NORTH WILKESBORO, N.C.: Matt Crafton scored a top-10 finish in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series return to North Wilkesboro (N.C.) Speedway Saturday afternoon, but his aggravation with the aggressiveness of the younger drivers on the tour, including Carson Hocevar overshadowed a solid finish in the Tyson 250.
After finishing seventh in NASCAR overtime, the ThorSport Racing driver climbed from his No. 88 Denali Aire | Menards Ford F-150 and paid a visit to Carson Hocevar’s truck on pit road where the veteran gave the Portage, Mich. native his thoughts on his aggressive driving style in the closing laps of the 10th Truck Series race of the season.
“I knew all the kids would start running over each other and just wrecking each other.,” said Crafton of the younger drivers in the series’ including Hocevar.
They just don’t use their brains, “They’ve never had to work on anything. They have no respect for anything and they just drive through everything.
“Like the kid in the 42 (Hocevar),” Crafton explained. “He never tried to pass me. He just drove in the back of me five laps in a row down in turns one and two.
“He’s a great little race car driver, but he can just be an idiot sometimes. One day I’ll return the favor. I’m like an old elephant that has a hell of a memory.”
Despite the aggressiveness on track, Crafton was able to climb from his mid-pack starting position of 18th to deliver his fourth top-10 finish of the season.
Crafton was satisfied with his best finish since finishing sixth on the Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt in April.
“As far as we were off yesterday, we swung the bat and went too far,” sounded Crafton. “We got it really, really tight at the start of the race and just kept working and taking some of it back out of it. Yesterday, we were just so loose on entry and then finally kept getting it better yesterday, but we got the center way too tight today.
“All in all, not a terrible day. We just needed a long run right there at the end. That thing was really, really good on that long run.”
Follow Chris Knight on Twitter @Knighter01 or email at [email protected].
