Matt Crafton

Matthew Justin Crafton (born June 11, 1976) is an American professional stock car racing driver.

He competes full-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 88 Ford F-150 for ThorSport Racing.

He joined the Featherlite Southwest Series as a substitute for his injured father, Danny Crafton, in 1996, filling in as the driver of the No. 46 entry for the final three races of the season.

Crafton took over the No. 46 full-time in 1997.

His career went national when he became involved in the 1998 Winter Heat Series shown on ESPN at Tucson Raceway Park, during which he raced against other NASCAR drivers Greg Biffle, Kevin Harvick, Kurt Busch, and Ron Hornaday.

Before turning to NASCAR racing in 2000, he raced go-karts, midgets, and mini sprints.

Crafton began his go-kart career at the age of seven after receiving a kart as a present for graduating from kindergarten.

He won multiple national and regional championships before moving to midgets at the age of 15, winning twenty main events.

After four full-time seasons in the Featherlite Southwest Series, Crafton won the championship in 2000 on the strength of four wins that year.

His success in the Featherlite Southwest Series that season led to the invitation to make his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series debut for SealMaster Racing.

Crafton made his Truck Series debut in 2000 at the season finale, held at California Speedway.

In 2001, he piloted the No. 88 for ThorSport full-time with sponsorship from Fast Track Delivery Sealer and XE Sighting System.

He had eleven top-tens and finished twelfth in the championship standings, third behind Ricky Hendrick and Travis Kvapil for Rookie of the Year.

Menards first joined as an associate sponsor in 2002 and that season he earned six top-tens and finished fifteenth in points.

Crafton earned 11 top 10s before finishing 11th in points in 2003.

In 2004, Crafton signed on to drive the No. 6 GM Goodwrench Silverado owned by Kevin Harvick Incorporated.

He posted a best finish of third place in two races, and with six top fives and 17 top 10s, he ended the season fifth in the final standings.

Despite strong statistics in 2004, he was released from KHI and returned to ThorSport for the 2005 season, where he won his first career pole at New Hampshire International Speedway, earning two top fives and 10 top 10s and finishing ninth in the standings.

In 2006, he had four top-five finishes, 10 top-10 finishes, and finished fourteenth in points.

In 2007, he improved to eighth in points and posted ten top-ten finishes for the third consecutive season.

Crafton's first NASCAR win came at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 16, 2008, in the North Carolina Education Lottery 200.

The win moved him into the top five in points for 2008.

Later that season, Crafton filled in for Robby Gordon in practice and qualified for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event at Homestead because Gordon was competing in the final off-road race of the season.

In 2009, although he did not win a race that season, Crafton scored two poles (Chicagoland Speedway and Texas Motor Speedway), 11 top-five and 21 top-10 finishes, ultimately finishing second in the point standings behind champion Ron Hornaday.

Crafton had another strong season in 2010, earning one pole at Texas Motor Speedway, 10 top-five, and 20 top-10 finishes, resulting in a season-ending rank of fourth.

He performed well in all 3 races, finishing 3rd at both Kentucky races and 10th at Chicagoland.

2011 saw the second win of Crafton's career at Iowa Speedway, in addition to poles at Michigan International Speedway and Martinsville Speedway, where he broke the track qualifying record.

However, four DNFs (Did Not Finish) due to engine failures, mechanical issues and accidents caused by other competitors led to only five top fives and 13 top 10s, ultimately relegating Crafton to eighth in the final standings.

In 2012, after the team had moved from Chevrolet to Toyota, he had a decent season, finishing 6th in points.

Crafton is a three-time champion of the Truck Series, winning the championship in 2013, 2014, and 2019.

Crafton was born in Tulare, California.

2013 was Crafton's best season in his career to date.

He won his third career race at Kansas in April.

After this win, Crafton picked up the points lead and held it for the rest of the season.

Driving the PickupTruck.com Chevy for ThorSport Racing, he qualified 17th and finished ninth.

It was his 178th start, the record for most starts a driver has had before getting his first win in the Truck Series.

He finished in the top ten in the first sixteen races of the season, and 19 overall, with a worst finish of 21st in the season finale at Homestead.

He clinched his first Truck Series championship with his start in that race, and was able to stay on the lead lap despite late crash damage to become the first driver to complete every lap of the season in the Truck Series.

He also made his Nationwide debut that year, running the No. 33 car for Richard Childress Racing, since the car was sponsored by Menards (which he drives in the Truck series).

He ran both Kentucky races and Chicagoland in July.