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Since Matt Crafton made it to the race track and fired up his truck, he automatically captured his first career championship in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Even though a champion was crowned, a race still had to be run. Ryan Blaney started on the pole. It was his second NASCAR Camping World Truck Series pole of 2013. The race went green and the field immediately fanned out as Blaney came around to lead the first lap. Blaney continued to lead early as the first caution waved on lap 5. Debris was spotted at the entrance to turn 3 on the track. No drivers received the lucky dog. None of the leaders came to pit road since it was so early in the event. The race went back green and Johnny Sauter took the lead away from Ryan Blaney. Blaney would not stay in second long as he passed Sauter for the lead on lap 11. Blaney cruised away from the field as the other leaders followed behind him. Blaney would hold the lead until the second caution waved on lap 41. Joey Coulter lost a tire in turn 4 and went around. His truck made the slightest contact with the wall and he slid down the race track. He was able to save it and come to pit road to the attention of his crew. He returned to the race after pit stops with a little bit of damage. Frank Kimmel received the lucky dog. All the lead lap drivers came to pit road for the first time and took four tires with Ryan Blaney coming out as the leader.
The race went back green and Ryan Blaney was able to hold the lead. Blaney would not hold the lead long as champion Matt Crafton charged up to the lead on lap 50. Crafton would cruise away from the field, but Blaney chased him back down and took the lead on lap 62. Blaney took the lead just as the third caution waved on lap 63. Darrell Wallace Jr. made contact with the outside wall in turn 4. He lost a tire from the contact and continued to the backstretch where debris fell on the track. Wallace continued to pit road where he came to the attention of his crew. His truck had a good bit of damage, but he could return after some damage was fixed. Joey Coulter received the lucky dog. All the lead lap drivers came to pit road with Kyle Busch coming out as the leader. The race went back green and Busch held onto the lead. Busch would cruise away and hold the lead for a few laps before Ryan Blaney passed him on lap 78. Blaney had the lead once again, but Busch was right behind him. Blaney was smooth sailing before the fourth caution of the race on lap 93 took away his lead and possibly a good finish.
Coming into turn 3 on lap 93, Blaney moved to the outside line. His truck went a bit too high and slid into the wall. The truck stayed in the wall through turn 4, but Blaney was able to pull it off the wall entering the frontstretch. He had lost the lead and he had a little bit of damage, but he was able to come to pit road and have the damage fixed. Jimmy Weller received the lucky dog. A little bit of strategy occurred during the caution. Ross Chastain took two tires while the rest of the lead lap drivers took four tires. It would be interesting to see if Chastain would be able to stay up front. The race went back green and Kyle Busch immediately passed Chastain. Chastain would only fall to second as the fifth caution waved on lap 101. Spencer Gallagher got loose exiting turn 4. Gallagher tried to save his truck, but he slammed the outside wall as Nelson Piquet Jr. piled into his door. Piquet drove away with heavy damage as Gallagher came to a stop on the apron of the track. Both drivers had too much damage to return to the event. Darrell Wallace Jr. received the lucky dog. None of the leaders came to pit road and the race went back green. Kyle Busch returned to the lead as the field raced behind him. Busch would only hold the lead a few laps before Austin Dillon passed him on lap 113. Dillon and Busch began to battle again and Busch took the lead on the next lap. After this, the two leaders began to exchange the lead every lap before Busch secured the lead on lap 119. Jeb Burton moved into second as only fifteen laps remained. Burton ran hard behind Busch, but it looked like Busch had control as only eight laps remained. Burton gave it one more shot and he made contact with the wall in turn 4 with seven laps to go. Burton fell back as the caution did not wave and Busch continued to lead. All Busch wanted was the race to make it to the finish and he would win, but it wouldn't happen. After earlier contact with the wall, Jeb Burton made contact with the outside wall in turn 3. He lost a tire and rode the wall off of turn 4. He had a good bit of damage and his chance for a win would possibly be lost. This resulted in the sixth caution of the race on lap 130. Mason Mingus received the lucky dog. With this caution, the final bit of strategy could occur.
Kyle Busch, Brendan Gaughan, German Quiroga, and the rest of the others leaders stayed on track while the lead lap drivers at the back of the field came down pit road. The late caution resulted in the first green-white-checkered of the event and Kyle Busch was out front. The race went green and Busch immediately jumped out to the lead. The field ran three and four wide as they made it to the backstretch. They would not go any farther as the seventh caution waved on lap 136. Matt Crafton got a run on Joey Coulter exiting turn 2. Coulter did not see the move and went up on Crafton. Crafton hit the wall and Coulter rode in front of Crafton's nose. Behind them, Max Gresham bumped Brennan Newberry and Newberry soared down the track. He slammed the inside wall and slid back up the track. He slammed the outside wall and had a ton of damage. Crafton and Coulter drove with a little bit of damage while Newberry remained stopped. Jeff Agnew received the lucky dog. Crafton came to pit road and tried to fix his damage in hopes of winning the owner's title. The damage was fixed a good bit and he returned to the race hoping for a nineteenth place or better finish. The race went back green and Kyle Busch held the lead. The field would not make it past the backstretch again as the eighth and final caution waved on lap 142. Johnny Sauter got loose underneath Ty Dillon exiting turn 2. Sauter slid down the track and pointed towards the inside wall. He was able to spin and make slight contact with the inside wall. Sauter drove away with little damage, but he would have to come to pit road. B.J. McLeod received the lucky dog. Kyle Busch and a few others stayed out behind him and the final run to the checkered flag was set up.
The field came out of turn 4 for the final time under caution and took the final green flag of the season. Kyle Busch took the lead and Brendan Gaughan moved into second. The field ran three and four wide as Ryan Blaney passed Gaughan for second. The field made it into turn 3, but Austin Dillon and three others got up into the wall coming to the white flag. All four got back going and the caution did not wave. Plus, Matt Crafton was in position to win the owner's points title. This did not affect Kyle Busch as Busch cruised to the white flag. Ryan Blaney ran in his tire tracks through the final four turns and made a move heading to the flag, but Kyle Busch took the win easily. Matt Crafton was unable to hold onto the nineteenth position and Busch took the owner’s points title. Nonetheless, Crafton was the driver's champion and both drivers could celebrate their championships and wins.
What a season it was for Matt Crafton and Kyle Busch. Crafton took a win early in the season and went through the middle part of the season before he finished outside the top 10. This crazy consistency from Crafton allowed him to cruise to his first championship in the series in thirteen years of trying. It was a very deserving championship for Crafton and one that I was happy to write about. As much as some don't like Kyle Busch, you have to give him a call this year. He took five wins in only eleven starts in the NCWTS and was very dominate even when he wasn't winning. It was also Busch's thirty fifth career NCWTS win, which is getting close to being a record in the series. He has done this for a while now and it may never get old. Ryan Blaney also took an award in the final race as well. Blaney, who hit the wall in the event, motored back to second place to take the rookie of the year honors in the series. Blaney took a win earlier in the year and propelled himself to a great award for himself. What a season it was for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. The series had trips to a dirt track, a road course in Canada, and the usual tracks around the country. There were wrecks, spins, crazy wins, and amazing moments. All these things culminated in a great championship win for Matt Crafton in 2013. When the series returns in 2014, we will have a lot of questions ready and we will definitely be ready for a great season. Will Matt Crafton repeat as champion of the NCWTS, will another rookie move up the ranks and take control over the series, or will a current driver in the series return and blister the field? We will have to wait until February to start answering these questions.
(More Stats Down Below!)
Cautions:
1st Caution: Lap 5- Debris was spotted at the entrance to turn 3 on the track.
2nd Caution: Lap 41- Joey Coulter lost a tire in turn 4 and made slight contact with the outside wall.
3rd Caution: Lap 63- Darrell Wallace Jr. made contact with the wall in turn 4 and left some debris on the backstretch while coming to pit road.
4th Caution: Lap 93- Ryan Blaney went high in turn 3 and made contact with the outside wall.
5th Caution: Lap 101- Spencer Gallagher broke loose in turn 4 and slammed the outside wall. Nelson Piquet Jr. could not avoid and piled into Gallagher's door.
6th Caution: Lap 130- Jeb Burton made contact with the wall in turn 3 due to previous contact with the wall.
7th Caution: Lap 136- Joey Coulter pushed Matt Crafton into the outside wall exiting turn 2 and the two rode the outside wall down the backstretch. Max Gresham bumped Brennan Newberry behind them and Newberry slammed the inside wall.
8th Caution: Lap 142- Johnny Sauter got loose underneath Ty Dillon exiting turn 2 and made slight contact with the inside wall.
Lucky Dogs:
1st Caution: None
2nd Caution: Frank Kimmel
3rd Caution: Joey Coulter
4th Caution: Jimmy Weller
5th Caution: Darrell Wallace Jr.
6th Caution: Mason Mingus
7th Caution: Jeff Agnew
8th Caution: B.J. McLeod
Top 5 Finishers:
1st: Kyle Busch
2nd: Ryan Blaney
3rd: Jeb Burton
4th: Brendan Gaughan
5th: Ron Hornaday Jr.
Notables Not in Top 5:
13th: James Buescher
14th: Ty Dillon
15th: Darrell Wallace Jr.
16th: Johnny Sauter
20th: Austin Dillon
21st: Matt Crafton
27th: Joey Coulter
31st: Nelson Piquet Jr.
Credits:
-My Own Notes
-Statistics:
http://www.nascar.com/en_us/camping-world-truck-series/leaderboard/leaderboard-live.html
http://www.nascar.com/en_us/camping-world-truck-series/lapbylap/view-all-laps.html?intid=lapbylap_lapbylapleaderboard_08292013
http://www.nascar.com/en_us/camping-world-truck-series/live-standings.html
http://racing-reference.info/race/2013_Ford_EcoBoost_200/C
-Images:
https://twitter.com/NASCAR/status/401563248945659904/photo/1
http://espn.go.com/racing/nascar/truck/story/_/id/9983261/matt-crafton-wins-nascar-truck-series-championship
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