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Fresh off of his victory last week at O'Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis that ended a 21-race winless streak, Rick Crawford is looking to carry that winning momentum into this weekend's Truck Series race at Nashville Superspeedway. Crawford, who scored his fifth career truck series victory, currently sits third in the driver point standings, 187 points out of the lead. Crawford, who now has wins at Daytona and Indianapolis to his credit, spoke about the significance of last weekend's win and rated his championship chances.

Talk about the significance of last weekend's victory at ORP. "To go ahead and get the win, a request made by Tom Mitchell that owns and sponsors the truck, that was special. With his fond memories of Indianapolis with Chet Fillip and running the Indy 500, to bring him an Indy trophy was pretty neat. To also dedicate the race like I did, it meant a lot to me. To be able to thank the guys that have helped me throughout the years that either turned a wrench or have given me a dollar to go racing with, I wanted to dedicate that race to them because I want them to know they haven't been forgotten. We all know that you can't save things like that to say to people because you never know if you're going to win another race. That one came, but you're not guaranteed another one."

Do you feel like you are a dying breed the sport? "No, I don't. I don't think you're going to find another owner like Tom Mitchell, but there are guys out there that can own race teams and start-up teams and be independent truck teams in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, and come in and be a mainstay like I have been. You just have to enjoy the sport of NASCAR and enjoy truck racing and the competition and the drivers that surround you. It's an enjoyable series to be in."

Is the Truck Series the only division in NASCAR where independent organizations can be successful and run for the championship? "I feel like if you do things right, you can be a competitive team in any division. I hear of teams that are starting up and they just either fall right off the bat or they get competitive because they join up with bigger teams. You just have to do things right. There's a way to approach NASCAR racing, but just because you're an independent team and you want to start up in racing, you put your name on the entry blank."

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How does momentum play a factor in racing nowadays? "It's big. From walking through the shop and you see guys with their chins hanging on their shoelaces, to walking through and you're patting them on the back for a good job that they've done. They stay focused on their job and they can work smart and necessarily hard, and when you win a race and you got the next race, mojo is on your side. It can carry on to the next race, plus everybody feels like they're on top of their game and you can win two or three in a row. You just have to run each and every race. It's just like I said about winning at ORP. To win in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series nowadays, it must be a perfect race. Well, that particular night it was a perfect race for the Circle Bar Truck Corral Ford. For those two races that Johnny Benson had, if you'll remember, they were two perfect races for him."

Do you feel like you're still the championship hunt right now? "I haven't given up on it. I've done a lot of radio shows in the last couple of days and they all mention that. I've looked at it or glanced over at it, but they ask you if you're worried about the championship. I'm worried about Nashville. I'm concentrating and focused on Nashville; that's our next race. The equipment that we're taking, talking to Cowboy (Kevin Starland, crew chief), we've taking our best piece. I'm not talking about Homestead yet, we haven't got there. We're talking about Nashville and we want to be as competitive at Nashville as we were at ORP, Kentucky and Kansas. We made 185 points on Friday night. That's the most that you can accumulate. If we keep doing that, I think we have a shot at the championship."

Do you think drivers get overlooked in the championship chase unless they're in victory lane? "It's never has bothered me to be on the quiet side. It's just like a lot of times I feel like I don't get the interviews or the fan applause when I'm making the lap around the track because I'm concentrating on racing. I'm not out there to brag or talk about what I've done in the past and all that, I'm there focused on racing. It doesn't bother me."

You now have victories at Indianapolis and Daytona. What victory has meant the most for you? "Daytona will always be the standout. From a guy on the Gulf Coast that grew up short-track racing with dreams about going places, Daytona is the world's center of racing. Winning one of the closest finishes in NASCAR history, and being the top moment of the first 10 years of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, I couldn't ask for much more than that, although I'd love to win at my home track at Talladega later this year. That place is big and bold, and I'd like to make some bold moves with that Ford F-150, and to win there would be extra-special."