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Harvick Overpowers Martinsville Truck Field

Martinsville, Va. – Kevin Harvick overpowered the field at the Martinsville Speedway to garner his fourth consecutive NASCAR Camping World Truck Series victory. The hard-charging driver scored his eighth career win and triumphed for the second time at Martinsville.

The victor drove his own brightly colored Kroger/Tide Chevrolet Silverado. The throwback Tide colors have a rich history at Martinsville where the sponsor has won seven times with four drivers.

Harvick’s chief competition came from Daytona winner Timothy Peters, who led 39 laps, but Harvick led 187 of the 250 laps.

While in the lead, Harvick repeatedly opened up substantial margins, only to lose the advantage due to a steady stream of caution flags. When the checkered flag dropped, he held a 1.5-second advantage over teammate Ron Hornaday Jr., who turned his season around with a strong finish.

“Our truck was flawless,” the victor said. “The guys did a great job preparing the truck, and the race was a lot of fun for me. My guys built this truck in 15 days, and it shows our new ideas will work for me and for Ron (Hornaday).”

Hornaday started 31st and steadily forged through the field to catch the front runners within 100 laps. Running 11th near the midway point, his crew changed just two tires while the others settled for four. The strategic move vaulted him into second place and from there he stayed in the top five.

Hornaday, Mike Skinner, Johnny Sauter, Brian Ickler, Johnny Benson and Peters waged a war for many laps until Hornaday, Skinner and Sauter came together 30 laps from the finish.

In the accident, Skinner’s truck suffered extensive damage and Sauter had less damage, although he dropped back in the running order.

When the race ended, Sauter vented his frustration at Hornaday, but only words were exchanged.

Said Hornaday of the race and the incident, “It was what we needed in points, but getting into Johnny (Sauter) and spinning him around was not good. He had gotten into me several times, and it was a tough day. Now, Johnny’s all mad but that is what truck racing is all about.”

Sauter refused to make a post-race comment to the press.

Hornaday drove the Longhorn Chevrolet.

Ickler held on for third after starting 32nd in Kyle Busch’s Toyota Tundra. Said the young driver, “I made my way to the front but messed up on two pit stops, losing positions.”

Former Martinsville winner and local driver Peters staved off repeated challenges to garner fourth place in another Toyota. “The truck was a little bit off, but we had great pit calls,” he said.

Johnny Benson bounced around in the standings throughout the race but powered forward at the end to gain fifth place in a Toyota.

Sixth through 10th were Aric Almirola, Matt Crafton, Max Papis, Mario Gosselin and Ricky Carmichael.

Sauter was scored 15th, the last truck on the lead lap.

Eleven caution flags slowed the race for 66 laps.

In points, Peters lead by 59 over Almirola with Todd Bodine third, Harvick fourth and Crafton fifth. Hornaday moved up 15 positions to 12th place in the standings.

The CWTS races next on April 2 at the Nashville Superspeedway.

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