Mike Skinner's pit stop routine was flawless, aiding in the the race win. More event pix in the Photo Gallery at the end of this page.

Skinner Thrashes Kroger 250 Field

MARTINSVILLE, VA (March 31, 2007) - Veteran Mike Skinner literally wore out the field Saturday as he drove his Toyota Tundra Toyota to victory in a record-breaking performance at Martinsville Speedway.

Starting from the Budweiser Pole, Skinner gave up the lead just once when pitting under caution and led a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series record 246 laps – including the final 172 – to capture the Kroger 250.

The victory, worth $54,200, was Skinner’s third in a row making the Susanville, Calif. driver the first to string three consecutive wins on two occasions.

Skinner, 49, was the first of four drivers to “three-peat” in 1996 – a season after becoming the series first champion.

He also became just the second driver to win twice at Martinsville in duplicating his 1996 victory.

“I can count on my one hand the number of times in 30 years that I’ve had a truck (or car) that dominant,” said Skinner, whose performance was witnessed by an estimated at 45,200 – largest in the series’ 13-year history at the track currently celebrating its 60th anniversary.

Saturday’s race saw three former champions – and the current top three in the point standings –finish first through third. Todd Bodine, despite suffering flu-like symptoms, rode the winner’s tailgate from the 82nd lap but fell .527 second – about two truck lengths – short in a green-white-checker finish that followed the race’s 15th caution.

Bodine, who trails Skinner by 94 points in the standings after the season’s fourth of 25 races, brought his Lumber Liquidators Toyota from a start of 28th in the 36-truck field.

Rick Crawford, winner of the race in 2004, finished third in his Power Stroke Diesel by International Ford with Kevin Harvick’s Camper World Chevrolet and Ted Musgrave’s Team ASE/Germain Toyota completing the top five.

Ron Hornaday Jr., Raybestos Rookie of the Year candidates Aaron Fike and Tyler Walker, Timothy Peters and Johnny Benson were sixth through 10th as the first 20 finishers completed all 253 laps around the flat, .526-mile oval.

With caution consuming 85 laps – two shy of the Martinsville series record – Skinner averaged just 61.753 mph for the 133.08-mile distance. He earlier set a qualifying record of 95.985 mph.

Musgrave and Chad McCumbee were the race’s only other leaders, heading laps 75 and 76 through 81, respectively after Skinner made his only pit stop.

Skinner’s victory was Toyota’s third straight at Martinsville and the fourth of the 2007 season.

The series takes nearly a month off before heading to Kansas Speedway for the April 28 O’Reilly Auto Parts 250.

Complete race results and point standings in the Event News Archive section below...

Event News Archive

3/28: Entry List (PDF)

3/30: Rookie Practice Speed Chart (PDF)

3/30: First Practice Speed Chart (PDF)

3/30: Final Practice Speed Chart (PDF)

3/30: Qualifying Order (PDF)

3/31: Qualifying Results (PDF)

3/31: Starting Lineup (PDF)

3/31: Race Results (PDF)

3/31: Point Standings (PDF)

Fast Facts
The Race: Kroger 250
The Place: Martinsville Speedway
The Date: March 31
Green Flag: 4 p.m. AT, 3 p.m. ET
TV: FOX 4 p.m. AT, 3 p.m. ET
Track Layout: .526-mile oval
Race Purse: $504,661
2006 Winner: David Starr
2006 Pole: Bobby Hamilton Jr.
Schedule (Local Times): Friday — Practice 12:10 p.m. – p.m. (rookies); 1 p.m. – 2 p.m. and 2:20 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. (live on SPEED); Saturday – Qualifying 11:10 a.m.
Pre-Race Point Standings: click here (PDF)

Television

• Practice: Friday, March 30 (SPEED at 2 p.m. AT, 1 p.m. ET)
• Race: Friday, March 31 (FOX at 4 p.m. AT, 3 p.m. ET)

Pre-Race Notes

• No driver has competed in all 16 races at Martinsville. Rick Crawford and Dennis Setzer lead all drivers with 14 starts.
• The winner of the Kroger 250 has never won that season’s championship.
• A record-matching seven former series champions boasting 10 titles and 122 victories will compete in this week’s race. They are Mike Skinner (1995), Ron Hornaday Jr. (1996, 98), Jack Sprague (1997, 99, 01), Mike Bliss (2002), Travis Kvapil (2003), Ted Musgrave (2005) and Todd Bodine (2006).
• After a nearly seven-year hiatus, the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series will return to network television this weekend. Saturday’s Kroger 250 will air live on FOX, the first time the series has appeared on the network. The series will make another apperarance on FOX May 26 at Mansfield Motorsports Park. The remaining 23 races on the schedule are broadcast live by SPEED. The last time the series was seen on network television was July 15, 2000. CBS broadcast the Chevy Silverado 200 from Nazareth Speedway, which was won by Dennis Setzer.
• Martinsville Speedway has played an important role in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series since the series’ inception in 1995. In the first race at the track, Joe Ruttman edged Mike Skinner (No. 5 Toyota Tundra Toyota) by one second to take the victory. Skinner eventually got the last laugh, winning the season’s final two races to take the first series championship. Twelve years later, Martinsville is one of four tracks that has hosted the series each season (along with The Milwaukee Mile, O’Reilly Raceway Park and Phoenix International Raceway). When the track was awarded a second date in 2003, it became the second track (with Texas Motor Speedway) to have two races. Atlanta Motor Speedway became the third track with two races in 2005.
• There have been 15 different winners in the 16 races at the track. Dennis Setzer (No. 75 Spears Manufacturing Chevrolet) is the track’s only repeat winner.
• Toyota drivers have won all three races this season, putting Toyota on top of the manufacturers’ championship standings. Toyota trucks swept both races at Martinsville last year, the first time a manufacturer has won both season stops at the track.

Photo Gallery


Mike Skinner leads en route to victory at Martinsville Speedway.


Skinner did a series of donuts on the narrow front stretch to celebrate his win.


Victory Lane visit number three for Skinner in 07 - of the four races run...

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