NASCAR Truck Series at Kansas 2015 Results: Winner, Standings and Reaction
Matt Crafton may have only led six laps of the Toyota Tundra 250 on Friday night, but all that matters is that he was in first place as the checkered flag waved at the Kansas Speedway.
The biggest question as the race reached its final stages was whether Crafton would have enough fuel left in the tank to reach the finish line. Erik Jones, who led 151 of the 167 laps, ran out of fuel and fell to 11th, while Tyler Reddick led for a short time before he too watched his gas tank reach "E."
The Toyota Tundra 250 truly turned into a war of attrition, per Motorsport.com's Nick DeGroot:
ESPN.com's Bob Pockrass felt bad for Jones, who watched all of his great driving go to waste:
On Friday night, Crafton was one of the better drivers on the track, but he unquestionably got his fair share of luck as the competition dropped out of contention one by one. He admitted as much after the race.
"I said when we took the checkered flag, 'We'd rather be lucky than good sometimes,'" Crafton said, per the Associated Press (via ESPN.com). "You have to be close enough to sneak one out once in a while. I've lost them in things like this, so every once in a while, you steal one, I don't feel too bad about it."
"It was almost comical, the way they dropped like flies there at the end," added Crafton's crew chief, Carl Joiner Jr. "It was good. We'll take it."
Crafton was followed by Ryan Newman in second and Johnny Sauter in third.
| 1 | Matt Crafton | 6 |
| 2 | Ryan Newman | 2 |
| 3 | Johnny Sauter | 0 |
| 4 | Timothy Peters | 0 |
| 5 | Cameron Hayley | 0 |
| 6 | Daniel Suarez | 1 |
| 7 | Justin Boston | 0 |
| 8 | Scott Lagasse Jr. | 0 |
| 9 | Mason Mingus | 0 |
| 10 | Daniel Hemric | 0 |
This is Crafton's second win of the season, and as a result, he owns a sizable early lead over Reddick and Jones.
| 1 | Matt Crafton | 175 | 2 |
| 2 | Tyler Reddick | 158 | 1 |
| 3 | Erik Jones | 157 | 0 |
| 4 | Johnny Sauter | 153 | 0 |
| 5 | Cameron Hayley | 123 | 0 |
| 6 | John Wes Townley | 122 | 0 |
| 7 | Timothy Peters | 121 | 0 |
| 8 | Justin Boston | 114 | 0 |
| 9 | Ray Black Jr. | 112 | 0 |
| 10 | Spencer Gallagher | 111 | 0 |
A driver can't lose in much more heartbreaking fashion than Jones. Not only were his 151 laps led the most on the night, they were also the most ever on a 1.5-mile track, per NASCAR Trucks:
Jones didn't mince words in his post-race reaction:
Some might argue that rather than continue to increase his lead earlier in the race, Jones should've worked to conserve more fuel. After all, whether you lead by one second or three, it's not going to matter if you can barely manage to finish the race at all.
In addition to Jones' fuel shortage, Crafton really benefited from Newman's last pit stop in which he incurred a penalty after one of his crew members lost the handle on one of his tires, per Jim Utter of The Charlotte Observer:
The fact Newman worked his way up to second was like a win in and of itself.
Crafton will look to further pad his lead at the North Carolina Education Lottery 200, scheduled for next Friday at the Charlotte Motor Speedway.
You can bet that more drivers and crew chiefs will be more diligent with how they handle their fuel next week.
