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Crafton holds off Suarez for first Dover win

Two-time NASCAR Truck Series champion Matt Crafton picked up a win Friday to give him the chance to win a third.

Race winner Matt Crafton, ThorSport Racing Toyota

Race winner Matt Crafton, ThorSport Racing Toyota

NASCAR Media

Crafton held off a hard-charging Daniel Saurez to win Friday’s Jacob Companies 200 at Dover (Del.) International Speedway – his first victory of the 2016 season and first at the 1-mile concrete oval.

With the win, Crafton all-but clinches a berth in the eight-driver championship Chase this season. The win is also the 11th of his Truck career.

Christopher Bell finished third, Johnny Sauter was fourth and Cole Custer was fifth.

“I always wanted Miles (the Monster trophy); we’ve come close and ran second,” Crafton said from Victory Lane. “We’ve gotten close and we've had very fast trucks — and this truck was fast today. It’s all about the guys behind me. This team never gives up because we weren’t very good in the last practice. We were 21st.

“Junior (Joiner, crew chief) and I sat down and talked for a while — and we talked again. I just showed up later and let him do his work. They worked on it all day — a little air pressure here and a little air pressure there and finally this thing was right on.”

Suarez provided a stern test for Crafton down the stretch, with Suarez’s team owner, reigning Sprint Cup Series champion Kyle Busch, offering advice over the team radio.

“I felt like we were a little faster but I just couldn’t complete the pass. Clean-air is a big deal right here. I tried to find a different line (around the track); just tried to find a little bit more speed,” said Suarez, who is still looking for his first NASCAR national series victory.

“I found something in (Turns) 1 and 2 but it just wasn’t working as well in (Turns) 3 and 4. We’re going for wins. This whole team is going for wins. We’re going to close the deal pretty soon.”

Suarez's No. 51 Kyle Busch Motorsports truck failed post-race technical inspection with the left rear too high. NASCAR says the issue will be discussed at the R&D Center next Tuesday.

After a tough start to the season – when he fell to 21st in the series standings – Bell has now registered consecutive top-five finishes for the first time this season.

Crafton leads the series standings by two points over Timothy Peters, who finished 14th in Friday’s race.

 

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