NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series News & Notes – Martinsville Speedway

NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series
Next Race: Boys And Girls Club Of The Blue Ridge 200
The Place: Martinsville Speedway
Track Length: 0.526 Mile Asphalt Oval
The Date: Friday, March 28
The Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
The Purse: $782,900
TV: FS1, 7:30 p.m. ET
Radio: NRN, SiriusXM NASCAR (Channel 90)
Distance: 105.2 miles (200 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 50),
Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 100), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 200)

Where To Watch NASCAR This Week:

Friday, March 28

NCTS Practice & Kennametal Pole Qualifying (FS2 at 2 p.m. ET)

NXS Practice & Kennametal Pole Qualifying (The CW App at 4:30 p.m. ET)

NCTS Race: Boys And Girls Club Of The Blue Ridge 200 (FS1, NRN, SiriusXM at 7:30 p.m. ET)

Saturday, March 29

NCS Practice & Busch Light Pole Qualifying (Amazon Prime, MRN, SiriusXM at 2 p.m. ET)

NXS Race: US Marine Corps 250 (The CW, MRN, SiriusXM at 5 p.m. ET)

Sunday, March 30

NCS Race: Cook Out 400 (FS1, MRN, SiriusXM at 3 p.m. ET)

Martinsville Storylines and Insights:

This weekend will be the 49th running of a NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race at Martinsville Speedway (1995-2025).
49 Truck Series races at Martinsville are the second-most held at a track in the series, behind only Texas with 50.
Triple Truck Challenge starts at Martinsville, win one race win $50K, win two races and bank $150K, but win all three races and pocket a $500K bonus.
This weekend’s race is the ﬁrst of seven short track races in 2025 for the CRAFTSMAN Truck Series.
Martinsville, along with Phoenix, are the only two tracks the CRAFTSMAN Truck Series has raced on in every season since its inception in 1995.
The last three Martinsville races have seen a driver sweep both stages and then go on to win (Corey Heim – 2023, Christian Eckes – both 2024 races).
There have been four drivers to sweep both stages and win at Martinsville, tied with Kansas for the most at any track in the CRAFTSMAN Truck Series.
Grant Enﬁnger ﬁnished top-10 in the last nine races, this is the longest of his career.
Layne Riggs was the ﬁnal lead change in the last two races (33 laps to go at Las Vegas, 2 to go at Miami).
Corey Heim became the youngest driver to reach 13 wins two weeks ago at Las Vegas.
Corey Heim has won double the races of any other driver since the start of 2024.
Corey Heim has won six of the last eight rain-eﬀected Truck races including the last four.
Corey Heim has led 129 laps this season, 90 more than any other series regular. Heim is the only driver to lead all four races this season.
There have been 83 lead changes in the ﬁrst four CRAFTSMAN Truck Series races, the most through four races in series history.
26 drivers have led a lap in 2025, the most diﬀerent leaders through four races in series history.
The last 18 races ended at the scheduled distance, the second longest streak without overtime, the record is 20 races.
Three of the four drivers in the Championship 4 Round in 2024, are top 4 in points in 2025, only one missing is Christian Eckes, who moved to the Xﬁnity Series.
Spire Motorsports and TRICON have won all four Truck Series races in 2025.
Seven diﬀerent Stage winners in the ﬁrst four Truck Series races of 2025 is the most ever.
Four teams have won the pole in the ﬁrst four races of 2025, the ﬁrst time this has happened since 2015.
This is Stewart Friesen’s best start to a season since 2022.
Ford only has one win in the last 15 Martinsville races (Grant Enﬁnger – Oct 2020).
The Martinsville qualifying track record was set in this race last season (97.523 mph).

Luke Baldwin Bio

Running three races for ThorSport Racing in 2025.
Son of former Cup Series Crew Chief and car owner Tommy Baldwin Jr.
Four starts in Whelen modiﬁed tour, with three top-10s including a seventh at Martinsville.
2024 Smart Modiﬁed tour winner.

Patrick Staropoli Bio

Made one Truck start at Homestead-Miami in 2016, ﬁnished 31^st.
Attempting to make Xﬁnity Series debut this weekend in addition to second Truck start.
Making first Martinsville Speedway start in any series.
Finished eighth in ARCA Menards Series race at Phoenix Raceway in 3/25.
Is a board-certiﬁed medical and surgical retina specialist who practices for Retina Consultants of Texas in Houston.

Triple Truck Challenge Rundown:

2025 Triple Truck Challenge features three races: Martinsville (March 28th), Bristol (April 11th) and Rockingham (April 18th).
All Truck Series drivers are eligible; however, the Triple Truck Challenge will not be open to NASCAR Xﬁnity Series or NASCAR Cup Series regulars who participate in the races.
The highest finishing full-time CRAFTSMAN Truck Series driver of the race will receive a $50k bonus.
If a driver wins the Triple Truck Challenge in two of the three events, they are awarded $150,000 total.
If a driver wins the Triple Truck Challenge in all three designated events, they win $500k in total prize money.
Since its inception into the CRAFTSMAN Truck Series in 2019, the Triple Truck Challenge has awarded $950,000 in bonus prize money.

Former Triple Truck Challenge Winners:

2019 Winners: Texas: Greg Biﬄe ($50k), Iowa: Brett Moﬃtt ($50k), Gateway: Ross Chastain ($50k).
2020 Winners: Daytona RC and Gateway: Sheldon Creed ($150k), Dover: Zane Smith ($50k).
2021 Winners: Darlington: Sheldon Creed ($50k), COTA: Todd Gilliland ($50k), Charlotte: John H. Nemechek ($50k).
2022 Winners: Gateway: Corey Heim ($50K), Nashville: Ryan Preece ($50K), Mid-Ohio: Parker Kligerman ($50K).
2023 Winners: Charlotte: Ben Rhodes ($50K), Gateway: Grant Enﬁnger ($50K), Nashville: Carson Hocevar ($50K).
2024 Winners: Charlotte: Nick Sanchez ($50K), Gateway: Corey Heim ($50K), Nashville: Christian Eckes ($50K)

NASCAR & Martinsville, Etc.

Historical & Significant Events at Martinsville Speedway:

Opened in September of 1947 by Henry Clay Earles, Martinsville Speedway, originally a dirt track, is one of the oldest continuously-operating race tracks in the United States.
Located at an overgrown 30 acre cornfield just outside Martinsville. Construction of the track was soon underway in 1947 and ended up costing $60,000.
The first NASCAR-sanctioned race at Martinsville Speedway was on July 4, 1948.
The first NASCAR Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway was on September 25, 1949, and was a 200 lap (100 mile) race that was won by NASCAR Hall of Famer Red Byron driving an Oldsmobile for car owner Raymond Parks.
The track was paved during the summer months of 1955. The first race at the track that season was on dirt (May 15) and the second race of the year was the first on the paved track (Oct. 16). Prior to paving the track, the Cup Series ran 12 races total on the dirt at Martinsville (1949-1955).
The first 500-lap (250 mile) event at Martinsville Speedway was in 1956 and was won by NASCAR Hall of Famer Buck Baker from the pole position. Baker was driving a 1956 Dodge for car owner Carl Kiekhaefer.
In 1964 Earles decided it was time for a different type of trophy for race winners. His choice was a grandfather clock produced by nearby Ridgeway Clock Company. On September 27, 1964, Earles awarded the first clock trophy to Fred Lorenzen, the winner of the Old Dominion 500 that afternoon.
Richard Petty has the most clocks with 12 (he won three times at Martinsville prior to the introduction of the clock). Darrell Waltrip won 11, while Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson each have 9 clocks.
Concrete corners were added atop asphalt in 1976 at Martinsville Speedway.
International Speedway Corporation (now NASCAR) purchased the privately owned Martinsville Speedway in 2004 for $192 million.
In the past 20 years the track has stepped up its investment in improvements and additions to establish the once dusty ½ mile dirt track on 30 acres into a modern facility encompassing over 300 acres.
In 2017, lights were added to Martinsville Speedway. The project cost an estimated $5 million to complete.
In total, there have been 152 NASCAR Cup Series points-paying races at Martinsville Speedway, one in the inaugural year and two races per year since 1950.
Martinsville Speedway, at 152 NASCAR Cup Series points-paying races, has hosted the second-most points paying events all-time, behind only Daytona International Speedway at 156.