Matt Crafton Tag

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer The pairing of Front Row Motorsports and Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series rookie Matt Tifft has ended as the team announced Wednesday they’ve mutually agreed to part ways as Tifft will be focusing on his health. The 23-year-old Hinckley, Ohio native issued a statement regarding the decision of leaving FRM: “I’ve made the decision to focus on my health and there is no rush or timetable to get back behind the wheel. Because of that, I can’t commit to racing full-time in 2020. I can’t sayRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer AVONDALE, Arizona — It started off with three ThorSport Racing drivers when the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series playoffs began in late August. Now going into the Championship 4 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, only one made it to the big stage. That man was two-time series champion Matt Crafton. Crafton entered into Friday’s Lucas Oil 150 at ISM Raceway outside the cutoff line, trailing Austin Hill by nine points. When crossed the line in sixth, Crafton beat Hill by seven points to claim the fourth and finalRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service AVONDALE, Ariz. – Stewart Friesen thought he had led the first lap of Friday night’s Lucas Oil 150 at ISM Raceway in Phoenix. He was wrong. After suffering a penalty for jumping the start of the race, however, Friesen rallied to lead the lap that counted most—the last one— and secured a spot in next weekend’s Championship 4 race with the second NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series victory of the season and his career. “We’ve got a badass piece for next week, too,” promisedRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Drivers in the Round of 6 endured an accurate depiction of a “Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day” in Saturday’s NASCAR Hall of Fame 200 at Martinsville Speedway. Just about everyone who are competing for the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series championship either dealt with truck issues or involved in a series of cautions that ended their race. Only two out of the six finished inside the top-10 while the other four were outside the top-20. Earlier in the race, it was all calm forRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Front Row Motorsports driver Matt Tifft will be replaced by two-time NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series champion Matt Crafton for Sunday’s First Data 500 at Martinsville Speedway. Tifft, who pilots the No. 36 Ford Mustang, was transported to a local hospital Saturday morning due to a medical condition at the track. FRM issued a short statement regarding Tifft’s medical update: “This morning, Matt Tifft was transported to a local hospital in Martinsville, Virginia for further evaluation and tests after suffering a medical condition at the track.Read More

By NASCAR Wire Service With the opening race of the 2019 NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Playoffs behind them, the eight drivers contending for the title head to the lone road course on the series schedule this weekend for the seventh annual Chevrolet Silverado 250 at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park on Sunday, August 25 (2:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Brett Moffitt is sitting pretty as the Gander Trucks head north of the border – he opened the postseason with a win at Bristol Motor SpeedwayRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor BRISTOL, Tenn. – It wouldn’t be a race at Bristol Motor Speedway without tempers flaring at one point or another during the event. In Thursday night’s UNOH 200, it was two playoff drivers in Stewart Friesen and Matt Crafton that butted heads in the final stage of the race. Battling for position on lap 152, Friesen and Crafton got together, sending Friesen for a spin in Turn 4. Though Friesen was able to gather his Chevrolet back up with minimal damage, he was quick toRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service BRISTOL, Tenn. – Top-seeded Brett Moffitt held off determined 17-year-old Chandler Smith after a restart with three laps left and took home the trophy in Thursday night’s UNOH 200 at Bristol Motor Speedway. With the victory in the first event of the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Playoffs, Moffitt, the defending series champion, gained an automatic berth in the Round of 6, as other Playoff contenders either overcame adversity or succumbed to it. “It was tough,” Moffitt said in Victory Lane. “Our (No. 24)Read More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Correspondent BRISTOL, Tenn. – Chandler Smith was just one spot shy of becoming a playoff spoiler in the UNO200 at the age of 17. The Kyle Busch Motorsports driver dueled with defending NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Champion Brett Moffitt on the final two restarts. Moffitt got the better of Smith’s No. 51 IBuyPower Toyota Tundra on the lap 190 restart at Bristol Motor Speedway. A caution four laps later gave the young driver a second chance. Smith lined up alongside Moffitt. He held his ownRead More