After two weeks off, the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series returns to action at the famous “Half-Mile Paperclip,” Martinsville Speedway. The 2018 truck series has been action packed so far with three races and three different winners. And there’s a good possibility there could be a fourth different winner in 2018.
Currently, there are 36 trucks entered on the preliminary entry list. Here’s a look at who to watch for this weekend at Martinsville.
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- Johnny Sauter – In three races, Sauter is the highest active driver leading the way in stats. He won this race in 2016 and has three top fives and three top 10 finishes, along with 145 laps led. He also has an average start of 3.7 and an average finish of 2.0, not bad for the 2016 truck series champion. In the spring race, Sauter finished second to his teammate and race winner Chase Elliott. Expect Sauter to be up front and challenging for the win.
- Noah Gragson – Gragson has made two starts at Martinsville and is the defending race winner the last time trucks visited at Martinsville. The other finish the No. 18 Switch Tundra driver has is ninth after starting fourth in the spring race. He has also led 10 laps.
- John Hunter Nemechek – Nemechek’s 2018 truck season hasn’t been great so far for the Mooresville, North Carolina native. In two starts, he has finishes of 25th and 21st respectively, at Daytona and Las Vegas. Even though his recent Martinsville outings haven’t been too stellar, Nemechek does have a finish of third in 2016 after starting 12th. He’ll be looking to turn around his season this weekend at Martinsville by possibly finishing in the top 10 or collecting a win.
- Matt Crafton – Just like Sauter, Crafton is expected to be challenging for the win week in and week out. He has two victories at Martinsville which came in 2014 and 2015. However, in the last three races, he has finishes of second, ninth and 17th, respectively. Crafton’s recent finish was second in the fall race and he finished ninth in last year’s springs race. He has led 102 laps with an average start of 5.7 and an average finish of 9.3. After a disappointing finish at Las Vegas due to brakes and losing the lead and the eventual race win last fall, Crafton will be hungry and be searching for his first checkered flag of the season.
- Timothy Peters – Peters returns this weekend to drive the No. 92 truck of Ricky Benton Racing Enterprises. It will be his first race of the 2018 season. He made his first ever Martinsville start back in 2005 driving the No. 4 Dodge of Bobby Hamilton Racing and finished 18th after starting 25th. Since then, his Martinsville finishes have varied but Peters does have one win that came back in 2009 after starting 11th and led 84 laps. Peters did attempt the spring race last year and finished eighth after starting third.
Live coverage of the Truck Series starts Friday afternoon with two practice sessions live on Fox Sports 1. The first practice is scheduled for 11:05 a.m. ET with the final practice at 1:05 p.m. ET. Qualifying is slated for 11:05 a.m. ET on FS1 with race coverage beginning at 2:00 p.m. ET live on FS1 and MRN Radio.
