Sounding Off – Matt Crafton:
You’ve finished inside the top-10 in every start at Eldora Speedway. Is this a track you look forward to racing at each year?
“I have a love, hate, relationship with Eldora. I need to figure out how to put the whole race together. For the first two-thirds of the race I’m, ‘King Kong,’ and driving inside the top-five. Unfortunately, at the end, the groove moves up the fence, and they burn my preferred line off, and at that point we’re in trouble. We just have to figure out how to make it last the whole race.”
Team Stats:
2017 Driver Point Standings: 4th
2017 Owner Point Standings: 4th
2017 Stage Points: 103
2017 Playoff Points: 1 (Dover)
News & Notes:
- Chassis Chatter… The No. 88 ThorSport Racing (TSR) team will unload chassis No. 9 for Wednesday night’s Eldora Dirt Derby at Eldora Speedway in New Weston, OH.
- Buckeye State Stats… Among active series drivers, Matt Crafton is one of four drivers to compete in all four NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) races at Eldora Speedway, has the most top-10 finishes (4), has completed the most laps (607), and has the most lead lap finishes (4).
- Testing, 1, 2, 3, Testing… Crafton, along with his Toyota Racing teammate, Christopher Bell, participated in the Goodyear Tire Test at Eldora Speedway earlier this season.
- Eldora Dirt… According to NASCAR’s Loop Data statistics, Crafton ranks first in Laps in the Top 15 (569), third in Average Running Position (9.13), and fourth in Driver Rating (88.9), entering the fifth-annual event at the half-mile clay oval.
- In the Loop – 2017… According to NASCAR’s Loop Data statistics, Crafton ranks second Laps in the Top-15 (1436), third in Average Running Position (7.041), and fourth in Driver Rating (96.9) entering Thursday night’s 20th annual event at the 1.5-mile track.
- Take Me Back – Eldora, 2016… The No. 88 Menards Toyota Tundra was 27th in single truck qualifying. Crafton lined-up sixth in Qualifying Race No. 2, and finished fifth. Starting 22nd in the main event, the ThorSport Racing driver ran as high as third, and finished 10th, his fourth top-10 finish in 10 starts at the “Big E.”
- Rearview Mirror – Kentucky… In his 19th career start at the 1.5-mile oval, the Menards driver started fourth, ran as high as second, and finished eighth in the 150-lap event.
Crafton’s Eldora Stats:
- Starts: 4, since 2013
- Laps Completed: 607 of 607 (100%)
- Laps Led: 0
- Wins: 0
- Top-5 Finishes: 0
- Top-10 Finishes: 4
- Poles: 0
- Average start: 12.5
- Average finish: 9.0
Crafton’s Career Truck Series Stats:
- Starts: 394, since 2000
- Wins: 13
- Top-five Finishes: 99
- Top-10 finishes: 232
- Poles: 12
- Laps Completed: 60,939
- Laps Led: 2207
- Average start: 12.6
- Average finish: 11.4
Eldora Stages:
- Stage 1 – 40 laps (concludes at lap 40)
- Stage 2 – 50 laps (concludes at lap 90)
- Stage 3 – 60 laps (concludes at lap 150)
Broadcast Schedule – Eldora:
Wednesday, July 19:
5:00 p.m. NCWTS Qualifying (Single Vehicle/Two Laps) – FOX Sports 1
7:30 p.m. NCWTS Qualifying Races (5 Races/10 Laps Each) – FOX Sports 2
9:00 p.m. NCWTS Setup Show – FOX Business
9:30 p.m. Eldora Dirt Derby (150 Laps/75 Miles) – FOX Business
*FOX Business (Direct TV) – Channel 359
*FOX Business (Dish Network) – Channel 206
Race Information:
Wednesday, July 19
Time: 9:30pm ET on FOX Business, SiriusXM & MRN
Track: half-mile clay oval
Distance: 150 Laps, 75 miles
Social: @EldoraSpeedway, #EldoraDirtDerbyV
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