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NASCAR - Camping World Truck - Kroger 250 Preview
From The Sports Network
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| DATE: Saturday, April 2nd |
| SITE: Martinsville Speedway (1947) -- Martinsville, Virginia |
| TRACK: 0.526-mile oval - 800 feet (Frontstretch); 800 feet (Backstretch) |
| CAPACITY: 65,000 (Grandstand Seating) |
| ANNUAL: 17th |
| TELEVISION: Speed Channel |
| ANNOUNCERS: Rick Allen, Phil Parsons, Michael Waltrip |
| RADIO: Motor Racing Network (MRN)/SIRIUS NASCAR Radio |
| START TIME: 2 p.m. (et) |
| DEFENDING CHAMPION: Kevin Harvick |
| RUNNER-UP: Ron Hornaday Jr |
| POLE WINNER: Kevin Harvick (Finished 1st) |
| LAPS: 250 |
| MILES: 131.5 |
| QUALIFYING RECORD: Jack Sprague, 2008 (96.327 m.p.h.) |
| TOTAL PURSE: $485,807 (2010 figures) |
| PAYOUTS: 1st Place - $36,300; 2nd Place - $25,490; 3rd Place - $21,785 |
| 2010 Finish |
| Finish | Driver | Start | Finish | Driver | Start |
| 1 | Kevin Harvick | 1 | 6 | Aric Almirola | 2 |
| 2 | Ron Hornaday Jr | 31 | 7 | Matt Crafton | 3 |
| 3 | Brian Ickler | 32 | 8 | Max Papis | 26 |
| 4 | Timothy Peters | 5 | 9 | Mario Gosselin | 23 |
| 5 | Johnny Benson | 9 | 10 | Ricky Carmichael | 12 |
| 2010 Kroger 250 Facts and Figures |
| AVERAGE SPEED: 62.793 m.p.h. |
| TIME OF RACE: 2 hours, 5 minutes, 39 seconds |
| MARGIN OF VICTORY: 1.552 seconds |
| CAUTION FLAGS: 11 for 66 laps |
| LEAD CHANGES: 5 among 4 drivers |
| POLE WINNER: Kevin Harvick (2010 owner points) |
| Past Kroger 250 Winners (Starting Position) Car -- Speed |
| 2010 -- Kevin Harvick (1st) -- Chevrolet -- 62.793 m.p.h. |
| 2009 -- Kevin Harvick (6th) -- Chevrolet -- 60.865 m.p.h. |
| 2008 -- Dennis Setzer (10th) -- Dodge -- 61.311 m.p.h. |
| 2007 -- Mike Skinner (1st) -- Toyota -- 61.753 m.p.h. |
| 2006 -- David Starr (15th) -- Toyota -- 59.219 m.p.h. |
| 2005 -- Bobby Labonte (5th) -- Chevrolet -- 66.639 m.p.h. |
| 2004 -- Rick Crawford (3rd) -- Ford -- 61.490 m.p.h. |
| 2003 -- Dennis Setzer (5th) -- Chevrolet -- 66.921 m.p.h. |
| 2002 -- Dennis Setzer (33rd) -- Chevrolet -- 64.628 m.p.h. |
| 2001 -- Scott Riggs (2nd) -- Dodge -- 70.836 m.p.h. |
| 2000 -- Bobby Hamilton (2nd) -- Dodge -- 71.836 m.p.h. |
| 1999 -- Jimmy Hensley (9th) -- Chevrolet -- 74.282 m.p.h. (race record) |
| 1998 -- Jay Sauter (10th) -- Chevrolet -- 72.154 m.p.h. |
| 1997 -- Rich Bickle (1st) -- Chevrolet -- 72.297 m.p.h. |
| 1996 -- Mike Skinner (16th) -- Chevrolet -- 64.434 m.p.h. |
| 1995 -- Joe Ruttman (2nd) -- Ford -- 65.072 m.p.h. |
| NOTE: Race formerly called Goody's 150 (1995), Hanes 250 (1996-1997), NAPA 250 |
| (1998-2000), Advanced Auto Parts (2001-03). |
| Past Kroger 250 Pole Winners (finish) |
| 2010 -- None -- Weather |
| 2009 -- Rick Crawford -- 5th |
| 2008 -- Jack Sprague -- 24th |
| 2007 -- Mike Skinner -- 1st |
| 2006 -- Bobby Hamilton Jr -- 10th |
| 2005 -- Bobby Hamilton -- 20th |
| 2004 -- Jack Sprague -- 3rd |
| 2003 -- Ted Musgrave -- 2nd |
| 2002 -- Ted Musgrave -- 24th |
| 2001 -- Joe Ruttman -- 4th |
| 2000 -- Mike Wallace -- 2nd |
| 1999 -- Mike Bliss -- 6th |
| 1998 -- Greg Biffle -- 8th |
| 1997 -- Rich Bickle -- 1st |
| 1996 -- Bobby Hamilton -- 31st |
| 1995 -- Not Held |
| Last Race Results |
| RACE: Too Tough To Tame 200 (March 6th) |
| SITE: Darlington Raceway -- Darlington, South Carolina |
| MILES: 200.802 |
| LAPS: 147 |
| WINNER: Kasey Kahne |
| RUNNER-UP: Ron Hornaday Jr. |
| THIRD: Todd Bodine |
| FOURTH: Matt Crafton |
| FIFTH: James Buescher |
| POLE WINNER: Cole Whitt (Finished 8th) |
| TIME OF RACE: 1 hour, 59 minutes, 44 seconds |
| AVERAGE SPEED: 100.625 m.p.h. |
| MARGIN OF VICTORY: 1.116 seconds |
| CAUTION FLAGS: 10 for 44 laps |
| LEAD CHANGES: 8 among 4 drivers |
| LAP LEADERS: C. Whitt 1-27; E. Sadler 28-40; K. Kahne 41-59; C. Whitt 60-62; |
| K. Kahne 63; J. Buescher 64-69; K. Kahne 70-92; E. Sadler 93-95; |
| K. Kahne 96-147. |
| Kroger 250 Entry List |
| Car | Driver, Hometown | Car/Name |
| 1 | Jeffrey Earnhardt (Mooresville, NC) | Chevrolet/Fuel Doctor |
| 2 * | Kevin Harvick (Bakersfield, CA) | Chevrolet/Tide/Kroger |
| 3 | Austin Dillon (Lewisville, NC) | Chevrolet/Bass Pro Shops |
| 4 | Ricky Carmichael (Clearwater, FL) | Chevrolet/Monster Energy |
| 5 | Travis Kvapil (Janesville, WI) | Toyota/Int'l Truck/Monaco RVs |
| 07 | Jamie Dick (Albuquerque, NM) | Chevrolet/TBA |
| 7 | Miguel Paludo (New Silver, Brazil) | Toyota/Stemco Duroline |
| 8 | Nelson Piquet Jr (Brasilia, Brazil) | Chevrolet/Qualcomm/Autotrac |
| 9 | Max Papis (Como, Italy) | Toyota/GEICO |
| 10 | Chase Mattioli (Long Pond, PA) | Ford/collegecomplete.com |
| 13 | Johnny Sauter (Necedah, WI) | Chevrolet/Safe Auto/Curb Records |
| 15 | Dusty Davis (Las Vegas, NV) | Toyota/Vision Airlines/Emerald Coast |
| 17 | Timothy Peters (Providence, NC) | Toyota/Red Horse Racing |
| 18 | Kyle Busch (Las Vegas, NV) | Toyota/Kyle Busch Motorsports |
| 20 | Johanna Long (Pensacola, FL) | Toyota/Panhandle Grading & Paving |
| 22 | Joey Coulter (Miami Springs, FL) | Chevrolet/RCR/Rip-It |
| 23 | Jason White (Powhatan, VA) | Chevrolet/gunbroker.com |
| 25 | Tayler Malsam (Seattle, WA) | Toyota/Iron Horse Jeans |
| 29 | Parker Kligerman (Westport, CT) | Dodge/Penske Truck Leasing |
| 30 | Todd Bodine (Chemung, NY) | Toyota/germain.com |
| 31 | James Buescher (Plano, TX) | Chevrolet/Wolfepack Rentals |
| 32 | Brad Sweet (Grass Valley, CA) | Chevrolet/Great Clips |
| 33 | Ron Hornaday Jr. (Bakersfield, CA) | Chevrolet/Cooked Perfect Meatballs |
| 39 | Ryan Sieg (Tucker, GA) | Chevrolet/S&W |
| 46 | Craig Goess (Woodbury, NJ) | Toyota/Greenville Toyota |
| 51 | Justin Johnson (Las Vegas, NV) | Toyota/Vision Airlines |
| 57 | Norm Benning (Level Green, PA) | Chevrolet/TBA |
| 60 | Cole Whitt (Alpine, CA) | Chevrolet/Red Bull/Van-Go Rentals |
| 62 | Brendan Gaughan (Las Vegas, NV) | Toyota/South Point Hotel & Casino |
| 66 | Justin Marks (Rocklin, CA) | Chevrolet/Go-Pro |
| 77 | Justin Lofton (Westmorland, CA) | Toyota/Lofton Cattle |
| 81 | David Starr (Houston, TX) | Toyota/Zachry |
| 88 | Matt Crafton (Tulare, CA) | Chevrolet/Menards |
| 92 | Clay Rogers (Mooresville, NC) | Chevrolet/Fleet HQ/BTS Tire & Wheel |
| 93 | Shane Sieg (Tucker, GA) | Chevrolet/S&W |
| 97 | Matt Lofton (Mooresville, NC) | Toyota/strutmasters.com |
| Leading Contenders (Finish the last nine years) |
| Driver | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 |
| Kevin Harvick | 29th | 3rd | --- | 12th | --- | 4th | --- | Won | Won |
| Ron Hornaday Jr | --- | --- | --- | 3rd | 14th | 6th | 8th | 2nd | 2nd |
| Timothy Peters | --- | --- | --- | 18th | 35th | 9th | 19th | 22nd | 4th |
| Matt Crafton | 20th | 13th | 7th | 15th | 3rd | 17th | 2nd | 9th | 7th |
| Ricky Carmichael | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | 29th | 10th |
| Johnny Sauter | --- | --- | --- | --- | 26th | --- | --- | 27th | 15th |
| Austin Dillon | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | 16th |
| David Starr | 8th | 12th | 9th | 22nd | Won | 11th | 6th | 24th | 18th |
| Todd Bodine | --- | --- | --- | 4th | 12th | 2nd | 12th | 18th | 30th |
| Kyle Busch | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | 26th | 17th | --- |
| Mover of the Week |
| Shane Sieg - Started in the 31st position and finished 12th |
| Sports Network Selections |
| Pick to Win - Kevin Harvick |
| Darkhorse - Cole Whitt |
| Last Week's Pick to Win (Todd Bodine) - Finished 3rd |
| Last Week's Darkhorse (Kasey Kahne) - Finished 1st |
| NOTES: |
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After three off weeks, the Camping World Truck Series returns to
action at Martinsville Speedway for the 25th anniversary of racing at the
raucous short track. In 24 previous events, 19 different drivers have tasted
victory.
Last season, Kevin Harvick put on a dominating performance as he raced to
victory over Ron Hornaday Jr to capture the 2010 running of the Kroger 250.
Harvick led 187 of 250 laps and easily held off Hornaday after the final
restart with 19 laps remaining to win his fourth consecutive truck race he had
entered. He won in his first start of the season in 2010 at Atlanta and ended
the 2009 campaign with victories at Phoenix and Homestead. Harvick started
first on the grid and became the third pole sitter to win the spring race.
In 2009, Harvick tapped Kyle Busch out of the way for the lead late in the
race and then held off teammate Ron Hornaday Jr in a green-white-checkered
finish to win the rain-delayed Kroger 250 in 2009. Harvick started sixth on
the grid and took the lead for the only time with 11 laps remaining for his
fourth career title. Busch, who dominated the race, leading for 139 laps, fell
to 17th, while pole sitter Rick Crawford placed fifth after leading the first
78 laps.
Dennis Setzer won this race for the third time and recorded his 18th and last
career Truck Series title, as he dominated the 2008 Kroger 250. Starting from
the 10th position on the grid, Setzer took the lead on lap 128 and held on the
rest of the way to defeat Matt Crafton under the caution. Pole sitter Jack
Sprague led twice for 28 laps, but finished a distant 24th.
Mike Skinner became only the second driver to win multiple races on the Truck
circuit at Martinsville, as he raced to a 0.527 of a second victory over Todd
Bodine in 2007. Skinner, who started on the pole, joined Dennis Setzer as two-
time champions. Skinner led for a whopping 246 of the 253 laps, including the
final 172, as he recorded the 22nd of his 28 career Truck Series titles.
Skinner is tied with Jack Sprague for second place on the all-time list. Ron
Hornaday Jr is the all-time leader with 47.
In 2006, David Starr dominated this race, as he claimed the lead on lap 130
and held on the rest of the way to defeat Ted Musgrave by less than a second
in the 250-lap event. Pole sitter Bobby Hamilton Jr, who led for the first 18
laps, finished 10th. Starr led for a race-high 121 laps, as he secured his
fourth and last career Truck Series title.
When Bobby Labonte won in 2005, he crossed the finish line just .257 of a
second ahead of Ricky Craven for his first-ever Truck Series title. The
victory was the closest margin of victory in race history. With the win,
Labonte became the 12th driver to win in all three of NASCAR's national
series'.
In 16 previous races, this event has been won from the front row six times,
however only three times from the pole, when Rich Bickle accomplished the feat
in 1997, 2007 by Skinner and last year by Harvick. In the 24 races held at
this track, a top-10 spot has captured the checkered flag 19 times.
Martinsville is one of four tracks to host a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
in all 17 seasons beginning in 1995. Kroger has been the top sponsor of the
spring and fall races since 2004.
Truck Series team SS Green Light Racing will make its 250th consecutive start
his weekend at Martinsville Speedway. The team currently ranks third in most
consecutive starts behind ThorSport Racing and Randy Moss Motorsports.
The next Camping World Truck Series race is the April 22nd Nashville 200 at
Nashville Superspeedway. Kyle Busch won last year's race there.
03/29 14:41:25 ET
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As of March 29, 2011, at 02:41 PM ET
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