Matt Crafton withstood several late race challenges to win the Kroger 250 Sunday night at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. Crafton, driving the No. 88 Ideal Doors / Menards Toyota Tundra scored his fourth career victory and first at the 0.526-mile oval.
ThorSport Racing won last year’s Kroger 250, when Johnny Sauter opened up the 2013 season with back-to-back victories.
The Kroger 250, postponed from Saturday because of rain, was run after the conclusion of Sunday’s STP 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race.
Crafton’s No. 88 Toyota started out sluggish, but benefited from successful adjustments throughout the race.
At the beginning of the day, we were terrible,” said Crafton, who led 47 laps. “I’m not going to lie. We were terrible. We were really, really tight from the center (of the corner) off. I didn’t think we were going to get it right there on those first two runs, but that’s just the way these guys never give up.
“We made track bar adjustment, another track bar adjustment, air pressure adjustment and finally we got that thing going.”
Crafton grabbed the lead from Peters on Lap 208 and held the top spot until a caution for debris on the frontstretch slowed the field on Lap 225.
Darrell Wallace Jr., last fall’s winner at Martinsville was second, followed by Rookie of the Year contender Ben Kennedy, ahead of Johnny Sauter and Ryan Blaney to round out the top-five.
Timothy Peters was sixth followed by Red Horse Racing teammate German Quiorga, Ben Rhodes in his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series debut for Turner Scott Motorsports was eighth, followed by Ron Hornaday Jr. and Brian Ickler rounding out the top-10.
There was some post-race activity from the Red Horse Racing camp as Peters and Quiorga voiced their displeasure with one another following the checkered flag with their race trucks. Peters wound up on the worst end of the incident as Quiorga brake-checked him on the backstretch causing extensive front-end damage to his No. 17 Toyota Tundra. Peters later apologized his team for the incident, but attributed the incident to, “it’s Martinsville, baby.”
John Hunter Nemechek had a solid opener to his 2014 partial season with an 11th, Cole Custer in his truck debut with support from Turner Scott Motorsports was 12th, flanked by Chase Pistone, Ross Chastain and Brandon Jones to make up the top-15.
Other race notables: Joey Coulter (17th), Erik Jones (18th), John Wes Townley (20th), Jeb Burton (21st), Ray Black Jr. (24th), Jennifer Jo Cobb (27th), Tyler Young (31st) and Alex Guentte (36th).
Earlier in the day, Kurt Busch fought tooth-and-nail with six-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson to win the STP 500, become the sixth different winner in 2014. It also marks the first time since 2003 that six different drivers have catapulted to victory to start off the year.
It was the first win for Kurt Busch since joining Stewart Haas Racing in 2014. The Las Vegas, Nevada native also gave Gene Haas his first victory for his company Haas Automation in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Busch also broke an 83-race winless streak, dating back to Dover (Del.) International Speedway 2011.
Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski, Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch and Kurt Busch have all but assured themselves a spot in the 2014 version of the “Chase.”
Heading into the first week of April, Earnhardt Jr. reassumes command in the championship standings, nine points ahead of Matt Kenseth.
Next up for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series is the running of the SFP 250 at Kansas Speedway on Friday, May 9, part of a double-header weekend with the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series on Mother’s Day weekend.
The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series resumes action next weekend with the Nationwide Series for the Duck Commander 500 from Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday, April 6.
Follow Chris Knight on Twitter @Knighter01.
