Matt Crafton talks wanting to race at more driver’s tracks

With the revitalization of Rockingham Speedway, there is talk of NASCAR possibly returning to “The Rock” for a NASCAR sanctioned race.

Rockingham is playing host to a rock music festival called “Epicenter” later this year, hoping to bring racing back to the historic track.

Two-time Gander Outdoors Cup Series champion Matt Crafton would love to return to Rockingham, Milwaukee and more tracks from NASCAR’s past.

“I would love, love, love to run Rockingham again,”Crafton said. “ I’d love to run Milwaukee again, go to Memphis again, love to go to IRP again. Those are just the shortlist of the places we need to go instead of just doubling up on some of the mile-and-a-halfs we go to.

“Irwindale would be another place that would be phenomenal to go truck racing at. I would say that was one of the coolest, racey short tracks I’ve ever been to. You can run side-by-side, three wide lap after lap and not think about hitting each other.”

Crafton mentioned what made those old tracks so unique.

“You can use both feet,” Crafton said. “Some of the mile-and-a-halfs we run wide open for so long and as a racecar driver, I know I want to be able to use my right foot and my left foot. I want to be able to lift and brake and make a difference.

“A driver can make a difference on a mile-and-a-half but at the end of the day, we can make a lot more of a difference on a short track when you’re driving in the corner harder, standing on the breaks harder, lifting earlier, picking up the throttle sooner, we can adjust our driving styles.

“Whenever you’re going to some of these places, you’re running it so wide open, there’s not a whole lot we can do until we get into traffic, then we learn more and understand the air a little bit.”

While nothing is confirmed, Matt Crafton would love to race at more drivers tracks in the future.