Tag Archives: Matt Crafton

Kaz Grala Avoids Last-Lap Melee to Become Youngest Daytona Winner

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Kaz Grala is our guest on Fan4Racing NASCAR & Race Talk, Monday, February 27, 2017 at 8:40 pm ET. Call 929-477-1790 or tweet @Fan4RacingSite or @Sal_Sigala with any questions or comments during our LIVE broadcast.

In the space of 100 laps, Kaz Grala went from youngest NASCAR national series pole winner at Daytona International Speedway to youngest NASCAR national series race winner at Daytona.

What happened between the first green flag and the checkers, however, could fill volumes.

Miraculously, Grala slipped through a wild wreck on the backstretch on the final lap of Friday night’s NextEra Energy Resources 250 to win the first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race contested in stages under NASCAR’s new competition format. Continue reading →

Carl Edwards’ Exit Could Hasten Christopher Bell’s Advancement to XFINITY Series

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Photo – Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images

How long do you think it took Christopher Bell to do the math?

Carl Edwards’ shocking announcement of his abrupt exit from the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota has had a ripple effect that could go far beyond the promotion of Daniel Suárez to a full-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series ride.

Because Suárez will fill Edwards’ seat in NASCAR’s premier series, he won’t defend his NASCAR XFINITY Series title. Bell will be one of the beneficiaries of the changes in Suárez’s schedule. Continue reading →

Johnny Sauter Claims NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Title; William Byron Gets Record Seventh Win

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Johnny Sauter won the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship with a third-place finish in Friday night’s Ford EcoBoost 200 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, leaving race winner William Byron to consider what might have been.

As Byron and Tyler Reddick battled for the lead, Sauter passed Championship 4 contender Matt Crafton for third-place on lap 119 of 134 at the 1.5-mile track. Sauter then pulled away to claim the championship as Crafton faded to seventh in the closing laps.

Byron, the polesitter, claimed his rookie-record seventh victory of the season to salve the wound of last week at Phoenix, where a blown engine late in the final Round of 6 race knocked him out of the inaugural NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Chase. Continue reading →

Championship 4 Weekend Kicks Off With Camping World Truck Series Showdown

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The inaugural NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Championship 4 race kicks off what promises to be a thrilling weekend in Miami, NASCAR’s title town. Friday night’s race wraps up a four round elimination-style playoff that will crown one of four drivers as the champion in the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The first of the Championship 4 drivers to cross the finish line at Homestead will become the 2016 series driver champion. Johnny Sauter, Matt Crafton, Christopher Bell and Timothy Peters are the Championship 4 and have competed all season for the chance at the title in the Ford EcoBoost 200 Friday, Nov. 18 at 8 pm. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.  Continue reading →

Christopher Bell is Carrying the Banner for Young Drivers

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MIAMI BEACH, FL - NOVEMBER 17: Christopher Bell, driver of the #4 JBL Toyota, talks to the media during media day for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Championship at the Loews Hotel on November 17, 2016 in Miami Beach, Florida. Photo by Chris Trotman/Getty Images

MIAMI BEACH, FL – NOVEMBER 17: Christopher Bell, driver of the #4 JBL Toyota, talks to the media during media day for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Championship at the Loews Hotel on November 17, 2016 in Miami Beach, Florida. Photo by Chris Trotman/Getty Images

Christopher Bell may respect his elders, but that doesn’t mean he won’t be trying his best to beat them.

The 21-year-old NASCAR Camping World Truck Series rookie is the sole representative of NASCAR’s youth movement still eligible for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series title, which will be decided in Friday’s Ford EcoBoost 200.

Matt Crafton, 40, is a two-time series champion. Fellow Championship 4 competitors Johnny Sauter and Timothy Peters are 38 and 36, respectively. Continue reading →