NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series GM Goodwrench/Delco Battery 300 Preview: #14, Rick Crawford
30 October 1997
#14 Rick Crawford, Circle Bar Motel & RV Park
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series
GM Goodwrench/Delco Battery 300K Advance
Phoenix International Raceway
RICK CRAWFORD NOTES & QUOTES: GM GOODWRENCH/DELCO BATTERY 300K
PHOENIX, AZ - Round twenty-five of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, The GM
Goodwrench/Delco Battery 300, will run 186 laps/186 miles in the traditional
two-segment format. The race, Saturday 1 November 1997, will start 36 trucks
based on fastest times plus up to four provisional starting positions. The
posted awards total $313,319.
Phoenix International Raceway is a one-mile paved asphalt oval with 11
degrees of banking in the first two turns, nine degrees of banking in turns
three and four, and two degrees in the dogleg. There is no banking on either
of the straights. The frontstretch is 1,179 feet long and the backstretch is
1,551 feet long. Phoenix, the only circuit in the 26-race season which hosts
the Trucks twice, is south-west of town at the foot of the local mountains.
Two weeks ago at the No Fear Challenge at California Speedway in Fontana, CA,
Rick Crawford qualified ninth in a field of 42, and had moved up to sixth
when it was thought that a tire was going flat. Crawford dropped to the back
of the field in anticipation of making an unscheduled pit stop for a tire
change. However, in cruising around the two-mile paved super speedway,
Crawford determined that it wasn't a flat tire after all and started his
charge back through the field from 36th to tenth. He was able to race cleanly
and maintain tenth place despite being pushed into the wall, surviving
without a crash.
This weekend Crawford returns to PIR, a circuit he has raced on before in the
Southwest Tour series years ago. For the third race this summer, Crawford's
Circle Bar Team will operate without their crew chief, Roland Wlodyka, who is
again back in North Carolina repairing the team's brand-new super speedway
Truck which hasn't yet raced. After the last race, Wlodyka and crew member
Travis Holt were transporting the new truck when they had a road accident
resulting in the hauler, race truck and all crashing down a deep ravine.
Wlodyka suffered fractured ribs, cuts, bruises and a concussion. Holt is
alright. The race truck was badly damaged and the hauler destroyed.
The plan at this point is for Wlodyka, a veteran of years with the NASCAR
Winston Cup circuit, to repair the new truck so that Crawford can race it
next weekend at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway's season's finale Truck race.
The rest of the Circle Bar Team has been working in Phoenix on preparing the
backup truck for the one-mile super speedway.
Crawford and crew, despite all the setbacks, are looking forward to the
high-speed fast track race. Crawford excels on the faster race tracks, having
finished third this summer at Texas Motor Speedway.
Rick Crawford, with 202 points, remains in second place in the Cintas Rookie
point standings and is 18 points behind the leader. Crawford has been first
or second of 22 drivers in the Cintas field all season. He has one top-five
and nine top-ten finishes so far, with 14 of the 26 finishes counting for the
Cintas award.
Rick Crawford, with 2891 points, remains 12th in the points, out of 155
drivers in the 1997 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series driver standings; he now is
eleventh in winnings, earning $214,495 so far this season. Crawford is the
top-running independent privateer in the series.
The GM Goodwrench/Delco Battery race will broadcast live on NASCAR Truck
Racing Network at 3:15 pm EST and telecast live on TBS at 3:35 pm EST.
Arizona is on Mountain Standard Time all year long.
RICK CRAWFORD #14 CIRCLE BAR FORD F150
1997 NASCAR CRAFTSMAN TRUCK RESULTS
LAPS LAPS
DATE LOCATION START FINISH LED COMP $WON STATUS
Jan 19 Disney World 24 11 0 200/200 10,800 Running
Mar 1 Tucson 18 12 0 200/200 5,775 Running
Mar 16 Homestead 22 18 0 159/167 8,750 Running
Apr 20 Phoenix 14 21 0 147/150 4,480 Running
May 3 Portland 11 8 0 200/200 7,225 Running
May 11 Monroe 16 23 0 201/203 6,200 Running
May 24 Odessa 6 15 0 199/200 7,175 Running
May 31 Loudon 9 6 0 200/200 8,375 Running
Jun 6 Texas 6 3 0 167/167 30,850 Running
Jun 21 Bristol 25 6 0 200/200 11,900 Running
Jun 29 Nazareth 19 18 0 197/200 7,125 Running
Jul 5 Milwaukee 8 34 0 33/200 6,425 Clutch
Jul 12 Louisville 16 5 6 219/225 6,675 Running
Jul 19 Colorado 6 6 14 250/250 1,400 Running
Jul 27 Topeka 10 8 0 81/81 8,200 Running
Aug 9 Flemington 24 15 0 200/200 7,920 Running
Aug 16 Nashville 10 8 0 255/256 7,275 Running
Aug 24 Watkins Glen 10 14 0 62/62 7,875 Running
Sep 4 Richmond 31 34 0 61/180 5,600 Engine
Sep 27 Martinsville 34 24 0 235/256 5,825 Running
Oct 5 Sears Point 32 25 0 49/60 5,975 Running
Oct 12 Mesa Marin 23 6 0 300/300 7,200 Running
Oct 18 Fontana 9 10 0 100/100 9,350 Running
By Circle Bar Motel & RV Park Racing Public Relations