After winning the season opening race at Daytona, Johnny Sauter went to Martinsville and was able to win the race. Sauter had to hold off the charge of his teammate, Matt Crafton, late in the race and he had to continually hold back one of the fiery drivers of the day, Jeb Burton. Also, the race had its fair share of spins, wrecks, bumps, bangs, bent sheetmetal, and, of course, tempers flying. Plus, one driver spun out four times. Yes, four times. It was another Martinsville Truck race that did not fail to disappoint.
The race started out with Jeb Burton on the pole. It was his first career pole in NASCAR. He took the green flag and it was obvious he was going to be one of the contenders on the day. He led until the first caution of the day came out on lap 58. Coming into turn 1, Dakoda Armstrong got into Grant Galloway and Galloway went sliding up the track. He was able to keep it out of the wall and drive away with no damage. Ryan Sieg, who would later make it all the way up to fifth position, received the lucky dog. The race went back green and it was a short time before one of the early contenders in the race fell out.
Coming out of turn 2 on lap 69, debris shot out of the back of German Quiroga's truck and he immediately began to slow for pit road. The second caution flag of the day waved and we were able to diagnose the problem. Quiroga lost a dust cap, which broke an axle and put fluid and debris on the track. He was able to eventually return to the race, but he was a good many laps down. Ryan Blaney received the lucky dog. The race went back green and continued on until the third caution of the day on lap 85. Robert Bruce got into Grant Galloway and Galloway went spinning for the second time of the race. Galloway did not receive any damage and was once again able to continue on. David Starr received the lucky dog. The race went back green and the tempers started to flare.
After the restart, Ron Hornaday was able to get by Jeb Burton for the lead and Burton fell all the way back to seventh spot. Burton began to quickly move up the leaderboard and make it all the way to second. Once he got by Kevin Harvick for second, he set his sights on Ron Hornaday. Coming into turn 3 on lap 104, Jeb Burton dove into the corner and bumped Hornaday. Hornaday went for a spin and backed into the outside wall. He received a good bit of damage and would not contend for the win again. This resulted in the fourth caution of the day. Immediately, it was obvious that Harvick, Hornaday's teammate for the race, was not happy and let Burton know with a hand out the window. Joey Coulter received the lucky dog. The race went green and it was a short time before the fifth caution on lap 111. Debris was spotted on the backstretch. Dakoda Armstrong, who battled for a top 5 spot late in the race, received the lucky dog. After the restart, the greatest save of the day and possibly the season occurred.
Coming out of turn 2 on lap 127, Ross Chastain was above Johnny Sauter, the eventual race winner. Chastain did not realize that he was not past Sauter and went down the track. Sauter could not get out of the way and Chastain hooked on Sauter's nose. Without letting out of the gas, Chastain was able to get off of Sauter's nose and power the truck into turn 3 while almost hitting Chase Elliott. Somehow no trucks spun and the race continued on. Three laps after this the sixth caution of the race occurred on lap 130. Robert Bruce went for a spin in turn 2. He did not receive any damage and continued on. Ron Hornaday, who wrecked earlier in the race, received the lucky dog. The race went back green once again and continued on until the seventh caution on lap 145. Kenny Habul got into Grant Galloway coming into turn 3. Galloway went for his third spin of the day, but was able to keep it out of the wall and keep it going. Devin Jones received the lucky dog. The race went a short time until the eighth caution of the day on lap 155. Ron Hornaday got spun in turn 2 near the pit exit. Most cars were able to avoid, but Tim George Jr. and, of course, Grant Galloway went spinning. None of the drivers received any damage and they were able to continue on. No drivers received the lucky dog. Another close call occurred after this caution.
German Quiroga hit the curb coming into turn 3 on lap 167. His truck went up the track and he got into Devin Jones and Jones went for a spin. Jones blew a tire and he was somehow able to leg the truck around to make it to pit road. The caution did not wave and the race continued on. It went on until the ninth caution on lap 195. Max Gresham got into turn 2 a little hot while trying to pass Dakoda Armstrong. Gresham went for a spin, but he did not receive any damage. Dakoda Armstrong, who just avoided the wreck, received the lucky dog. The race went back green and continued on until the tenth caution on lap 206. Matt Crafton bumped John Wes Townley in turn 4 and Townley went for a spin. He tried to save it, but the truck went up into the wall and received a lot of damage. Ron Hornaday received his second lucky dog of the race. The race went back green and continued on until the eleventh and final caution on lap 228. Kevin Harvick bumped Todd Bodine in turn 3 and Bodine went for a spin. Bodine barely got into the wall and continued on. This set up the field for the final restart of the race.
Jeb Burton started in the lead on the restart and he went side by side with Johnny Sauter into turn 1. Sauter was able to get by Burton and he never looked back. Johnny Sauter easily sailed to his second career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series victory at Martinsville. It was the second time in the history of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series that a driver won back to back races to start the year. Now, Sauter looks like a legitimate contender for this year's championship.
After holding off drivers like Jeb Burton and Matt Crafton the whole race, it was obvious that Johnny Sauter was fighting hard for the win. This left him with the sacred Grandfather Clock that is given to the winner of the race. Sauter looks to take this momentum to a third straight win to start the season at Rockingham. Will he be able to do this or will Kasey Kahne come back and win back to back races at “The Rock”? We will find out this and more at Rockingham next Sunday.
(More Stats Down Below!)
Cautions:
1st Caution: Lap 58- Dakoda Armstrong got into Grant Galloway in turn 1 and Galloway went for a spin.
2nd Caution: Lap 69- Debris was spotted on the track in turn 2.
3rd Caution: Lap 85- Grant Galloway spun out for the second time of the race in turn 2.
4th Caution: Lap 104- Jeb Burton bumped Ron Hornaday while looking for the lead. Hornaday went for a spin and hit the wall.
5th Caution: Lap 111- Debris was spotted on the backstretch.
6th Caution: Lap 130- Robert Bruce spun out in turn 2.
7th Caution: Lap 145- Kenny Habul got into Grant Galloway in turn 3 and Galloway went for the his third spin of the race.
8th Caution: Lap 155- Ron Hornaday got spun in turn 2 near pit exit. Tim George Jr. and Grant Galloway also spun out.
9th Caution: Lap 195- Max Gresham went for a spin in turn 2.
10th Caution: Lap 206- Matt Crafton bumped John Wes Townley and Townley went for a spin. He was unable to keep the truck out of the wall and received a lot of damage.
11th Caution: Lap 228- Kevin Harvick bumped Todd Bodine in turn 3 and Bodine went for a spin.
Lucky Dogs:
1st Caution: Ryan Sieg
2nd Caution: Ryan Blaney
3rd Caution: David Starr
4th Caution: Joey Coulter
5th Caution: Dakoda Armstrong
6th Caution: Ron Hornaday
7th Caution: Devin Jones
8th Caution: None
9th Caution: Dakoda Armstrong
10th Caution: Ron Hornaday
11th Caution: David Starr
Top 5 Finishers:
1st: Johnny Sauter
2nd: Matt Crafton
3rd: Jeb Burton
4th: Timothy Peters
5th: Darrell Wallace Jr.
Notables Not in Top 5:
10th: Ron Hornaday
11th: Todd Bodine
14th: James Buescher
15th: Joey Coulter
18th: Ty Dillon
25th: Kevin Harvick
Credits:
-My Own Notes
-Statistics:
http://racing-reference.info/race/2013-02/C
http://www.nascar.com/content/nascar/en_us/camping-world-truck-series/leaderboard/leaderboard-live.html
-Image:
http://assets.speedtv.com/images/article_assets/112/1127071/1127071_article_img_xlarge2.jpg
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