Thursday, March 31st
11:00 AM NCWTS HAULERS ENTER & UNLOAD
11:30 AM NCWTS REGISTRATION OPENS
12:00 PM NCWTS GARAGE OPENS
3:00 PM NCWTS HAULERS EXIT INFIELD
4:30 PM NCWTS GARAGE & REGISTRATION CLOSES
5:00 PM NSCS HAULERS ENTER

Friday, April 1st
6:30 AM *** HOT PASS IN EFFECT *** (ENTIRE INFIELD AREA)
9:30 AM NCWTS GARAGE & REGISTRATION OPENS
10:00 AM NCWTS ROOKIE & SPOTTER MEETINGS & RANDOM DRAWING ORDER
11:00 AM - 12:20 PM NCWTS PRACTICE
2:10 PM - 3:20 PM NCWTS FINAL PRACTICE
4:00 PM NCWTS REGISTRATION CLOSES
5:00 PM NCWTS GARAGE CLOSES

Saturday, April 2nd
7:30 AM ***HOT PASS IN EFFECT***(ENTIRE INFIELD AREA)
8:00 AM NCWTS GARAGE & REGISTRATION OPENS
10:40 AM NCWTS QUALIFYING ( TWO LAPS, ALL POSITIONS)
11:45 AM NCWTS DRIVER/CREW CHIEF MEETING (GOODYEAR TENT)
1:30 PM NCWTS DRIVERS INTRODUCTION - SECURITY–CLEAR PIT ROAD
2:00 PM NCWTS RACE (250 LAPS, 131.5 MILES)
2:30 PM NCWTS REGISTRATION CLOSES

Note: All times are listed in local / Eastern Time Zone and are tentative, subject to change.

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series -- Race No. 4 – Kroger 250
Martinsville Speedway (0.526-mile oval) – Martinsville, Va.
Fast Facts for April 1-3, 2011

Tire:
Goodyear Wrangler Short Track Radials

Number of Tires:
Left-side -- 400
Right-side -- 400

Set limits:
4 sets for weekend

Tire Codes:
Left-side -- D-4434
Right-side -- D-4436

Tire Circumference:
Left-side -- 87.2 in.
Right-side -- 88.5 in.

Technical Inspection Inflation:
Left Front -- 25 psi; Left Rear -- 25 psi
Right Front -- 25 psi; Right Rear -- 25 psi

Minimum Recommended Inflation:
Left Front -- 10 psi; Left Rear -- 10 psi
Right Front -- 23 psi; Right Rear -- 22 psi

Notes:
Teams in both NASCAR series in action this weekend will run the same tire codes, though the Sprint Cup tires will be branded "Goodyear Eagle," while the Camping World Truck tires will be branded "Goodyear Wrangler"...this is the first time these teams have run either of these two tire codes...compared to what was run at Martinsville last year, this left-side tire features a tougher compound, while this right-side tire features a softer compound for more grip... as on most NASCAR ovals one mile or less in length, teams will not run inner liners in their tires at Martinsville.(Goodyear PR)(4-1-2011)

Truck Series News & Notes - Martinsville Speedway

Many Exciting Moments Led Up To Martinsville's 25th NCWTS Race
Going south -- to the heart of NASCAR country -- was among challenges facing the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series in 1995. How would the sport's core fans accept pickup truck racing?
No need to worry. Fans packed the stands at Bristol, Tenn., Richmond, Va., North Wilkesboro, N.C. and Martinsville, Va. Martinsville remains one of the most popular stops, hosting its 25th event, the Kroger 250, on Saturday.
Here's a look back at notable races held on the .526-mile oval:

• In 1995 champion-to-be Mike Skinner and NASCAR Sprint Cup Series giant Geoff Bodine ran ferocious literally down to the white flag. The pair tangled in the track's fourth turn, handing the victory to Joe Ruttman.
• Jimmy Hensley grew up a few miles south of Martinsville Speedway and was a favorite son from the day he turned his first laps. Hensley appeared headed for a popular victory in 1998 -- until being spun between Turns 1 and 2 by Ron Hornaday Jr. Hensley recovered, spun Hornaday and Jay Sauter got the victory. Patience was rewarded the following year as Hensley became the Kroger 250 winner.
• It's rare any race is won from a provisional starting position especially on a track as tight as Martinsville. But Dennis Setzer, slotted 33rd in 2002 after his truck failed a post-qualifying inspection, became the first in series history to go from add-on to Victory Lane.
• There were doubts right up to race week whether Rick Crawford, his leg broken in a spectacular accident at Atlanta Motor Speedway several weeks before, would even start the 2004 Kroger 250. Tough-as-nails Crawford, however, qualified third, took the lead for the first time on lap 53 and edged Setzer by 0.365 second to claim his third series victory.
• Bobby Hamilton Racing moved its operations to Martinsville a season after the untimely passing of its founder and former series champion in 2007. In storybook fashion, Setzer won the 2008 Kroger 250 for Hamilton's widow, Lori, posting the 20th and final victory for BHR.
• Timothy Peters, a hometown favorite like previous Martinsville winners Hensley and Jon Wood, won the 2009 Kroger 200, becoming the sixth driver to record a first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series victory at the speedway.
• Hornaday, the series' most successful short-track driver, came up empty a record 16 times at Martinsville before winning the 2010 Kroger 200.

Kroger 250 Offers New Insights For Sunoco Rookie Contenders
Martinsville Speedway has a reputation for “schooling” rookie drivers, the majority of which, ironically, come to the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series via short-track competition.
Increased weight and horsepower and radial tires make trucks considerably different from late model and modified cars, turning the venue into a completely different short-track equation that some have mastered and many -- especially in the spring -- have left shaking their heads.
Here's a Martinsville Kroger 250 Sunoco Rookie of the Year snapshot over the past 10 seasons:

• Travis Kvapil matched a Martinsville rookie best with a second-place finish in 2001. Two seasons later Kvapil was the series champion.
• Since 2001, Carl Edwards has the only other top-five finish, a fourth in 2003.
• Two drivers, Aaron Fike and Tyler Walker, finished 7th and 8th in 2007 -- the only time in the 10 races two rookies have had top-10 finishes.
• Austin Dillon (No. 3 Bass Pro Shops/Remington/Tracker Boats Chevrolet) was 16th a year ago but went on to win two races and seven poles.

NCWTS Etc.
Green Light Racing has fielded at least one truck in 249 consecutive races. The Kroger 250 will mark No. 250. The streak began Feb. 16, 2001 when Bobby Dotter -- who continues to hold a managerial position with the team -- finished 14th at Daytona. ... Other Martinsville milestones: Hornaday goes for his 136th top-five finish to match Jack Sprague's NCWTS career record. Defending Kroger 250 winner Kevin Harvick (No. 2 Tide/Kroger Chevrolet) bids for his 50th series top 10. With a victory, Todd Bodine (No. 30 Germain.com Toyota) would match Setzer's record for most consecutive seasons (eight) with at least one win. ... Hornaday, age 52, has won 12 times since turning 50. A second consecutive Martinsville victory would match Ruttman's career total -- most in any NASCAR national series by a driver age 50 or older. Hornaday's crew chief, Jeff Hensley, is a Martinsville-area native. His 10 series victories include Mike Skinner's Martinsville sweep in 2007. ... Kevin Harvick Inc. goes for a third consecutive Martinsville victory, unprecedented since the track scheduled a second race in 2003. ... Turn One Racing's crew chief Marcus Richmond (who backs Whitt) also calls Martinsville Speedway his home track hailing from nearby Leasburg, N.C.

Truck Series News & notes - Open Week, March 22, 2011

International Flavor In 2011 For NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series racing has gone international in 2011, boasting a trio of foreign-born competitors who are competing full time.
Italy's Max Papis and Brazil's Miguel Paludo and Nelson Piquet Jr. continue a tradition that dates to the series' very first race in 1995 at Phoenix International Raceway.
Canada's Jerry Churchill was the first foreign-born competitor to take a NCWTS green flag, finishing 23rd in the inaugural race. The Churchill family, Jerry and Randy, made history several months later at Bristol Motor Speedway, becoming the first father and son to compete in the same race.

• More than 30 different foreign-born drivers have competed in NASCAR Camping World Truck races. Not surprisingly, the majority hail from Canada.
• Thirteen different countries are represented on the driver roster including Chile, India and Japan.
• The most successful foreign-born driver is Canada's Ron Fellows, a two-time winner at Watkins Glen International, most recently in 1999. Fellows and current NASCAR Sprint Cup competitor Marcos Ambrose are the only non-U.S. born drivers to win a series pole.
• Canadian Randy MacDonald, who currently fields a NASCAR Nationwide Series team, has competed in the most NCWTS races -- 94. MacDonald and his sister, Teri, are the only brother and sister to compete in the same event, at Memphis in 2002.

Papis, who has competed fulltime in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, is off to the best start, ranking ninth in the standings after three races. Paludo owns the best finish -- fourth in the season opener at Daytona. Piquet's best finish, sixth, came in his series debut at Daytona in 2010.
"I took a lot gambles to come over and race NASCAR,"said Papis. "I made a promise to my father that I would do this, become the first ever Italian racer besides Mario Andretti to race and win in NASCAR. I am a determined guy and I will make this happen this year."

Martinsville: First Of Season's Five Short Track Races
Martinsville Speedway's 25th running of one of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series' longest-standing events on April 2 marks a return to the series' roots. Martinsville is one of only four tracks on the 2011 schedule that were part of the series' inaugural season in which 15 of 20 races were contested on tracks of less than one mile in length.
Five short track races are scheduled in 2011, the first being next week's Kroger 250.
How challenging is Martinsville? Consider:

• Ron Hornaday Jr. has won the most short track races in series history -- 22 -- but needed 17 tries to finally conquer Martinsville last fall.
• Kyle Busch has won three consecutive NCWTS races at Bristol but is 0-for-7 at Martinsville. Busch finished second in October.
• Todd Bodine has started 14 NCWTS races at Martinsville without a victory. Five former series champions have won at Martinsville. Five have not.
• Joe Ruttman, age 50 when he won the inaugural Kroger 250 in 1995, didn't know it at the time but he was a trend-setter. Hornaday, Jimmy Hensley and Mike Skinner also are post-50 Martinsville winners. Conversely, Jon Wood, Jamie McMurray and Timothy Peters are the only drivers under the age of 30 to post a Martinsville victory.

NCWTS Etc.
With a victory, Hornaday can match Joe Ruttman's NCWTS record for most wins by a driver 50 years and older (13). That's the most wins by any over-50 driver in a NASCAR national series. ... Johnny Sauter and his wife Cortney are expecting their second child, due the Monday following Martinsville. ... Johanna Long recently helped celebrate Women's History Week at Naval Air Station Pensacola. Her fellow panel members included a NASA astronaut. ... Dakoda Armstrong, a 19-year-old, fourth generation farmer from New Castle, Ind., will join ThorSport Racing as teammate to Crafton and Sauter. Armstrong and his family are one of the Midwest's largest producers of corn for ethanol ...700,000 bushels equaling 1.9 million gallons annually. The 2010 ARCA rookie of the year expects to make his debut on July 16 at Iowa Speedway. NASCAR introduced Sunoco Green E15 fuel across all three national series in 2011. ... Joey Coulter is spending the back-to-back open weeks on the schedule focusing on his classes at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. He's a mechanical engineering student and says his courses are helping him in his racing and his relationship with his crew chief and engineer.(NASCAR Integrated Marketing Communications)(3-22-2011)

Truck Series News & notes - Open Week, March 15, 2011

Buescher Buries Phoenix Disappointment With Solid Darlington Finish
James Buescher was down, but assuredly is not out, following his fifth-place finish in last Saturday's race at Darlington Raceway.
Buescher's failure to qualify at Phoenix International Raceway lit a fire under the 20-year-old Texan, who went to last weekend's third of 25 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races with more than a little to prove. And prove it he did.

• As at Daytona International Speedway, Buescher put his truck at the head of the field, leading six laps. He's now led 61 laps over his two starts.
• Buescher's Darlington finish enabled him to gain 13 spots in the championship standings. He stands 11th, 44 points behind leader Matt Crafton.
• Rebounding is nothing new for Buescher, who wasn't slated to run the full schedule in 2010. He spotted his rivals three early races then came within 37 points of cracking the top 10 on the strength of six top-five and 10 top-10 finishes.

Buescher, who turns 21 a week before the April 2 Kroger 250 at Martinsville Speedway, is on the cusp of claiming his first NASCAR Camping World Truck victory, having finished second twice, including a heart-breaking, quarter-second loss to Kyle Busch (No. 18 Toyota), who made the winning pass on the final restart last fall at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Whitt Bests Illustrious Company With Flashy Rookie Start
Cole Whitt has gone where no Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender has gone before.
The Californian ranks second in the championship standings following Darlington Raceway's Too Tough To Tame 200 -- the highest ever by a freshman after the season's first three races. The previous best ranking was third by five rookies including current NASCAR Sprint Cup Series competitors Kurt Busch and David Reutimann.
The 19-year-old Whitt certainly has turned heads in just four NASCAR Camping World Truck Series appearances capped by a pole position performance and eighth-place finish at Darlington. Whitt headed the field twice, marking the first laps he's led in the series.
Whitt was the only rookie to record a top-10 finish at Darlington, backing up a run of sixth at Phoenix International Raceway.

• "As a person, he's just a racer," says Turn One Racing owner Stacy Compton. "That's what I really like about him.  He just wants to eat, sleep, and breathe racing. It translates on the race track. He doesn't worry about the trivial things. It's "what can we do to go faster?'" 

The 2008 U.S. Auto Club national midget champion isn't the only competitor who continues to exceed pre-season expectations.
Clay Rogers remains among the top five in the points standings. Rogers and his lightly sponsored team ranked first after the Daytona season opener and currently hold third. Max Papis is ninth following his third consecutive lead lap finish. Jeffrey Earnhardt is the second rookie to rank among the top 10 in the No. 10 position.

Forget Champions' Slow Start Because Here They Come
After slow starts, it looks like runner-up finisher at Darlington Ron Hornaday Jr. and third-place Todd Bodine have rebounded.

• For Hornaday, the series' only four-time champion, the finish was his second consecutive top five. He placed third at Phoenix.
• Bodine, stung by a pair of season-opening finishes outside the top 10, posted his best run since last fall at Martinsville, six races ago.
• Both beat points leader Crafton, who finished fourth. Hornaday moved from 10th to fifth in the standings; defending champion Bodine from 12th to seventh.

NCWTS Etc.
Turner Motorsports has signed Exide Technologies as primary sponsor for 10 races. James Buescher will carry the company's colors in eight events; Mark Martin in two at Michigan and Pocono. Buescher is entered in Saturday's NASCAR Nationwide Series Scotts EZ Seed 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway. ...Mike Skinner and his wife Angie will present their Fifth Annual Toyota Skinner Roundup in Daytona Beach March 16-17 at Daytona International Speedway and Spruce Creek Country Club. The event has raised more the $500,000 for various Volusia County charities. ...Ron Hornaday Jr.'s 193rd top-10 finish eclipsed the record he shared with Jack Sprague. He needs three more top fives to break Sprague's mark of 135. ...Timothy Peters is the only driver after three races to rank among the top three in 2010 and 2011. Peters was first a year ago and currently is third.(NASCAR Integrated Marketing Communications)(3-15-2011)