Crawford has properly inflated expectations, tires

Oct 4, 2007

(Mobile Press Register Story) Crawford has properly inflated expectations, tires Year after flat tire takes Mobile native out of race, anticipation builds for another go at Talladega Thursday, October 04, 2007 By MARK INABINETT Sports Reporter

Before the inaugural NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series event at Talladega Superspeedway last year, Rick Crawford said it was the biggest race of his life.

And why shouldn't he have felt that way? A decade into his truck career, the Mobile driver finally was getting to race in his home state, following in the tire tracks of the famed Alabama Gang at a track tied to so many of his boyhood memories of big-time stock-car racing.

Only one problem: He got a flat tire instead of a fairy-tale ending.

Last year's 15th-place finish, though, hasn't curbed his enthusiasm for coming home to race again in Saturday's Mountain Dew 250.

"I'm excited about going again," Crawford said. "Last year, we thought we could win the race, but we had a flat tire about halfway through that took us out of contention. We came back and ended up all right. We're gearing up to win this year.

"When last year's race ended, I couldn't wait to get back. It's like Daytona, which is our most important race in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. When the checkered flag is falling, you're thinking about the green flag flying and what you're going to do to get back and win the thing next year. I look at Talladega as that's my biggest race of the year. And that's what I'm looking for -- to win."

Crawford said he learned the hard way the key to victory at Talladega. "You just have to keep reminding yourself to put yourself in position to win," he said. "When we had the flat last year, we had to race for the lucky dog. We got that and got our lap back. But then you're 29th or 30th with a big pack of trucks three- and four-wide in front of you. We had a pretty fast truck, but you've got to put yourself in position to win at the end. It's like a 190-mile-per-hour chess match." Crawford comes into the race sixth in the season standings. His 14 top-10 finishes in 19 races trail only series leaders Mike Skinner and Ron Hornaday. But Crawford is the highest-ranked driver without a win this year and needs one to extend his streak of seasons with a victory to five. "I'm thinking about that (streak) in the back of my mind," Crawford said.

"It's been one of our better years as far as consistency goes. (Crew chief) Kevin 'Cowboy' Starland is taking a truck to the track that's fun to drive and in contention each and every week. I'm surprised we haven't won yet this year. But there's still seven races to go."

Crawford did everything but win the seventh race of the season in Mansfield, Ohio. But a tire exploded on his No. 14 Power Stroke Diesel by International Ford a few laps short of what looked like a sure victory. "That was a gut-wrenching race there," Crawford said. "It took a lot of the wind out of our sails -- not just the driver, but the whole team. That's just part of the business that can hurt so much. But you can't keep looking in your rear-view mirror."

So Crawford is looking ahead to Talladega on Saturday and the homestretch of the truck season. He trails Skinner by 445 points and Hornaday by 442 in the standings, but Crawford's not counting himself out of the race just yet. Fifth-place Johnny Benson has a 47-point lead on Crawford, with fourth-place Todd Bodine 131 points ahead.

"We're about 150 points out of fourth, so that's a realistic goal," Crawford said. "I don't think we're really out of it as far as the championship is concerned. But something's got to happen to your competition -- like last week at Las Vegas, we finished ahead of both of them. Realistically, though, we're shooting for a top five."