CRAFTON: Fights To 4th Place At New Hampshire
TruckSeries.com Report
Matt Crafton showed the grit that exemplifies the NCWTS championship-challenger as he battled to a 4th place finish in the Heluva Good! 200 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Saturday.
Crafton suffered damage to the right-front fender of his No. 88 Sylvania/Menards Silverado early in the race, and fought a resultant tight truck for the duration. Crafton, who started 8th, scrapped his way into the top-5 by mid-race, however, and never relinquished position en route to his eighth top-5 finish of the season.
“We’re disappointed, because we expected to battle for the win at New Hampshire,” Crafton said. “The guys on our No. 88 Sylvania/Menards Silverado team had a great truck for me, but unfortunately, we weren’t able to show what we had. I’m thankful to Bud (crew chief Haefele) and the guys for continuing to fight their tails off for me, to make the adjustments they made to keep us running up front. Like always, they never gave up. All things considered, we were able to salvage a decent day out of it, and we’re looking forward to getting to Las Vegas next weekend.” Crafton finished 3rd at Vegas last season.
Crafton is in 2nd place in the NCWTS points-standings with six races remaining this season.
“We’re focused on trying to win races,” Crafton said. “Nothing else really matters to us right now. We’ve always had the approach that, as long as we’re taking care of the things we can control, and focusing on continuing to find ways to improve, we’ll be in position for good things to happen. That’s where we continue to put our energies.”
CRAFTON: Eye On The Prize At New Hampshire
TruckSeries.com Report
Matt Crafton seeks to strengthen his position in the heated battle for a NCWTS championship in Saturday’s Heluva! Good 200 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
Crafton won his first Pole Award at New Hampshire in ’05, and owns three top-10 finishes in eight career starts at the track.
“New Hampshire is a really cool place to race,” Crafton said. “It’s always a great show for the fans, and they really come out to support this series up here. As we know, it’s difficult to pass at New Hampshire, so track-position takes on added-importance. We’ve run well here thru the years, but just haven’t had the results to show for it. I see New Hampshire as sort of a ‘bigger Martinsville’ type of track. Hopefully, we can qualify well and stay up front in our Menards/Sylvania Chevy, and put ourselves in position to win the race.”
Despite the hubbub surrounding his pursuit of a championship, Crafton remains entrenched only in the moment.
“Our focus as a team has always been on taking care of our own business, on making sure we’re as good as we can possibly be each week,” he said. “We expect to put ourselves in the best possible position to win races each time out, and, for the most part, we’ve done that. I’m really proud of our guys for the job they’ve done. We know there’s a lot of racing left this season, and anything can happen. As far as the points-race goes, our approach is the same as ever: do our jobs the best we can, keep finding ways to try to improve, and just see how it all plays out. If you’re looking ahead or behind you in this series, and you’re not focused on what’s happening right now, you’ll cost yourself opportunities for success. We’ll give it everything we have on Saturday, and, hopefully, we’ll win the race.”
TruckSeries.com Report
Matt Crafton showed the grit that exemplifies the NCWTS championship-challenger as he battled to a 4th place finish in the Heluva Good! 200 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Saturday.
Crafton suffered damage to the right-front fender of his No. 88 Sylvania/Menards Silverado early in the race, and fought a resultant tight truck for the duration. Crafton, who started 8th, scrapped his way into the top-5 by mid-race, however, and never relinquished position en route to his eighth top-5 finish of the season.
“We’re disappointed, because we expected to battle for the win at New Hampshire,” Crafton said. “The guys on our No. 88 Sylvania/Menards Silverado team had a great truck for me, but unfortunately, we weren’t able to show what we had. I’m thankful to Bud (crew chief Haefele) and the guys for continuing to fight their tails off for me, to make the adjustments they made to keep us running up front. Like always, they never gave up. All things considered, we were able to salvage a decent day out of it, and we’re looking forward to getting to Las Vegas next weekend.” Crafton finished 3rd at Vegas last season.
Crafton is in 2nd place in the NCWTS points-standings with six races remaining this season.
“We’re focused on trying to win races,” Crafton said. “Nothing else really matters to us right now. We’ve always had the approach that, as long as we’re taking care of the things we can control, and focusing on continuing to find ways to improve, we’ll be in position for good things to happen. That’s where we continue to put our energies.”
CRAFTON: Eye On The Prize At New Hampshire
TruckSeries.com Report
Matt Crafton seeks to strengthen his position in the heated battle for a NCWTS championship in Saturday’s Heluva! Good 200 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
Crafton won his first Pole Award at New Hampshire in ’05, and owns three top-10 finishes in eight career starts at the track.
“New Hampshire is a really cool place to race,” Crafton said. “It’s always a great show for the fans, and they really come out to support this series up here. As we know, it’s difficult to pass at New Hampshire, so track-position takes on added-importance. We’ve run well here thru the years, but just haven’t had the results to show for it. I see New Hampshire as sort of a ‘bigger Martinsville’ type of track. Hopefully, we can qualify well and stay up front in our Menards/Sylvania Chevy, and put ourselves in position to win the race.”
Despite the hubbub surrounding his pursuit of a championship, Crafton remains entrenched only in the moment.
“Our focus as a team has always been on taking care of our own business, on making sure we’re as good as we can possibly be each week,” he said. “We expect to put ourselves in the best possible position to win races each time out, and, for the most part, we’ve done that. I’m really proud of our guys for the job they’ve done. We know there’s a lot of racing left this season, and anything can happen. As far as the points-race goes, our approach is the same as ever: do our jobs the best we can, keep finding ways to try to improve, and just see how it all plays out. If you’re looking ahead or behind you in this series, and you’re not focused on what’s happening right now, you’ll cost yourself opportunities for success. We’ll give it everything we have on Saturday, and, hopefully, we’ll win the race.”
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