Homestead Race Fast Facts:
Darrell Wallace Jr. won the 19th Annual Ford EcoBoost 200, his fifth victory in 44 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races.
This is his fourth victory and 14th top-10 finish in 2014.
This is his first victory and first top-10 finish in two races at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Kyle Larson(i) (second) posted his first top-10 finish in two races at Homestead-Miami Speedway. It is his first top-10 finish in 2014.
Timothy Peters (third) posted his fifth top-10 finish in eight races at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Tyler Reddick (sixth) was the highest finishing rookie.
Matt Crafton leads the point standings by 21 points over Ryan Blaney.
This is the 15th win for Toyota in 2014 - tieing the manufacturer's most wins a single season (2010).
Most wins all-time in a single season in the NCWTS is 18 by Chevrolet in 1996.
(NASCAR Statistics)(11-14-2013)
Championship Fast Facts:
Driver Champion: Matt Crafton
Team: # 88 Menards Toyota
Matt Crafton won his second consecutive NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship. He is the first driver in series history to win back-to-back championships (2013-2014).
Crafton is the 13th different driver to win the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship, and the fourth to win multiple series titles. 2013 marked Crafton's 15th year competing in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. He leads the series in consecutive starts with 337.
Crafton finished 21 points ahead of second-place Ryan Blaney.
Crafton finished the 2014 season with two wins, 13 top fives, 17 top 10s, and an average finish of 7.0.
Crafton's 2014 Season-To-Date Loop Data: Driver Rating (106.0); Average Running Position (6.504).
Congresswoman calls for NASCAR to suspend Kurt Busch UPDATE2: A congressional lawmaker is calling on NASCAR to suspend driver Kurt Busch from Sunday's season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway until the recent domestic accusation against him is fully resolved, SI.com has learned. In a letter addressed to NASCAR president Mike Helton and Stewart-Haas owners Tony Stewart and Gene Haas, Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.), called the charges made by Patricia Driscoll, Busch's former domestic partner, "horrifying."
"But despite the severity of the criminal allegations against Mr. Busch," Speier writes, "I am disappointed to see that NASCAR and Stewart-Haas Racing have not taken any action. Your response to these serious allegations has been totally inadequate." Speier has also asked to be looped into the internal investigations of NASCAR and SHR, and for "a history of sanctions levied by NASCAR and racing teams for domestic violence incidents brought to your attention over the last five years."(in part from Sports Illustrated)
UPDATE: NASCAR chairman Brian France said Friday that no action will be taken against the Sprint Cup driver. France confirmed Friday that Rep. Jackie Speier sent a letter to NASCAR president Mike Helton and to Stewart-Haas Racing saying she was "disappointed" that Busch hadn't been suspended until the matter is resolved. Busch has not yet been arrested or charged with any crime. "We are watching that case carefully," France said Friday. "It's under review by law enforcement and others. They haven't made a decision on that regarding Kurt. Until they make judgments on that investigation, it wouldn't be right to intervene before it's completed." NASCAR has rules covering inappropriate or criminal behavior away from arenas, but it does not have a policy addressing domestic violence on its own. The rule book has a section covering violations and disciplinary action, including penalties that can be determined "by the gravity of the violation and its effect on ... the interests of stock car racing and NASCAR." France said Friday that NASCAR is sensitive to the issue of domestic violence. "You can expect our policies to reflect the understandable awareness that that's not going to be tolerated," France said. "How any league handled some of this is one thing. It's pretty clear when you see what's happening around the country that our policy will reflect the significance and importance that it should."(ESPN)(11-14-2014)
UPDATE2: "If every time somebody made an allegation against a congresswoman or a congressman, and they were then to be suspended from their office until the investigation was concluded, we'd have an empty Capitol building," Busch lawyer Rusty Hardin said in a phone interview with Sporting News. "While that might please the public to have that building be empty, it certainly wouldn't be fair to the person the charge or allegation was made against." Hardin said that while domestic violence is a serious issue, with no charges filed Busch should be allowed to do his job and Speier's letter was "inappropriate."
"He not only has adamantly denied it, but when the investigation is concluded, I think people are going to realize it is a fabricated charge," Hardin said. "I don't know where in the world this congresswoman thinks we've moved to where you start punishing people just because somebody makes an allegation. ... For a congresswoman to make these kind of statements is just ludicrous. I hope she's in the minority and everybody will wait to find out what the true story is. When they do, they'll find out that this didn't happen. We're not going to participate in it, we're not going to try every charge (in public). But when a congresswoman sends a letter like this, I feel compelled to remind everybody we still have due process and presumption of innocence in this country even if she doesn't recognize it." Obviously pleased with the decisions by NASCAR and the team to let Busch race, Hardin said he has been in arbitration all week and Busch will talk to Dover police investigators in the "near future. I hope we can do it outside the glare of public media. But, I can assure you, he's cooperating fully and in the near future will be visiting with them."(Sporting News)(11-15-2014)