Pocono: Matt Crafton preview

Matt Crafton No. 88 Menards/Tide Chevrolet Silverado Preview: Pocono Mountains 125 at Pocono Raceway

Sandusky, Oh. (July 26, 2010) -- It is a monumental weekend as ThorSport Racing heads into the Pocono Mountains for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series' first ever visit to the Pocono Raceway. While the team and driver Matt Crafton will make their first start at the triangular 2.5-mile track, ThorSport Racing will reach its milestone 500th cumulative start in NCWTS competition.

You haven't raced at Pocono before, are you nervous about going in to a new track for the first time? "No not at all. It's just like in the old Southwest Tour days, we go in and get some practice laps and get used to the track and then we go race. We aren't going in totally blind either. I've talked to some guys, like Paul Menard, who have been there a few times to get some setup advice. We're going to basically go with our mile-and-a-half setup and we can work from there. I think that will get us in the ballpark, I just need to get myself used to the track. I've been racing in the Truck Series since 2000 and I get to be a rookie again this weekend."

How hard is it to adapt to a new track? "We have a lot of practice time so it shouldn't be too bad. That's part of coming from a touring series like the Southwest Tour that really helps. We never had a lot of time to get up to speed when we went someplace new. I'll have to learn the braking points and where the bumps are and the best line to get through the corners, but that should come pretty quickly. Once we get the driver up to speed we can work on getting the truck as good as we can get it. Pocono has three very different corners so you have to make some compromises but I know Bud (Haefele) and the guys will work hard to make it as good as we can make it."

ThorSport Racing is reaching its 500th start this weekend, what are your feelings on your team owners Duke and Rhonda Thorson's commitment to the series? "It's awesome. Even today after 500 starts, they are as involved as they were when the team first started. They have put a lot of time and invested a lot of their own money into building this team into a winner and a championship contender. I can't thank them enough for the opportunity they've given me over the past ten years and they've made me feel like a part of their extended family. They are awesome owners to drive for and I hope we can get them a win here at Pocono to make their 500th start really special."

-source: tsr