Tag: Tulare

Matt Crafton of Tulare, CA has a busy weekend planned. First off, on Friday he will compete in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race in Dover, Delaware. After the race he will fly to Toledo, Ohio to race in the Menards 200, an ARCA series event at Toledo Speedway. He will drive the No. 88 Menards Ford Fusion for Kimmel Racing. This was all arranged by Matt’s primary sponsor Menards to put on a good show for the fans in Ohio. Here is some more info from ThorSport Racing.

Sandusky, Ohio -May 10th, 2011 – Matt Crafton, driver of the No. 88 Menards / Certainteed Chevrolet Silverado, makes his eleventh NASCAR Camping World Truck Series start at Dover International Speedway on Friday, May 13th for ThorSport Racing. With four top ten finishes and his best finish of fifth in 2008 for Crafton, currently third in driver points, he feels as ready as he’ll ever be to take on the “Monster Mile.”

“I’ve had concussions here, been life-flighted out of here, had good days and had bad days,” the driver said. “Welcome to the Monster Mile, it can eat you alive or give you the best ride you’ve ever driven. It’s one of my favorite racetracks, and I really mean that. It’s crazy to say at a place that’s beaten me up before, but that’s the beauty of Dover. You have to trust your instincts and not make any mistakes. We’re ready this year from all fronts to attack.”

Doing “double driver duty,” Crafton will fly directly from the Truck Series race to compete in the ARCA Racing Series Menards 200 in a Kimmel Racing-fielded entry, the No. 88 Menards Ford Fusion.

“Speaking” for Autism in Dover

The No. 88 Menards / Certainteed Chevy will also don the Autism Speaks Puzzle logo for the Dover Lucas Oil 200 on Friday as a tribute to children with autism. “This is the second year in a row that we’ve supported Autism Speaks, and it’s a great way that we can raise awareness for a group doing good things across the country,” Crafton continued.

Adopting Servicemembers for the No. 88

The No. 88 pit stall will have three extra “honorary pit crew” on Dover weekend, as the ThorSport Racing team supports members of the Dover Air Force Base. Staff Sergeant Erik Chittick, the 436th Civil Engineer Squadron Crew Chief; Technical Sergeant Heather Michaud, the 436th Civil Engineer Squad Fire Inspector; and Technical Sergeant James Ellis of the 9th Airlift Squadron; will all get to “catch tires” with Mechanixwear gloves alongside the No. 88 crew.

“It’s really neat to have any kind of military members with us at any race, but Dover is very special,” said Crafton. “They do so much at Dover AFB and are usually not recognized, to include the ‘honor flights’ of our fallen service men and women. These are folks who quietly serve, and it’s an amazing facility that I’ve toured before. I’m glad we can show them a fun day of racing and being part of our team.”

Carrier Joins Forces with TSR to “Keep Racing Cool”

Carrier, the world leader in air conditioning, heating and refrigeration systems, has joined forces as the Official HVAC provider for ThorSport Racing. As part of the partnership, Carrier will provide heating and cooling systems for ThorSport Racing’s new 100,000-square foot facility in Sandusky, Ohio – opening to the public in August 2011. For more information on Carrier, visit www.Carrier.com.

Getting “CSI” on the “ISO” at Dover AFB

As a “thank you” from the Dover AFB staff, the ThorSport Racing No. 88 and No. 13 teams will be touring the C17 Flight Line and the C5 ISO-Chronical Inspection on Thursday night alongside Max & Tati Papis; and crew members from Red Horse Racing. Well known as the “CSI” of Dover AFB, the crew will be touring wings and tails of planes – watch out drivers, no wing walking!

For more information on Matt Crafton and ThorSport racing please visit www.thorsport.com or www.menardsracing.com.

Matt Crafton from Tulare CA, who will turn 35 on June 11th, is in his tenth year racing in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series for ThorSport Racing. He finished 4th last year and up until the last race in Martinsville, Matt had been the points leader all year. He is one of the most successful NorCal drivers and we will follow his progress towards the Truck Series Championship. Here is a press release from his race team about the upcoming race in Nashville, Tennessee.

Sandusky, Ohio – April 20, 2011 – Matt Crafton, driver of the No. 88 Menards / Ideal Door Chevrolet Silverado for ThorSport Racing, sums up Nashville in two words. Fired up. The veteran driver, on a quest for the championship in 2011, looks in the rear view at an 11th place finish in Martinsville and knows it’s time to prove how his team can perform this year at Nashville and beyond. Sitting second in driver points contention going into the race, as well as one top five and five top 10s in eleven appearances – a seventh place finish or better in the last three races – he knows what is possible.

“Yep, I’m fired up. There is no other way to say it. Me and my guys were seeing red, blood red, after Martinsville,” said Crafton. “We knew we were a better team than that performance, especially this year. It takes perfection at the race track week in, week out to beat the field in this environment in the Truck Series. We know we can do it. So I told my guys this week when I flew to Sandusky – ‘we are going to finish where we left off in Martinsville.’ We are, and we will, prove that we can win races and hopefully win championships with consistent performances.”

ThorSport Racing Sets Standard in 2011

The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series recently reported that “ThorSport Racing is, arguably, the team to beat in 2011.” Crafton is five points away from the leader spot where his teammate, Johnny Sauter sits. Crafton has been atop the standings for the first four races of the season.

Nashville Superspeedway’s Bully Hill Vineyards 200 marks ThorSport Racing’s 327th consecutive race, matching that of Circle Bar Racing for second all-time. Crafton has been a part of the organization since 2001, one of the longest-standing driver/team owner relationships in the Series. That determination and loyalty sits well with the driver and his confidence on the race track.

“I say this all the time – Duke and Rhonda Thorson are like second parents to me. Duke and I talk on the phone sometimes twice a day, just talking about life,” says Crafton. “They are such a strong, supportive leadership team for all of their drivers. I am so confident going to the track that they ‘have my back,’ in however we perform. So me and my guys know on the 88 that we have a responsibility to that family. The Menards family, and also the ThorSport family. This can be our year.”

He went on to say that it’s time to really tackle this track. “It’s no secret that I really love asphalt tracks, and I’m pretty outspoken about it. Concrete is a challenge. But again, we really are not just competitive this year, but ready to win races at any track. We’re bringing the No. 35 chassis for the 88 team – used most recently at Darlington. It was strong there, and Bud and I have worked on it since. Time to race and show how we can make it happen in Nashville. I want a Gibson guitar.”

– ThorSport Racing Press Release

For more information on Matt Crafton please visit: www.mattcrafton.com or to keep track of all his results visit www.racing-reference.info.

“Remains First in Series Driver Points at 250th Start; ThorSport Racing’s Focus Remains on Championship”

Darlington, SC – March 13th, 2011 – NASCAR Camping World Truck Series points leader Matt Crafton, driver of the No. 88 Menards / Tarkett Chevrolet Silverado for ThorSport Racing, powered home in fourth position at the notorious Lady in Black on Saturday night. The finish kept him securely on top of the series points boards, as well as gave the team the third top 10 finish of the season’s three races and first top five.

Nicknamed “Mr. Consistency” this year by the motorsports press, Crafton was true to form from practice to qualifying to race night in the one-day show. Running in the top 10 in both practices, Crafton started the race in fourth position with a qualifying lap time of 28.448 – just one tenth out of pole range.

Running sixth through the first caution of a record 11 for the night, Crafton and crew chief Bud Haefele decided to stay out. On the second caution of the night at lap 25, he brought the truck in for four tires and fuel, saying it was free and lots of debris on the track.

“The truck was super free at the start of the race. I felt we could’ve been up front a little more but weren’t – I just wasn’t racing the race track as much,” said Crafton. “People were taking chances early, so Bud and I were just trying to be smart.”

Restarting 14th and still feeling loose, the team went on to battle for position over the course of the next 92 laps and five cautions. Pitting twice, once at lap 58 and next at lap 88, Crafton wheeled as high as seventh position while still giving feedback that the truck was “free, free, free.” Crafton would restart 23rd and make an impressive drive through the pack to the fourth position at the checkers. The solid performance delivers not only his first top five finish this season, but also his 75th consecutive top 10 series finish and third top 10 finish in as many races this season.

“Coming back for a top five after restarting 23rd with 46 laps to go – that’s really good and I’m proud of how we can dig. I can’t thank the guys enough for working their tails off and giving me a great truck to be able to drive through it like we did at the end. I just wish we hadn’t lost track position today – I think we could’ve had something for the 18 without that loss. We live and die as a team though, and we’re going to take that to Martinsville.”

– ThorSport Racing Press Release