Matt Crafton leads James Buescher by 46 points and Texas race winner Ty Dillon by 47 going into this Fridays Lucas Oil 150 at Phoenix International Raceway. If Crafton can score his second win of the season at Phoenix, or exit leading the second-place competitor by 49 or more points, he will clinch the title before the series reaches Homestead-Miami Speedway for the Nov. 15 season finale. In 12 previous starts at PIR Crafton has eight top-10 finishes highlighted by a third-place finish in 2004. Craftons team, ThorSport Racing, also hopes to clinch the owners title this weekend as well. Prior to the Texas race, the #88 Toyota team held a small lead over the #51 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota shared by Kyle Busch and several additional drivers. That lead grew from 15 to 32 points after Busch experienced engine issues to end his night early, making it a little more difficult to challenge for the title. After the race Busch announced he would not be competing at Phoenix where hes won twice. Erik Jones will pilot the truck this weekend. If ThorSport Racing wins the owners title it will be the first in the 18-year history of the Sandusky, Ohio-based team and owners Duke and Rhonda Thorson.(NASCAR)(11-6-2013) News from November 5, 2013
