Matt Crafton
Encyclopedia
Matthew Crafton is an American
race car driver in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. He currently drives the #88 Menards
Toyota Tundra
for ThorSport Racing
.
s, midgets
, and mini sprints
. His career went national when he became involved in the 1998 Winter Heat Series
shown on ESPN
at Tucson Raceway Park
, during which he raced against other current NASCAR drivers Greg Biffle
, Kevin Harvick
, Kurt Busch
, and Ron Hornaday
. He has made 172 consecutive starts in the Truck series.
Crafton began his go-kart career at the age of seven after receiving a kart for a graduation present for graduating from kindergarten
. He won national and regional championships for many years before moving to midgets at the age of 15, winning twenty main events. He joined the Featherlite Southwest Series in 1996, and won the championship in 2000.
and Travis Kvapil
for Rookie of the Year
. Menards first joined as an associate sponsor in 2002 and despite the extra funding, he only had six top-tens and fell to fifteenth in points, before to an eleventh-place finish in 2003.
For 2004, Crafton signed on to drive the #6 GM Goodwrench
Silverado owned by Kevin Harvick Incorporated
. He posted a third place finish twice, and ended the season fifth in the final standings. Despite the finish, he was released from KHI and returned to ThorSport, and won his first career pole at New Hampshire International Speedway
. In 2006, he had four top-five finishes and finished fourteenth in points. In 2007, he improved to eighth in points and posted ten top-ten finishes for the third consecutive season.
Crafton's first NASCAR win came at Lowe's Motor Speedway on May 16, 2008, in the North Carolina Education Lottery
200. It was his 178th start, the record for most starts a driver has had before getting his first win in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. The win moved him into the top five in points for 2008. Crafton also filled in for Robby Gordon
at Homestead (practice and qualifying) because Gordon was at the final off road race of the season which Gordon became the champion.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
race car driver in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. He currently drives the #88 Menards
Menards
Menards is a chain of home improvement stores in the Midwestern United States.The privately held company headquartered in Eau Claire, Wisconsin has 262 stores in 13 states: Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, Kansas, South Dakota, North Dakota, and...
Toyota Tundra
Toyota Tundra
The Toyota Tundra is a full-size pickup truck introduced by Toyota in the year 2000. It was widely considered to be the first full-size import-brand truck built with an American look and feel and a refined V8 engine. The Tundra was eventually nominated for the North American Truck of the Year...
for ThorSport Racing
ThorSport Racing
ThorSport Racing is a Sandusky, Ohio based NASCAR racing team that competes in the Camping World Truck Series. Owned by Duke Thorson and his wife Rhonda, the team currently fields the #13 Safe Auto Insurance Company/Curb Records Toyota Tundra driven by Johnny Sauter through an alliance with Mike...
.
Early career
Before turning to NASCAR racing, Crafton raced go-kartGo-kart
thumb|A [[Kart racing|racing kart]] at the [[Commission Internationale de Karting|CIK-FIA]] European Championship 2008A go-kart is a small four-wheeled vehicle...
s, midgets
Midget car racing
Midget cars, also Speedcars in Australia, are very small race cars with a very high power-to-weight ratio and typically use four-cylinder engines.-Cars:Typically, these cars have 300 to 400 horsepower and weigh...
, and mini sprints
Sprint car racing
Sprint cars are high-powered race cars designed primarily for the purpose of running on short oval or circular dirt or paved tracks. Sprint car racing is popular in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa....
. His career went national when he became involved in the 1998 Winter Heat Series
Winter Heat Series
Winter Heat Series was a television program on TNN and later ESPN2 that featured stock car racing.-History:The program aired during the winter months between November and January . The program began during the 1994-1995 winter and ran through the 1998-1999 winter...
shown on ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
at Tucson Raceway Park
Tucson Raceway Park
Tucson Raceway Park is a 3/8-mile paved oval racetrack located at the Pima County Fairgrounds, off Interstate 10 just south of Tucson, Arizona. It is one of only three paved ovals in the state of Arizona . The track is currently closed. -History:The track was built in 1968, originally as a clay oval...
, during which he raced against other current NASCAR drivers Greg Biffle
Greg Biffle
Gregory Jack "Greg" Biffle is a NASCAR driver who drives the #16 3M Ford Fusion for Roush Fenway Racing in the Sprint Cup Series. After racing in the NASCAR Winter Heat Series in the mid-90s, he was recommended to Jack Roush by former announcer Benny Parsons...
, Kevin Harvick
Kevin Harvick
Kevin Michael Harvick is an American stock car auto racing race car driver and car owner currently competing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series for Richard Childress Racing, driving the No. 29 Budweiser/Jimmy John's/Rheem/Okuma/Realtree Outdoors/Bad Boy Buggies Chevrolet Impala...
, Kurt Busch
Kurt Busch
Kurt Thomas Busch is an American NASCAR and NHRA driver. He drives the No. 22 Shell Oil Company/Pennzoil Dodge Charger in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, and will race on an "opportunity permitting" basis in the Pro Stock division of NHRA...
, and Ron Hornaday
Ron Hornaday
Ronald Hornaday, Jr. is a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver. He is the father of former NASCAR driver Ronnie Hornaday, and son of the late Ron Hornaday, Sr., a two-time Winston West Champion. Adding on to the family legacy, Ron is a four-time champion in the Truck Series, his most recent...
. He has made 172 consecutive starts in the Truck series.
Crafton began his go-kart career at the age of seven after receiving a kart for a graduation present for graduating from kindergarten
Kindergarten
A kindergarten is a preschool educational institution for children. The term was created by Friedrich Fröbel for the play and activity institute that he created in 1837 in Bad Blankenburg as a social experience for children for their transition from home to school...
. He won national and regional championships for many years before moving to midgets at the age of 15, winning twenty main events. He joined the Featherlite Southwest Series in 1996, and won the championship in 2000.
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
Crafton made his Truck series debut in 2000 at the season finale at California Speedway. Driving the PickupTruck.com Chevy for ThorSport, he qualified 17th and finished ninth. In 2001, he piloted the 88 for ThorSport full time with sponsorship from Fast Track Delivery Sealer and XE Sighting System. He had eleven top-tens and finished twelfth in the championship standings, third behind Ricky HendrickRicky Hendrick
Joseph Riddick Hendrick IV , also known as Ricky Hendrick, was an American NASCAR stock car driver and partial owner at Hendrick Motorsports, a team that his father Rick Hendrick founded. He was born in Charlotte, North Carolina on April 2, 1980, and began his career in racing at the age of fifteen...
and Travis Kvapil
Travis Kvapil
Travis Kvapil is an American race car driver. He currently drives for Front Row Motorsports in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.-Early career:...
for Rookie of the Year
NASCAR Rookie of the Year
The NASCAR Rookie of the Year Award is presented to the first-year driver that has the best season in a NASCAR season. Each of NASCAR's national and regional touring series selects a RotY winner each year....
. Menards first joined as an associate sponsor in 2002 and despite the extra funding, he only had six top-tens and fell to fifteenth in points, before to an eleventh-place finish in 2003.
For 2004, Crafton signed on to drive the #6 GM Goodwrench
GM Goodwrench
GM Goodwrench is an auto repair service for General Motors in Canada, and previously, the United States. In 2011, GM replaced Goodwrench in the US with separate Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, and GMC Certified Service brands.-Background:...
Silverado owned by Kevin Harvick Incorporated
Kevin Harvick Incorporated
Kevin Harvick Incorporated was a NASCAR team owned by NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Kevin Harvick and his wife DeLana, who herself is the daughter of a former Busch Series driver, John Linville...
. He posted a third place finish twice, and ended the season fifth in the final standings. Despite the finish, he was released from KHI and returned to ThorSport, and won his first career pole at New Hampshire International Speedway
New Hampshire International Speedway
New Hampshire Motor Speedway is a oval speedway located in Loudon, New Hampshire which has hosted NASCAR racing annually since the early 1990s, as well as an IndyCar weekend and the oldest motorcycle race in North America, the Loudon Classic...
. In 2006, he had four top-five finishes and finished fourteenth in points. In 2007, he improved to eighth in points and posted ten top-ten finishes for the third consecutive season.
Crafton's first NASCAR win came at Lowe's Motor Speedway on May 16, 2008, in the North Carolina Education Lottery
North Carolina Education Lottery
The North Carolina Education Lottery is run by the government of North Carolina. It was established after Gov. Mike Easley signed the North Carolina State Lottery Act and the 2005 Appropriations Act....
200. It was his 178th start, the record for most starts a driver has had before getting his first win in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. The win moved him into the top five in points for 2008. Crafton also filled in for Robby Gordon
Robby Gordon
Robert W. "Robby" Gordon is an American racecar driver who currently competes in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series as an owner-driver, driving the No. 7 Speed Energy Dodge Charger for Robby Gordon Motorsports, and also competes part-time in the Nationwide Series...
at Homestead (practice and qualifying) because Gordon was at the final off road race of the season which Gordon became the champion.