Crafton aims to protect his title in Eldora

For the third consecutive year, the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) will head to the historic half-mile clay oval of Eldora Speedway located in the cornfields of Rossburg, Ohio for the 1-800-CarCash Mudsummer Classic. The spectacle, which is unlike anything else in NASCAR, is characterized by qualifying, heat races, a last chance race, and a three-segment, 150-lap feature. Matt Crafton, driver of the No. 88 Ideal Door/Menards Toyota Tundra, is coming off his fourth win of the season at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta, with confidence, and looking for his first top-five finish in three starts at the historic track.

 

In two prior starts at Eldora Speedway, Crafton has two top-10 finishes, with a track-best finish of eighth (2013). In fact, the Menards driver is the only active series driver entered with two top-10 finishes in two starts, and one of only four drivers to complete 100 percent of the laps attempted (303 of 303). Crafton, the current NCWTS point leader does not have a background in dirt racing, but he’s not afraid to get down and dirty in the dirt to protect his lead in the championship point standings. With four wins this season, a personal best in one season, the ThorSport Racing driver has led the series standings for seven consecutive weeks (since Martinsville, April) and enters Wednesday night’s event with a 20-point lead over second-place, Tyler Reddick.   

 

Sounding offMatt Crafton:

“It’s different, definitely not the style of racing we are used to, but I know the fans love it. The track is constantly changing; it’s very slippery, slow paced, but it’s on the schedule and we just have to deal with it. I’ve run decent there, not great, but at the same time, we’ve always had to protect ourselves. Each and every week we can go to any track and lose a bunch of points, but Eldora is the unknown for sure.”

Thorsport PR