Coordinated by Toyota Racing Development (TRD), eight of the top Toyota teams on the Camping World Truck Series circuit congregated inside Motor Mile Speedway Tuesday for a daylong test session in preparation for the Kroger 250 at Martinsville Speedway on March 27. The TRD brain trust included NCWTS points leader Todd Bodine and past champions Johnny Benson and Mike Skinner, along with NASCAR newcomers Brian Ickler and Max Papis. Peters and the Red Horse Racing #17 team were at or near the top of the charts at MMS, with lap times ranging from 15.80 to 16.00 seconds. Benson, the 2008 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion, is one such veteran Peters will contend with next Saturday. Still devoid of a full-time ride in the truck series, Benson is slated to pilot the No. 15 Billy Ballew Motorsports entry at Martinsville. “Our expectations are obviously to go try and win the race, that’s why we do it. Billy’s stuff is good enough and I’ve won races there before so hopefully we can accomplish that goal,” Benson says. “I feel good about Martinsville— I’m excited about it.” Todd Bodine agrees. The No. 30 Germain Racing team had the current points leader dialed in and happy by the end of the session. “We got pretty good; the truck was awesome,” Bodine says. “We’re really pleased with the test. Even though this track is totally different from Martinsville, you learn trends. You learn what changes do what, so when you go to Martinsville you know what changes to make to fix your truck. Trends will work from one track to another, and that’s why we came here to test. “We’re gonna unload at Martinsville with the exact same setup we ran here. It’s really close, and I’m fairly confident it’s gonna be fast.”(Motor Mile Speedway PR)(3-19-2010)
