Truck Series title race a two-man battle headed to Phoenix
The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season is rapidly winding to a conclusion, and with only two races left, two drivers effectively remain in the hunt for the 2014 title.
Although five drivers are still mathematically eligible for the championship, those in positions three through five -- Darrell Wallace Jr. (-43), Johnny Sauter (-52) and Timothy Peters (-76) -- are so far behind leader Matt Crafton that it would virtually take a miracle for any of them to make up that much ground in Friday night's race at Phoenix International Raceway and next weekend's season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
The only driver with a decent shot at catching Crafton is second-place Ryan Blaney, who sits 23 points in arrears of the ThorSport Racing driver heading into Friday night's penultimate event of 2014. While the odds of Blaney -- the son of Sprint Cup veteran Dave Blaney -- running down Crafton certainly aren't great, this is racing and that means anything is possible.
This much is certain: Blaney isn't giving up.
The Brad Keselowski Racing driver has a pair of top-10 finishes -- and a best finish of fifth -- in two previous starts at the one-mile Phoenix track, so his confidence is high heading into Friday night's race. At the same time, 20-year-old Blaney understands the enormous challenge he faces in trying to reel in Crafton -- the reigning truck champion and one of the series' most consistent finishers.
"We need to win at Phoenix and Homestead to have a chance at the title, and I think we can do that," said Blaney.
If Blaney can somehow wrestle the title away from Crafton, the High Point, N.C., native would make history by becoming the series' youngest champion at 20 years, 10 months and 14 days old.
Crafton, meanwhile, is seeking to make a little history of his own. Since the inaugural truck season of 1995, no driver has won the championship in consecutive years. That includes four-time champion Ron Hornaday, three-time champion Jack Sprague and two-time champion Todd Bodine.
Crafton actually has a mathematical chance of clinching the championship at Phoenix. That will only happen, though, if he leaves Arizona with a 48-point lead on second place.
Crafton is more focused on running up front and trying to snare his third win of the season. Phoenix is also a home game of sorts for Crafton, who is native of Tulare, Calif., but made numerous starts here in lower NASCAR divisions long before ever turning laps in a truck.
Crafton's 13 truck starts at Phoenix are more than any other driver in Friday night's field, and the veteran driver also has more top fives (four), top-10s (nine) and laps completed (1,956) than any driver he'll share a track with on Friday night.
The one missing item from Crafton's Phoenix resume?
A win.
"I'm not worried about points," Crafton said. "We're going for a win at Phoenix -- it's kind of a home track for me. We've been there a ton, and have a new truck, so we're really looking forward to it."
