NASCAR Camping World Truck Series’ Alpha Energy Solutions 250 at Martinsville Preview

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series teams are back in action this weekend for the Alpha Energy Solutions 250 at Martinsville Speedway on Saturday, April 1st at 3 pm ET. Television and radio coverage is on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Drivers will race 250 laps over 131.5 miles at Martinsville with Stage 1 ending on lap 70 and Stage 2 ending on lap 140. 

 

What To Watch For: 2016 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East champion Justin Haley, 17, makes his season 2017 debut.

Johnny Sauter goes for a track-record fourth win at Martinsville Speedway. He visited Victory Lane at “The Paperclip” last year.

Five different drivers have taken the checkered flag in the last five races at Martinsville.

Chase Elliott will compete in Saturday’s Alpha Energy Solutions 250 for GMS Racing.

NASCAR Next alumnus Harrison Burton will make his Camping World Truck Series season debut in Saturday’s race.

Ringing the Bell into Martinsville

The Camping World Truck Series picks back up this weekend at Martinsville Speedway for the Alpha Energy Solutions 250. Camping World Truck Series points leader Christopher Bell will look to capture back-to-back wins for the first time in his young career.

Bell captured his first win of the 2017 season in the Active Pest Control 200 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The win jolted him into the 2017 Camping World Truck Series playoffs and atop of the Camping World Truck Series points standings.

The No. 4 Kyle Busch Motorsports driver has raced in two career races at Martinsville Speedway– both in 2016. He finished 19th in April and fourth in October.

Bell leads the Camping World Truck Series points standings by seven points over reigning series champion Johnny Sauter and Ben Rhodes. Sunoco Rookie contender Kaz Grala (-15) and Matt Crafton (-21) round out the top-five.

Sauter Looking to Skip into Martinsville Speedway History

Defending Camping World Truck Series Champion Johnny Sauter has a chance to make history at Martinsville Speedway this weekend with a win in the Alpha Energy Solutions 250.

If Sauter captures at win at Martinsville on Saturday, he would become the all-time leader in wins in track history with four. Sauter captured his third win at Martinsville last season when he took the checkered in the fall and punched his ticket into the Championship 4 at Homestead-Miami Speedway in the Camping World Truck Series playoffs.

In seven of his last eight Camping World Truck Series races at Martinsville, Sauter has posted top-ten finishes, including two wins (2016 – fall and 2013 – spring).

In 18 Camping World Truck Series career starts at Martinsville Speedway, Sauter has three wins, six top-fives, nine top-tens and 386 laps led.

Mixing it Up at Martinsville

The last five Camping World Truck Series races at Martinsville Speedway have all been won by different race winners.

  • Johnny Sauter (2016 – fall)
  • Kyle Busch (2016 – spring)
  • Matt Crafton (2015 – fall)
  • Joey Logano (2015 – spring)
  • Darrell Wallace Jr. (2014 – fall)

Will Saturday’s Alpha Energy Solutions 250 produce its sixth-consecutive different Camping World Truck Series winner at Martinsville Speedway?

There have been seven drivers who have won multiple Camping World Truck Series races at Martinsville Speedway since 1995:

  • Kevin Harvick (3)
  • Johnny Sauter (3)
  • Dennis Setzer (3)
  • Mike Skinner (3)
  • Matt Crafton (2)
  • Denny Hamlin (2)
  • Darrell Wallace Jr. (2)

Getting Off to a Fast Start

Since 2010, the Camping World Truck Series driver who has started on the pole for the Camping World Truck Series race at Martinsville Speedway, has gone on to win the race five times. Those winners account for 36 percent of all 14 Camping World Truck Series wins at Martinsville from 2010-16. 

Starting with the most recent, below are the drivers to win the pole and the race at Martinsville Speedway between 2010-16: 

  • Joey Logano (2015 – spring)
  • Darrell Wallace Jr. (2014 – fall)
  • Kevin Harvick (2012 – spring)
  • Johnny Sauter (2011 – spring)
  • Kevin Harvick (2010 – spring)

Based on recent Camping World Truck Series history (2010-2016), if you win the pole at Martinsville, you have a 36 percent chance at winning the race.

 

Crafton Counting Up Martinsville Speedway Records

Matt Crafton has accumulated multiple Martinsville Speedway track records over his 17-year Camping World Truck Series career. He currently leads the following series categories at Martinsville Speedway:

  • Races Run (30)
  • Top-Tens (17)
  • Lead Lap Finishes (26)
  • Laps Completed (6,665) 

Chase Elliott Trucking At Martinsville

Chase Elliott will run this Saturday’s Alpha Energy Solutions 250 for GMS Racing. This will be Elliott’s second Camping World Truck Series start of 2017. He started ninth at Atlanta in the Active Pest Control 200 and finished fifth. Elliott’s last win in the Camping World Truck Series came in 2013 at Bowmanville. 

Ty Dillon Returns to Camping World Truck Series for First Time Since 2015

Ty Dillon was a late addition to the Camping World Truck Series lineup at Martinsville and will run the No. 99 Chevrolet for Ranier Racing with Mathew Miller in this Saturday’s Alpha Energy Solutions 250. Ty’s brother Austin ran in the No. 99 Chevrolet at Atlanta and finished seventh.

Ty last appeared in a Camping World Truck Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway in 2015 and finished 23rd. He has 53 Camping World Truck Series career starts with three wins, 19 top-fives and 35 top-tens.

Harrison Burton Readies for 2017 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series

Debut at Martinsville

NASCAR Next alumni (Class of 2016) and K&N Pro Series East driver Harrison Burton will make his 2017 Camping World Truck Series debut at Martinsville Speedway this weekend in the No. 51 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota Tundra. Burton appeared in one Camping World Truck Series race last season – the fall race at Martinsville Speedway. He finished with a top-25 in the No. 18 KBM Toyota after starting 16th.