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Martin Truex Jr. dominates to win at Martinsville and advance to Championship 4

MARTINSVILLE, Va. — Martin Truex Jr. led a record-setting 464 laps dominating the First Data 500 at Martinsville Speedway to score his seventh victory of the season. It was his 26th NASCAR Cup Series win, the first at the .526-mile track and his 12th top-10 finish in 28 starts at Martinsville.

It also locks Truex into the Championship 4 for a shot at the series title at Homestead-Miami Speedway in three weeks.

“I’m just really happy about it, obviously,” said Truex. “I’ve been trying to work on getting a Martinsville win for a long time. It’s a tough track. It’s one that, you know, everybody I think wants to win at, the history here, and it’s such a big part of NASCAR.

“Really proud of everybody on our team for what they did and the car they brought, the pit stops today were incredible and the guys did a great job. So just all around a great day. To lead that many laps here is pretty incredible.”

While Truex stole the show in Victory Lane, Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano provided the encore with an altercation after the race. The tension was a result of an incident on Lap 458 when the two made contact causing Logano to hit the outside wall. What started as a discussion quickly turned into a wrestling match.

“Yeah, I just wanted to talk to him about it and was pretty frustrated,” Logano explained.

“He just kind of came off the corner like there wasn’t another car on the outside of him and ruined our day, a shot at the win for sure. We probably weren’t going to beat the 19 but we had a top-five for sure coming our way, but we were just able to survive there.

“I don’t really know what happened because once he started hitting me, he didn’t lift, he just kept finishing me off. We ran each other fine all day, so I don’t know. I don’t really know what happened.”

The situation escalated when Logano shoved Hamlin and ended with both crews pulling the drivers apart. Not surprisingly, Hamlin’s take on the disagreement was quite different.

“We were having a discussion,” he said. “Everything was civil, and then, like Joey does, he does a little push and then runs away. So that’s Joey. Scared. He said, ‘Do you want to go?’ I said, ‘Yes, I’m here.’ But then he runs away.”

Hamlin also insinuated that the contact was incidental.

“I got close off of Turn 4,” he said. “It looks like we got together and it looks like collateral damage. He blew a tire.”

William Byron turned in a strong performance but had to settle for second place, his 13th top-10 finish this year.

“This isn’t a place that I’ve loved coming to,” said Byron, “and it just clicked this weekend. The things we did with the car going into qualifying and then obviously our race. So, I’m super excited, but second is not super fun either. So, we’ll try to get one spot better next time.”

Brad Keselowski finished third followed by Hamlin in fourth and Ryan Blaney in fifth. Kurt Busch, Kevin Harvick, Logano, Kyle Larson and Ryan Newman rounded out the top-10 at Martinsville.

Truex, Hamlin, Kyle Busch and Logano are currently the top four drivers in the points standings but Truex is the only driver locked into the Championship 4. Kevin Harvick (-14), Ryan Blaney (-15), Larson (-24) and Chase Elliott (-44) are all below the cut line with only two races remaining before the finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Nov. 17.

Tune in next Sunday as the Cup Series heads to Texas Motor Speedway.

Follow @angiecampbell_ for the latest NASCAR news and feature stories.

October 27, 2019
Truck Series Playoff Drivers Lose the Brawl at Martinsville

For those focused on the Playoff drivers in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series, it became a matter of who would be struck down next.

Todd Gilliland prevailed at Martinsville Speedway in an overtime finish, holding off Ross Chastain, who if victorious would have been the first driver to lock himself into the Championship 4 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. He instead now sits just 20 points above the cutoff line.

The bright side for Chastain is he was the only Playoff driver in the top five.

With no Playoff drivers yet locked into the final race of the season, Martinsville proved yet again that it is fully capable of shuffling the points standings, creating uncertainty, and causing drama and chaos for all the race teams. After Talladega Superspeedway last weekend, and the paperclip short track on Saturday, the Truck series has just one race left to determine who will race for a championship. How did everyone fare at the short track this weekend?

Stage One Winner Suffers Race-Ending Damage

The Stage 1 winner and last year’s series champion, Brett Moffitt, was involved in several incidents throughout the day. That damage eventually caused fatal issues to the engine of the No. 24 Silverado after only 122 of 200 scheduled laps. He would finish in 29th position after leading 80 laps.

“That’s Martinsville. It’s a bummer,” Moffitt said on Fox Sports.

“People just racing too aggressive too early. Everyone at GMS (Racing) gave me a really fast CMR Construction & Roofing Chevrolet. It’s a bummer to see them like this. This was one of those dominant trucks that we’ve had a few times this year. I felt like no matter what as long as we stayed clean, we were gonna win the thing.”

Moffitt recognized quickly though that he dodged a bullet, as many other Playoff drivers also had issues including a “Big One” that brought out a 15-minute red flag.

“I guess the good takeaway is that we have a nice points buffer depending on how this all plays out going into Phoenix,” said the point leader coming into today’s race and after the checkered flag dropped. “Certainly not in a must-win situation. We just gotta go have a good day at Phoenix.”

Crafton Openly Criticizes Spec Engine for Rough Day

Despite having a competitive truck, Matt Crafton stalled under a yellow flag during Stage 2. With pit cycles in front of him, the No. 88 ThorSport Racing Ford was forced to come down pit road for evaluation. The pit crew changed the battery, the ECU and more regarding electronic and motor concerns before being able to get back onto the track.

“Yeah, exactly, it was horrible,” Crafton said in response to one reporter’s question. “Three of the six (Playoff) trucks out for similar issues where we’re handcuffed and forced to run. We had a phenomenal truck. When I’d fall back, I could be two tenths faster than the leaders there at the end of the race when we were tire for tire. Something out of our control, again.”

It wasn’t too long ago when the spec engine program was under fire. Several NASCAR Truck Series title contenders faced engine failures in the final race of the first playoff elimination round at Las Vegas Motor Speedway earlier this season. Three of the four Thorsport Racing vehicles — Johnny Sauter, Crafton and Grant Enfinger — finished 29th, 30th and 31st in Vegas, respectively. Sauter and Enfinger were the two drivers eliminated from the Playoffs that round because of the finishes. Crafton slid by on points.

On Saturday, Crafton was faced with a very similar issue and now heads to ISM Raceway where he hopes to slide by on points once again.

Big One Collects Two Title Contenders, Nine Trucks in Total

The “Big One” isn’t just for Daytona or Talladega. A nine-truck crash coming out of Turn 2 brought out the red flag for roughly 15 minutes. When the smoke cleared, two more Playoff drivers were caught up in the incident: Austin Hill and Tyler Ankrum.

A slip by one of the front runners bottled up the middle of the pack on a restart. When some drivers attempted three, even four-wide passing out of Turn 2, chaos ensued. Other drivers involved included the regular-season champion Enfinger and Stage 2 winner Sam Mayer — the 2019 K&N Pro Series East champion.

Hill took his truck to the garage and was done for the day. Ankrum tried to return to the race, but could not make minimum speed. He was eventually black flagged, and would finish the day with a DNF. They would finish 25th (Anrkum) and 26th (Hill).

Friesen Recovers to Sixth After Late Spin

On Lap 149, Martinsville attempted to take on another championship contender. Stewart Friesen was battling Sauter when he knocked into Friesen to send him spinning out of Turn 4. The caution would wave, and Friesen would use pit strategy and other yellow flags to climb his way up to sixth.

Friesen didn’t hit anything, and all his competitors avoided him, so he came down pit road for fresh tires and fought his way back up to sixth. He also avoided other wrecks, including two separate incidents on the final lap.

But looking throughout the race, it could have been a much different story. For now, he sits second in points, 35 points above the cutoff line. Currently, no driver is locked in, but he could join Moffitt to potentially lock himself in depending on how he finishes in both stages at the final Round of 6 race.

After a wild race at Martinsville, here’s how the playoff picture looks with no drivers locked in: Moffitt (+45), Friesen (+35), Chastain (+20), Hill (+9), Crafton (-9) and Ankrum (-15). The Truck series will compete next at ISM Raceway with the Lucas Oil 150 (Friday, Nov. 8 at 8:30 p.m. ET on FS1). Two drivers will be eliminated from the playoffs at the conclusion of that race.

October 27, 2019
Todd Gilliland tops final Truck Series practice at Martinsville

Kyle Busch Motorsports dominated the two NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series practices Friday at Martinsville Speedway as Todd Gilliland posted the fasted lap in his No. 4 Toyota with a speed of 95.694 mph.

Harrison Burton was second fastest (95.247) followed by defending Truck Series champion Brett Moffitt (95.170), Johnny Sauter (95.141) and rookie Sam Mayer who rounded out the top-five with a 95.036 mph.

Kyle Busch Motorsports also topped the leader board during the first Truck Series practice with driver Christian Eckes who had the fastest lap in his No. 51 Toyota at a speed of 95.391 mph. Ross Chastain, Sheldon Creed, Ben Rhodes and Gilliland rounded out the top five in the first practice.

Matt Crafton had the best 10 consecutive lap average with a speed of 94.054 mph followed by Sheldon Creed, Grant Enfinger, Sam Mayer and Tyler Ankrum.

Mayer, in only his second series start, was the fastest driver in the 30-minute rookie practice session held Friday morning with a speed of 93.604 mph. Tanner Grey who will be making his first Truck Series start was second-fastest (92.969) and Codie Rohrbaugh was third (92.751 mph). Danny Bohn, also making his first series start, was fourth (92.466 mph) and Natalie Decker, in her first Truck Series race at Martinsville, was fifth fastest with a 90.833 mph lap.

Truck Series qualifying is Saturday at 10:05 a.m. ET followed by the NASCAR Hall of Fame 200 race at 1:30 p.m. ET, both on Fox Sports 1. This is the second race in the Playoffs Round of 6.

Moffitt is the current leader in the points standings. Stewart Friesen, Austin Hill, Crafton, Ankrum and Ross Chastain make up the remaining championship contenders in this round.

Follow @angiecampbell_ for the latest NASCAR news and feature stories.

October 25, 2019
Weekend Schedule for Martinsville

The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and the Gander Outdoors Truck Series head to Martinsville Speedway this weekend. The Xfinity Series is off.

The Playoffs continue with the first race in the Cup Series Round of 8 while the Truck Series drivers compete in the second race of their Round of 6.

Joey Logano is the defending Cup Series race winner while Johnny Sauter returns to defend his 2018 Truck Series victory at the 0.526-mile paperclip.

All times are Eastern.

Friday, October 25

11 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.: Truck Series Rookie Practice (Rookie Drivers Only) – No TV

12:05 p.m. – 12:55 p.m.: Truck Series First Practice – No TV

2:05 p.m. – 2:55 p.m.: Truck Series Final Practice – No TV

Saturday, October 26

9:05 a.m. – 9:55 a.m.: Cup Series First Practice – CNBC/NBC Sports App/MRN

10:05 a.m.: Truck Series Qualifying – Impound (Single Vehicle/Two Laps All Positions) – FS1

12 p.m. – 12:50 p.m.: Cup Series Final Practice – NBCSN/NBC Sports App/MRN

1:30 p.m.: Truck Series NASCAR Hall of Fame 200 – (Stages 50/100/200 Laps = 105.2 Miles) – FS1/MRN

4:35 p.m.: Cup Series Qualifying – Impound (Single Vehicle/Two Laps All Positions) – NBCSN/NBC Sports App/MRN

Sunday, October 27

3 p.m.: Cup Series First Data 500 – (Stages 130/260/500 Laps = 263 Miles) – NBCSN/NBC Sports App/MRN/ SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

Cup Series Round of 8 Drivers:

1. Kyle Busch, No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, 4,046 points
2. Martin Truex Jr., No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, 4,042 points
3. Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, 4,037 points
4. Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford, 4,030 points
5. Kevin Harvick, No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford, 4,028 points
6. Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, 4,024 points
7. Kyle Larson, No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet, 4,011 points
8. Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford, 4,009 points

Truck Series Round of 6 Drivers:

1. Brett Moffitt, No. 24 GMS Racing Chevrolet, 3,085 points

2. Stewart Friesen, No.52, Halmar Friesen Racing Chevrolet, 3,062 points
3. Austin Hill, No.16, Hattori Racing Enterprises Toyota, 3,052 points
4. Matt Crafton, No.88 ThorSport Racing Ford, 3,041 points
5. Tyler Ankrum, No.17 DGR-Crosley Toyota, 3,040 points
6. Ross Chastain, No.45 Niece Motorsports Chevrolet, 3,039 points

Follow @angiecampbell_ for the latest NASCAR news and feature stories.

October 25, 2019
NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Preview-Martinsville II
The NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series returns on-track this weekend at the “Paperclip” known as Martinsville Speedway. It’s the continuation of the Round of 6 for the Truck Series drivers that began a couple of weeks ago at Talladega Superspeedway and, which also featured an exciting race.

Flashing back, the Truck Series raced at Talladega to begin the Round of 6. In what looked liked it was a going to be a Johnny Sauter victory, it was found that he had accidentally forced Spencer Boyd below the yellow line which is out of bounds. In this case, Boyd was determined the winner and Sauter who had originally won, wound up a disappointing 14th place finish after being dominant late.

Talladega saw some troubles arise for the playoff drivers as well. Ross Chastain was leading before he went down to make a block and ended up being in a wreck, which sees the Niece Motorsports driver two points below the cut line should the Championship 4 start now. Still, the Florida native can point his way in if he ends up winning a couple of stages between now and ISM Raceway next month in November.

Looking ahead to this weekend, no driver can’t afford a bad break with the points being so tight. Here are five drivers to keep an eye on in Saturday’s NASCAR Hall of Fame 200 at Martinsville Speedway.

There are currently 32 Trucks on the preliminary entry list with 32 spots available which means all of the drivers will make the field no matter what happens during their qualifying run on Saturday.
1. Johnny Sauter – With the Talladega disappointment behind him, Sauter will be as hungry as ever to win this weekend at Martinsville and he very well could do so. The Wisconsin native has 23 starts, four wins, nine top-fives and 13 top-10 finishes with an average finish of 11.8. In the last five fall races, Sauter won in 2018, finished third in 2017, won in 2016, placed ninth in 2015 and seventh in 2014. With the Playoffs not on his mind anymore, the ThorSport driver has nothing to lose and can play any strategy he wants when it comes race time on Saturday.
2. Brett Moffitt – The current NASCAR Truck Series championship Playoffs points leader would also be hard to count out of a victory this weekend. While Moffitt might be in a play it safe mode, if the opportunity arises you can expect him to be at the front. In all four of his starts dating back to 2017 in his first start at the track for Red Horse Racing, Moffitt has finished inside the top five every race since the spring of 2018. The Grimes, Iowa native also finished runner up last fall after starting 17th. Be sure to keep an eye on the No. 24 GMS Racing team as they try to lock themselves into the Championship 4 this weekend.
3. Christian Eckes – Fresh off his 2019 ARCA Menards Series championship, Christian Eckes will be back in a racecar once again this weekend. But this time, it will be in the famed No. 51 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota Tundra. The New York native only has one start but it came with a top-10 finish back in spring of this year when Eckes finished ninth driving for Busch. One start may not be much to base his hopes on but Eckes has earned two top-fives and three top-10 finishes along with two poles in just six starts this year in the Truck Series. Don’t be surprised if the New York native wheels the No. 51 Toyota into victory lane Saturday afternoon.
4. Matt Crafton – Martinsville might be an equalizer for Crafton and his No. 88 ThorSport team who have been lacking in victories over the past two years. The ThorSport driver is currently the last driver in the Championship 4 by just one point over rookie Tyler Ankrum. However, the experience Crafton has might play into his favor as well. The California native has the most starts of any active driver of 35, dating back to 2001. Since then, Crafton has earned two wins, nine top-fives and 29 top-10 finishes with an average finish of 10.6. This weekend might be the weekend we can look back on if Crafton and his team can pull something out of the hat and score the victory on Saturday.
5. John Hunter Nemechek – Nemechek has been hot and cold at Martinsville in his 11 starts. It’s either been a crash or a top-five finish for the NEMCO Motorsports driver. There is some light for Nemechek, however, as he has four top-five and top-10 finishes with a victory here in the spring of 2018 after leading 31 laps. If the team can keep out of trouble and not get caught up in an incident, you could easily find Nemechek in the top five.
  
  Playoff drivers
1. Stewart Friesen – Friesen currently sits second in the Playoff standings, just 22 points above the cut line. The Halmar Racing driver has five starts with a best finish of fifth after starting on the pole back in the spring and leading 18 laps. Other finishes include 11th, 20th, sixth and 25th.
2. Austin Hill – Hill sits third in the standings and is 12 points above the cut line. He has eight starts at Martinsville with a best finish of ninth which came in last year’s race while driving for Youngs Motorsports. When it comes to his latest ride with Hattori Racing, Hill started ninth and finished 16th after leading five laps back in the spring.
3. Tyler Ankrum – Ankrum and his No. 17 DGR-Crosley team will be looking to improve from his previous two starts at Martinsville, with finishes of 18th and 19th. He sits just one point below the cut line in the fifth position.
4. Ross Chastain – Chastain is last in the Playoff standings and is currently facing elimination but is just two points below the cut line. The Niece Motorsports driver has amassed seven starts with a best finish of fourth earlier this year when Chastain led 53 laps and won Stage 2.
New on the entry list this week includes rookie Sam Mayer competing in the No. 21 GMS Racing entry, Danny Bohn in the No. 30 On Point Motorsports Toyota, Dawson Cram in the No. 34 Reaume Brothers Racing machine, Jeb Burton in the No. 44 Niece Motorsports Truck, Ray Ciccarelli in his own No. 49 and Timmy Hill with their Hill Motorsports No. 56 Chevrolet. The No. 0 of Jennifer Jo Cobb, the No. 15 of DGR-CROSLEY and the No. 33 of Josh Reaume entries have yet to be announced.

Martinsville Speedway has seen 41 races since the Truck Series first season back in 1995. Since then, there has been a long list of drivers who have gone to victory lane. The list includes Joe Ruttman, Mike Skinner, Rich Bickle, Jay Sauter, Jimmy Hensley, Bobby Hamilton, Scott Riggs, Dennis Setzer, Jon Wood, Rick Crawford, Jamie McMurray, Bobby Labonte, Ricky Craven, David Starr, Jack Sprague, Johnny Benson, Kevin Harvick, Timothy Peters, Johnny Sauter, Ron Hornaday, Denny Hamlin, Bubba Wallace, Joey Logano, Matt Crafton, Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott, Noah Gragson and John Hunter Nemechek.

Toyota has the most manufacturer wins with 16, followed by Chevrolet with 15 while Ford and Dodge are tied with five wins apiece.

Truck Series drivers will get on-track Friday afternoon with two practice sessions. The first practice session is at 12:05 p.m. ET and their final practice takes place at 2:05 p.m. ET with no live TV coverage. Qualifying is set for Saturday morning at 10:05 a.m. ET live on Fox Sports 1.

The NASCAR Hall of Fame 200 is slated to get underway shortly after 1:30 p.m. ET live on Fox Sports 1 and MRN Radio. Stages are 50/50/100 laps to make up the 200 lap race.

Playoff Standings
1. Brett Moffitt, +45
2. Stewart Friesen, +22
3. Austin Hill, +12
4. Matt Crafton, +1
  Below the cut line
5. Tyler Ankrum, -1
6. Ross Chastain, -2
October 24, 2019
Shout Out Of The Week – Martinsville-Spring

Overlooked in the running order of the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series at Martinsville Speedway could be Austin Dillon, who drove the No. 8 Phone Skope Chevy for Nemco Motorsports. Dillon finished 13th after starting 12th.

It was a quiet day for the No. 8 group, considering they won this race last spring. Dillon managed to finish ninth in Stage 1, but fell out of the top-10 for Stage 2.

It was Dillon’s 71st Truck Series start of his career dating back 10 years to 2009, where he made his Truck Series debut that year for Richard Childress at Iowa finishing 12th. He won the championship two years later in 2011, after collecting two wins, 10 top five finishes and 16 top 10s that year.

It was Dillon’s first Truck Series race since Atlanta Motor Speedway last year, where he drove the No. 20 Young’s Motorsports entry finishing 10th that day.

March 27, 2019
NASCAR announces 2020 schedule

Heresay started 24 hours ago that the 2020 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule would be released sometime this week. Then it came out that it would be released on Tuesday. NASCAR built up the anticipation with the announcement earlier today that the official schedule release would happen at 4 p.m.

The time came, and the changes were announced.

NASCAR announced on Tuesday the 2020 schedule for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. It’s the biggest schedule realignment the Cup Series has undergone in over a decade.

The major changes were as follows:

The championship race will move from Homestead-Miami Speedway to ISM (Phoenix) Raceway. It will move to Veterans Day weekend, rather than the Sunday before Thanksgiving Day, which the championship race has been held on.

The reasoning, according to NASCAR Executive Vice President and Chief Racing Development Officer Steve O’Donnell, was to prevent one driver from gaining a competitive advantage by running at the same track year after year.

“Obviously a ton of investment has gone into ISM Raceway,” O’Donnell said. “We thought it was natural for us to make that rotation this year and see how it plays out, also put Miami in a date that works for them, as well.”

He added that this probably isn’t a one year thing.

“I can’t say how long,” he said. “I think with any venue, you want to see it have a chance and grow a little bit, see how that works. We’ll certainly take a look at it as we look at 2021 and beyond, see what’s on the table in terms of venues.”

“But this wasn’t a decision we said, ‘Hey, let’s go there for a year and rotate it.’ Our intent is to stay for a few years and see how we net out.”

Daytona International Speedway’s second race moves from Independence Day weekend to the regular season finale, which will now be in August.

Given the attendance and weather issues that have plagued Daytona in July, NASCAR talked to drivers and teams on the matter, and they said, according to NASCAR, that Daytona at the end of the regular season was the best way to end it.

“Everyone felt Daytona belonged there and that track deserved to potentially be in that date,” O’Donnell said.

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway moves from September to Independence Day weekend.

Bristol Motor Speedway’s night race moves from its August date to the Cup Series Playoffs on Sep. 19.

“If NASCAR fans thought they’ve seen tempers flare and sparks fly under the lights at the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race, just wait until they experience a real pressure-packed NASCAR playoff elimination race at Bristol Motor Speedway,” said Jerry Caldwell, executive vice president and general manager of Bristol Motor Speedway.

Pocono Raceway’s two dates will move to one date, as part of a double-header for the Cup Series.

Martinsville Speedway’s first weekend moves from late March/early April to Mother’s Day weekend, and will be run on a Saturday night on May 9.

Darlington Raceway remains in its Labor Day weekend slot, but will now open the Playoffs.

There’s some other date shuffling.

Screenshot from NASCAR.com

Screenshot from NASCAR.com

Screenshot from NASCAR.com

March 26, 2019
Four Takeaways from Martinsville-Spring 2019
The NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series had what some would call a home race this past weekend at Martinsville, where it’s just a little over a two-hour drive for most of the teams. So far this year, it was the largest entry list of the season and we saw six trucks not qualifying for the race. Three drivers withdrew from the race and two teams saw driver changes.

However, that didn’t phase Kyle Busch who completely dominated the race and won the 54th race of his Truck Series career on Saturday afternoon.

So, for the fourth time this season, here’s this week’s four takeaways from the TruNorth Global 250.
1. Kyle Busch Dominates – Busch went three for three this past weekend at Martinsville and put a whooping on the field. It was his second career Truck Series win at Martinsville and his first since 2016. He didn’t miss a step winning Stage 1 and finishing third in Stage 2. Oh yeah, he also led 174 laps of 250. Not bad for the 33-year-old who has amassed six wins in total this year already. Cue the song, “All I Do Is Win” by D.J. Khaled.
2. Clean Race For Martinsville – Normally, when the Truck Series comes to a track like Martinsville, you expect a lot of beating and banging. Not this time around, as the race was unexpectedly clean for the most part. There were only seven cautions for 50 laps and the race was run under green 28.6 percent, while the yellow was flown 20.0 percent. Last spring, the race saw 16.5 laps under green and 27.2 percent under yellow. This spring was pretty unusual for the trucks as we did not see many yellows.
3. Rough Day For Johnny Sauter – While the finishing results show Sauter ninth, he had to earn it. He finished third in Stage 1, but it all went downhill from there. During the stage caution, Sauter went down a cylinder and reported, “it’s a plug wire, I don’t know.” The ThorSport team got the Truck somewhat turned around and Sauter stayed in the top-10 for Stage 2 winding up seventh. Another issue arose, however, as he had a left-rear tire go flat late in the going. Fortunately, Sauter and company rebounded to a hard-fought ninth, but a disappointing ninth considering he won here last fall.
4. Raphael Lessard Solid In Truck Debut – Canadian Raphael Lessard made his first Truck Series debut this past weekend, driving the No. 46 Kyle Busch Motorsports entry. The young 17-year-old is labeled as “Canada’s Next Superstar” on his website. The Canadian finished 14th after starting seventh. Lessard is a breakout star on the late model circuit, winning four races in 2016 in the CARS Tour. He also made a couple of ARCA starts for Venturini Motorsports in 2017 and last year, he began his relationship with Kyle Busch as Lessard competed in Busch’s late model and, he still does. If the opportunities line up for Lessard, he’ll be a Truck Series regular in a couple of years. He was just the second Canadian in the field, the other being Stewart Friesen.
March 26, 2019
NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Martinsville

Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

1. Kyle Busch: Busch started 14th and finished third at Martinsville, posting his fifth top five of the season.

“I won the Trucks Series race on Saturday,” Busch said. “And speaking of the Trucks Series, a fellow named Myatt Snider’s truck is sponsored by Tax Slayer. Tax Slayer would have been better off with their name on a Cup car on Sunday, with a message to all race ticket holders that said, ‘You all deserve a refund.’”

2. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski dominated at Martinsville, leading 446 of 500 laps to win the STP 500.

“That’s three wins by the Ford Mustang this year,” Keselowski said, “all by Penske Racing. Toyota has won the other three races. Chevrolets are winless, and that’s sad, because Chevys are as American as apple pie. And, while you candrive one to the levee, you currently can’t drive one to Victory Lane.”

3. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin took fifth in the STP 500 at Martinsville, posting his third top five of the season.

“Martinsville has the best trophy in auto racing,” Hamlin said. “It’s a grandfather clock. In this age of cell phones, it’s nice to see a timepiece with a little antiquity. I think all fans should spend an afternoon watching a grandfather clock operate. Only then could they truly appreciate Sunday’s race.”

4. Joey Logano: Logano started on the pole at Martinsville and finished 19th.

“Brad Keselowski and Chase Elliott were the class of the field,” Logano said. “The other 34 drivers were relegated to spectators, which sucked, because this race was awful for spectators.”

5. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex finished eighth in the STP 500 and is seventh in the Monster Energy Cup points standings.

“We had SiriusXM sponsorship on our Toyota Camry at Martinsville,” Truex said. “That’s a partnership that had been in the works for quite some time. So, not only could you see it coming, you could hear it coming as well.”

6. Kevin Harvick: Harvick finished sixth at Martinsville.

“I’m winless so far this season,” Harvick said, “but I’ve got five top-10 finishes already. So I feel like I’m making progress in each race toward finally achieving victory. That’s why my nickname is Kevin ‘The Closer And Closer’ Harvick.”

7. Aric Almirola: Almirola started second and finished ninth at Martinsville.

“Danica Patrick will be a studio analyst for NBC during the Indianapolis 500 in May,” Almirola said. “Word is her chances of winning the race are just as good as when she was driving.”

8. Kurt Busch: Busch finished 12th at Martinsville.

“For those expecting to see bumping and banging at Martinsville,” Busch said, “well, they were sadly disappointed. The only paint being traded at Martinsville on Sunday was between unlicensed tattoo artists in the campground.”

9. Chase Elliott: Elliott led 49 laps, but was no match for Brad Keselowski, who routed the field at Martinsville. Elliott settled for the runner-up spot.

“That was Hendrick Motorsports’ first top five this year,” Elliott said. “It’s not the ideal result, but, at this point, we’ll gladly take any victory, even if it’s simply a moral one.”

10. Ryan Blaney: Blaney took fourth at Martinsville and is eighth in the Monster Energy Cup standings, 70 out of first.

“Brad Keselowski won the race easily,” Blaney said. “He dominated in a way not seen in a long time. He ate the field for lunch like it was a Martinsville hot dog. In other words, true to the Keselowski heritage, Brad ‘Polish-ed’ them off.”

March 25, 2019
NASCAR Gander Outdoor Truck Series Power Rankings – Martinsville – Spring
The NASCAR Gander Outdoor Truck Series returned to action from a few weeks hiatus at the famous Martinsville Speedway.

Kyle Busch continued his dominance by winning his third consecutive race in 2019 and is looking for four in a row this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway.

A few other drivers had a shot at the win, but trying to take down the all-time wins list leader in the Truck Series is not an easy task. In the end, it wasn’t enough for the truckers and they had to settle for a good points day instead, which could make the difference when it comes to the Playoffs later in the year.

Here’s a look at this week’s power rankings.

1.Brett Moffitt – Moffitt had a somewhat quiet day at Martinsville, where he finished in the third position. He did rattle a few fenders in trying to make something happen. Track position, however, is what mattered the most in keeping Moffitt from scoring the victory.

“We were able to get them (GMS Racing) a good finish, felt like we had a truck we could’ve gotten to victory lane, but just wasn’t in our cards today,” Moffitt said in a GMS Racing recap. He finished seventh and fifth, respectively in both stages after starting 16th. Moffitt sits third in the points standings.

Previous Week Ranking – 1st

2. Ross Chastain – While Chastain in years past May have been a Cinderella story, he has proven himself to be a contender for the race win if given the right equipment. It’s a shame what happened in the off-season with sponsorship woes and we’ll never know how well he would have fared given a great car that Chastain would have been in this season in the Xfinity Series. However, while racing for the same team as he has been doing the last several years in the Xfinity Series (JD Motorsports), he saw an opportunity with Al Niece of Niece Motorsports to drive the No. 45 Truck, who is quite possibly having their best season as well. From Daytona to Martinsville, Chastain has had finishes of third, sixth, 10th, and fourth, respectively. However, he elected Xfinity points at the beginning of the season, therefore Chastain is not collecting any points. In another aspect, we’ll never know how he would be doing in the Truck Series points either. But sometimes, when things don’t work out, other things work out unexpectedly. Nice showing for Chastain and the No. 45 team who finished fourth and led 53 laps, and finished fifth in Stage 1 while winning Stage 2.

Previous Week Ranking – Not Ranked

3. Stewart Friesen – Friesen continued to be a consistent driver week in and week out, but he’s getting somewhat tired of not being able to close the deal just quite yet. The same was said for Saturday, where he started on the pole, led 18 laps, finished second and fourth in both stages, ultimately finishing fifth. Friesen had to begin points racing late in the race. It’s not a matter of if he’ll win, but when he will win. Still another solid showing for the No. 52 Halmar Racing Team who continues to be consistent, but at the end of the day, it’s the wins that matter in this sport.

Previous Week Ranking – 2nd

4. Ben Rhodes – After dominating the race last year, winning both stages and leading 134 laps, Rhodes wound up with a disappointing 12th place finish. This year, he turned that around by finishing second, and though he finished second in Stage 2, Rhodes didn’t quite dominate like he did last year. He still had a solid points day and is now looking forward to Texas Friday night.

Previous Week Ranking – 4th

5. Grant Enfinger – It was a quiet, but solid day for Enfinger and the No. 98 team who finished seventh after starting 19th. He didn’t finish in the top-10 in either stage, but worked hard all day thus earning his third top-10 of the season, Enfinger’s 38th of his career.

Previous Week Ranking – Not Ranked

Fell Out
1. Harrison Burton – Not the day Burton and the No. 18 team needed. He finished 11th and was not a factor at all in this race. Though, Burton made the most of his day earning some stage points by finishing sixth in Stage 2.
2. Sheldon Creed – A forgettable day for the No. 2 GMS Racing team. Creed and company finished 17th after starting fourth. He did not finish in the top-10 in either stage.
March 25, 2019