Crafton takes green flag to wrap up NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship at
Homestead-Miami Speedway
Kyle Busch survives three green-white-checker attempts to win the series season finale
Miami – Matt Crafton finished 21st to clinch the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship by 40
points over Ty Dillon in the season finale Ford EcoBoost 200 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
The championship is a first for Crafton, a California native. The season championship is also the first for his
team, ThorSport Racing.
Kyle Busch held off a hard charging Ryan Blaney by a margin of 0.081 seconds to win the Ford EcoBoost 200.
The thrilling race saw 13 lead changes and eight yellow flags, including an incident involving Crafton’s No. 88
Idea Door / Menards Toyota, complicating his attempt to secure the Owners Championship. Crafton’s 21st
place finish left ThorSport Racing tied with Kyle Busch Motor Sports,
which captured the championship by virtue of having more race wins on
the
season.
A disappointed Crafton said, “We wanted to get to victory lane and get the owners championship. It’s a shame.
We were in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
Ryan Blaney captured Rookie of the Year honors, leading 67 laps and nearly stealing the victory from Busch. Blaney,
19, is the youngest rookie to win the award.
Crafton, known as “Mr. Consistency” on the track, lived up to his name by having 19 top-ten finishes and six top-five
finishes this year. He also became the first driver to complete every lap in a season.
The ThorSport team also showed remarkable consistency -- its drivers lead the standings every week since the start
of the year. It began with Johnny Sauter for the first three weeks, before Matt Crafton took over for the rest of the season.
Crafton was elated at the way his year turned out, “It’s been the greatest year of my life so far, to have a baby
and win a NASCAR championship. Nobody can ever take that away from you.”
The
championship means just as much to the owners as it does to Crafton.
The win marks the first championship for
ThorSport Racing and its owners, Duke and Rhonda Thorson. The victory
is the culmination of years of perseverance and some luck from the
Sandusky, Ohio based team that ended its best year to date. After the
race, Crafton praised Duke and his team, “Guys are
coming to Ohio to work with us. This win shows that you don’t need to
be in North Carolina to win a championship.”
The Camping World Truck Series Ford EcoBoost 200 kicked of Ford Championship Weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
The Ford EcoBoost 300 NASCAR Nationwide Series finale takes place today at 4:00 p.m. EDT, with only eight points
separating drivers Sam Hornish Jr. and Austin Dillon.
The NASCAR Chase for the Sprint Cup concludes on Sunday night as Jimmie Johnson looks to hold off challengers Matt
Kenseth and Kevin Harvick to win his sixth title.
Tickets
are going fast for Sunday’s Ford EcoBoost 400. Tickets also remain for
the other prominent NASCAR championship race during Ford Championship
Weekend – Saturday afternoon’s Ford EcoBoost 300, the NASCAR Nationwide
Series championship finale.
About Homestead-Miami Speedway
The Speedway has been open
since 1995 following an initiative to spur economic recovery in the
aftermath of Hurricane Andrew. The 650-acre facility is active more
than 280 days
per year and will host NASCAR’s championship races during Ford Championship Weekend
(November 15-17, 2013) for the 12th consecutive year. The
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship Ford EcoBoost 400 is broadcast
live on TV and radio to 175 countries in 24 languages. Homestead-Miami
Speedway, featuring a 1.5-mile oval and 2.21-mile
road course, generates more than $250 million annually for the region.
The 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion will be crowned Sunday, November 17. The Ford EcoBoost 400 race winner
will receive a custom Bay Boat built by industry icon Contender, a Homestead-based company.
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