“Get Rid of That Stuff”- Dejected Matt Crafton Slams NASCAR After Bristol Track Update Robbed Victory Lane Chance

The Bristol Motor Speedway has often been criticized for being a track where it’s extremely difficult to move around and pass and the reason for that was revealed on Sunday. The track is usually laid with Resin, but during the Truck Series race, a lot of that substance came off the track, which made racing a whole lot better. Veteran racer Matt Crafton was not a fan of NASCAR putting down Resin on the track and hoped that after today, the organizers would be sensible enough never to use that anymore on the asphalt.

The ThorSport Racing star finished the race in P4, his first top-five finish this season, but was not happy. The #88 Ford was a lot faster than leaders, Kyle Busch and Christian Eckes in the long runs and had the final caution not come out, he would have had a real chance of winning the race.

Resin coming off was the best thing to happen to Bristol as per Matt Crafton

Resin was originally used with the view that it would improve grip. The one used on race tracks is not the same as the one used for commercial purposes, meaning that the strength of the adhesive is not as much. However, the tires stick to the surface of the track and while that does improve grip, it causes a lot of difficulty to move around. As the substance came off during the Truck Series race, it was a lot easier for cars to move around, and Matt Crafton was a big fan.

“Hope to God NASCAR will listen and get rid of that stuff and let us race and let us move around, there was a tiny bit but that was the best Bristol I’ve seen and been a part of in a while,” he said.

The veteran race car driver recalled the Bristol race from the fall of last year and called it one of his worst experiences at the iconic short track in his career. Back then, drivers could only follow the leader and passing was close to impossible. It will be interesting to see what NASCAR does after these reviews of the track in the races at the track later on in the season.

“Heck no, do not reapply it because you’d actually see us pass in the second lane, third lane and moving around. The bottom was still a little bit preferred but you could still move around. Last year’s fall race was one of the worst races I ever ran here. Just follow the leader, you couldn’t pass. But it was a really good race track tonight so hope to God they listen,” Crafton added.

The resin was not the only complaint the 47-year-old had on the day. He believes that the final caution that came out for the Stewart Frisen spin with 27 laps remaining should never have come out and he would have had a chance to win the race.

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Veteran Truck Series star rues final caution as short-run speed lets him down

Friesen was spun around by the #2 truck only momentarily as he immediately regained control and was driving normally. However, with the caution, the race was restarted with 25 laps to go and Crafton’s #88 just did not have the short-run speed to keep up with the likes of Busch and Eckes. On longer runs, he was able to catch up and challenge for the lead, and that was his plan going into the final moments of the event.

“Did not need that caution right there at the end and we had to fire back off cause our stuff wouldn’t fire off very good, but it just kept coming the longer we ran,” the veteran said. “We just needed longer runs, our short-run speed was terrible and we just, I mean it wasn’t terrible, it just wasn’t as good as it needed to be to be able to run with those guys for a minute and we just got hung. The longer we’d go the better we’d get, you saw we would mow the leaders down every time we’d make a longer run right there at the end. Last 2 or 3 laps we were one of the fastest trucks on the track.”

Regardless of the disappointing result, this was Matt Crafton’s best finish so far in the 2024 Truck Series season and he will be hoping to keep his form up going into the next race at the Circuit of the Americas.

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