Rick Crawford To Make 300th Career Start at Atlanta

On Saturday, Rick Crawford and Circle Bar Racing celebrate their 300th start together, in  the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Crawford, a native of Mobile, Ala., has been part of the Truck series since 1997 and has only driven for owner Tom Mitchell.

They also have the longest active driver/owner relationship in NCWTS and have logged over 50,000 miles together.

"It means a lot," Crawford said Friday at the track. "It means a lot to me as far as the start of our race team and Tom Mitchell as an owner and the Mitchell's family support for over 13 years...here in the truck series. So that's what means a lot to me, and hopefully, we'll have a good day here tomorrow."

Crawford through his 13-year career has compiled five wins, five poles, 72 top fives, 150 top 10 finishes, and led 1,562 laps.

He's been running at the finish of 268 races, the most of any driver in the series, a mark of 90.2 percent and his team has done an awesome job helping him obtain that achievement."

He's also known as the "Iron Man" in NCWTS, in the last 12 years, since driving full-time, and he's missed just one race.

Crawford also finished second in points in 2002 and six other times been in the top 10 in the championship point standings at season's end.

Currently this year, he sits 17th in points and I'm sure by seasons end he'll be one of the title contenders.

"We started with one truck and one engine, and now we've got two teams, two really nice race teams," said Crawford, who is a teammate at Circle Bar Racing to series newcomer James Buescher. "So it's quite a commitment by the Mitchell family."

Not only has Crawford only driven for Tom Mitchell's Circle Bar Racing team, but he's also making his 300th career start Saturday for one manufacturer—Ford.

"If that doesn't mean 'Built Ford Tough," you probably need to look for another definition," Crawford said.

Maybe for one day at least, Ford should officially change their motto to "Built Crawford Tough" and recognize the achievement he's accomplished.

As a fan of the Truck Series, I admire and respect what Crawford and Circle Bar Racing are doing staying with Ford despite the cuts made by the manufacturer.

It's a shame Ford can't find away to help fund the team, since we're talking two trucks and a very loyal team.

Congrats to both Crawford and Circle Bar Racing on making your 300th start together and good luck Saturday in the American Commercial Lines 200.

Sources: scenedaily.com, racing-reference.info., espn.com, and rickcrawford.com

Photo Credit: zimbio.com