#NASCAR Camping World Truck Series teams are preparing to race 250 laps for 131.5 miles in the Alpha Energy Solutions 250 at Martinsville Speedway on Saturday, April 2nd. Race coverage is on FOX Sports 1 starting at 2 pm ET with a green flag around 2:30 pm ET and radio coverage on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.
Martinsville Media Day Recap
Read and Listen to Martinsville Media Day interviews
on last week’s Camping World Truck Series News & Notes
Three by Four:
Three Teams have Four Drivers Entered for Alpha Energy Solutions 250
Kyle Busch Motorsports, GMS Racing and ThorSport Racing all have four trucks entered in Saturday’s Alpha Energy Solutions 250 at Martinsville Speedway.
KBM heads to Southern Virginia with Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidates Christopher Bell and William Byron, in addition to current NASCAR XFINITY Series points leader Daniel Suárez and 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Kyle Busch.
GMS will take the track with Daytona winner Johnny Sauter, Spencer Gallagher, NASCAR K&N Pro Series East standout Kaz Grala and 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Sunoco Rookie of the Year Kyle Larson.
ThorSport brings its regular stable of drivers to Martinsville – two-time NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion Matt Crafton, Cameron Hayley, defending two-time Chili Bowl Nationals winner Rico Abreu and 2014 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East champion Ben Rhodes.
Party of Three: Deckers Ready to Wheel at Martinsville
Sisters Paige and Claire Decker, along with their cousin Natalie, will all attempt to qualify for Saturday’s Alpha Energy Solutions 250 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Martinsville Speedway.
Natalie and Claire will make their Truck Series debut while Paige has one start to her name – Martinsville, November of 2015.
Paige and Claire can join Amber and Angela Cope as the second pair of sisters to make a NASCAR national series start.
Natalie, an alumna of the NASCAR Drive for Diversity program operated by Rev Racing, will take the seat of the No. 14 NTS Motorsports entry. In 2012, the Eagle River, Wisconsin native won the Central Wisconsin Super Stock Association championship. She is part of the Kulwicki Driver Development Program (KDDP) – a program established by the family of late NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion Alan Kulwicki to help worthy drivers along the way in reaching their dream, while at the same time keeping Alan Kulwicki’s memory and legacy alive.
“I’m excited but nervous to make my first laps in the No. 14 Chevrolet.” Natalie said. “I hope to learn a lot on and off track. I am super thankful for this opportunity to be able to show my abilities and join an élite class of drivers.”
Claire will pilot the No. 10 Jennifer Jo Cobb Racing Chevrolet. She has competed in the Super Late Model ARCA Midwest Tour Series and won the “Trickle 99” Super Late Model race honoring fellow Wisconsin racer Dick Trickle.
“I understand I am facing an uphill battle and am looking forward to my first time in a truck,” Claire said. “Of course I want to make this race against a very competitive field but the worst case scenario is that I gain a lot of experience, meet new fans and showcase my sponsors to a larger audience.”
Paige will compete in the No. 74 truck for Mike Harmon Racing. Also an alumna of the NASCAR Drive for Diversity program, Paige won the Super Late Tundra Feature Round Four at Golden Sands Speedway in 2013, becoming the first female and first rookie to win the event.
*The record for most female drivers starting a NASCAR national series race is four, set at Martinsville on Oct. 23, 2010 – Jennifer Jo Cobb, Amber Cope, Angela Cope, Johanna Long. Three female drivers have started a NASCAR race on several occasions, most recently on Oct. 20, 2012 at Kansas – Jennifer Jo Cobb, Johanna Long, Danica Patrick.
Grala Attempting to Make Truck Series Debut at Martinsville
Seventeen-year-old Kaz Grala will attempt to make his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series debut in the No. 33 Chevrolet for GMS Racing. Grala takes the reigns of the No. 33 from Grant Enfinger, who was originally scheduled to race the season, but will now run select events.
Grala now competes in the K&N East for Ben Kennedy Racing. In three K&N East starts this season, he has produced a top-five finish and two top-ten showings. The Westborough, Massachusetts native finished seventh in the K&N East standings in 2014 and 2015.
In January, Grala became the youngest driver to ever take part in the Rolex 24.
Also attempting to make their Truck Series debuts are Claire Decker, Natalie Decker and Spencer Boyd.
Boyd, 20, will pilot the No. 63 Go-Parts Dodge Ram for MB Motorsports. A veteran of the Whelen All-American Series, he earned the 2014 Super Trucks championship at Hickory Speedway in 2014.
“Growing up in St. Louis, MB Motorsports was the local NASCAR team, so I’ve followed them since I was a kid,” Boyd said. “This really is a dream come true. There are so many people to thank for helping me get to this point, now I just want to make them proud by putting on a good show for my family, my partners, and certainly Go-Parts who is also making their NASCAR debut.”
Haley Set to Make Fourth Truck Series Start
Fresh off his thrilling victory in last Saturday’s NASCAR K&N Pro Series East race at Greenville Pickens Speedway, Justin Haley heads to Martinsville where he will attempt to make his fourth career Camping World Truck Series start in the Braun Motorsports No. 32 Truck.
Haley, 16, competed in three races last season, earning a high finish of seventh at Phoenix.
In three K&N East starts this year for HScott Motorsports with Justin Marks, Haley has recorded one win, two top-fives and three top-tens. He ranks third in the series standings. Last season, he finished sixth in the K&N East standings on the strength of six top-fives and ten top-tens.
Grandfather Clock:
Elder Statesman Crafton Looks to Continue Martinsville Success
Fall Martinsville race winner Matt Crafton will attempt to capture his second consecutive victory at the Virginia short track in Saturday’s Alpha Energy Solutions 250.
In a series record 28 starts at Martinsville, the 39-year-old Tulare, California native claims two wins, eight top-fives and an all-time series-best 16 top-tens.
He has dominated in his last four starts at Martinsville, logging finishes of first, third, second and first from spring of 2014 through fall of 2015.
In the first two races of the season, the two-time series champion finished 10th at Daytona and 30th at Atlanta. He led 76 of the first 111 laps at Atlanta before a wreck ended his day.
Standings Snapshot
Through two races, Johnny Sauter and John Hunter Nemechek have all but clinched the first two spots in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Chase by winning at Daytona and Atlanta, respectively.
Parker Kligerman leads the series points, then Daniel Hemric (-1), Nemechek (-3), Timothy Peters (-6) and Tyler Young (-8). Ryan Truex (-10), Brandon Brown (-12), Ben Rhodes (-12), Grant Enfinger (-13) and Sauter (-14) round out the top-ten.
Joey Logano won last year’s spring race at Martinsville, while Matt Crafton took the checkered flag in the fall.
Noteworthy News – Camping World Truck Series
No Days Off: Bell Wins Ohio Sprint Car Series Event
While the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series was off last weekend, Christopher Bell was keeping his racing skills sharp. The Oklahoman won the first Ohio Sprint Car Series contest on Saturday night at Atomic Speedway.
Sprint Cup Stars Entered At Martinsville
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series regulars Kyle Busch and Kyle Larson will pull double-duty at Martinsville this weekend, competing in the Alpha Energy Solutions 250 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race in addition to the Sprint Cup Series’ STP 500.
NASCAR IMC