05-22-2011CRAFTON: Pulls Out 26th Place Finish After Contact In NC Education Lottery 200
Matt Crafton, driver of the No. 88 Menards/Great Lakes Flooring by Mullican Chevrolet Silverado, entered Charlotte Motor Speedway on Thursday with a spring in his step. The 2008 Charlotte race winner was first in points and had finished every lap of every Charlotte race he'd ever entered - in the top 10 or better in all of his eight starts. After a high number of cautions, wide open racing and an unavoidable tangle on track, however, his night ended with a 26th place finish.
After two strong practice sessions on the one day show, Crafton qualified fourteenth on the grid Friday afternoon. "Bud and I weren't worried at all," he said. "I told the guys earlier in practice that we didn't need to over adjust - Charlotte's a full day, and the track conditions are so drastically different even from qualifying to race time. Grip's always an issue, and track position counts in the last 50 laps. So we had a good truck going into the race."
He quickly made headway through the field early on in the race, gaining ground to as high as fifth position after expertly wheeling through some near-misses in early cautions. The driver fought loose left rear grip throughout the night and chose to pit early for an advantage on tires and fuel - putting him back on the grid in 10th position. Crafton was left with nowhere to go, however, after the midpoint of the race when a competitor pushed into the wall within inches of his truck and made contact - causing excessive damage to the front end of the No. 88 Menards Chevy. The No. 88 team charged to rebuild the truck in the garage in record time, putting him back out on track in the 28th position with 30 to go; he would later finish 26th.
"We got caught in a bad spot, and I had nowhere to go - I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time and it was a bad deal that happens a lot at Charlotte. Look at all those cautions overall. Totally wide open racing all day with 36 trucks, really, but we had a good truck to do this. I'm really proud of my guys though, because this truck was really in pieces, and they rallied fast to get me back out on the track so we could salvage a finish. It's not what we wanted here, but we're looking towards a championship. It's a big goal. We'll take the energy to Kansas and focus on really preparing the intermediate trucks for that track as well as Texas - two places I like going." Crafton is now fourth in overall driver points in the NCWTS and has finished in the top 10 in five of seven races this season.
NEXT RACE:
O'Reilly Auto Parts 200
Kansas Speedway
June 4th, 2011
2:00pmET (167 laps, 250.5 miles)
More NASCAR Camping World Truck Series News...
HORNADAY: Penalized For Rules Infraction At Charlotte
MARKS: Career Best Finish At CMS
TEAM NEWS: Germain Racing Confirms Ownership Change
SAUTER: CMS Sixth Place Best Ever Finish
CRAFTON: Pulls Out 26th Place Finish After Contact In NC Education Lottery 200
PAPIS: Racing Contact Spoils Day At CMS
TOYOTA: NCWTS Charlotte Post-Race Note & Quotes
TOYOTA: NSCS Charlotte All-Star & Showdown Qualifying Notes
TEAM NEWS: ThorSport Drivers On Grid At CMS
TEAM NEWS: Ricky Benton Racing Helping Tornado Victims
MARKS: Riding Momentum In To Charlotte
STARR: Sprint Showdown Is A 'Test Session'
TEAM NEWS: Gaunt Brothers Racing Lands Sponsor
KVAPIL: Set To Sprint At CMS
GAUGHAN: Ready For Big Track Action
BODINE: Hopes To Beat Last Year's Runner-Up Finish
ROGERS: Best Foot Forward For N. C. Education Lottery 200
SPEED Notes: All-Star Week
SWEET: Eager To Get To Charlotte
TEAM NEWS: KBM, Busch To Remember Zahra Baker
BELL: To Race In Sprint Showdown
TEAM NEWS: RCR Hosting NASCAR Day Car Wash For Kids
LOFTON: Charlotte Is 'Fun' Track
STARR: Carries Momentum To Charlotte
FONTAINE: Set For Charlotte Debut
TEAM NEWS: KBM, Richards Partner With Rising Star Management Group
RCR: Drivers Ready For Charlotte
PIQUET: Seeking Strong Charlotte Finish
BOWYER: Looking Forward To Charlotte
HORNADAY: Charlotte Win A Big Prize
SPEED: Ready For Two Major NASCAR Events Within 48 Hours
CRAFTON: Rolling Into Charlotte
CARMICHAEL: Charlotte Is A 'Very Important Race'
BELL: Seeking Peak Performance At Charlotte
SPEED Note: Dover Trucks Top One Million Viewers
TEAMS: Open Doors During Charlotte Speedweeks
WHITE: Beats Monster Mile Gets 14th Place
PETERS: Late Race Crash Spoils Day
CRAFTON: Third Place Finish Yields Points Lead
SAUTER: Battles Monster To Finish 11th
STARR: Tire Gamble Doesn't Pay Off
TOYOTA: News And Notes Post Dover
FOUNDATION: Promoting Adoptions Through Film
TEAM NEWS: ThorSport Duo Consistent In Dover Practices
CRAFTON: Set For ARCA Race, Getting A Hand From Truck Team
RCR: Locked And Loaded For Dover
STARR: Ranks Dover "Awesome"
MARKS: Likes Unique Dover
ROGERS: Lucas Oil 200 First Dover Race
CRAFTON: Ready To Attack 'The Monster'
SAUTER: 'I Want A Monster Mile Trophy'
LOFTON: Looking Forward To Dover
GAUGHAN: 'No Place To Hide' At Dover
BODINE: Wants Dover Win - In A Truck
TEAM NEWS: Make Motorsports Plans Charlotte Return
SPEED: Revs Up For NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race Coverage
BUSCH/HARVICK: Feud Has Truck Roots; Next Face-Off Friday
TRACK NEWS: Artist Bass To Reveal CMS Program Covers
WHITE: Seventh Run At Dover
PIQUET: Debut Run At One Mile Track
HARVICK: Debut Series Start At Monster Mile
TRACK NEWS: Talladega Superspeedway Leads 'Likes'
LAFFERTY: Hosts Late Night TV Show
PALUDO: Number One Goal - Victory Lane
PETERS: Dover Ranks As Favorite
TEAM NEWS: Lafferty Motorsports Lands CMS Sponsor
CRAFTON: To Run ARCA Race At Toledo
DELANA HARVICK: Named Among Top Women In Business
RACEBUDDY: To Complement SPEED Richmond Race Telecast
GOESS: Hoping To Build On Nashville Run
TRACK NEWS: Papis, Hornaday Visit Dover
SPEED Offers Monster Social Media Support For NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race
BUSCH: Gets 1st Quarter Driver Of Year
TEAM NEWS: RCR Post Race Report -- Nashville
STARR: Scores 8th In Bully Hill Vineyards 200
LONG: Loose Trucks Yields 32nd Place Nashville Finish
SAUTER: Leads Series Points After Nashville
CRAFTON: Takes Sixth After 'Cake-Smash'
PAPIS: 23rd After Spin At Music City
PIQUET: Posts Career Finish At Nashville
HORNADAY: Strong Points Run At Nashville
SADLER: Disappointing Night At Nashville
SPEED Video: Matt Crafton Smashes Cake In Krista Voda?s Face Live On NCWTS Setup From Nashville
TOYOTA: Post-Race Notes & Quotes
TEAM NEWS: ThorSport Qualifying Report - Nashville
BODINE: Nashville Notes
SAUTER: All Smiles Heading To Nashville
TRACK NEWS: Dover Steps Up For Autism
TEAM NEWS: Turner Motorsports Signs Freese
NASCAR: Announces Postseason Schedule
KVAPIL: Knows How To Win At Music City
MARKS: Looks Forward To Nashville Return
CRAFTON: Fired Up Heading To Nashville
TEAM NEWS: Toyota Skinner Round-Up Gives Back To Charities
BODINE: High Hopes For Music City
GAUGHAN: Nashville A Welcome Destination
STARR: Loves Everything About Nashville
ROGERS: Expecting Even Better At Nashville
CARMICHAEL: Carrying Momentum To Nashville
SADLER: Races Double Header At Nashville
GALE: Likes Concrete At 1.33 Mile Track
SAUTER: Makes 500th Start For Mike Curb
PETERS: Ready To Play In Music City
PALUDO: First Run At Nashville Superspeedway
HORNADAY: Covets Gibson Guitar Trophy
PIQUET: Debut At Music City
SPEED Notes: 2012 Hall Nominees To Be Revealed On NASCAR Race Hub
TEAM NEWS: ThorSport Racing Gets New Product Partner
TEAM NEWS: SS Green Light Racing Returns To North Wilkesboro
TRACK NEWS: Nashville Superspeedway Autograph Session
WHITE: Flat Tire Deflates Strong Run At Martinsville
PETERS: Top-Five Finish At Home Town Track
PALUDO: Short-Track Yields 12th Place Finish
PAPIS: Translates Paperclip Into Top Ten Finish
CRAFTON: Disappointing Day At Martinsville
LONG: Personal Career Best At Paperclip
TEAM NEWS: ThorSport Tops At Paperclip
PETERS: Heading Home To Martinsville
PALUDO: Leaning On Teammate Peters For Help
EARNHARDT: Back In At Martinsville
HERMIE SADLER: Returns To Martinsville
BODINE: Looks Forward To Short-Track Tussle
GAUGHAN: Not A Fan Of Paperclip
LOFTON: Looking Forward To Martinsville
SAUTER: Back To Racing Roots At Martinsville
ROGERS: Carries Momentum To Martinsville
WHITE: Hoping To Turn Corner At Martinsville
CARMICHAEL: Excited About Martinsville Return
MARKS: Martinsville 'Obviously A Very Difficult Race Track'
TEAM NEWS: Jeffrey Earnhardt, Rick Ware Racing Part Ways
GOESS: We Need To Avoid Trouble At Martinsville
PIQUET: Half Mile Oval Debut
HORNADAY: Confidence At Paperclip
HARVICK: First 2011 Series Race At Martinsville
TEAM NEWS: ThorSport Racing Signs Armstrong For 3rd Team
TRACK NEWS: Kentucky Speedway Lands Race Sponsor
CRAWFORD: Takes Over At Mobile International Speedway
TEAM NEWS: Rick Ware Racing Crew Member Dies
MARKS: Leaves With Darlington Stripe
PETERS: Jumps In Points To Third After Darlington
PALUDO: First Lap Fracas Spoils Darlington Run
SAUTER: Leaves Lady Without Darlington Stripe
CRAFTON: Tames Darlington With Fourth Place Finish
LONG: Short Night At "Lady In Black"
GOESS: Top 20 In Darlington Debut
PAPIS: Tough Night At Track Too Tough To Tame
BODINE: Darlington Is Still Tough Old Girl
KAHNE: Wants More Time In Trucks
KAHNE: Flexes Muscle In First Darlington Practice
TEAM NEWS: ThorSport Racing Practice Reports- Darlington
BUESCHER: Best In Final Darlington Practice
Celebrity Guests Named For Toyota Skinner Round-Up
CRAFTON: 'Darlington Is Not My Favorite Race Track'
ROGERS: First Darlington Trip Awaits
PALUDO: First Time At Tough Track
PETERS: Back To Short Track
