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Making A Father's Day

By Jason Christley, NASCAR
May 17, 2008 - 3:03pm

THOUSANDS OF MILES AWAY, CRAFTON CELEBRATES SON'S FIRST VICTORY 

NEWTON, Iowa – The most haggard person in the Iowa Speedway garage Saturday may have been Dan Crafton. Not that he’s complaining.

Crafton’s Friday night stay in Newton consisted of pacing back and forth in front of the hotel television as he watched his son Matt collect his first career NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series win at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Charlotte, N.C.

“Between 3 a.m. and 5 a.m., I had 55 calls on my cell phone,” said Dan Crafton, who said he got plenty of calls from the celebration in their home town of Tulare, Calif. “It was like when you win the Super Bowl. They thought they were going to tear the city down. I had more drunks trying to talk to me …”

It was a unique situation for Dan Crafton, who is usually at his son’s races. He was at Iowa Speedway helping out the NASCAR Camping World Series West team of Stan Silva Jr. He had worked over the last 10 days with Silva’s team in Bakersfield, Calif. to prepare for Sunday’s US Cellular 200.

The event gets underway with practice Saturday at 4:30 p.m. CT. The race is schedule for 4:15 p.m. Sunday, live on HD Net.

Matt Crafton held off Chad McCumbee on green-white-checkered finish to the North Carolina Education Lottery 200 at Lowe’s Friday night for the victory in his 178th career start. Matt Crafton assumed the lead three laps prior to the scheduled end of the race and benefited from a wild chain of events that saw top contenders Kyle Busch, Todd Bodine and Ron Hornaday eliminated by accidents and penalties.

“It was crazy,” said Dan Crafton, who got the call from Victory Lane from his wife. “I thought I was going to cry.”

Matt Crafton made his only career NASCAR Camping World Series West start in the season finale of 2000 at the Toyota Speedway at Irwindale. He lost the lead on the final lap to eventual winner Bobby Dotter. Third place in that race was eventual series champion Brendan Gaughan, who ironically placed third at Lowe’s Friday night.

Trio of National Champions

Three former NASCAR Whelen All-American Series champions will attempt to make Sunday’s US Cellular 200. Peyton Sellers (2005) is a regular in the NASCAR Camping World Series East and will be joined by Greg Pursley (2003) and Mark McFarland (2004).

McFarland plans to run at least four NASCAR Camping World Series East races: Iowa, both events at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, and Mansfield Motorsports Park.

“We like running the East,” McFarland said. “It’s like a vacation for us – just come out here and have fun.”

McFarland is running the same car he ran in his only NASCAR Camping World Series East race last year at New Hampshire in September. He led 24 laps – including being out front with six to go – before an accident relegated him to 22nd.

Purlsey will be making his 14th career NASCAR Camping World Series West start. He finished 24th at Phoenix International Speedway in April. Pursley also ran in the NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown last year, winning the Late Model race and running in the Camping World Series event.

Notes

Three-time NASCAR Camping World Series champion Jamie Aube (1988-90) is serving as crew chief for rookie Dustin Delaney. Aube, who took some test laps at New Hampshire last week, said he’s not committed to retirement as a driver just yet. “I still have a NASCAR driver’s license,” Aube said. “But my number one goal is to get Delaney to Victory Lane.” The 18-year-old Delaney was 19th in the season opener at South Carolina’s Greenville-Pickens Speedway. … Car owner and former four-time NASCAR Camping World Series East champion Andy Santerre (2002-05) will be the crew chief for Sellers this week, as regular crew chief H.C. Sellers serves a three-race suspension for violations at Greenville-Pickens.

… Kasey Kahne’s No. 9 Budweiser Dodge went through technical inspection Saturday but the team doesn’t expect to practice the car. Kahne will take the car out for the first time during Sunday morning’s final practice. … Also on the pit boxes this weekend will be Tom Busch and Mike Harvick, fathers of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers Kyle and Kurt Busch, and Kevin Harvick respectively. … Jeff Jefferson, fourth in NASCAR Camping World Series West points, tested at Iowa last week and cracked up his primary car. “That’s okay,” Jefferson said, “this car is just as good.” The car Jefferson has this weekend is actually the one that got the most track time during the test.

NASCAR Media coordinators Kevin Green and Paul Schaefer contributed to this report.