If everything goes according to plan in DuQuoin, Toyota would like to see Crafton take a stab at the prestigious Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals, which Bell won in January to give Kunz his sixth win as a car owner in the historic event.
Their desire was aided by the sudden departure of Tanner Thorson from the Kunz stable late in the week, opening up a seat within Kunz’s mammoth nine-car stable for the Tulsa classic, but Crafton isn’t quite ready to cross that bridge just yet.
“They keep telling me, ‘Hey, if you do good enough at DuQuoin, you should go run Chili Bowl! We have an open seat!’ and I just looked at everyone and said, ‘Let’s get through DuQuoin first.’”
“If everything works out and DuQuoin goes super well for us … sure, I’d love to give (running the Chili Bowl) it a shot in the future. But we’ll see. I’m going out to DuQuoin to have fun; that’s the main goal.”
Crafton said that while his renewed spate of dirt appearances may have been aided slightly by his win at Eldora in July, it wasn’t the specific catalyst for this particular opportunity.
Instead, Crafton’s passion as a racer fueled his desire to try his hand at a form of racing he hadn’t broached before.
“I wouldn’t say the Eldora win propelled any of this, because (dirt racing) is always something I’ve been passionate about, but it’s definitely opened up some more doors,” Crafton said. “Now, everyone realizes how much I enjoy it and how much of a racer I am and that I love to race.”
“I’ll say it again: I’m a racer. There’s a reason why I race dirt races and do everything that I do, and it’s because I want to go out and race anything and everything I possibly can. That’s why I got my own dirt modified, that’s why I got a go-kart … to be able to perfect road courses and that style of racing as well.”
Crafton says that eventually, he’d like to be one of the few to have a win at every style of track the Truck Series competes on as a part of his championship resume.
“Just to be able to have on your resume that you’ve won on every style of track you race – short tracks, mile-and-a-halves, superspeedways, road courses, dirt tracks – that’s what it’s all about,” he affirmed.
And for those wondering if he’ll return to the DIRTcar Nationals in February to run his UMP Modified at Volusia Speedway Park, Crafton affirmed that ‘Florida in February’ will be a go for him as well.
“Absolutely, we’ll be back at Volusia,” he said. “I’m actually building a new car to go down there in February. Last year’s car … I finished second on the final night, but we started off slow and had to work up to that point after missing some shows in the middle there. This time, we’re hoping to come out faster with this new car and we’ll see if we can compete with Nick Hoffman.”
But as far as the task at hand on Saturday, Crafton smiled and said he’ll be hoping for a little luck on his side.
“All I can say is, wish me the best,” he laughed.
About the Writer
Jacob Seelman is the Managing Editor of Race Chaser Online and creator of the Motorsports Madness radio show, airing at 7 p.m. Eastern every Monday on the Performance Motorsports Network, as well as a periodic contributor to SPEED SPORT Magazine.
Seelman grew up in the sport, watching his grandparents co-own the RaDiUs Motorsports NASCAR Cup Series team in the 1990s.
The 23-year-old is currently studying Broadcast Journalism at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, S.C., and is also serving as the full-time tour announcer for the Must See Racing Sprint Car Series.
Email Jacob at: editor@racechaseronline.com
Follow on Twitter: @Speed77Radio or @JacobSeelman77
Email Race Chaser Online: news@racechaseronline.com
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