Race Weekend Central

Cole Custer Paces 2015 Kroger 250 Practice at Martinsville

Frontstretch’s Truck Series content is presented by American Trucks

In the first practice for one of the youngest Camping World Truck Series fields ever at Martinsville Speedway, the series’ youngest winner topped the charts,

Cole Custer, now 17, put up a blazing 19.711-second lap to top the only Camping World Truck Series practice on Friday (March 27). Custer, who won last season at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, topped the chart in his first practice session with the newly formed JR Motorsports truck team.

Custer was followed by fellow youngster Cameron Hayley. Veteran Johnny Sauter was third quickest, followed by Brad Keselowski Racing teammates Joey Logano and Tyler Reddick.

Kyle Busch Motorsports star Erik Jones brought home the sixth fastest lap, followed by Tyler Young and newly hired Red Horse Racing driver Gray Gaulding. John Wes Townley and Matt Tifft rounded out the top 10.

The practice session lasted a full two-and-a-half hours after being adjusted earlier in the day due to rain. The first scheduled Camping World Truck Series practice was set for 10 a.m. ET, but rain forced NASCAR to cancel it. When weather continued to push back the Sprint Cup Series practice session that followed, NASCAR decided to combine two planned Truck Series practices into one 150-minute session to allow Cup drivers to practice.

When the green flag finally waved at 3 p.m., Logano quickly rose to the top of the charts. Driving in a Ford owned by teammate Brad Keselowski, Logano completed 106 circuits.

The practice session went smoothly, save for a few spins. Wendell Chavous looped his car in the final hour of practice in one of his series-high 160 laps around Martinsville Speedway, while 2003 champion Travis Kvapil spun out twice and Charles Buchanan Jr., did so once.

All 36 trucks practiced, including Paige Decker, who is attempting to make her first Camping World Truck Series start. Decker ran 35th fastest, 1.5 seconds off of Custer’s fast time.

So long as they can avoid another rainy day, the Camping World Truck Series will return to action tomorrow at 11:15 a.m. ET for Keystone Light Pole Qualifying, followed by the running of the Kroger 250 at 2:30 p.m. ET.

2015 KROGER 250 PRACTICE SPEEDS

About the author

A graduate of Ball State, Aaron rejoins Frontstretch for his second season in 2016 following a successful year that included covering seven races and starting the popular "Two-Headed Monster" column in 2015. Now in his third year of covering motorsports, Aaron serves as an Assistant Editor for Frontstretch while also contributing to other popular sites including Speed51 and The Apex. He encourages you to come say hi when you see him at the track.

Sign up for the Frontstretch Newsletter

A daily email update (Monday through Friday) providing racing news, commentary, features, and information from Frontstretch.com
We hate spam. Your email address will not be sold or shared with anyone else.

Share via