CRAWFORD: Phoenix Not a Typical Short Track
11-06-2008 3:40 pm

The Circle Bar/Power Stroke Diesel by International team will utilize chassis CB-17 this weekend at PIR. Chassis CB-17 has visited victory lane on two separate occasions: at ORP in 2006 and at Loudon in 2005. This is the same truck that Crawford drove to a pair of third-place finishes at Martinsville Speedway earlier this season. It was also raced at New Hampshire (5th), Gateway Int'l Raceway (8th), ORP (12th), Memphis (4th), The Milwaukee Mile (8th), and Mansfield Motorsports Park (13th).
 
Crawford scored his second career Craftsman Truck Series pole at Phoenix in the fall of 2002.
 
Crawford has scored four top-five and six top-10 finishes in 13 truck series starts at Phoenix, and has been running at the finish in all 13 of those races.
 
Following his 11th-place finish last weekend at Texas Motor Speedway, Crawford slipped one spot to seventh in the driver point standings and is just 23 points out of fourth with two races remaining.
 
In 295 career Craftsman Truck Series starts, Crawford has posted 149 top-10 finishes - a mark of 50.5%.
 
In his truck series career, Crawford has been running at the finish of 267 races, the most of any driver in the series and a mark of 90.5%.
 
Crawford has logged over 50,000 miles in NASCAR Camping World Truck Series competition, the most of any driver in the series.
 
Crawford will make his 296th start - extending a Series record - this weekend at Phoenix International Raceway. Crawford's impressive string of race starts began at the Walt Disney World Speedway on January 19, 1997. 
 
Crawford's Thoughts on PIR: "In the past we've had strong runs at Phoenix, and with two races left in the season there's going to be a battle to hold on to a top-five spot in the points. Phoenix is not your typical short track. You can get some very quick speeds around here. I've been coming here for years - in the NASCAR touring series before we came here in the trucks - and I held the touring series track qualifying record for years. This is a track that I know well and we're bringing a proven race truck, so hopefully that's the right combination for a great finish."