Crafton scores track best second place finish at Phoenix

Matt Crafton turned a second-place qualifying effort into a track-best second-place finish in Fridaynight’s caution-plagued, race-shortened Lucas Oil 150 at Phoenix (Ariz.) International Raceway (PIR). The solid effort marked the reigning series champion’s 13th top-five finish of the season, extending his point lead to 25 over second-place Ryan Blaney with only one race remaining on the 2014 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) schedule.

The 20th annual event, which was delayed for an hour due to a power outage in the track’s West Valley region, was slowed seven times for 48 laps and then called 24 laps short of the scheduled distance due to another power outage at lap 126 of 150.

 

Crafton, who flirted with the lead numerous times, maintained his second-place starting position through the races first 87 circuits before bringing his No. 88 Hormel/Menards Toyota Tundra to pit road for a scheduled stop under green at lap 87 for four tires and fuel. The ThorSport Racing driver would return to the track in the 10th position and when green-flag stops cycled through, Crafton regained the second position which is where he remained until NASCAR threw the seventh caution flag and ultimately the checkers when another power failure submerged the track into darkness. Crafton would cross the stripe second behind race winner Erik Jones, his fifth top-five in 13 starts at PIR.

 

Thorsports PR