# 2015 Kroger 250

The 2015 Kroger 250 was the 3rd stock car race of the 2015 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, and the 17th iteration of the event. The race was held on Saturday, March 28, 2015, in Ridgeway, Virginia at Martinsville Speedway, a 0.526 mile (0.847 km) permanent paper-clip shaped short track. The race was originally scheduled to be contested over 250 laps, but was increased to 258 laps, due to a NASCAR overtime finish. Joey Logano, driving for Brad Keselowski Racing, would hold off Matt Crafton on the final restart, and would earn his first career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series win. Logano would also become the 26th driver to win a race in all three of NASCAR's national series. Logano and Crafton would dominate the entire race, leading 150 and 100 laps, respectively. To fill out the podium, Crafton, driving for ThorSport Racing, and Erik Jones, driving for Kyle Busch Motorsports, would finish 2nd and 3rd, respectively.

## Background

Martinsville Speedway is a NASCAR-owned stock car racing short track in Ridgeway, Virginia, just south of Martinsville. At 0.526 miles (847 m) in length, it is the shortest track in the NASCAR Cup Series. The track was also one of the first paved oval tracks in stock car racing, being built in 1947 by partners H. Clay Earles, Henry Lawrence, and Sam Rice, nearly a year before NASCAR was officially formed. It is also the only race track that has been on the NASCAR circuit from its beginning in 1948. Along with this, Martinsville is the only oval track on the NASCAR circuit to have asphalt surfaces on the straightaways and concrete to cover the turns.

### Entry list

* (R) denotes rookie driver.
* (i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.
| # | Driver | Team | Make | Sponsor |
| 00 | Cole Custer | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | Haas Automation |
| 1 | Travis Kvapil | MAKE Motorsports | Chevrolet | Bubba Burger, Kioti Tractors |
| 02 | Tyler Young | Young's Motorsports | Chevrolet | Randco, Young's Building Systems |
| 4 | Erik Jones (R) | Kyle Busch Motorsports | Toyota | Toyota |
| 05 | John Wes Townley | Athenian Motorsports | Chevrolet | Zaxby's |
| 6 | Norm Benning | Norm Benning Racing | Chevrolet | Norm Benning Racing |
| 07 | Ray Black Jr. (R) | SS-Green Light Racing | Chevrolet | ScubaLife |
| 7 | Gray Gaulding | Red Horse Racing | Toyota | Krispy Kreme |
| 08 | Korbin Forrister (R) | BJMM with SS-Green Light Racing | Chevrolet | Tilted Kilt |
| 8 | John Hunter Nemechek (R) | SWM-NEMCO Motorsports | Chevrolet | D. A. B. Constructors |
| 10 | Jennifer Jo Cobb | Jennifer Jo Cobb Racing | Chevrolet | Driven2Honor.org |
| 11 | Ben Kennedy | Red Horse Racing | Toyota | Local Motors |
| 13 | Cameron Hayley (R) | ThorSport Racing | Toyota | Cabinets by Hayley |
| 14 | Daniel Hemric (R) | NTS Motorsports | Chevrolet | California Clean Power |
| 15 | Mason Mingus | Billy Boat Motorsports | Chevrolet | Billy Boat Performance Exhaust |
| 17 | Timothy Peters | Red Horse Racing | Toyota | Red Horse Racing |
| 19 | Tyler Reddick | Brad Keselowski Racing | Ford | DrawTite |
| 23 | Spencer Gallagher (R) | GMS Racing | Chevrolet | Allegiant Travel Company |
| 25 | Matt Tifft | Venturini Motorsports | Toyota | Clinical RM, Honoring Ebola Fighters |
| 29 | Joey Logano (i) | Brad Keselowski Racing | Ford | Cooper-Standard Automotive |
| 31 | James Buescher | NTS Motorsports | Chevrolet | ERT Investments |
| 33 | Brandon Jones (R) | GMS Racing | Chevrolet | Masterforce Tool Storage |
| 35 | Tommy Regan | B. J. McLeod Motorsports | Chevrolet | Blue Diamond Almonds, American Tactical |
| 50 | Cody Ware | MAKE Motorsports | Chevrolet | Burnie Grill |
| 51 | Daniel Suárez (i) | Kyle Busch Motorsports | Toyota | Arris |
| 54 | Justin Boston (R) | Kyle Busch Motorsports | Toyota | ZLOOP |
| 63 | Jake Griffin | MB Motorsports | Chevrolet | Mittler Bros. Machine & Tool |
| 74 | Paige Decker | Mike Harmon Racing | Chevrolet | Seubert Calf Ranches |
| 75 | Caleb Holman | Henderson Motorsports | Chevrolet | Food Country USA, Morning Fresh Farms |
| 86 | Brandon Brown | Brandonbilt Motorsports | Chevrolet | Brandonbilt Foundations |
| 87 | Chuck Buchanan Jr. | Charles Buchanan Racing | Ford | Spring Drug |
| 88 | Matt Crafton | ThorSport Racing | Toyota | Hormel Pepperoni, Menards |
| 92 | David Gilliland (i) | RBR Enterprises | Ford | Black's Tire Service, Goodyear |
| 94 | Wendell Chavous | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet | Testoril, The Glow Zone |
| 98 | Johnny Sauter | ThorSport Racing | Toyota | Smokey Mountain Herbal Snuff |
| 99 | Bryan Silas | T3R2 | Chevrolet | Kapoya Premium Energy Drink |
| Official entry list |||||

## Practice

The first and only practice session was held on Friday, March 27, at 3:00 PM EST, and would last for 2 hours and 30 minutes. Cole Custer, driving for JR Motorsports, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 19.711, and an average speed of 96.068 mph (154.606 km/h). Three practice sessions were scheduled to take place, but due to constant rain showers, only one lengthy session was run.
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
| 1 | 00 | Cole Custer | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 19.711 | 96.068 |
| 2 | 13 | Cameron Hayley (R) | ThorSport Racing | Toyota | 19.803 | 95.622 |
| 3 | 98 | Johnny Sauter | ThorSport Racing | Toyota | 19.822 | 95.530 |
| Full first practice results |||||||

## Qualifying

Qualifying was held on Saturday, March 28, at 11:15 AM EST. The qualifying system used is a multi car, multi lap, three round system where in the first round, everyone would set a time to determine positions 25–32. Then, the fastest 24 qualifiers would move on to the second round to determine positions 13–24. Lastly, the fastest 12 qualifiers would move on to the third round to determine positions 1–12.
Joey Logano, driving for Brad Keselowski Racing, would win the pole after advancing from the preliminary rounds and setting the fastest time in Round 3, with a lap of 19.504, and an average speed of 97.088 mph (156.248 km/h).
Wendell Chavous, Brandon Brown, Paige Decker, and Chuck Buchanan Jr. would fail to qualify.

### Full qualifying results

| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time (R1) | Speed (R1) | Time (R2) | Speed (R2) | Time (R3) | Speed (R3) |
| 1 | 29 | Joey Logano (i) | Brad Keselowski Racing | Ford | 19.951 | 94.913 | 19.839 | 95.448 | 19.504 | 97.088 |
| 2 | 00 | Cole Custer | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 19.986 | 94.746 | 19.702 | 96.112 | 19.598 | 96.622 |
| 3 | 13 | Cameron Hayley (R) | ThorSport Racing | Toyota | 20.080 | 94.303 | 19.722 | 96.015 | 19.623 | 96.499 |
| 4 | 4 | Erik Jones (R) | Kyle Busch Motorsports | Toyota | 20.154 | 93.957 | 19.796 | 95.656 | 19.652 | 96.357 |
| 5 | 05 | John Wes Townley | Athenian Motorsports | Chevrolet | 19.955 | 94.894 | 19.777 | 95.748 | 19.725 | 96.000 |
| 6 | 33 | Brandon Jones (R) | GMS Racing | Chevrolet | 20.046 | 94.463 | 19.862 | 95.338 | 19.737 | 95.942 |
| 7 | 19 | Tyler Reddick | Brad Keselowski Racing | Ford | 19.969 | 94.827 | 19.830 | 95.492 | 19.755 | 95.854 |
| 8 | 92 | David Gilliland (i) | RBR Enterprises | Ford | 20.014 | 94.614 | 19.837 | 95.458 | 19.782 | 95.723 |
| 9 | 98 | Johnny Sauter | ThorSport Racing | Toyota | 20.072 | 94.340 | 19.810 | 95.588 | 19.801 | 95.632 |
| 10 | 02 | Tyler Young | Young's Motorsports | Chevrolet | 20.018 | 94.595 | 19.851 | 95.391 | 19.858 | 95.357 |
| 11 | 51 | Daniel Suárez (i) | Kyle Busch Motorsports | Toyota | 20.034 | 94.519 | 19.815 | 95.564 | 19.873 | 95.285 |
| 12 | 7 | Gray Gaulding | Red Horse Racing | Toyota | 20.134 | 94.050 | 19.824 | 95.521 | 19.883 | 95.237 |
| Eliminated in Round 2 |||||||||||
| 13 | 88 | Matt Crafton | ThorSport Racing | Toyota | 20.055 | 94.420 | 19.866 | 95.319 | – | – |
| 14 | 14 | Daniel Hemric (R) | NTS Motorsports | Chevrolet | 20.056 | 94.416 | 19.868 | 95.309 | – | – |
| 15 | 31 | James Buescher | NTS Motorsports | Chevrolet | 20.150 | 93.975 | 19.880 | 95.252 | – | – |
| 16 | 8 | John Hunter Nemechek (R) | SWM-NEMCO Motorsports | Chevrolet | 19.980 | 94.775 | 19.892 | 95.194 | – | – |
| 17 | 17 | Timothy Peters | Red Horse Racing | Toyota | 20.031 | 94.533 | 19.896 | 95.175 | – | – |
| 18 | 23 | Spencer Gallagher (R) | GMS Racing | Chevrolet | 20.063 | 94.383 | 19.898 | 95.165 | – | – |
| 19 | 25 | Matt Tifft | Venturini Motorsports | Toyota | 20.018 | 94.595 | 19.921 | 95.055 | – | – |
| 20 | 15 | Mason Mingus | Billy Boat Motorsports | Chevrolet | 20.148 | 93.985 | 19.932 | 95.003 | – | – |
| 21 | 54 | Justin Boston (R) | Kyle Busch Motorsports | Toyota | 20.131 | 94.064 | 19.949 | 94.922 | – | – |
| 22 | 11 | Ben Kennedy | Red Horse Racing | Toyota | 20.163 | 93.915 | 20.091 | 94.251 | – | – |
| 23 | 75 | Caleb Holman | Henderson Motorsports | Chevrolet | 20.069 | 94.354 | 20.159 | 93.933 | – | – |
| 24 | 63 | Jake Griffin | MB Motorsports | Chevrolet | 20.213 | 93.682 | 20.160 | 93.929 | – | – |
| Eliminated in Round 1 |||||||||||
| 25 | 99 | Bryan Silas | T3R2 | Chevrolet | 20.265 | 93.442 | – | – | – | – |
| 26 | 07 | Ray Black Jr. (R) | SS-Green Light Racing | Chevrolet | 20.265 | 93.442 | – | – | – | – |
| 27 | 08 | Korbin Forrister (R) | BJMM with SS-Green Light Racing | Chevrolet | 20.289 | 93.331 | – | – | – | – |
| Qualified by owner's points |||||||||||
| 28 | 50 | Cody Ware | MAKE Motorsports | Chevrolet | 20.510 | 92.326 | – | – | – | – |
| 29 | 6 | Norm Benning | Norm Benning Racing | Chevrolet | 20.565 | 92.079 | – | – | – | – |
| 30 | 35 | Tommy Regan | B. J. McLeod Motorsports | Chevrolet | 20.676 | 91.584 | – | – | – | – |
| 31 | 10 | Jennifer Jo Cobb | Jennifer Jo Cobb Racing | Chevrolet | 20.843 | 90.851 | – | – | – | – |
| Past champion provisional |||||||||||
| 32 | 1 | Travis Kvapil | MAKE Motorsports | Chevrolet | 20.719 | 91.394 | – | – | – | – |
| Failed to qualify |||||||||||
| 33 | 94 | Wendell Chavous | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet | 20.560 | 92.101 | – | – | – | – |
| 34 | 86 | Brandon Brown | Brandonbilt Motorsports | Chevrolet | 20.901 | 90.599 | – | – | – | – |
| 35 | 74 | Paige Decker | Mike Harmon Racing | Chevrolet | 21.009 | 90.133 | – | – | – | – |
| 36 | 87 | Chuck Buchanan Jr. | Charles Buchanan Racing | Ford | 22.385 | 84.592 | – | – | – | – |
| Official qualifying results |||||||||||
| Official starting lineup |||||||||||

## Race results

| Fin | St | # | Driver | Team | Make | Laps | Led | Status | Pts | Winnings |
| 1 | 1 | 29 | Joey Logano (i) | Brad Keselowski Racing | Ford | 258 | 150 | Running | 0 | $51,336 |
| 2 | 13 | 88 | Matt Crafton | ThorSport Racing | Toyota | 258 | 100 | Running | 43 | $31,542 |
| 3 | 4 | 4 | Erik Jones (R) | Kyle Busch Motorsports | Toyota | 258 | 2 | Running | 42 | $25,488 |
| 4 | 9 | 98 | Johnny Sauter | ThorSport Racing | Toyota | 258 | 0 | Running | 40 | $19,518 |
| 5 | 7 | 19 | Tyler Reddick | Brad Keselowski Racing | Ford | 258 | 0 | Running | 39 | $18,458 |
| 6 | 11 | 51 | Daniel Suárez (i) | Kyle Busch Motorsports | Toyota | 258 | 0 | Running | 0 | $16,574 |
| 7 | 15 | 31 | James Buescher | NTS Motorsports | Chevrolet | 258 | 0 | Running | 37 | $14,158 |
| 8 | 5 | 05 | John Wes Townley | Athenian Motorsports | Chevrolet | 258 | 0 | Running | 36 | $16,352 |
| 9 | 19 | 25 | Matt Tifft | Venturini Motorsports | Toyota | 258 | 0 | Running | 35 | $16,297 |
| 10 | 21 | 54 | Justin Boston (R) | Kyle Busch Motorsports | Toyota | 258 | 0 | Running | 34 | $17,191 |
| 11 | 3 | 13 | Cameron Hayley (R) | ThorSport Racing | Toyota | 258 | 0 | Running | 33 | $16,186 |
| 12 | 14 | 14 | Daniel Hemric (R) | NTS Motorsports | Chevrolet | 258 | 0 | Running | 32 | $16,046 |
| 13 | 26 | 07 | Ray Black Jr. (R) | SS-Green Light Racing | Chevrolet | 258 | 0 | Running | 31 | $15,990 |
| 14 | 18 | 23 | Spencer Gallagher (R) | GMS Racing | Chevrolet | 258 | 0 | Running | 30 | $15,935 |
| 15 | 6 | 33 | Brandon Jones (R) | GMS Racing | Chevrolet | 258 | 0 | Running | 29 | $16,252 |
| 16 | 2 | 00 | Cole Custer | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 258 | 2 | Running | 29 | $15,769 |
| 17 | 12 | 7 | Gray Gaulding | Red Horse Racing | Toyota | 257 | 0 | Running | 27 | $13,663 |
| 18 | 17 | 17 | Timothy Peters | Red Horse Racing | Toyota | 257 | 0 | Running | 26 | $15,658 |
| 19 | 22 | 11 | Ben Kennedy | Red Horse Racing | Toyota | 257 | 0 | Running | 25 | $15,602 |
| 20 | 10 | 02 | Tyler Young | Young's Motorsports | Chevrolet | 257 | 0 | Running | 24 | $16,019 |
| 21 | 23 | 75 | Caleb Holman | Henderson Motorsports | Chevrolet | 257 | 0 | Running | 23 | $13,241 |
| 22 | 20 | 15 | Mason Mingus | Billy Boat Motorsports | Chevrolet | 256 | 4 | Running | 23 | $13,213 |
| 23 | 27 | 08 | Korbin Forrister (R) | BJMM with SS-Green Light Racing | Chevrolet | 255 | 0 | Running | 21 | $15,436 |
| 24 | 31 | 10 | Jennifer Jo Cobb | Jennifer Jo Cobb Racing | Chevrolet | 250 | 0 | Running | 20 | $14,130 |
| 25 | 30 | 35 | Tommy Regan | B. J. McLeod Motorsports | Chevrolet | 248 | 0 | Running | 19 | $14,197 |
| 26 | 24 | 63 | Jake Griffin | MB Motorsports | Chevrolet | 218 | 0 | Handling | 18 | $12,992 |
| 27 | 28 | 50 | Cody Ware | MAKE Motorsports | Chevrolet | 216 | 0 | Vibration | 17 | $12,964 |
| 28 | 29 | 6 | Norm Benning | Norm Benning Racing | Chevrolet | 174 | 0 | Rear Gear | 16 | $12,716 |
| 29 | 16 | 8 | John Hunter Nemechek (R) | SWM-NEMCO Motorsports | Chevrolet | 173 | 0 | Transmission | 15 | $12,660 |
| 30 | 8 | 92 | David Gilliland (i) | RBR Enterprises | Ford | 132 | 0 | Brakes | 0 | $12,160 |
| 31 | 25 | 99 | Bryan Silas | T3R2 | Chevrolet | 120 | 0 | Overheating | 13 | $10,660 |
| 32 | 32 | 1 | Travis Kvapil | MAKE Motorsports | Chevrolet | 83 | 0 | Rear Gear | 12 | $9,660 |
| Official race results |||||||||||

## Standings after the race

| | Pos | Driver | Points |
| 1 | 1 | Matt Crafton | 128 |
| 1 | 2 | Tyler Reddick | 126 (-2) |
| | 3 | Erik Jones | 122 (–6) |
| | 4 | Johnny Sauter | 112 (–16) |
| | 5 | James Buescher | 100 (–28) |
| 6 | 6 | John Wes Townley | 90 (–38) |
| 1 | 7 | Ray Black Jr. | 89 (–39) |
| 7 | 8 | Cameron Hayley | 84 (–44) |
| 4 | 9 | Spencer Gallagher | 84 (–44) |
| 3 | 10 | Ben Kennedy | 83 (–45) |
| Official driver's standings ||||