Matt Crafton, driver of the No. 6 GM Goodwrench Chevrolet Silverado, had another top-10 finish taken away when he became the victim of the green, white, checkered finish in Thursday night’s running of the Kroger 200 at Richmond International Raceway. In result, the Tulare, Calif., native lost 15 spots on the final lap to cross the finish line a very disappointing 21st.

Team GM Goodwrench arrived in Richmond with a brand new race truck that had only seen 20 laps worth of testing time that was cancelled due to rain on Monday, September 6th. So, when the rain came Thursday morning Crafton and crew awaited nervously to see if their only practice session for Thursday night’s race was going to be cancelled as well. After a quick downpour and a brief scare, practice got underway and Crafton further solidified crew chief Wally Rogers decision to bring a brand new race truck. Crafton put the No. 6 KISS/GM Goodwrench Chevy Silverado on the charts, eighth fastest.

Due to NASCAR’s rule, which involves all trucks being impounded after qualifying on one day shows, Team GM Goodwrench made some last minute adjustments before practice ended, confident that would benefit come race time. However, during qualifying, Crafton felt they freed the truck up a bit too much which casued him to get sideways on his second qualifying lap.  Crafton had to settle for his first lap of 21.80 seconds at 123.853 mph that put him in the 19th starting position.

At the drop of the green flag, Crafton quickly jumped two spots and settled into the 17th position when the third caution came at lap 38 for the wreck of Travis Kvapil on the backstrecth. Crafton radioed “I’m tight up off the corners. I can’t get back into the gas.” Rogers called Crafton to the pits for four tires and an air pressure adjustment, putting the No. 6 KISS/GM Goodwrench Chevy back on the track for the restart at lap 43 in the 19th position.

Crafton got right back to the action and was able to pick up four more spots during the next 44 laps to claim the 15th position. However, he was back on the radio, “The truck turns good in the corners, but it is still tight when I try to get back in the gas.” The night’s fourth caution came at lap 87 for debris in turn 2 and Rogers made a gutsy call to bring Crafton to the pits for right-side-tires only to gain track position.

This pit strategy proved worthy as Crafton was back on the track in the fourth position for the restart at lap 91. However, Team GM Goodwrench knew a majority of the field behind them had taken four tires and were prepared for the task at hand.  Six laps later, Crafton found himself running in the seventh position. The fifth caution flew at lap 102 for the accident of Bill Lester in turn 3. Crafton stayed out and reclaimed the fourth position for the restart at lap 106.

For the next 91 laps Crafton stayed in the top-10, constantly battling for the fifth and sixth position.  He was well on his way to claiming his 14th top-10 finish and making a significant jump in the points standings until the night’s final caution came at lap 197 for oil on the track. Team GM Goodwrench, running sixth, for the green, white, checkered finish and still on the right-side-tire only combination, had several competitors on four tires behind him.

Crafton, battling the #12 of Robert Huffman coming out of turn 2 on the checkered flag lap, was hit from behind by the #15 of Shane Hmiel. Unable to regain control of the No. 6 KISS/GM Goodwrench Chevy, Crafton and Hmiel made contact again getting into turn 3, which caused Crafton to spin. Crafton took the checkered flag in a very disappointing 21st position. Team GM Goodwrench still managed to gain 15 more points on leader Bobby Hamilton and continues to guard the fourth position just 160 markers back.

“The KISS/GM Goodwrench Silverado was too tight all night and we struggled early,” explained a very frustrated Crafton after the race. “We had to start in the middle of the pack and it was tough to come through traffic. Wally (crew chief) made a gutsy call at lap 87 to only take two tires to get track position, but it sure put us in a position to get another top-10. We ended up having to stay with those two tires for the rest of the night and the truck got to be a handful right there at the end. I became a victim of the green, white, checkered finish, which ruined the night and the finish we had going. Not much more to say about that.”

Next up for Team GM Goodwrench…Crafton and crew head to Loudon, New Hampshire on Saturday, September 18 for the running of the SLYVANIA 200 Presented by Lowe’s at New Hampshire International Speedway. Live TV coverage on SPEED begins at 1:00 p.m. Eastern, with live radion coverage on MRN beginning at 12:30 p.m. Eastern.