April 1, 2017
- Happy Hour (final) practice for the STP 500 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway is over, after 50 scheduled minutes, the top five, slowest and notes:
#14-Bowyer 93.863
#18-Busch 93.567
#1-McMurray 95.530
#2-Keselowski 93.525
#31-Newman 95.311
slowest: #51-Hill 90.820 & #33-JEarnhardt 89.765
best 10 consecutive lap average: #18-Busch 92.976
notes: no accidents or incidents
See the fastest speeds, best 10 consecutive lap average, laps run on the Happy Hour Practice speeds page (pdf) (4-1-2017) - First Saturday practice for the STP 500 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway is over, after 55 scheduled minutes, the top five, slowest and notes:
#2-Keselowski 94.406
#31-Newman 94.092
#78-Truex, Jr. 93.835
#22-Logano 93.835
#47-Allmendinger 93.729
slowest: #51-Hill 91.798 & #33-JEarnhardt 90.646
best 10 consecutive lap average: #21-Blaney 92.533mph
notes: no accidents or incidents.
See the fastest speeds, best 10 consecutive lap average, laps run on the Saturday first practice speeds page (pdf) (4-1-2017) - Pit Stall Selections: The selections of pit stalls for the STP 500 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway have been made.
With the field downsized to 40 cars, three pit stalls (21,30,43) have been eliminated, are not in play and don’t count towards driving through more than three pit boxes.
Pole sitter #42-Larson chose pit stall 1, the first stall available [as do most pole sitters].
Outside pole sitter #24-Elliott, Jr. took the second pit stall.
#78-Truex, Jr., who starts 3rd, took the 11th stall, with an opening in front of it.
The final pit stall was taken by #1-McMurray who starts 6th.
To see where the drivers/teams pit stall is, see the pit selection chart on Jayski.com’s Pit Stall Selection chart.(4-1-2017) - Front Row Motorsports undecided on use of third charter: Front Row Motorsports is still “weighing that out” when it comes to potentially expanding to a third car next season. “Obviously, expanding to another team is a big undertaking, not just in dollars but space, people, all of that,” Freeze told RACER. “We’re certainly not – I think – planning on it right now, today. It’s in the back of my mind, for sure.”[More](4-1-2017)
- Changes coming to All-Star race format: Two NASCAR Cup drivers say they believe the All-Star format is nearly set and that fans will “see some exploring done with the formats in that race.” A NASCAR official told NBC Sports that the format is not done. Brad Keselowski told NBC Sports that there has been “consensus and agreement” on a format for the May 20 event at Charlotte Motor Speedway but acknowledged nothing is official until it is announced. Last year’s format was not revealed until 15 days before the event.[More](4-1-2017)
- Polesitter Chase Elliott wins hotly contested Martinsville Truck race:Polesitter Chase Elliott held off defending NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion Johnny Sauter after a restart with 12 laps left and pulled away to win Saturday’s Alpha Energy Solutions 250 at Martinsville Speedway by 1.865 seconds. Elliott grabbed the lead from third-place finisher Christopher Bell on Lap 234, when Bell’s Toyota tangled with Austin Cindric’s Ford through Turns 1 and 2. Bell lost the top spot, and Sauter charged past into the second position before NASCAR threw the 10th and final caution of the race. The decisive move, however, came after the final restart on Lap 239, when Elliott blocked Sauter’s crossover move in Turn 3 and kept the lead.[More](4-1-2017)
- Elliott wins Martinsville Truck race: #23-Chase Elliott won the Alpha Energy Solutions 250 at Martinsville Speedway on Saturday, holding off challenges from #21-Johnny Sauter following a late race restart. #4-Christopher Bell, #18-Noah Gragson, #99-Ty Dillon, #7-Brett Moffitt, #66-Ross Chastain, #17-Timothy Peters, #88-Matt Crafton, and #16-Ryan Truex were the remainder of the top-10.
There were 10 caution flags for 63 laps and four lead changes among 3 leaders.
See results on the Martinsville race results page(4-1-2017) - Stage Information:
Stage 1 – 70 laps – Winner, #23-Chase Elliott
Stage 2 – 140 laps – Winner, #21-Johnny Sauter
Stage 3 – 250 laps – Race winner, # #23-Chase Elliott - Martinsville Truck Series Race Fast Facts:
Chase Elliott(i) won the 19th Annual Alpha Energy Solutions 250, his second victory in 12 NASCAR
Camping World Truck Series races.
This is his first victory and second top-10 finish in 2017.
This is his first victory and third top-10 finish in four races at Martinsville Speedway.
Johnny Sauter (second) posted his 10th top-10 finish in 19 races at Martinsville Speedway. It is his
second top-10 finish in 2017.
Christopher Bell (third) posted his second top-10 finish in three races at Martinsville Speedway.
Noah Gragson (fourth) was the highest finishing rookie.
Johnny Sauter leads the point standings by 4 points over Christopher Bell.
(NASCAR Statistics)(4-1-2017) - Truck Series point standings following Martinsville:
1) #21-Johnny Sauter, 140
2) #4-Christopher Bell, 136, -4
3) #88-Matt Crafton, 117, -23
4) #17-Timothy Peters, 110, -30
5) #33-Kaz Grala, 103, -37
6) #27-Ben Rhodes, 103, -37
7) #29-Chase Briscoe, 93, -47
8) #98-Grant Enfinger, 84, -56
9) #92-Regan Smith, 81, -59
10) #7-Brett Moffitt, 73, -67
See complete standings on Driver points standings page and the owner’s standings are posted on the Owner points standings page.(4-1-2017) - Free Pass – Who got a lap back on each caution at Martinsville: (and their finish)
Caution 1: none
Caution 2: #49-Chavous, 23rd
Caution 3: #16-Truex, 10th
Caution 4: #92-Smith, 12th
Caution 5: #66-Chastain, 7th
Caution 6: #63-Donahue, 14th
Caution 7: #75-Holman, 22nd
Caution 8: #13-Coughlin, 19th
Caution 9: #49-Chavous, 23rd
Caution 10: #63-Donahue, 14th
(4-1-2017) - Elliott on Truck pole at Martinsville: #23-Chase Elliott won the pole for Saturday’s Alpha Energy Solutions 250 at Martinsville Speedway. #21-Johnny Sauter will start alongside on row one. The remainder of the top 10: #17-Timothy Peters, #88-Matt Crafton, #66-Ross Chastain, #4-Christopher Bell, #51-Harrison Burton, #29-Chase Briscoe, #18-Noah Gragson and #98-Grant Enfinger.
Failed to qualify: #6-Norm Benning, #10-Charles Buchanan, Jr., and #22-Austin Wayne Self.
The starting lineup is posted on the Martinsville starting lineup page](4-1-2017) - Martinsville Truck Qualifying Fast Facts:
Chase Elliott(i) won the Keystone Light Pole Award for the 19th Annual Alpha Energy Solutions 250
with a lap of 19.943 seconds, 94.951 mph.
This is his third pole in 12 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races.
This is his first pole and second top-10 start in 2017.
This is his second pole in four races at Martinsville Speedway.
Johnny Sauter (second) posted his third top-10 start of 2017 and his 14th in 19 races at Martinsville
Speedway.
Timothy Peters (third) posted his 14th top-10 start at Martinsville Speedway. It is his third in three
races this season.
Chase Briscoe (eighth) was the fastest qualifying rookie.
(NASCAR Statistics)(4-1-2017) - Talladega offers “biggest and best” concession options: Talladega Superspeedway has the reputation of being NASCAR’s Biggest and Baddest track, thanks to heart-pounding, three- and four-wide racing, but when it comes to delicious food, the track offers the “Biggest and Best” with “The Big One” Meatball and Talla-Mento Dogwich. Both items will be offered at various concession stands during the track’s triple-header race weekend, May 5-7.[More](4-1-2017)
- Hawg Heaven Burro Grande debuts at Texas: Once again Texas Motor Speedway and Levy Restaurants have put on their thinking caps to amaze their fans with another creation for them to enjoy at the O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 weekend. Fans can cure their need for a bacon-infused treat this April by enjoying the newest member of the best concession items in motorsports – the Hawg Heaven Burro Grande.[More](4-1-2017)
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