Krista Voda: Matt Crafton comfortable with his line – and life – in the sand
ThorSport Racing's Matt Crafton is second in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series heading into Saturday's race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. // David Griffin, NASCAR Scene
COMMENTARY
Matt Crafton was in the news for all the wrong reasons recently after a pair of late accidents at Gateway International Raceway. That doesn’t mean Crafton was necessarily in the wrong, as the 33-year-old ThorSport Racing driver insists he did not turn right into the trucks of Todd Bodine and Ron Hornaday.
After watching the tape and speaking with several prominent figures in the garage area, Crafton received enough positive feedback to move forward in confidence.
“That’s when you have to draw a line in the sand,” Crafton says.
When it comes to sand, the California native knows of what he speaks. For if there’s any place in the world Crafton feels most comfortable, it’s in the dunes behind the wheel of his sand rail. Drivers such as Jimmie Johnson, Greg Biffle, Kyle Busch and Casey Mears have spent plenty of time in these lightweight vehicles, and Crafton is following in their tracks.
As a kid, he regularly went to Glamis Sand Dunes, along the California-Arizona border, to ride his four-wheeler. It was then that he first encountered the more powerful sand rails and knew he had to have one.
Crafton finally got one recently – albeit just the chassis. In the wake of his first career Truck series win last May at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, Chevrolet helped supply an engine and Robby Gordon even provided a transmission. Crafton put the finishing touches on rebuilding his sand rail, and then it was time to put it to good use.
After the Camping World Truck Series made its trek to Fontana, Calif., in February, Crafton and his girlfriend, Ashley, ventured out to the dunes. With Crafton riding as a passenger on the final day of the trip, Ashley flipped his beloved sand rail and nearly totaled it. Crafton, who had urged her to stay on the throttle when the vehicle got up on two wheels, was happy to see that she was OK – and had followed his instructions. When the sand rail came to rest, there was Ashley with hands still on the wheel, foot on the pedal and her eyes completely shut!
Crafton dragged the remains of his sand rail home to North Carolina, where he’s working on repairs. He is counting the days until Thanksgiving when the season’s over and he plans to head back west for some quality time in the sand.
As the Truck series prepares to visit Las Vegas this weekend, Crafton is closer to championship contention than he’s ever been before. Hornaday, in the midst of a dream season, will be tough to track down. But don’t expect Crafton to be content with a runnerup finish in the standings.
“Absolutely not,” he says. “If you’re satisfied with second, you shouldn’t even be here.”
You could say that’s a line in the sand Crafton refuses to cross.
Krista Voda hosts the popular SPEED prerace show NCWTS Setup, leading into each NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race. Voda is also a regular host on The SPEED Report and serves as a pit reporter for NASCAR on FOX coverage of the Sprint Cup Series.
