Testing is always part of team preparation and for several Camping World Truck Series teams, they are taking advantage of testing at Martinsville Speedway this week.
Timothy Peters and his Red Horse Racing team are one of several teams testing at Martinsville Speedway this week, March 18 and 19, in preparation for the Kroger 250. Peters has one win at the track in 16 starts with his lone victory coming in 2009 – his first season for owner Tom DeLoach. Peters also has one career pole at the .526-mile track in October 2012. While this might be just another race for several drivers, competing at one of NASCAR’s oldest tracks has special meaning for drivers like Peters.
A resident of nearby Danville, VA, Peters has 16 of his 163 career starts in the series at his home track – more than any other track for the truck series veteran. This well be his 13th consecutive truck start at the track and during that span his average finish has been 12.0.
Peters has picked up ten top-ten finishes at Martinsville and has excelled at short tracks, picking up five of his seven career wins at tracks under one-mile.
And he’s enjoyed recent success – especially in the upcoming spring event. Peters finished fourth at Martinsville last March and enters next week’s race with a streak of four consecutive top-five finishes in the annual sprint event.
He’ll be joined by teammate German Quiroga and Brian Ickler at the test with several more teams including Haas Racing, DGM Racing, Win-Tron Racing, and NTS Motorsports also scheduled to turn laps at Martinsville.
Performance Instruction and Training, a Mooresville, NC facility to train potential pit crew members, has received a license by the North Carolina Board of Community Colleges. The facility was created by Red Horse Racing owner, Tom DeLoach and former crew chief and current FOX Sports NASCAR analyst, Jeff Hammond.
Chase Pistone, the grandson of two-time Sprint Cup Series race winner Tiger Tom Pistone, inks new deal to race fourteen Camping World Truck Series races in 2014 in the #9 ChevySilverado. Pistone is making his début for NTS Motorsports in the Kroger 250 at Martinsville Speedway. Pistone is testing with his #9 NTS Motorsports team on March 18th and 19th at the half-mile along with NTS teammate Gray Gaulding. Pistone’s schedule includes NASCAR’s return to Gateway Motorsports Park, Kentucky Speedway on June 26th, Iowa Speedway, Pocono Speedway and the rest of the 2014 NCWTS season with the exceptions of Eldora Speedway, Canadian Tire Motorsports Park and Homestead-Miami Speedway where a driver announcement is forthcoming. Pistone’s #9 Chevy Silverado is led by veteran crew chief Gere Kennon.
K&N Pro Series East regular Cole Custer will attempt to make his first start in the Camping World Truck Series in the Kroger 250. He will arrive in Martinsville on a hot streak after winning the K&N Pro Series West event at Phoenix International Raceway on Feb. 27. In Phoenix, Custer edged truck series regular Brennan Newberry for his third series victory. Custer, son of Stewart-Haas Racing Executive Vice President Joe Custer, will compete in a total of nine races in the series this season. In addition to both races at Martinsville Speedway, Custer will also compete in events at Dover, Gateway, Iowa, Bristol, Canada, Loudon and Phoenix.
Florida late-model standout Ray Black Jr. has joined the ranks of the Camping World Truck Series. Black is making a minimum of six starts for the veteran SS Green Light Racing team beginning with the Kroger 250. Having enjoyed racing on video games, Ray decided to give the real thing a try at age 14 in the Florida Mini Cup Racing Association. After a couple seasons, he progressed through the asphalt ranks running in the Advance Auto Parts Pro Truck series and various late-model series throughout the Southeastern United States over the last six years. Black will continue to run his Team Scuba super late-model through 2014 when not competing in the SS Green Light Racing Silverado in the NCWTS. Black is a life-long scuba diver and his 2014 NCWTS entries will run with support from a variety of diving related entities including ScubaLife, the CDA Technical Institute and the National Academy of Scuba Educators.
Kyle Busch Motorsports signed Dollar General as a sponsor for four truck races – Kentucky, Bristol and Chicagoland with Kyle Busch and Phoenix with Erik Jones.
Martinsville Speedway: One of the Truck Series’ Original Tracks
The historic paperclip-shaped short track is hosting the Camping World Truck Series for the 31st time, second only to Texas Motor Speedway (32 starts). Former series champion, Mike Skinner, Kevin Harvick and Dennis Setzer lead all drivers with three wins at the track with four previous winners scheduled to compete in the Kroger 250. Johnny Sauter leads that group with a pair of wins; Ron Hornaday Jr, Timothy Peters and last fall’s winner, Darrell Wallace Jr, completing the list.
While there are several drivers looking for their second Grandfather clock – the popular trophy awarded to Martinsville race winners – others are looking for their first. Among those are Ryan Blaney, Jeb Burton, Ben Kennedy, Erik Jones and German Quiroga.
All five drivers scored a top-seven finish at Martinsville last season, with Burton the only driver to finish in the top-five in both events coming home third in both races at his home track.