Logano Remains Perfect at Martinsville -- Wins Kroger 250

Credit:  Steve Helber/AP

MARTINSVILLE, VA - RIS - Joey Logano remained perfect at Martinsville Speedway by winning the Kroger 250 Camping World Truck Series race.  Logano had already won the pole position for Sunday's STP 500 Sprint Cup race and the pole for the Kroger 250.  His win in the Kroger 230 makes him 3-3 with one more race to go on Sunday. 

Logano passed Matt Crafton on the frist lap of overtime to claim 'a victory in a race the two drivers dominated.  Crafton finished second, but there is a bigger story to tell. Crafton led 100 laps to Logano's 150 on the day.  The finish came after a wild near-ending in which 17-year-old Cole Custer slammed into the back of Crafton's truck in the first turn with five laps to go, sending both Crafton and Logano wide while Custer darted underneath for the lead.

"I was going to punt him off two but I drove in too hard and I couldn't stop so I hit him a little bit too hard," Custer said, "but it worked so I knew he was going to come back and nudge me a little bit. He did it respectfully."

Then it came down to Logano and Crafton.

"I was honestly a little bit worried because it would take my truck four or five laps to get going, but all in all, not a bad day," Crafton, the two-time defending series champion, said. "His shot was going to be getting down there in turn one and he lagged back just enough and got a good run on us. I felt that I had a decent restart there but man, I have no idea. He came like a shot out of a cannon right there and went by us."

Logano wasn't sure how much car he had left.

"I just had a good restart. Tires hooked up well," he said. "I prepped them good down the back straightaway and made sure I had them clean enough. I had a good jump and then just drive it in there and hope for the best."

Crafton hung on for second, followed by Erik Jones, Johnny Sauter and Tyler Reddick.

Jones ran in the top five all day and was poised to take advantage if the dueling up front presented an opportunity.  It didn't.

It was a cold blustery day at the track, with the temperature barfely touching 40 degrees.  That held the crowd down, but it still was decent attendance for such a cold day, and a decent finish for a race that became a battle between Logano and Crafton.

Ron Fleshman

RIS NASCAR Editor.  Has been with RIS since the midle 90's. Writes on each of the three main series of NASCAR.

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Volume 2015, Issue 3, Posted 10:05 PM, 03.28.2015