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Sports

Crafton hoping to add to truck points lead in Texas

By Sports Network
Published | Updated

Fort Worth, TX (SportsNetwork.com) - The Camping World Truck Series kicks off NASCAR's triple-header weekend at Texas Motor Speedway on Friday night.

Despite his season-worst 17th-place finish this past Saturday at Martinsville, Matt Crafton still holds a comfortable 51-point lead in the series. James Buescher, the defending truck champion, finished 10th there and moved up to second in the standings, while Ty Dillon dropped to third in points (-61) following his 22nd-place run.

With 12 laps to go at Martinsville, Dillon hit Kevin Harvick from behind and spun him around, which triggered a four-truck crash. During the caution, both drivers banged fenders in retaliation. Several crew members from Dillon's team then approached Harvick's truck to express their displeasure towards him when he parked in Dillon's pit stall.

On Thursday, NASCAR penalized members of Dillon's No. 3 Richard Childress Racing team for their actions on pit road. Crew member Adam Brown was indefinitely suspended from competition for "throwing an object at a competitor's race truck." Brown threw a hammer at Harvick's truck in the pits. Crew chief Paul (Marcus) Richmond was fined $10,000. According to NASCAR rules, "the crew chief assumes responsibility for the actions of his/her driver, truck owner and team members."

Crafton has yet to win a truck race at Texas, which is a 1.5-mile track. He has 14 top-10 finishes, including a fourth-place run in June, in 25 starts here.

"I definitely like Texas because it's a cool racetrack," Crafton said. "For the majority of the time, we've run really well there. The older the track's gotten the better it's become for us. So hopefully we can keep that momentum going."

Crafton's lone win this season came in April at Kansas, which is also a mile and a half.

Rookie Jeb Burton scored his first win in the Truck Series by taking the spring race at Texas. Burton, who is the 21-year-old son of 2002 Daytona 500 winner Ward Burton, passed Dillon for the lead following a late-race restart with 24 laps to go and then beat Dillon to the finish line by just 0.14 seconds for his maiden victory in just his 12th start.

"Texas brought several 'firsts' for us," Burton said. "It was my first time at the track, and we got our first win of the season. We're taking a brand new truck this weekend, so we're putting it all out there to get another win. One of my favorite things about this track is running beside the wall. It makes it fun and more competitive."

Thirty-five teams are on the entry list for the WinStar World Casino 350. Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski are those Sprint Cup Series regulars competing in this race.

Series: NASCAR Camping World. Date: Friday, Nov. 1. Race: WinStar World Casino 350. Site: Texas Motor Speedway. Track: 1.5-mile oval. Start time: 8:30 p.m. ET. Laps: 147. Miles: 220.5. 2012 Winner: Johnny Sauter. Television: FOX Sports 1. Radio: Motor Racing Network (MRN)/SIRIUS NASCAR Radio.