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