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Matt Crafton lost 20 more points to series leader Ron Hornaday Jr. at New Hampshire last weekend, despite another top-five finish.
Now, he heads to Las Vegas Motor Speedway, a spot where success has eluded him – big time. In other words, Crafton hopes that 20-point trickle doesn’t turn into a geyser.
In terms of average finish at active tracks, Las Vegas ranks as Crafton’s worst (he has an average Las Vegas finish of 18.1). In terms of Driver Rating, it’s his fourth-worst track at 77.7.
But there’s a sign of hope for Crafton: momentum. Crafton has scored a Driver Rating over 100.0 in six consecutive races. Additionally, his last race at Las Vegas – last season – resulted in a third-place finish, a Driver Rating of 101.0 and an Average Running Position of 7.6.
So, maybe his fortune has turned at the 1.5-mile track. Because prior to that, it was usually a rough go at Las Vegas.
In 2006, Crafton finished 21st with a poor Driver Rating of 61.1. In 2007, he finished 26th with a Driver Rating of 61.9.
Since the inception of Loop Data in 2005, Crafton has an Average Running Position of 14.5, three Fastest Laps Run, no Laps Led and 387 Laps in the Top15 for a percentage of 65.5%.
Some more bad news for Crafton at Las Vegas – even though Hornaday has yet to win a race there, he has performed well enough to do so. Hornaday has a solid Driver Rating of 94.2 and an Average Running Position in the top 10 (9.9). Auto Racing Daily
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