CRAFTON: Focused On Improvement

Matt Crafton looks to resume his charge to the front of the championship-contender pack in the Built Ford Tough 225 presented by the Greater Cincinnati Ford Dealers at Kentucky Speedway on Saturday.

Crafton enters the night race in 2nd place in the NCWTS standings. He owns a pair of top-5 finishes, including last year’s 3rd place run, and five top-10 finishes in eight career starts at Kentucky. He has finished outside the top-10 at Kentucky only once in his last six starts.

“I really enjoy racing at Kentucky,” he said. “There’s plenty of room to run, but it’s not just another mile-and-a-half track, where you’re glued to the bottom most of the time. Kentucky is unique. It’s a rough track, anything but glass-smooth, so you have to lift, you have to work hard. That keeps everybody on their toes, from the drivers and crew to the shock guys. Kentucky always offers great side-by-side racing, and running under the lights adds extra excitement.”

As the season's midpoint approaches, Crafton’s consistency remains in the spotlight. He owns four top-5 and nine top-10 finishes in eleven races thus far. Crafton knows, however, that there is much unfinished business.

“From a team standpoint, we’re just focused on finding ways to get better, to be as competitive as we can each week,” he said. “That’s where our energy is. We can’t spend time worrying about the point standings, or who’s doing what, because that would take focus away from the things we can control. We know that if we do what we’re capable of each week, we’ll put ourselves in position for good things to happen. All you can do is to put yourself in position to win, whether it's races or a championship, and from there, whatever happens, happens. We’re focused on being the best we can be at Kentucky, and we feel like we have a great shot to win the race. Hopefully, we can take our Menards Chevy to Victory Lane.”