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  • NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Preview – Martinsville

    NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Preview – Martinsville

    The NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series returns to the famous Martinsville Speedway this Saturday afternoon for the annual
    TruNorth Global 250.

    The Martinsville Truck Series dates back to its opening season in 1995. Since then, there has been 40 races and counting, with two event each year since the 2003 season.

    With Martinsville being a famous and popular race track on the Truck Series circuit, many teams are trying to make the race. In fact, 40 trucks are entered on the preliminary entry list for 32 spots.

    So without further ado, here’s a look at who might collect a grandfather clock Saturday afternoon.

    1. Kyle Busch – It’s hard to stop someone who is on a roll, especially someone who has won in all three national series. Kyle Busch recently won at California for his 200th win overall and does not look to be slowing down anytime soon. He is also a recent winner in the Truck Series winning at Atlanta and Las Vegas before the trucks went on a break. Busch looks to collect his third victory of the 2019 season as he enters Saturday’s race. At Martinsville, he has just one win coming three years ago in 2016. He has led 415 laps in total and has five top fives and six top 10 finishes. His Kyle Busch Motorsports’ drivers have a combined five wins in total. In the 2016 race, Busch dominated leading 123 of the 255 laps. Look for Busch to win again this weekend.
    2. Johnny Sauter – Sauter is the most recent winner of this race, claiming the victory in October 2018. That race advanced him to the Championship 4. He whooped the field leading 148 laps of 200 and won both stages. He has 22 starts and four wins (2011, 2013, 2016, 2018). Sauter also collected nine top fives and 12 top 10 finishes with 579 laps led. It wouldn’t be a surprise if Sauter goes back to back this weekend.
    3. Darrell Wallace Jr. – Wallace Jr, better known as Bubba, will be making his first Truck Series start this season driving the No. 22 AM Racing entry. Before making starts in the Cup Series, Wallace made a name for himself in the Truck Series for Kyle Busch Motorsports, where he won five out of six races. It will be his first Martinsville start in over five races. His last start was in 2014 where he dominated, leading 97 laps of 200 and winning from the pole. He also won in 2013.
    4. Matt Crafton – Crafton could break his long winless streak this weekend at the ‘Paperclip.’ He has the most starts of any active driver with 34. Crafton collected wins at Martinsville in 2014 and 2015 leading a combined 110 of 456 laps. In total, he has completed 97.5 percent of the laps, nine top fives, 19 top 10s with two DNFs. Crafton has led 385 laps and sat on the pole in 2011. He’ll be hungry to get back to victory lane this weekend.
    5. Myatt Snider – Snider returns this weekend in the No. 27 ThorSport entry. In his only two races, Snider has finished third and sixth with seven laps led. He finished 10th and ninth in both stages in the 2018 spring race. Snider could be a surprise winner this weekend.

    To note, Travis Kvapil is back in the No. 1, Austin Dillon in the No. 8 Nemco Motorsports entry, Codie Rohrbaugh in the No. 109, Juan Ma Gonzalez in the No. 10, Tyler Ankrum in the No. 17, Derek Kraus in the No. 119, Daniel Sasnett in the No. 34, Anthony Mrakovich in the No. 43, Reid Wilson in the No. 44, Raphael Lessard in the No. 46, David Gilliland in the No. 54, Timmy Hill in the No. 56 with his own team, Dawson Cram in the No. 63, and Austin Theriault in the No. 92.

    The No. 80 team has yet to be announced.

    The winner’s list is a who’s who of NASCAR’s best dating back to Joe Ruttman winning the first race here in 1995. Since then, Jay Sauter, Jamie McMurray, Bobby Labonte, Ricky Craven, David Starr, Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano, Chase Elliott and Noah Gragson, just to name a few, have all won here.

    Starting position here at Martinsville is very important, where the race winner has won from the pole nine times. The lowest a race winner has come from to win was 33rd in 2002, set by Dennis Setzer.

    On-track action begins Friday afternoon with the first practice at 1:05 p.m. ET and the final practice at 3:05 p.m. ET, both lasting one hour. Unfortunately, there will be no television coverage of the practice sessions.

    On Saturday morning at 10:40 a.m. ET, Truck Series qualifying takes place with multi-vehicles in three rounds, live on FOX Sports 1.

    The TruNorth Global 250 begins with NASCAR Raceday at 1:30 p.m. ET with the green flag flying shortly after 2:00 p.m. ET live on FOX and MRN Radio.

  • Four Takeaways From The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series- Martinsville

    Four Takeaways From The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series- Martinsville

    The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Round of 6 began this past weekend at Martinsville Speedway in Southern Virginia. Six drivers are still fighting for a shot at the championship and only four spots are up for grabs. One of those spots has already been taken by a former champion.

    Here’s a look at four takeaways from the Texas Roadhouse 200.

    1. GMS Continues To Be The Team To Beat – GMS Racing has been the team to beat this year and are championship contenders, at least for Justin Haley, (who has been quietly consistent) and Johnny Sauter who has dominated the 2018 season. Timothy Peters has also competed in four races and won at Talladega. Sauter clinched a spot in the Championship 4 Saturday after winning the race,  leading 148 laps and winning both stages. Haley earned another top 10 finish and Peters scored a 10th place finish. They continue to be the team to beat and unless something catastrophic happens to them at Homestead, they could be bringing home another championship.

    2. Kyle Benjamin Gets Top Five Finish – Benjamin competed in his second start of the season for DGR -Crosley in the No. 17. He didn’t miss a beat and had a quiet day after starting fifth, finishing fifth in Stage 1. Benjamin stayed out late in the race in hopes to challenge for the win. However, he slipped back and finished where he started. Benjamin has competed part-time throughout the Xfinity Series and has made one Truck Series start prior to Martinsville. He hopes that good runs will land him a full-time ride in the future, but spots are limited. Nonetheless, a great effort by Benjamin and the No. 17 team.

    3. Kyle Busch Motorsports Has Solid Day – Three KBM trucks finished inside the top 10 including Noah Gragson, Harrison Burton, and Christian Eckes. Gragson finished seventh after earning second in both stages. He is 24 points to the good in hopes of making it to the Championship 4. Burton claimed eighth place in the race after finishing ninth and 10th, respectively, in both stages, while ARCA driver Christian Eckes finished ninth.

    4. Relatively Calm Race At Martinsville For Trucks  – When coming to Martinsville, you normally expect an action-packed event with a lot of incidents and accidents. The last time we came here there was a photo finish at the line. However, for a playoff race especially, it was pretty quiet. Almost too quiet. Sauter controlled most of the race and even got out to a five second lead at one point. A good race doesn’t have to include a lot of wrecks or cautions, but for Martinsville, it is normally expected. The race saw six cautions for 43 laps and five lead changes,  an uncharacteristic-like race at the paperclip.

  • NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Power Rankings- Martinsville II

    NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Power Rankings- Martinsville II

    The Round of 6 began this past weekend at Martinsville Speedway. Six drivers had a shot to punch their ticket in the Championship 4. Familiar faces ran up front all afternoon as expected, but one playoff driver has already clinched his spot in the championship race at Homestead Miami in Southern Florida.

    Here’s a look at this weeks power rankings.

    1. Johnny Sauter – Sauter dominated the race by leading 148 laps of the scheduled 200 laps. He won both stages after starting in the eighth position. It was a huge win for the No. 21 GMS Racing team as it was Sauter’s sixth win of the year and 23rd of his career. It will also mark his third consecutive appearance in the Championship 4. Sauter will be tough to beat in the next two races, especially the championship race.

    Previous Week Ranking: Not Ranked

    2. Justin Haley – Haley followed up Talladega with another top 10 earning a sixth-place finish. He started 13th and finished 10th, and eighth, respectively, in both stages. Haley is two points below the cut line, however, good tracks are coming up for him such as Texas and Phoenix. Haley hopes to be the second GMS driver in the Championship 4 by either pointing his way in it or collecting a win at the next two races.

    Previous Week Ranking: 3rd

    3. Brett Moffitt – Earlier this year, Moffitt was the Cinderella story with the little team that could, but as the season wore on, he won four races that got him a spot in the playoffs. He’s been quietly consistent throughout the playoffs and is now in the Round of 6. Moffitt currently is 15 points to the good and sits third in the standings. If the No. 16 team continues to do the things that got them here, then they will be in the Championship 4. But a win guarantees that and everyone will step it up in the next two races. So Moffitt will have to continue to bring his A game for Texas and Phoenix, and get stage points to secure his spot.

    Previous Week Ranking: Not Ranked

    4. Noah Gragson  – After being wrecked on the final lap at Talladega when racing for the win, Gragson earned a solid top 10 finish at Martinsville. He started third and finished second in both stages. Gragson fell back a bit due to late race cautions and strategy, ultimately finishing seventh. However, he is 24 points to the good and if he continues to run the way he has, Gragson will be in the Championship 4 as well. Although, stranger things have happened in the world of NASCAR and nothing is guaranteed.

    Previous Week Ranking: Not Ranked

    5. Myatt Snider – Snider continues his strong runs late in the season by earning a top five at Martinsville and taking the lead momentarily after a restart. He finished second after the wildcard of Talladega. Snider started 16th and did not finish at all in either stage, but wound up in the third position with his Louisiana Hot Sauce  Ford.

    Previous Week Ranking: 2nd

  • Logano’s Move at Martinsville Was Par For The Course

    Logano’s Move at Martinsville Was Par For The Course

    A day after Joey Logano’s controversial bump-and-run on Martin Truex Jr. coming to the checkered for the win at the First Data 500 at Martinsville, social media still seems to be fired up. Granted, the race’s final 30 laps were some of the best racing we’ve seen all year and the run to the checkered was one of the best this season. But most of the energy from the drivers and peers seems to be centered on Logano and whether what he did was right or wrong.

    Arguments on whether it was wrong are rooted in the fact that Truex managed to race Logano cleanly up to that point. Meanwhile, the argument that it was right centers around the fact that since a championship is on the line, nothing is sacred coming to the checkered on a short track. Ultimately, that latter train of thought is the more logical approach to the race’s finish.

    Many argue that Logano raced dirty and that he owed Truex a clean run to the finish. The fact of the matter is that Logano owes nobody anything.  Given the circumstance – a win would place him in the championship round at Homestead – giving another driver a nudge in the final two corners of a playoff short track race was what was required to win.

    Playing nice is out the door at this point of the season. There are no teammates or friends among the playoff drivers, there are only peers. So why are people upset or angry that Logano acted in this manner? Why are people acting like this is unexpected of Logano? He’s bumped Mark Martin out of the way for a win. He’s dumped Matt Kenseth for a win. He’s not afraid to use his bumper. If anything, people are angry because of who made the move – Logano.

    To most, Logano dons the black hat. He’s not here to make friends; he’s here to win and be the best. That’s literally a requirement in what makes a good racer. He’s drawn the ire of many in the process, and on that note, he ranks up there with some elite company such as Darrell Waltrip and Dale Earnhardt. He’s been popped in the mouth because of this, but he doesn’t back down. Instead, he swings back in some cases, which draws even more ire from his detractors.

    So on Sunday at Martinsville, when Truex made his move too early and cleared Logano off of Turn Two, it should have been obvious Logano was going to bump Truex. It was an innocuous bump, the same Jeff Gordon used on Rusty Wallace at Bristol in 2002. It was a simple bump short track racers across the country use to win. There was nothing wrong with it. So, for the most part, this ire was unwarranted.

    Two drivers raced hard for the win on a short track which carried some serious championship ramifications. Given the current playoff system – “Win and you’re in” – the bump for the win was cultivated almost perfectly by the system. It’s a moment that has happened before and will happen again as long as this system sticks around. So with that said, it was typical, awesome short track racing.

     

  • Logano punches his ticket to Miami after late race drama

    Logano punches his ticket to Miami after late race drama

    Joey Logano won the First Data 500 at Martinsville on Sunday afternoon after a chaotic battle for the win against Martin Truex Jr. He scored his second win of the season and punched his ticket to the Championship 4 at Homestead.

    “That was just a hard great race. NASCAR racing at its finest. It was a lot of bumper banging towards the end and a hard race. You know, we didn’t wreck each other. We bumped into each other a lot and that is what this sport was built on. I know a lot of fans out there aren’t too happy about it but it is racing and that is what NASCAR is about and what stock car racing is. I am just glad we finally won here,” Lagano said in victory lane.

    Logano led 309 laps. Denny Hamlin came in second, with Truex, Kyle Busch, and Brad Keselowski rounding out the top five.

    Kyle Busch led the field to the green after winning the pole on Saturday. It was a struggle for him early as it took teammate Denny Hamlin 32 laps to take the lead from him. Busch fell to third when Clint Bowyer was able to take another position from him.

    The first caution came out on Lap 43 when Jeb Burton crashed into the wall. Kyle Busch selected the first pit stall coming out of the pits which gave him the advantage and was able to retake the lead after the pit stops. Alex Bowman was penalized for speeding in the pits.

    The race started slow for some of the playoff drivers but they were all making a run at getting a top 10 finish to end Stage 1. Chase Elliott and Truex were two drivers that started further back and drove toward the top 10.

    The race lead was flipping around between Kyle Busch and Hamlin. They had a nice battle throughout the entire stage. Jimmie Johnson spun out on Lap 71 bringing out the second caution.  Most of the leaders stayed out as we saw Jamie McMurray and teammate Kyle Larson pit. No major damage was reported for Johnson following his spin.

    Hamlin won Stage 1. Truex was the fastest car on the track closing Stage 1. He finished the stage in the seventh position. The only playoff driver out of the top 10 was Chase Elliott finishing 11th and missing out on any playoff points. Hamlin led 29 laps of the stage.

    The race off pit road during the stage break had Logano surpassing the Joe Gibbs teammates and taking the lead. Bowyer made contact with Erik Jones giving him some damage in the right front. Ryan Blaney had an uncontrolled tire and was forced to start in the back for Stage 2.

    Logano got a great jump in the restart and he never looked back from then. The Busch brothers had some good door to door battles for third at the beginning of the run. Hamlin went back to fourth because of it.

    On Lap 173 we saw a good battle between Truex and Bowyer as they made contact for the fifth position. Logano had a dominant stage as he started lapping many of the cars. By Lap 207 he had lapped half of the field. Drivers Larson and Blaney were put down a lap by Logano.

    Kevin Harvick had a pretty tough stage. He dropped out of the top 10 on Lap 212. Truex continued his surge to the front as he took fourth from Kurt Busch.

    AJ Allmendinger and Ty Dillon had good Stage 2 runs as both cars made their ways into the top 15 and were able to stay on the lead lap. We saw Harvick go down a lap at the end of Stage 2 when he was in the 15th position.

    Hamlin closed in on Logano in the final laps of the stage for a side by side finish favoring Logano. Logano dominated Stage 2 but found some trouble holding off Hamlin. Logano was able to hold the lead during the stage break edging in front of Hamlin off pit road. Ryan Newman was caught speeding, he was supposed to restart sixth.

    Going into the final stage, teams started to adjust their strategies as the radar showed some rain heading towards the race track. The final stage started pretty clean with Logano holding the lead on the restart. Logano was taking care of the lead while there was a lot of mixing up behind him.

    Truex didn’t have a good restart dropping him a few spots to sixth. It was eventful for Johnson who entered the top 10 on Lap 285 after overcoming the spin earlier in the race.

    Truex started to settle down laps into the run when he started to get some positions back that he lost on the restart. He eventually moved up to second as the run continued. Harvick was the playoff driver that struggled the most during the last run. He was maintaining in the top 15.  Almirola’s car was the fastest around Lap 330 when he moved up to sixth.

    Logano’s lead began to diminish as he was seeing Truex close in on him after Lap 154. Truex’s car was handling much better in the corners when they started battling for the lead. He was able to take the lead from Logano on Lap 360. This was Truex’s first time on the lead in the afternoon after starting the race in 33rd.

    A caution came out shortly after Truex took the lead when Byron got into the wall on Lap 366. The radar was showing the rain getting closer to the track by this time. Truex held on to the lead with Logano behind him on pit road.

    On Lap 374 the green flag came out for the restart with Truex continuing to lead the field. Logano maintained the second spot as he was inching toward Truex. Almirola started to lose spots after restarting forth because he was not able to get his car to the bottom line. Logano retook the lead from Truex on Lap 377.

    A caution came out on Lap 382 after Timmy Hill’s car caught fire on pit road. Bowyer led cars behind him into pit road. Elliott came out in front of the pits with the group starting from ninth.

    Logano held off Truex on the restart and Brad Keselowski started to come into the picture after he was able to take third following the restart. A caution came out a few laps later for Larson. It appeared that he had some mechanical issue after a lot of smoke caused him to exit his vehicle.

    The green flag was back out on Lap 415 with Logano leading into the first turn. Keselowski took second from Truex. He was able to get to Logano’s side and take the lead from him shortly after. Keselowski started the race at the rear for unapproved adjustments.

    Truex dropped all the way to sixth. Logano and Hamlin’s battle for second started to heat up. This gave Keselowski an advantage and extended his lead. A caution came out on Lap 457 after playoff contending Bowyer made contact with Johnson and spun. He was running outside the top 10 at the time.

    The leaders came down pit road during the caution with Logano coming out in front of everyone else. Most of the drivers took four tires.

    The restart was led by Logano with 37 laps left. He was able to lead going into Turn 1 but there were some hectic battles behind him. Kyle Busch, Keselowski, and Truex had some bumpy battles for the few positions behind Logano.

    “We had a good run there. We were really good on the short runs but we struggled a little bit on the long runs and it just didn’t end up playing out there for us at the end. It is good to see Joey (Logano) get to victory lane. Happy for Team Penske,” Keselowski said.

    The final 10 laps had some intense racing between Logano and Truex for the lead. Side by side racing in the final few laps as Logano was able to put a bumper on Truex in the final corner to take the win.

    Next week we head to Fort Worth for the AAA Texas 500.

    Post Martinsville Playoff Standings

    1. Joey Logano: 1 win
    2. Kyle Busch: +46
    3. Martin Truex Jr: +25
    4. Kevin Harvick: +25
    5. Kurt Busch: -25
    6. Chase Elliott: -31
    7. Clint Bowyer: -42
    8. Aric Almirola: – 50

    Monster Energy Cup Series Race
    Unofficial Race Results for the 70th Annual First Data 500 – Sunday, October 28, 2018
    Martinsville Speedway – Martinsville, VA – 0.526 – Mile Paved
    Total Race Length – 500 Laps – 263. Miles

    Pos St Car Driver Team Make
    1 10 22 Joey Logano (P) Shell Pennzoil Ford
    2 3 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Freight Toyota
    3 33 78 Martin Truex Jr. (P) 5-hour ENERGY/Bass Pro Shops Toyota
    4 1 18 Kyle Busch (P) M&M’s Halloween Toyota
    5 7 2 Brad Keselowski Thomas Built Buses Ford
    6 6 41 Kurt Busch (P) Haas Automation/Monster Energy Ford
    7 19 9 Chase Elliott (P) SunEnergy1 Chevrolet
    8 16 31 Ryan Newman E-Z-GO Chevrolet
    9 8 19 Daniel Suarez ARRIS Toyota
    10 12 4 Kevin Harvick (P) Busch Beer Ford
    11 5 10 Aric Almirola (P) Smithfield Ford
    12 34 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe’s for Pros Chevrolet
    13 13 37 Chris Buescher Bush’s Chili Beans Chevrolet
    14 15 47 AJ Allmendinger Kroger ClickList Chevrolet
    15 23 13 Ty Dillon GEICO Chevrolet
    16 17 1 Jamie McMurray McDonald’s Chevrolet
    17 14 88 Alex Bowman Nationwide Chevrolet
    18 36 38 David Ragan MDS Transport Ford
    19 18 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Fifth Third Bank Ford
    20 4 12 Ryan Blaney Menards/Moen Ford
    21 2 14 Clint Bowyer (P) Rush Truck Centers Ford
    22 35 21 Paul Menard Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center Ford
    23 24 6 Matt Kenseth Wyndham Rewards Ford
    24 28 72 Cole Whitt MOEN Chevrolet
    25 20 34 Michael McDowell Dockside Logistics Ford
    26 21 20 Erik Jones DeWalt Toyota
    27 29 96 * DJ Kennington(i) Xtreme Concepts/iK9 Toyota
    28 27 95 Regan Smith WRL General Contractors Chevrolet
    29 22 15 Ross Chastain(i) Ternio Chevrolet
    30 25 3 Austin Dillon Dow Chevrolet
    31 38 23 JJ Yeley(i) Adirondack Tree Surgeons Toyota
    32 32 99 * Landon Cassill(i) StarCom Fiber Chevrolet
    33 39 51 Jeb Burton(i) Jacob Companies Chevrolet
    34 37 43 Bubba Wallace # Pioneer Records Management Chevrolet
    35 30 00 Joey Gase(i) Donate Life Chevrolet
    36 26 32 Matt DiBenedetto Keen Parts/CorvetteParts.net Ford
    37 9 42 Kyle Larson First Data/Clover Chevrolet
    38 40 66 * Timmy Hill(i) Rewards.com Toyota
    39 11 24 William Byron # Liberty University Chevrolet
    40 31 7 * Hermie Sadler II I Virginia Lottery Chevrolet
  • Full weekend schedule for Martinsville

    Full weekend schedule for Martinsville

    Staff  Report | NASCAR.com

    The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and Camping World Truck Series will be in action at Martinsville Speedway while the NASCAR Xfinity Series is off. The Monster Energy Series heads to the first race of the Round of 8 in the NASCAR Playoffs, while the Camping World Truck Series enters the first race in the Round of 6. Check out the full schedule below, which is subject to change.

    Note: All times are ET

    FRIDAY, Oct. 26
    12:05-12:55 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series first practice (no TV) (Follow live)
    2:05-2:55 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series final practice (no TV) (Follow live)

    PRESS PASS (Watch live)
    10:30 a.m.: Timothy Peters
    10:45 a.m.: Justin Haley, Johnny Sauter
    11 a.m.: Matt Crafton, Grant Enfinger
    11:15 a.m.: Noah Gragson, Brett Moffitt

    SATURDAY, Oct. 27
    9-9:50 a.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series first practice, CNBC/NBC Sports App (Follow live)
    10:05 a.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Qualifying, FS1 (Follow live)
    11:30 a.m.-12:20 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series final practice, CNBC/NBC Sports App (Follow live)
    1 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Texas Roadhouse 200 presented by Alpha Energy Solutions (200 laps, 105.2 miles), FS1 (Follow live)
    4:05 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Busch Pole Qualifying, NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Follow live)

    PRESS PASS (Watch live)
    8:15 a.m.: Chase Elliott
    10:30 a.m.: Clint Bowyer
    10:45 a.m.: Kyle Busch
    2:45 p.m.: Post-NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race
    4:45 p.m.: Post-Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series qualifying

    SUNDAY, Oct. 28
    2:30 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series First Data 500 (500 laps, 263 miles), NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Follow live)

    PRESS PASS (Watch live)
    6 p.m.: Post-Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race

    MORE: How to find NBCSN

  • NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Preview-Martinsville II

    NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Preview-Martinsville II

    The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series begins the Round of 6 this weekend at Martinsville Speedway in Virginia. Six drivers will be looking to lock themselves in with a win to the Championship 4 in Southern Florida.

    There are at least three playoff drivers that have a good chance to do that this weekend, but there can only be one winner. But of course, stranger things have happened and in NASCAR, anything can happen and a different playoff driver could shine.

    Here’s a look at who could wind up in victory lane this weekend at the paperclip, Martinsville Speedway.

    There are currently 35 drivers entered on the preliminary entry list.

    1. Johnny Sauter – It’s no surprise that Sauter is at the top of this list. He has 21 starts and has won in three of those in 2011, 2013, 2016. In those starts, Sauter has led 431 laps and has eight top fives and 11 top-10 finishes. One DNF occurred in 2016. He has an average start of 9.1 and an average finish of 12.1. Sauter finished 19th after starting sixth in the spring race and collected a third-place finish last fall. If he has a season like any of those, he could secure his spot in the Championship 4 if everything goes to plan.

    2. John Hunter Nemechek – Nemechek has 10 starts and one win which came in the spring race of this year. In the 2018 race, he finished sixth and fifth in both stages, respectively. Nemechek has 81 laps led, along with four top fives and four top-10 finishes. He currently has an average start of 14.0 and an average finish of 13.5. The Nemco Motorsports driver collected a pair of top-five finishes in the 2015-2016 races. He could just wind up in victory lane this weekend, completing a season sweep.

    3. Ben Rhodes – Rhodes had one got away in the springtime. He started on the pole and won both stages. However, Rhodes was relegated to a 12th place finish after a strong race early and leading 134 laps. In Martinsville, he has six starts, 176 laps led, two top-10 finishes and two poles (2016,2018). With those starts, he accumulated an average start of 8.0 and an average finish of 14.0. Rhodes may be eliminated from the playoffs, but he’ll be looking for redemption this weekend at Martinsville.

    4. Noah Gragson – Gragson is another driver that has a chance to secure a Championship 4 spot this weekend. He is the previous fall race winner and has led 10 laps in his three starts. Gragson has an average start of 8.3 and an average finish of 3.3.  In the spring race, he finished fifth after placing eighth in Stage 1 and seventh in Stage 2.

    5. Matt Crafton – Crafton has been winless all season and just barely made it into the Round of 6. He’ll have to win if he wants to have a shot at the championship. Martinsville could be just the place. Crafton has the most starts of anyone currently with  33. He has two wins (2014, 2015), along with nine top fives and 19 top-10 finishes with 385 laps led. Crafton finished 15th in the spring race and wound up second last fall after race winner Gragson got around him on the final restart.

    Since 1995, there have been 39 races with 29 race winners that has a list of who’s who. Of those winners, Mike Skinner and Kevin Harvick won three times. Crafton, Sauter and Dennis Setzer are the only ones to win twice.  But if the weather is not permitting this weekend, check out www.houseofjack.com and have some fun.

    The race winner has won from the pole nine times and the lowest a race winner has come from to win was 33rd in 2002 set by Dennis Setzer.

    There will be some fresh faces at the track this weekend. The list includes Tyler Dippel in the No. 25 GMS truck, Timothy Peters returns for another race with GMS in the No. 23 and  Sheldon Creed in the No. 2. It also includes  Chad Finley in the 33, Dawson Cram in the 83, and Chase Purdy in the 99. K&N East Champ, Tyler Akrum, will make his debut in the No. 54 DGR-Crosley Brand. Jeb Burton also returns to the 30 of On Point Motorsports.

    Two practice sessions are scheduled for Friday afternoon with first practice taken place at 12:05 p.m. ET and final practice slated for 2:05 p.m. ET.

    Qualifying is scheduled for Saturday morning at 10:05 a.m. ET on FOX Sports 1.

    The Texas Roadhouse 250 takes place Saturday afternoon at 1:00 p.m. ET with the green flag approximately at 1:16 p.m. ET, all weather permitting.

  • There’s Only So Many Races at Martinsville in a Lifetime

    There’s Only So Many Races at Martinsville in a Lifetime

    My Dad loved sports, and he always told me, “Don’t ever miss an opportunity to go to a WVU football game or a race at Martinsville.” I’ve followed that advice for over 60 years.

    In fact, even though I didn’t get to see the Cup race live, I was at the track on Saturday. After 24 laps, it began to lightly rain. After one lap around the track where the trucks were running, I could see that it was turning to snow. Being from the mountains of West Virginia, I could smell there was going to be a good one. I headed back to my home base to the north, Roanoke, Virginia.

    I never left there for the weekend. I monitored my fellow journalists’ Twitter posts all Saturday night in hopes that it wasn’t that bad. The pictures I saw justified my initial prediction. It was going to be a bad snow event. At that time, I knew there wouldn’t be racing on Sunday, and after looking at pictures of the parking lots (all grass which made the snow and mud impossible to navigate), I headed home to West Virginia, where amazingly it did not snow.

    Dad also always said that you only got a few opportunities in a lifetime to go to Martinsville. I went, saw 29 laps including caution laps, and headed away from dreaded snow. My first trip to Martinsville was in 1964. Fred Lorenzen won in that magnificent Holman-Moody No. 28 Ford. I was hooked for life. I missed a lot during my high school and college days but started a string of being there for 78 consecutive Cup races and the only Busch Series race run in my time. If you don’t mind, I’m going to count last weekend because I was there at least for a while. I watched at home on the big screen, mainly because one of the great parts of being an elected official is having to be there on meeting day.

    What I saw was really amazing, even on a 55-inch television. Clint Bowyer, who had not won in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series for 190 races, won going away. And I missed it. I probably could not repeat any of our three or four conversations verbatim, but it was like talking to your next-door neighbor. He’s genuine and one of the characters NASCAR needs now. He’s not corporate like many drivers who spew sponsor’s names at the drop of a hat. In the middle of one conversation, it developed into a sports talk about Oklahoma basketball and the Big 12. He’s just a guy who is approachable and a personable one at that. His win was good for NASCAR.

    Bowyer is a beneficiary of the great Ford and Stewart-Haas resurgence. The team founded by Gene Haas and Tony Stewart has dominated the series. Fords have won four of the first six races, three of them by Kevin Harvick and Bowyer’s win at Martinsville. Team Penske is always a threat for top-five finishes so far in their Fords while Chevrolet’s new Camaro has been less than competitive. Toyota has produced great finishes from 2017 champ Martin Truex Jr, and Kyle Busch. We will know more about this at Texas after the Easter off week. As of now, it’s a blue oval world, but it could change in an instant just like the weather at Martinsville last weekend.

  • NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Power Rankings-Martinsville

    NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Power Rankings-Martinsville

    After two postponements due to rain and snow, the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series resumed action on Monday morning after completing just 23 laps before being red-flagged Saturday afternoon. There are some new names on top of the power list rankings and some who fell out, while others get honorable mentions. Here’s a look at this week’s truck series power rankings.

      1. John Hunter Nemechek: After having a dismal start to 2018 in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, Nemechek sure turned that around Monday by collecting his first ever grandfather clock. After starting eighth, he finished sixth and fifth in both stages, respectively. Nemechek didn’t take the lead until the final 31 laps of the race and held off a hard-charging Kyle Benjamin by .106 seconds. However, Nemechek didn’t collect truck points as he is collecting NASCAR Xfinity Series points this year.
        Previous Rankings: Not Ranked
      2. Brett Moffitt: Moffitt continues to impress in the Truck Series. In the previous race outing at Las Vegas, he finished third after starting sixth.  This week at Martinsville, Moffitt finished third once more after starting seventh. He finished ninth in Stage 1 and finished sixth in Stage 2. Hattori Racing and Brett Moffitt continue their momentum from their Atlanta win a few weeks ago. The No. 16 driver sits third in the point standings, 31 behind leader Johnny Sauter.
        Previous Ranking: 2nd
      3. Ben Rhodes: After earning his first pole of the season, Rhodes led 23 laps until the red flag came out Saturday afternoon. Once the race resumed Monday, he was the dominant truck to beat. Rhodes won Stages 1 and 2 after leading most of the laps in those stages and collecting 10 playoff points each. Unfortunately, losing positions on pit road was the issue that ultimately cost Rhodes the race win. The scoring pylon at the end of the race showed the No. 41 Alpha Energy Solutions Ford 12th.
        Previous Ranking: Honorable Mention
      4. Kyle Benjamin: Benjamin and the No. 54 David Gilliland Racing team almost scored an upset victory Monday at Martinsville. Benjamin started fourth and stayed in the top 10 for Stage 1 to finish fifth. In Stage 2, he, unfortunately, did not place in the top 10.  After Stage 2, however, Benjamin took the lead on lap 146 and led for 74 laps until Nemechek took the lead on lap 220. The No. 54 driver stayed up there with Nemechek especially in the remaining laps and gave everything he could for the race win. He came up .106 sec short, finishing second in his first ever career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race.
        Previous Ranking: Not Ranked
      5. Grant Enfinger: Enfinger earned another top-five finish of his career at Martinsville. A strong qualifying effort placed the No. 98 Tundra third. Enfinger finished third and ninth, respectively in Stages 1 and 2.  Ultimately, he wound up fourth for his second top-five of the year.
        Previous Ranking: 4th

    Honorable Mentions

    1. Noah Gragson: Fall winner Noah Gragson finished fifth after starting 11th.
    2. Timothy Peters: Peters was back in a truck for the first time this year driving the No. 92 Ricky Benton Racing Ford. He would come home inside the top 10 finishing seventh.
    3. Cory Roper: Roper competed for the first time ever in the Truck Series driving for his team Roper Racing. The No. 04 Ford finished 13th in his first ever NASCAR start. Not bad for a place like Martinsville.

    Fell out of the Power Rankings
    1.  Johnny Sauter: Sauter was looking for his second win of the season at Martinsville on Monday. However, he brought out the caution on lap 225 and collected competitor, Matt Crafton. Sauter collected a disappointing 19th place finish.
    2. Dalton Sargeant: While not a dismal day, Sargeant battled a difficult truck as he did not place in the top 10 in either stage. He wound up finishing 11th.
    3. Stewart Friesen: Friesen looked like he had the truck to beat early on. He qualified fifth and finished seventh in Stage 1. Unfortunately, Friesen was collected in two incidents. One on Lap 87, which was an accident that involved others in Turn 2 and again was involved in an incident on Lap 117. This ultimately placed him 20th.

  • Clint Bowyer Ends 190-Race Skid with Martinsville Victory

    Clint Bowyer Ends 190-Race Skid with Martinsville Victory

    Reid Spencer | NASCAR Wire Service

    MARTINSVILLE, Va. – Clint Bowyer was so excited he started his celebratory burnout at the entrance to Turn 3 at Martinsville Speedway, flirting perilously with the outside wall.

    Bowyer had ample reason to start the party early before he got to the frontstretch for a traditional smoke show. With his victory in Monday’s snow-delayed STP 500, he had just ended a winless streak in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series that had reached 190 races, dating to the fall race at Charlotte in 2012.

    The victory did more than end a drought. It validated the decision of Stewart-Haas Racing to put him behind the wheel of the No. 14 Ford last year, after team co-owner Tony Stewart retired from NASCAR competition. With his ninth career victory and his first at the .526-mile short track, Bowyer paid off SHR’s investment in his future.

    With Kevin Harvick stringing together victories at Atlanta, Las Vegas, and ISM Raceway at Phoenix, Stewart-Haas has won four of the first six races of 2018.

    “We learned last year,” said Bowyer, who finished 1.146 seconds ahead of runner-up Kyle Busch in a race that was delayed from Sunday to Monday when an unexpectedly severe snowstorm hit southern Virginia on Saturday afternoon. “Obviously, Harvick came on strong at the end of last year, but it was a learning year for our team and the 14 bunch.

    “It was just time.”

    Bowyer had a strong feeling before Monday’s race, and he told his young son Cash as much.

    “For whatever reason, it felt right driving up here,” said Bowyer, who led 215 laps, all but one (under caution) after taking the lead from third-place finisher Ryan Blaney on Lap 285. “Such a cool place, to be able to drive up through the countryside on a two-lane road and think about the race.

    “I told him (Cash) this morning, I was like, ‘Dammit, we’ve got to get a picture in Victory Lane.”

    That’s exactly what Bowyer did, avoiding any misstep over the final 200 laps that would have allowed Busch to close in. Busch finished second for the third time in four races and took over the series lead from Martin Truex Jr., who started from the pole and came home fourth.

    “For us, saving our stuff, the 14 was able to save his stuff, and he was a little bit better than we were. He was able to kind of edge out there through the early laps of firing off each and every time, first 10 or 15 (laps), and kind of get that gap, and then he’d kind of just hold that. He was probably saving just as much as I was trying to save to make sure he had something to go at the end.”“We just tried to maintain and keep ourselves in the right position, in the right spots all day long on the long runs and save our stuff as much as we could to see if we couldn’t mount a charge late in the going,” Busch said.

    The victory marked Bowyer’s sixth top five in 25 starts at the paper-clip-shaped speedway.

    “This place is an acquired taste,” Bowyer said. “When I first got here I was a duck out of water, just like everybody else that starts here at first. I learned from Jimmie Johnson and learned from Jeff Gordon, sometimes the hard way, but nonetheless, I learned over the years and finally put it to good use.

    “To keep Kyle Busch, one of the best in the business, behind you in those closing laps, the nerves were through the roof. It’s unbelievable how it all came true.”

    Harvick ran fifth after a run-in with 12th-place finisher Denny Hamlin near the midpoint of the event. Joey Logano, Alex Bowman, AJ Allmendinger, Chase Elliott and Brad Keselowski completed the top 10. For Elliott, the top 10 was a significant accomplishment, given that he twice went a lap down to the leader, only to regain the lost circuits as the beneficiary under caution.

    Johnson, who leads active drivers with nine victories at Martinsville, finished 15th, a lap down. Blaney led 145 laps, second only to Bowyer, and won the second 130-lap stage of the race. Hamlin led 111 laps early, claimed the first stage victory and, like Blaney, collected a playoff point.

    NASCAR announced that four cars had one lug nut not secured in post-race inspection: The No. 3 of Austin Dillon, No. 12 of Ryan Blaney, No. 34 of Michael McDowell and No. 42 of Kyle Larson.