Crafton confirms No. 88 crew chief will not return for 2021
AVONDALE ARIZ. – After 10 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series seasons featuring 13 wins, 82 Top-5 finishes, 158 Top 10s, 10 poles and 3 NCWTS championships, crew chief Carl “Junior” Joiner will be parting ways from Matt Crafton.
Matt Crafton confirmed in the post-race press conference an announcement during the FS1 broadcast of the Friday Lucas Oil 150 NCWTS championship race at Phoenix Raceway.
“We’ll move forward with a new crew chief,” Crafton stated. “I understand where Junior’s coming from – we’re like brothers.”
Crafton finished 12th in Friday’s race and netted a fourth-place finish in the NCWTS championship.
Crafton’s team faced loose conditions during Friday morning practice and chalked it up to a cool morning. However, the issues arose during the race to where he could not get the throttle down on the corner exit.
“We thought it would tighten up as the night went along but it didn’t,” Crafton said.
No word on who Crafton’s crew chief will be for 2022.
SOURCES:
NASCAR
Racing-Reference.Info
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Jonathan Fjeld View All
Jonathan Fjeld is the co-owner of the The Racing Experts, LLC. He has been with TRE since 2010.
A Twin Valley, MN, native, Fjeld became a motorsports fan at just three years old (first race was the 2002 Pennsylvania 500). He worked as a contributor and writer for TRE from 2010-18. Since then, he has stepped up and covered 24 NASCAR race weekends and taken on a larger role with TRE. He became the co-owner and managing editor in 2023 and has guided the site to massive growth in that time.
Fjeld has covered a wide array of stories and moments over the years, including Kevin Harvick's final Cup Series season, the first NASCAR national series disqualification in over 50 years, Shane van Gisbergen's stunning win in Chicago and the first Cup Series race at Road America in 66 years – as well as up-and-coming drivers' stories and stories from inside the sport, like the tech it takes for Hendrick Motorsports to remain a top-tier team.
Currently, he resides in Albuquerque, N.M., where he works for KOB 4, an NBC station. He works as a digital producer and does on-air reports. He loves spending time with friends and family, playing and listening to music, exploring new places, being outdoors, reading books and writing among other activities. You can email him at fjeldjonathan@gmail.com