Crafton can continue to dominate 1.5-mile tracks at Kansas

No driver in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series has been more dominant on 1.5-mile tracks than Matt Crafton the past year.

It’s one of the main reasons the No. 88 Toyota Tundra driver was able to win his second consecutive NCWTS championship last season.

In nine starts at intermediate courses dating back to the Truck Series’ latest visit to Kansas Speedway on May 9, 2014, Crafton has tallied two wins, three runner ups and nine top-10 showings for an average finish of 3.4.

He will attempt to continue his reign at 1.5-mile tracks when the NCWTS returns to Kansas Speedway for the Toyota Tundra 250 (8:30 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1). Crafton has started all 14 NCWTS races at Kansas, more than any other driver. He is also tied for the track record with three top-five finishes.

“As the only driver entered that’s competed in all 14 Truck Series races at Kansas, I feel old, at 37, crazy,” Crafton said. “Kansas is definitely a tricky race track – it’s tough to get off Turn 4 and to get your stuff handling good in Turns 1 and 2 and then be that good in Turn 4, it’s tough. Just getting balance overall is key.”

The ThorSport Racing driver will also try to improve on his second-place finish at Kansas last season and win there for the second time in three years.

“We were really, really fast (at Kansas) last year; a contender all night,” Crafton said. “We were a little bit free-in and tight center and off, but we were scared to make any adjustments to hurt us on corner entry. I had to protect my entry and that’s how Kyle (Busch) got around us for the win.”