage for the year. Coverage then shifts to TNT for the next six races.

With what could be described as a frustrating season to date, Mark Martin finished strong for his first to five of the year. After a gutsy pit call by crew chief Lance McGrew to take the lead, Martin held pace for six laps before being overtaken by eventual winner Matt Kenseth. Surprisingly, the tires held and Martin was rewarded with his best finish since Martinsville last October. “Well kudos to Lance McGrew and everybody on this GoDaddy.com Chevrolet crew here. We ran good. But we were getting ready to finish 15th again and its been a shame because we have run that well a lot this year and finished 15th,” said Martin.

While Martin was celebrating his best run of the year, Jimmie Johnson was left wondering what could have been. Johnson dominated the first portion of the race, leading 207 laps in total. However, a four-tire call by crew chief Chad Knaus resulted in Johnson getting buried in traffic. Johnson could only muster a ninth. Many observers were surprised that four tires ended up being the wrong call, making it the second straight week a gutsy crew chief decision help decide the winner.

Johnson said that “I think the track conditions more affected the balance of the cars, especially as a run went on. There at the end, I really think that it was just dirty air and track position was the issue why the four-tire guys couldn’t get through. You are just going so fast around here, even though it is just a one-mile track, that clean air, just cleaner air towards the front makes a huge difference.”

Two other drivers had reason to be disappointed; AJ Allmendinger and Darlington winner Regan Smith. Allmendinger led at one point and was consistently in the top ten all race. Despite finishing, Allmendinger ended the race with a driver rating of 95.7; ninth best among all drivers. Smith spent the entire race on the lead lap until a track bar mount broke in the late stages. “What a difference a week makes,” said Smith. “The frustrating thing is that our Furniture Row Chevrolet was coming to life when the track bar mount broke during a caution (Lap 334). Our car really picked up steam during the second half of the green flag run before the caution came out. We were definitely in position to make a late-race charge and get a nice finish out of this race. I think we were running 16th when the mount broke. It hurts because we had a good car and wanted to continue the momentum from last week’s win in Darlington.”

Mark can be found on Twitter @SpdwyMediaModor.

An All-Star Race to Remember: How Frank Stoddard Caused a Rule Change

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SM Staff
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With the last two Sprint Cup Series races being won because of pit road strategy, it brings to mind another brilliant call made from atop the pit box. Although he’s no longer a crew chief, when Frank Stoddard was atop the pit box for Jeff Burton in the No. 99 CITGO Ford he was one of the best in the business.

For those in doubt, Stoddard would pull off a memorable call in the 2002 All-Star race. The rules nine years ago are vastly different than what the field will be facing this Saturday night in Charlotte for the 27th annual Sprint All-Star race. The name of the race, how the field is determined and the purse size all are not what they once were.

In 2002, the race was split up into three segments: the first being 40 laps, the second 30 laps and the final segment 20 laps. There was also a knockout format, called Survival of the Fastest where drivers would be eliminated after each segment. The top-20 advanced to segment two and the top-10 advanced to the final segment.

The excitement normally doesn’t start until the third segment, when the money is in sight and drivers let it all hang out. But as the laps wound down in segment one on May 18, 2002 it was Burton leading and he was about to stumble.

Per the NASCAR rules, all drivers are required to make a pit stop, but Burton was still cruising with three laps to go. With the competition having already made their stops, Burton held a 26 second lead over Jimmie Johnson and with two laps to go the broadcast crew featuring Mike Joy, Darrell Waltrip and Larry McReynolds, starting to think out loud.

“We didn’t miss something did we?” asked Waltrip, as Burton headed for turn one with two laps to go. Hanging in the balance the longer he stayed on the track was the risk of being eliminated. Once he came down pit road he would lose his track position and most likely slide outside the top 20 and not advance to segment two.

How long was Burton and Stoddard going to hold out? As he approached turn four Waltrip thought for sure he would be pitting that time. Burton didn’t and took the white flag as Waltrip could barely croak out, “he’s not coming.”

Many watched in astonishment. Not pitting would mean not playing by NASCAR rules and possibly being disqualified. There was no going back as the team either lost track of the lap count or were having trouble communicating. Whatever the reason one could come up with there was no denying that Burton had missed his chance to pit.

Or did he? With excitement and curiosity in his voice Joy suddenly perked up, “What if your pit was before the start finish line, you pitted on the last lap and you only had to jump across the line?”

That’s exactly what Stoddard was going to have his driver do. “Oh my gosh” exclaimed Joy when Stoddard starting calling Burton to pit road. As the head shaking began Joy stated what many were already thinking, “This is either crazy or brilliant.”

Brilliant it was as Burton made his stop and only had to go 50 yards to cross the finish line and advance into segment two. Had it not been for a full-speed Johnson and a slow stop, Burton might have even won instead of crossing second.

Waltrip had no shame in admitting that he was just a little bit confused by what he and thousands of others had just seen. NASCAR officials, while maybe amused at the time and even a little impressed, would mandate after 2002 that green flag pit stops must come during a designated time in the race.

It removed any chance that a crew chief could repeat Stoddard’s strategy in the future. At the time though, “I have got to tip my hat to Frank Stoddard,” said McReynolds. “I can’t wait to see him after this race because that was a brilliant call.”

As brilliant and bold the call was, it wasn’t even to win the race. But it was made in hopes of setting his team up to win the most important segment later that night. In big races, such as when Regan Smith won the Southern 500 at Darlington two weeks ago, all the stops are pulled out. More risks are taken and gambles made, just as Stoddard did in exploiting a loophole in NASCAR’s rulebook.

When asked how he came up with the strategy, Stoddard laughed, “We didn’t have a whole lot of stuff to do today and … we just thought about it and we wanted to come up with something different here, see if we couldn’t get something out of them and almost pulled off a win right there if the clutch wasn’t slipping.”

Burton’s night would be done in though in segment two because of the aforementioned clutch. He finished 20th as Johnson won his second segment of the night. Now it was onto the final segment for the big prize, which would be won by a driver who benefited from Stoddard’s call in segment one.

With Burton finishing second it put Ryan Newman in the transfer spot to advance to the second segment. He then advanced to the final segment and would go on to win the Winston by holding off a furious charge on the final lap from Dale Earnhardt Jr. For once though, it wasn’t the finish that people cared about or would remember.

It was all a crew chief again doing what they do best and outsmarting the competition. Only on that May night Stoddard didn’t just pull off a brilliant move to outsmart the competition, he outsmarted NASCAR too.

NASCAR Sprint All Star Race Preview and Predictions

By
SM Staff
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Once again it is that time of year when the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series heads home for two consecutive weekends of big time racing and events.

It all starts of with the Camping World Truck Series’ North Carolina Education 250 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Friday night which will see the debut of 2007 Formula One champion, Kimi Raikonen. Not to take anything away from this race, but it’s just not the main ticket this weekend.

The Sprint All Star race has been a smash hit since its inception in 1985. The event went to a whole other level in 1992 when it went under the lights for the first time and ended with the race winner, Davey Allison, in the hospital. So much history has occurred in this race including; Jeff Gordon’s “T-REX” car in 1997, Gordon winning the race in 2001 after going to a backup car after a turn one pile up caused by a rain shower, the Busch brothers wreck in 2007, Kasey Kahne becoming the first Sprint Fan Vote winner to win the All Star in 2008 and Kurt Busch sweeping the May Cup events at CMS just last year.

When you come to the All-Star race, you are always in for a show. The reason for that is that there aren’t any points on the line. It’s all about winning and the million dollar pay day. Drivers will do anything to win this race as it is now considered one of the crown jewels of NASCAR racing. Sometimes this race is just what a driver needs to turn around their season or even their career. Michael Waltrip, Dale Earnhardt Jr, Darrell Waltrip, Ryan Newman, Terry Labonte and Kasey Kahne have all had season or career defining moments in this race.

Over the years, there have also been many changes to the format of the race. For a while, drivers were being eliminated segment by segment. Fans did not like this because some crazy occurrence on pit road could cost a driver with a legitimate shot at winning the race. Also, the multi-million dollar companies places their logos all over the cars didn’t like their company being forced to park. These were not the reasons this format was changed thought. It is changed regularly so even the format you will see Saturday night may be gone in a few years. All the new and sometimes strange formats really provide exciting racing because no one really knows how they will work in this different style of race.

This year’s All Star race will be one for the history books. The reason I say this is because this has been one of the best starts to a season that NASCAR has had in long time both in the racing and ratings respectively. The “Boys have at it” policy is still providing exciting moments and shouldn’t be any different Saturday night.

Predictions
Pit Crew Challenge Winning Team- #18 Joe Gibbs Racing Team
Sprint Showdown Winner- David Ragan
Sprint Showdown Runner Up- Marcos Ambrose
Sprint Fan Vote Winner- Dale Earnhardt Jr
Sprint All Star Race Winner- Kasey Kahne

Jimmy Fennig Named The WYPALL* Wipers Crew Chief of the Race at the Monster Mile

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SM Archive
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ThorSport Racing Looks To Continue Early Season Success at Charlotte

By
SM Staff
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When the green flag drops Friday night, you can be assured that ThorSport Racing will be in the thick of the battle as they have so far this year.

While most say that you need to be centered into the hub of NASCAR in Charlotte, ThorSport Racing has done things differently as they’re based in Sandusky, Ohio. As the team says, they are coming from the “Ice Palace” (as dubbed by Krista Voda) to take on the “Queen Palace”.

[media-credit name=”mattcrafton.com” align=”alignright” width=”290″][/media-credit]”They aren’t new questions, I’ve heard them my whole career at ThorSport Racing and we’ve never really given it a second thought,” Matt Crafton said in the team preview. “We’ve heard things like, ‘You have to be in Charlotte to be successful.’  ‘There are no equipment suppliers or people in Ohio.’  ‘What about the wind tunnel or technology?’ ‘How can you win a championship from somewhere other than the heart of racing?’  All valid questions, but all questions we’ve either answered or solved in a really humble way – quietly  – through great people, partners, technology and track performance over the last few years as we’ve hit our stride.”

Currently, Matt Crafton leads the point standings and goes into Charlotte looking to get his second win. With two top-fives and seven top-10s there in the past including a win in 2008, he is looking for more success.

“With all due respect, I love Charlotte,” Crafton continued. “This is my adopted city, after being from California and driving for a team from Sandusky. We have so much momentum this year, coming off a great season last year – my teammate, Johnny Sauter, and I being third and fourth in points; me winning at Charlotte in 2008; and doing pretty well the first six races this year.  Many of our extended families and friends live here, and it’s a place to pay homage to our racing forefathers, just as Daytona is for all of us racers.”

Charlotte also marks the welcoming of a new name aboard the hood as Mullican Great Lakes Flooring will adore the hood of the No. 88 Menards Chevrolet.

“I’m looking forward to this race and having Great Lakes by Mullican on the hood,” he said. “I spent two extra days in Sandusky with my guys after racing Toledo on Sunday in the ARCA Racing Series.  It gave us a chance to connect over the Charlotte truck, and it also gave us the mental gains to prepare for this week.  Every week is a big race week, but our 1.5-mile program is dominant this year.  I’d like to come back and really see if we can get this truck in Victory Lane again.”

Meanwhile, Johnny Sauter is looking to have success also so he can jump back up in the lead as he currently sits second in points.

“Being at the top of the points this early in the season was a positive surprise to me, and it was a great feeling after Nashville,” Sauter said.  “It’s a lot of pressure though, when we have so many races ahead of us.  Charlotte has always been a track that has challenged me, and our 1.5-mile program is really stellar this year.  That’s got to be my focus with (crew chief) Joe (Shear, Jr.) and my guys.  Perform on all fronts – from the truck setup to the pit cycles and fuel management.  I said it at the end of Dover and I meant it, with me and Joe it’s back to basics and some tried-and-true setups we used last year for great finishes.”

Sauter likes being in the backseat behind Crafton as somewhat “underdog” though as he says it presents an opportunity for success.

“The best finishes I’ve ever had, all my wins, were coming back from behind or scraping to the top all the way,” he said. “That’s how I love to race.  So the pressure is off right now, and I can get back to being the underdog.  There’s nothing this team can’t do this year with the right focus, and we’re proving that every race.  Charlotte is no different – we’re proving to the racing world exactly how consistent we can be at these tracks, using a lot of communication and strategy. ThorSport Racing is building championship-consistency teams this year, and we’re going to show that at the racetrack.”

ThorSport Racing looks to continue their success not only this coming weekend, but down the road in the future. In August, the team plans to continue expanding as they will be opening a new shop, keeping things based in Sandusky.

“ThorSport Racing opens a brand new, 100,000-sq. ft. race facility in Sandusky in August, though, and it’s a source of huge pride in where we’ve come from and to in ten years,” Crafton said. “We can’t wait to celebrate with our Ohio family and NASCAR fans everywhere.  This continues to be a great year. But we’d like to prove, in a subtle, humble way of sorts – that you don’t necessarily have to live and work here as a team, to be successful & win championships in this business.”

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