Matt Crafton looks to rebound from last week's disappointing finish at Daytona in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series San Bernardino County 200 at California Speedway on Saturday.
Crafton was the victim of a multi-truck wreck early in last week's race, and finished 24th. The Tulare, California native knows, however, that there's no place like home to get the No. 88 Menards Silverado back on track.
"We just got caught up in the typical craziness that happens at Daytona, and there's nothing we could do about it," Crafton said. "You can't dwell on it. You have to focus on the next race, and we're excited about being back in California. I grew up out here, and it's always special to come back and race in front of family and friends. Their support over the years has been tremendous, and I'm thankful for it."
Crafton has 3 top-10 finishes in 8 career NCTS starts at California. He finished 11th in last season's race.
"I love this racetrack, because there's lots of room to race," said Crafton. "You can run three-and-four wide out here. It'll be interesting to see how the trucks react this time around, since the race is in the afternoon instead of at night."
The race was moved to Saturday afternoon from a Friday night slot in years past to accommodate a national-television audience on FOX .
"The fans are always great at California, and it's always exciting to race out here," said Crafton. "But being on network television really adds to the atmosphere. This series is so competitive every week, so to have the added exposure is just a great thing for all of us. I expect us to be strong this week, and hopefully we can come out of here with a top-5 finish and start to build some momentum."