History shows Crafton ready for strong run in Newton

One of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series’ most successful drivers in recent years returns to a track Friday where he’s achieved some of his most consistent success.

Few NCWTS drivers have ran as well at Iowa Speedway as Matt Crafton. Since the NCWTS started racing in Newton in 2009, Crafton is the only driver to place in the top-10 in all seven races, including a stop in Victory Lane in 2011.

Part of that consistency can be attributed to luck, he says, but there’s no doubt the 38-year-old has learned what it takes to succeed at Iowa Speedway.

“It’s a short track and that’s what we all grew up racing. I love going to short tracks,” he said. “We have a very good handle on the place. I think I did one of the first Goodyear tire tests there and I think that helped for sure.”

Crafton enters Friday’s American Ethanol 200 eight points behind NCWTS points leader, Johnny Sauter.

A few unlucky finishes earlier this season has left the driver of the No. 88 Menards Toyota Tundra with a sour taste of second place.

Crafton was running second at Dover May 30 when one of his wheels broke. He finished 23rd.

A few weeks later at Gateway Motorsports Park near St. Louis, Crafton placed 26th after blowing a right-front tire while leading the race late.

“We’re not really happy with it. We’re content with it. We’ve been a lot faster than being second in points,” he said. “If we would’ve completed both of those races where we were running, we’d be sitting really, really pretty right now, but that’s racing as they say.”

Perhaps part of his reasoning stems from his achievements of a year ago, when the 14-year truck veteran won his first NCWTS points championship. Crafton had come close before, finishing second in 2009.

“It was awesome,” he said. “It’s definitely something I’ve always wanted and have looked up to people who have been able to do it, so to be able to say I’ve done it is really good [and] really cool.”

Crafton seems to have positioned himself well through the season’s first eight races to repeat as champion, something no driver has ever been able to do on the truck series.

The Tulare, Calif., native already has two wins this year and has finished sixth or better in five of the six races he’s completed.

If history is any indication, another top-10 appears in store for Crafton this weekend. Of the 15 tracks the NCWTS has visited each of the past five seasons, Iowa Speedway and Dover International Speedway are the only two at which he’s finished in the top 10 at every visit.

“We’ve been pretty good at Iowa, and I think it’s really because that track just fits my driving style,” Crafton told ThorSport.com. “Iowa doesn’t drive like a short track, even though it’s less than a mile. You might think I’m crazy, but to me, it drives more like a mile-and-a-half track, with the taste of a short track. The trucks can run wide open around there, making it not only a challenge, but a bunch of fun.”