Third-place Crafton faces tough Nashville challenge

Matt Crafton has Nashville Superspeedway circled on the Truck Series schedule. He knows the Toyota Tundra 200 on Saturday will be one of his toughest challenges of a championship-contending season.

The unheralded Crafton is third in the points, 31 behind Johnny Benson and 16 behind three-time series champion Ron Hornaday going into the 15th of 25 races. Crafton, 32, in his eighth full CTS season, has a career-high eight top-fives (including his first victory) and has a four-race streak of fourth or better.

Fast Facts

What	Toyota Tundra 200
When	7:30 p.m. ET Saturday
TV	SPEED, 7 p.m. ET
Radio	MRN (Sirius Ch. 28), 7:30 ET

• Track Page | Tickets | Travel
• By the Numbers: Nashville

Something has to give at Nashville, where Crafton doesn't have a top-five in seven starts on its 1.33-mile concrete track. Crafton has three top-10s, topped by a seventh in 2004 when he drove for Kevin Harvick Inc. With ThorSport, Crafton's best is ninth in 2006. He was 11th last year.

"We need a good weekend at Nashville," Crafton said. "Historically, this racetrack has not been one of our best when you look at my stats and the team's stats there. We have to go there with our 'A' game in place and come out with a top-five finish to keep our points position strong.

"We are having a great year, and we knew all along that there are a few places we have to step up our game. Nashville is one of them, and the most important thing is this team never gives up. It is what has got us all this far, and that is exactly what we are going to do this weekend."

Crafton points to the fourth in the previous race at O'Reilly Raceway Park as an example of the team's determination. He started 11th and was 17th at the halfway point before making "wholesale" adjustments.

Crafton has started 10th or worse in his six starts at Nashville with ThorSport and hasn't been a strong qualifier this season, a seventh the best of three top-10s.

"Just like we did at Indy, we have to make the best of the situation," Crafton said. "Keep working on our Menards Chevy and make something out of it in the race."

News & Notes

• Benson has won three of the past four races and is the only previous winner entered. He won in 2006, leading the final lap on a green-white-checkered finish. It's the only lap Benson has led in four CTS races at Nashville.
• Travis Kvapil, who isn't entered, won last year.
• David Stremme, a regular in the Nationwide Series and former full-time Sprint Cup driver, will make his second career CTS start and first this season. He replaces Marc Mitchell in the No. 15 Billy Ballew Motorsports Toyota.
• Jeff Green, also a Cup regular until this season, will drive the Key Motorsports Chevrolet in his first CTS race of the season and second of his career.