The Craftsman Truck Series rolls into Martinsville Speedway for the Long John Silvers 200. Here is everything you need to know before 200 laps at the speedway.
The 2022 Blu Emu 200 at Martinsville saw Zane Smith on the pole, with Kyle Busch on the outside row. As what normally happens on short tracks, we saw tempers flare. The #13 Tundra of Johnny Sauter squeezed the #1 Ford of Hailie Deegan for no apparent reason on lap 33. Many trucks took the lead that night, Zane Smith took stage 1 and the second was won by Ben Rhodes. A great pitstop for the #7 Chevrolet driven by William Byron put him out front to begin stage 3. Byron stayed in the lead for 94 laps to take the win.
This year’s race will give us two days of excitement. Qualifying on Friday has 38 trucks for 36 starting spots. Notable entries are:
- #1: William Sawalich for TRICON Garage
- #20: Brad Perez for Young’s Motorsports
- #30: Johnathan Shafer for On Point Motorsports
- #34: Stephen Mallozzi for Reaume Brother Racing
- #41: Ross Chastain for Niece Motorsports
- #46: Memphis Villarreal for G2G Racing
- #51: Kyle Busch for Kyle Busch Motorsports
- #66: Connor Jones for Thorsport
- #90: Justin Carroll for Terry Carroll Motorsports
Martinsville Speedway:
The 0.526-mile short track at Martinsville was built in 1947, two years before NASCAR was formed. It was one of the first paved ovals for racing in the country. The speedway has played host to the Truck Series since 1995, back when it was the Super Truck Series by Craftsman. Joe Ruttman won that race, with Mike Skinner in second. Notable entries include Kenny Wallace, Darrell Waltrip, Todd Bodine, John Nemechek, Bob Keselowski, and Ron Hornaday Jr. Johnny Sauter holds the most truck wins at the track with 5 wins.
Predictions:
Zane Smith, defending champion, took the pole last year. If brake issues had not plagued him late in the race, he might have been in contention to win it. Thorsport has been bringing fast trucks every week, look for the #13, #66, #98, and #99 to have race-winning pace. Kyle Busch and Ross Chastain dueled at COTA. I can see them dueling again at the short track, but I believe the #51 Silverado will take the win. Busch has one win at Las Vegas, and would have won COTA if an ill-timed caution had not come out. He has two wins in a truck at this speedway, his last coming in 2019. Kyle Busch Motorsports is out to prove that it is still the powerhouse, regardless of its switch from Toyota to Chevrolet.
How to Watch
- Friday:
