The two-time defending champion is quickest at NASCAR’s fastest track.
Matt Crafton ran a blazing 186.659-mph lap to top Friday’s final NASCAR Camping World Truck Series practice at Michigan International Speedway.
Crafton’s 38.573-second lap was just under a tenth of a second quicker than second-place Daniel Hemric (38.666), who topped opening practice for Saturday’s Careers for Veterans 200.
Cameron Hayley (38.729) ended the session in third, with Cody Coughlin (38.775) putting down the fourth-quickest time before his first race with Kyle Busch Motorsports. Austin Dillon (38.775) tied Coughlin’s speed around the 2-mile track to complete the top five.
Kyle Busch, Tyler Reddick, Ryan Blaney, Johnny Sauter and Timothy Peters rounded out the top 10.
The stars of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will return on Saturday for Keystone Light Pole Qualifying at 9:40 a.m. ET.
2015 CAREERS FOR VETERANS 200 FINAL PRACTICE SPEEDS
| POS. | CAR # | DRIVER | MANUFACTURER | SPONSOR | BEST SPEED | BEST TIME | BEHIND |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 88 | Matt Crafton | Toyota | Ideal DoorMenards | 186.659 | 38.573 | Leader |
| 2 | 14 | Daniel Hemric | Chevrolet | California Clean Power | 186.21 | 38.666 | 0.093 |
| 3 | 13 | Cameron Hayley | Toyota | Carolina Nut/Cabinets by Hayley | 185.907 | 38.729 | 0.156 |
| 4 | 54 | Cody Coughlin | Toyota | JEGS | 185.687 | 38.775 | 0.202 |
| 5 | 33 | Austin Dillon | Chevrolet | Rheem/Young Supply Company | 185.687 | 38.775 | 0.202 |
| 6 | 51 | Kyle Busch | Toyota | Dollar General | 185.634 | 38.786 | 0.213 |
| 7 | 19 | Tyler Reddick | Ford | DrawTite | 185.562 | 38.801 | 0.228 |
| 8 | 29 | Ryan Blaney | Ford | Cooper Standard Careers for Vets | 185.553 | 38.803 | 0.23 |
| 9 | 98 | Johnny Sauter | Toyota | Nextant/Curb Records | 185.505 | 38.813 | 0.24 |
| 10 | 17 | Timothy Peters | Toyota | Red Horse Racing | 185.223 | 38.872 | 0.299 |
| 11 | 5 | John Wes Townley | Chevrolet | Zaxby's | 184.909 | 38.938 | 0.365 |
| 12 | 11 | Ben Kennedy | Toyota | Local Motors | 184.398 | 39.046 | 0.473 |
| 13 | 4 | Erik Jones | Toyota | Toyota | 184.308 | 39.065 | 0.492 |
| 14 | 15 | Mason Mingus | Chevrolet | Call 811 Before You Dig | 183.379 | 39.263 | 0.69 |
| 15 | 0 | Alex Bowman | Chevrolet | Haas Automation | 183.309 | 39.278 | 0.705 |
| 16 | 8 | John Hunter Nemechek | Chevrolet | TBD | 183.206 | 39.3 | 0.727 |
| 17 | 7 | Ray Black Jr | Chevrolet | ScubaLife.com | 182.746 | 39.399 | 0.826 |
| 18 | 30 | Chad Finley | Ford | Auto Value | 182.278 | 39.5 | 0.927 |
| 19 | 23 | Spencer Gallagher | Chevrolet | Allegiant Travel | 181.818 | 39.6 | 1.027 |
| 20 | 2 | Tyler Young | Chevrolet | Randco Industries/Young's Building Systems | 181.759 | 39.613 | 1.04 |
| 21 | 63 | Garrett Smithley | Chevrolet | Segpay/Mittler Bros. Machine & Tool | 181.264 | 39.721 | 1.148 |
| 22 | 1 | Travis Kvapil | Chevrolet | Burnie Grill | 180.438 | 39.903 | 1.33 |
| 23 | 74 | Jordan Anderson | Chevrolet | Tri-Analytics/Impact Race Products | 177.594 | 40.542 | 1.969 |
| 24 | 8 | Korbin Forrister | Chevrolet | Trump for President | 175.31 | 41.07 | 2.497 |
| 25 | 0 | Caleb Roark | Chevrolet | Driven2Honor.org | 174.829 | 41.183 | 2.61 |
| 26 | 3 | Timothy Viens | Chevrolet | RaceDaySponsor.com | 172.89 | 41.645 | 3.072 |
| 27 | 36 | Justin Jennings | Chevrolet | Mittler Bros Machine & Tool / Ski Soda | 172.36 | 41.773 | 3.2 |
| 28 | 10 | Jennifer Jo Cobb | Chevrolet | Driven2Honor.org | 170.16 | 42.313 | 3.74 |
| 29 | 94 | Wendell Chavous | Chevrolet | Testoril | 169.213 | 42.55 | 3.977 |
| 30 | 50 | Tyler Tanner | Chevrolet | Shane Duncan Band | 167.473 | 42.992 | 4.419 |
| 31 | 6 | Norm Benning | Chevrolet | TBA | 165.46 | 43.515 | 4.942 |
| 32 | 40 | Todd Peck | Chevrolet | Arthritis Foundation/OSS Health | 0 | 0 | -38.573 |
Aaron Bearden is a Frontstretch alumnus who’s come back home as the site’s Short Track Editor. When he isn’t working with our grassroots writers, he can be found talking about racing on his Morning Warmup newsletter, pestering his wife/dog or convincing himself the Indiana Pacers can win an NBA title.