CONCORD, North Carolina — Matt Crafton had a lot to overcome on Saturday — a 17th-place starting position and a difficult pit stall that cost him dearly in the early stages of Saturday’s North Carolina Education Lottery 200 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
But after 134 laps, Crafton was 5.748 seconds ahead of second-place Kyle Busch, winning the race and extending his series lead to 12 points over seventh-place finisher Timothy Peters. In fact, the two-time champion won consecutive races for the first time in his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career, going back-to-back in successive weeks at Dover and Charlotte.
Even though it took Crafton more than half the race to get to the front, he sensed the quality of his ride from the drop of the green flag.
“I literally did,” Crafton said. “I was like, ‘Wow!’ This thing was unbelievable from the time we dropped the green. This thing went through (Turns) 1 and 2 — well, the first original start, everybody got jumbled up and went through (Turns) 1 and 2 and then 3 and 4, and I’m like, ‘This thing feels really good right here.’
“Then we fell back to the 20s (after pit road issues) at that point and we started driving back through them and I was like, ‘Oh, my goodness, these boys are in trouble today.’”
Fort Kent native Austin Theriault did not compete in the race because qualifying was rained out Friday and the Klixel8 Ford truck he was driving for Brad Keselowski Racing had not been in enough Truck Series starts to gain a position on Saturday.
NASCAR sets the race grid by practice speed and owner points when qualifying is cancelled. The No. 2 truck had the speed but not the owner points because of competing only part time.
Crafton earned his 13th career victory, but despite the wide margin of victory, his No. 88 ThorSport Racing Toyota didn’t take the lead for the first time until Lap 80, when Crafton tracked down Peters and passed him for the top spot.
After starting mid-pack, Crafton worked his way forward during the first run but had major issues on pit road, first sliding through his pit box and later getting blocked in his stall. The miscues forced Crafton to pass a gaggle of cars, but by Lap 78 he was fourth for a restart after Christopher Bell’s spin off Turn 4, and two laps later, Crafton had the lead.
Wiscasset Speedway
Amsoil NELCAR Legends (35 laps): 1. Kevin Girard Jr., Old Orchard Beach; 2. Bob Weymouth, Topsham; 3. Matt Grant, Windham; 4. Austin Teras, Windham; 5. Chris Burgess, Buckfield; Thunder Four Minis (20 laps): 1. Jason Trundy, Winterport; 2. Michael Harrison, Durham; 3. Joe Katula, Lisbon; 4. Jeff Minchin Jr., Pittston; 5. Michael Golding, Pownal; Servepro of Biddeford Saco Pro Stocks (40 laps): 1. Phil Richardson, Hermon; 2. James Osmond, Woolwich; 3. Ajay Picard, Palmyra; 4. Thomas True, Wiscasset; 5. Joe Decker, Chesterville; New England Four Cylinder Pro Stocks (25 laps): 1. Kamren Knowles, West Gardiner; 2. RJ Pinkham, Hallowell; 3. Ryan Hayes, Jefferson; 4. Jeff Prindall, Lisbon Falls;
5. Dave Patten, Westbrook; Super Streets (25 laps): 1. Mark Lucas, Harpswell; 2. Tasha Dyer, Arrowsic; 3. Jason Curtis, Hollis; 4. Adam Chadbourne, Woolwich; 5. Sean Johnson, Oakland
Oxford Plains Speedway
Budweiser Super Late Model (50 laps): 1. Tim Brackett, Buckfield; 2. Dennis Spencer, Oxford; 3. Scott Farrington, Minot; 4. Shawn Knight, South Paris; 5. Scott Moore, Anson; Allen’s Coffee Flavored Brandy Street Stock (30 laps): 1. Matt Dufault, Turner; 2. Kyle Hewins, Leeds; 3. Zach Emerson, Sabattus; 4. Jonathan Emerson, Sabattus; 5. Calvin Rose, Jr., Turner; Bandit (20 laps): 1. Kyle Hewins, Leeds; 2. Tyler Green, Turner; 3. Cam Childs, Leeds; 4. Bill Grover, Waterford; 5. Jamie Heath, Waterford; Figure 8 (15 laps): F1. Eric Hodgkins, Minot; 2. Robert Morey, Lisbon; 3. Jon Lizotte, Lewiston; 4. Kyle Kilgore, South Paris; 5. David Smith, South Paris
Winterport Dragway
Super Pro/ Pro Final: 1. Bob Cousins, Brewer 2. Luc Beaulieu, Winslow; Super Pro Eliminator: 1. Bob Cousins Brewer, 2. Paul Henckel , Old Orchard Beach, Semifinalist, Randy Therrien, Unity, Semifinalist, Gary Hatch, Owls Head; Pro Eliminator: 1.Luc Beaulieu , Winslow, 2. Cory Webb, Stonington, Semifinalist, Mike Whitaker, S. China, Semifinalist, Tim Wilcox, Easton; Street Eliminator: 1. Christine Leeman, Letang NB , 2. Tony Ryan, Bangor, Semifinalist, Donnie Perkins, Blue Hill, Semifinalist Tim Wilcox, Easton; Bikes and Sleds: 1. Jon Weeks , Waterville, 2. Dennis Greene ,Clinton , Semifinalist, Everett Beers, West Tremont;
Jr. Dragster Race: 1. Jon Condon,Chelsea, 2. Bree Williams, McAdam NB