Veteran Crafton outruns rookie for third NASCAR trucks win at Kansas Speedway

Matt Crafton made sure there won’t be an asterisk next to his name this year.

Crafton, a three-time series champion, held off rookie Christian Eckes in a side-by-side finish and won the NASCAR Gander Outdoor and RV Trucks Series ept 200 Saturday at Kansas Speedway.

The victory, Crafton’s record third at Kansas, clinched a spot in the series’ post-season playoffs, a year after he won the title despite not winning a race all season.

In fact, Crafton who has made a trucks-series record 463 consecutive starts, won for the first time in 67 races, dating to July 2017 at Eldora, Ohio.

“It was very sweet,” Crafton said following the second trucks race in about 18 hours at Kansas Speedway, though fans weren’t allowed to attend the races due to the coronavirus. It was the first time the trucks series staged races on consecutive days at the same track.

“Everybody always wants to talk about how you haven’t won a race in three years …” Crafton said. “I know we won the championship last year without winning a race, but at the end of the day, to all the naysayers, I still have that trophy in my living room.”

Eckes, 19, made Crafton, 44, earn his 15th career win

Crafton, in the No. 88 Thorsport Ford, took the lead following a re-start with 20 laps to go, and Eckes, in the No. 18 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota, were nearly in a dead heat before Crafton took the checkered flag by 0.324 seconds.

Eckes, who capped his 2019 ARCA championship with a win at Kansas Speedway last October, was followed by Crafton’s teammate, Grant Enfinger, and Tanner Gray.

The race, on a hot, 90-degree day (121 degrees on the track), featured eight cautions, including a multi-truck collision on lap 83 that caused a red-flag stoppage for 5 minutes, 7 seconds. The chain reaction of crashes collected former Kansas winner Johnny Sauter and Jennifer Jo Cobb of Kansas City, Kansas, ending their races.

Hill, the trucks points leader, made a strong bid to sweep the doubleheader before tailing to sixth. On Friday night, Hill led 65 of the 134 laps, including the final 39, as he won his first race of the season, beating Brett Moffitt by 2.928 seconds.

In the ARCA Series’ late race Friday night, Bret Holmes, making his 69th career start, recorded his first victory. The win for Holmes, 23, came on the heels of five straight top-10 finishes, including previous career-best second-place at Kentucky on July 11.

Jones takes Xfinity victory

Brandon Jones put himself through a long, hot gauntlet over a 24-hour span at Kansas Speedway, competing in three consecutive races starting with Friday’s trucks event.

All the laps, heat and fatigue didn’t slow Jones Saturday evening. He charged from seventh at the outset of the overtime, two-lap shootout finish to the Kansas Lottery 250, taking the lead on the final lap for his second consecutive Xfinity Series victory at Kansas

Austin Cindric won the first two stages, leading 117 consecutive laps (and 130 in all) but settled for runner-up. Harrison Burton finished third.

This story was originally published July 25, 2020 at 4:12 PM.