For Matt Crafton, Friday's Lucas Oil 150 at Phoenix International Raceway will be a homecoming of sorts. Crafton is a native of Tulare, CA and has paid many a visit to the mile-oval as driver and fan.

"I've been coming to PIR for over twenty years, and this track has always been special to me," he said.  Crafton has raced at the venerable track in a variety of series, including Late Models, tour cars and the NCTS.  One of his finest moments at Phoenix was capturing the final Copper World Classic Southwest Series 100 a few years ago.

"That meant a lot to me, because I've been coming here for so long and because it was the last year of the series," said Crafton.

Crafton enters Friday's race looking to rebound from subpar finishes at Atlanta and Texas.  He is 5th in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series standings.  In seven starts at Phoenix, Crafton has finished in the top-10 four times, including a pair of top-5 efforts.

"I know this track well, and know what it takes to be fast here," he said.  "There's lots of side-by-side racing, but the track is a little tricky.  You have two very different ends of the track.  You have a tight corner with turns one and two, and a wide sweeping corner at the other end.  It's a challenge to get your truck handling well at both ends.  But that's what makes it fun.  It's a driver's track, and I always love that."

Phoenix would seem the perfect fit to cure what has ailed Crafton in recent weeks.  "We've had some unfortunate things happen the last couple of weeks that were out of our control," he said.  "There are things that happen out there that you can't control, and you have to maintain your focus on doing the best you can.  That's where we are.  The guys have built me great trucks all year long, and I'm trying to drive the heck out of 'em.  Our confidence is always high when we come to Phoenix, and hopefully we can put ourselves in position for a shot to win."