PHOTO: Michael Guariglia | The Podium Finish
Although he fell short of tying a series-high fourth championship, Matt Crafton managed another steady season in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. He never made it to victory lane but still finished top-four in points for the seventh time in the last nine seasons.
Key Stats
Standings: 4th
Wins: 0
Top-five finishes: 5
Top-10 finishes: 12
DNFs: 1 (Charlotte)
Average running position: 10.6 (6th)
Quality passes: 699 (1st)
Driver rating: 93.6 (7th)
Highlights
QUICK START- After a 15th place finish to kick off the season at Daytona International Speedway, Crafton responded with strong finishes in the next three races to rise into the top-four of points. He placed sixth at the Daytona Road Course, a race won by teammate and series champion Ben Rhodes. A few weeks later, he finished fifth at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and followed with a sixth-place finish at Atlanta Motor Speedway, both of which are 1.5-mile tracks.
Crafton also placed 14th in the inaugural Bristol Motor Speedway dirt race.
SIXES- Just before the Playoffs, Crafton finished sixth in three consecutive races. The streak started at Nashville Superspeedway and continued through Pocono Raceway and Knoxville Raceway. It helped him lock into the Playoffs on points ahead of the regular-season finale at Watkins Glen International.
PLAYOFF CONSISTENCY- Crafton certainly didn’t dominate the Playoffs, but he ran well throughout its first six races. He finished second at WWT Raceway and 10th at Darlington Raceway to create a cushion over the cutline in the Round of 10. A seventh-place finish at Bristol locked him into the Round of 8.
Crafton started out the second round strong, finishing third at Las Vegas. A week later at Talladega Superspeedway, Crafton finished 14th but was one of only a few playoff drivers to finish the race.
At that point, only something catastrophic at Martinsville Speedway would have prevented Crafton from not advancing to the Championship 4. Fortunately, he stayed out of trouble and transferred with a fifth-place finish.
Lowlights
SPRING HICCUP- As the weather warmed, Crafton struggled to finish consistently. In April, he finished 18th at Richmond Raceway before placing 24th at Kansas Speedway. In May, Crafton blew a motor and finished 30th at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Two weeks later, he finished 20th, three laps down at Texas Motor Speedway.
PHOENIX- Crafton made the Championship 4 for the second time in three seasons, but couldn’t capitalize. He finished 12th at Phoenix Raceway, behind the other three championship contenders. Crafton ran inside the top 10 for most of the race and earned stage points but fell back late.
2022 Outlook
With his three championships, it’s hard for Crafton to have expectations short of another Championship 4 appearance. Although he isn’t winning as much as in seasons past, Crafton remains as consistent as ever.
2022 will be Crafton’s 18th season in the No. 88 truck for Rhonda and Duke Thorson and his 22nd in the series as a whole. He’s a favorite to win the title each season and did so as recently as 2019, a year where he went winless. At age 45, Crafton can’t dominate races like he used to, but he should still contend nearly every week and have another opportunity for his fourth championship come Phoenix in November.
