Skinner Seeks Short-Track Record
Racingone.com
Mike Skinner swept both Martinsville truck races last year and is looking for a three-peat this weekend. If he succeeds, he will become the first driver to win three consecutive NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series short track races at the same track.
Skinner sat on the pole and won last year's Kroger 250 at the half-mile track, and he has all expectations of doing it once again this year.
"It would be a great accomplishment if we could win and become the first driver to win three in a row in the Truck Series at Martinsville, but we'll have to win first," he said. "To tie Ron [Hornaday] would be cool too. Hopefully, we can come out on top this weekend and make these stats change."
If Skinner picks up the win this weekend, he will tie Ron Hornaday Jr. for the most series wins at a short track.
Skinner's race truck for this weekend is Chassis No. 5-76, which is the same truck he ran last year when he swept both races at Martinsville.
In preparation for this weekend's race, Skinner, his No. 5 Toyota Tundra crew and his fellow BDR teammates spent time prepping the truck at a test session at Martinsville Speedway two weeks ago.
When asked about his hopes for this weekend in Martinsville, Skinner stated, "Our goal this weekend is to definitely win, but we will take what we get. We've got to catch back up in the points, and this weekend would be a great weekend to do so.
"We tested well at Martinsville the week before last, and we are taking a great truck here as well. I can't wait to get on the track. We have had great success there, so it should be a lot of fun."
In addition to driving the same lucky race truck, Skinner's determination and his team's motivation bring them one step closer to setting that desired three-peat record.
Being in Virginia gives Skinner's crew chief, Jeff Hensley, a little bit of a home-sweet-home feeling. Hensley was born and raised near Martinsville Speedway, and he wants to win three in a row there in front of his family and friends.
FOX will have a live broadcast of the Kroger 250 starting at 3 p.m. (ET) Saturday, March 29. You can also catch the details on MRN radio and Sirius Satellite Radio (Ch. 128).
For the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, Skinner will attempt to make the Goody's Cool Orange 500 race, and if he does so, will race for the third consecutive Cup Series weekend. This time, however, he will attempt to qualify the Red Bull Toyota Camry for Team Red Bull.
Kroger 250 Entry List
0 Butch Miller
2 Jack Sprague
03 Chrissy Wallace
4 Stacy Compton
5 Mike Skinner
6 Colin Braun
7 Andy Lally
07 Ryan Lawler
8 Chad McCumbee
08 Jason White
9 Justin Marks
09 Travis Kvapil
10 Brendan Gaughan
11 David Starr
13 Shelby Howard
14 Rick Crawford
15 Denny Hamlin
16 Brian Scott
t18 Dennis Setzer
20 Scott Lagasse Jr.
21 Jon Wood
22 Phillip McGilton
23 Johnny Benson
30 Todd Bodine
33 Ron Hornaday
40 Chad Chaffin
42 Tim Cowen
46 Scott Speed
47 Timothy Peters
51 Kyle Busch
52 Ken Schrader
54 Brian Sockwell
59 Ted Musgrave
60 Terry Cook
71 Donny Lia
85 Brent Raymer
88 Matt Crafton
99 Erik Darnell
Driver to win the Truck Series Kroger 250
Kyle Busch +265
Denny Hamlin +425
Mike Skinner +615
Ron Hornaday +685
Todd Bodine +685
Johnny Benson +915
Jack Sprague +985
Rick Crawford +1350
Dennis Setzer +1585
Travis Kvapil +1585
Terry Cook +1685
Ted Musgrave +1815
Erik Darnell +2050
Matt Crafton +2350
Jon Wood +3450
Brendan Gaughan +4500
TheGreek
Tearing Apart the Trucks : Heading Back East
Beth Lunkenheimer
As the drivers of the Craftsman Truck Series roll into Martinsville, VA, for the fourth race of the season it will mark the first time since the season opener at Daytona International Speedway that the truck series will have a full field for Saturday’s Kroger 250. The San Bernardino County 200 at Auto Club Speedway had a field of 35, just one short of a full field, but the American Commercial Lines 200 at Atlanta Motor Speedway saw a field of only 32. Currently, there are 38 drivers entered for a field of 36 at the Virginia short track.
Mike Skinner Attempts to Break Another Record
Never before in the history of the Craftsman Truck Series has a driver won three consecutive short track races on the same track. Mike Skinner won both races at Martinsville Speedway in 2007 and hopes to make it three in a row this weekend. Most recently, Dennis Setzer won back to back races in 2002 and 2003 at Martinsville. He came close to making it three in a row but ended up finishing second to Rick Crawford.
A win this weekend would be just what Mike Skinner and the No. 5 team need. They currently sit 162 points behind series leader Kyle Busch in seventh. Skinner started the season in the hole with a 29th place finish at Daytona International Speedway after being involved in a wreck caused by Kyle Busch.
Since then, the driver of the No. 5 Toyota Tundra has strung together two Top 10 finishes to propel him up 22 spots in the standings. Skinner would like to win this weekend but ultimately will keep his focus on the points battle.
“Our goal this weekend is to definitely win, but we will take what we can get,” Skinner said. We’ve got to catch back up in the points and this would be a good weekend to do it.”
Chrissy Wallace Set to Make Debut
Chrissy Wallace, daughter of driver Mike Wallace, anticipates making her Craftsman Truck Series debut this weekend at Martinsville Speedway. Wallace tested the No. 03 Toyota Tundra at Martinsville for Germain Racing, posting an 11th quickest lap time of 20.215 seconds and is required to qualify on time to make the field.
The 19-year-old driver has always wanted to “be the first successful female driver” from an early age. At the age of 9, Chrissy became the first female to win a Bandalero race at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Since then, she has raced legend cars, thunder roadsters, go-karts, arena cars and late models.
“Obviously, this is a big opportunity for me. I have to thank the Germains, Mike Hillman and Toyota for putting this deal together,” Chrissy Wallace said. “Our goal is to go out there and run a smart race and finish.”
Mike Wallace, who has helped support Chrissy’s dream since she was very young, spoke as the proud father.
“When I got the call from Chrissy after the test, it was very nice. She just wanted to tell me ‘thank you,’” said Wallace. “She said everything I told her on the radio made her run faster and she said she realized I really did know what I was talking about. She asked me to spot for her.”
Chrissy Wallace plans to run five truck races and five ARCA races and will continue to run Late Model races as well. If Wallace qualifies for the Kroger 250 at Martinsville Speedway , she’ll join her dad in making her debut at the half mile track and become the ninth female to start a race in the Craftsman Truck Series.
Did You Know…
* In 18 starts, no rookie has ever won a race at Martinsville Speedway? Three times rookies have finished in the runner up position. Travis Kvapil did it in 2001, Carl Edwards in 2003 and Todd Kleuver in 2005.
* Martinsville Speedway is one of just four tracks the truck series has visited every year? The Milwaukee Mile, O’Reilly Raceway Park and Phoenix Raceway are the other three.
* Kyle Busch has an average finish of 1.33 in three races this season? He finished second to Todd Bodine at Daytona and won at California Motor Speedway and Atlanta Motor Speedway.
* Denny Hamlin will run the No. 15 Toyota Tundra alongside Sprint Cup teammate Kyle Busch for Billy Ballew Motorsports? Both trucks will have Miccosukee Resorts as their primary sponsor.
frontstretch.com
Sprague sets track record in Martinsville
Martinsville, VA (Sports Network) - Three-time series champion Jack Sprague captured the pole for Saturday afternoon's Kroger 250 Craftsman Truck Series race at the Martinsville Speedway. The No.2 Kevin Harvick Inc. Chevrolet set a track record around the flat 0.526-mile short track of 19.658 seconds (96.327 m.p.h.).
The pole victory was Sprague's first of the season and 32nd of his truck career.
"Everybody at KHI has done a wonderful job building trucks," said Sprague.
Starting alongside Sprague will be Denny Hamlin, who posted a time of 19.818 seconds.
Sprague's teammate Ron Hornaday Jr. (19.886) and Brian Scott (19.910) will make up row two.
After three events the Craftsman Truck Series should be renamed the "Kyle Busch Series."
Busch has been masterful against the combination of veterans and rookies which make up the truck races. Busch finished second to Todd Bodine in the season opener, then has won back-to-back events in California and Atlanta. "Rowdy" is scheduled to start 11th.
But if Busch doesn't dominate, there are plenty of other drivers, mainly veterans, ready to challenge.
Last year, Mike Skinner won both Martinsville races. He edged Bodine in the first race and beat Sprague to the checkered flag in the second. Dennis Setzer won at Martinsville in 2002 and 2003. And Hornaday Jr., the defending series champion, is also pretty good on short tracks. Hornaday Jr. is third in the standings. After a bad start in Daytona (25th) the defending champion has returned to form with a fifth in California and a second place in Atlanta.
The race is set to drop the green flag to at 3 p.m. (et).
I bet on Busch. Shitty odds but that kid can mash the trucks
Setzer wins Kroger 250
Martinsville, VA (Sports Network) - Dennis Setzer captured Saturday afternoon's Kroger 250 around the 0.526-mile short track. The No.18 Dodge driver crossed the finish line under caution flag ahead of Matt Crafton.
The victory was Setzer's first of the season and 18th of his Craftsman career.
Setzer took the lead on lap 128 and never gave it up en route to the relatively easy victory.
Pole winner Jack Sprague brought the field to the green flag for 250 laps of short track racing. He and teammate Ron Hornaday Jr. quickly took off opening up a big lead. So big that Sprague could let Hornaday Jr. lead a lap and grab the five-point bonus, then fall back in line behind Sprague. They were more than 2.6 seconds ahead of Denny Hamlin at the 25-lap mark.
But then the leaders caught the back end of the field and it allowed Hamlin to catch up. When Sprague got stuck behind a slower truck, Hamlin slid underneath both of them for the lead. Also moving up was points leader Kyle Busch, who started 11th, and was up to sixth at the first caution flag on lap 41.
Busch was following David Starr up the charts and at lap 75 they were fourth and fifth, respectively.
When Andy Lally slammed the outside wall on lap 79, it gave the leaders the opportunity to pit for the first and likely only time of the race. Both Sprague and Hornaday Jr. had long pit stops and on the restart it was Hamlin and Busch up front.
On lap 97, Busch had finally had enough of following and drove underneath Hamlin for the lead. On the next caution flag, Hamlin pitted, complaining of a tight truck. That put Setzer into second place behind Busch.
Then when Busch tried to pass backmarker Brent Raymer, they collided and Raymer spun. Setzer avoided the incident and inherited the lead with Brendan Gaughan second.
Meanwhile, Hamlin began to work his way back through the field. He was seventh at lap 144 when a multi-car crash caused the race to be red-flagged for cleanup. But he spun again on lap 101 and his chance at winning the race was over.
All the caution flags and spins allowed Busch to crack the top-10. He was seventh with 90 laps remaining. He popped the back of David Starr's bumper sending him up the track to take fifth place with still 58 laps remaining.
Still more caution flags disrupted the rhythm, but all through it Setzer and Gaughan maintained the top-two positions.
On the restart with 43 laps to go, Setzer got a great jump and began to pull away from Gaughan who had Johnny Benson on his rear bumper. Also close behind was Mike Skinner and Busch.
But caution flag No.12 (Ted Musgrave spin) brought Setzer back to the field for the next restart. Gaughan was forced to pit putting Benson up to second and Busch into fourth place. Nineteen laps remained when the next caution flag flew setting up a short 15-lap run to the checkered flag. More cautions made it impossible for anyone to make a run at Setzer and after two more restarts he collected the win.
Rick Crawford, Ken Schrader and Erik Darnell completed the top-five.
Chrissy Wallace, 19-year-old daughter of veteran NASCAR driver Mike Wallace, unofficially finished 17th in her Craftsman debut.
The next race in the series is scheduled for Saturday, April 26th at the Kansas Speedway.