# 2015 Kroger 200

The 2015 Kroger 200 was the 20th stock car race of the 2015 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, and the 17th iteration of the event. The race was held on Saturday, October 31, 2015, in Ridgeway, Virginia at Martinsville Speedway, a 0.526 mi (0.847 km) permanent paperclip shaped racetrack. The race took the scheduled 200 laps to complete. Matt Crafton, driving for ThorSport Racing, would hold off the field on the final restart with two laps to go, and earned his 10th career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series win, and his fifth of the season. Pole-sitter Cole Custer dominated the majority of the race, leading a race-high 96 laps. To fill out the podium, John Hunter Nemechek, driving for family-owned SWM-NEMCO Motorsports, and Cameron Hayley, driving for ThorSport Racing, would finish 2nd and 3rd, respectively.

## Background

Martinsville Speedway is a stock car racing short track in Ridgeway, Virginia, just south of Martinsville. 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. At 0.526 miles (847 m) in length, it is the shortest track in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. It is owned by International Speedway Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of NASCAR.

### 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 |
| 0 | Brad Foy | Jennifer Jo Cobb Racing | Chevrolet | Driven2Honor.org |
| 1 | Camden Murphy | Rick Ware Racing | Chevrolet | Rick Ware Racing |
| 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 |
| 5 | Dalton Sargeant | Wauters Motorsports | Toyota | Galt |
| 6 | Norm Benning | Norm Benning Racing | Chevrolet | Norm Benning Racing |
| 07 | Ray Black Jr. (R) | SS-Green Light Racing | Chevrolet | ScubaLife |
| 08 | Brandon Hightower | MB Motorsports | Chevrolet | Advanced Specialized Carriers |
| 8 | John Hunter Nemechek (R) | SWM-NEMCO Motorsports | Chevrolet | SWM-NEMCO Motorsports |
| 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 | Carolina Nut Co. |
| 14 | Daniel Hemric (R) | NTS Motorsports | Chevrolet | California Clean Power |
| 15 | Mason Mingus | Billy Boat Motorsports | Chevrolet | Call 811 Before You Dig |
| 17 | Timothy Peters | Red Horse Racing | Toyota | Red Horse Racing |
| 18 | Ross Kenseth (i) | Hattori Racing Enterprises | Toyota | Aisin AW |
| 19 | Tyler Reddick | Brad Keselowski Racing | Ford | Brad Keselowski's Checkered Flag Foundation |
| 23 | Spencer Gallagher (R) | GMS Racing | Chevrolet | Allegiant Travel Company |
| 29 | Austin Cindric | Brad Keselowski Racing | Ford | Cooper-Standard Automotive |
| 32 | Justin Haley | Braun Motorsports | Chevrolet | Great Clips |
| 33 | Brandon Jones (R) | GMS Racing | Chevrolet | Lucas Oil |
| 35 | Jim Weiler | Empire Racing | Ford | RoadRenovations.com |
| 50 | Travis Kvapil | MAKE Motorsports | Chevrolet | CorvetteParts.net |
| 51 | Daniel Suárez (i) | Kyle Busch Motorsports | Toyota | Arris |
| 54 | Gray Gaulding | Kyle Busch Motorsports | Toyota | Krispy Kreme |
| 63 | Bobby Pierce | MB Motorsports | Chevrolet | Pixographs |
| 74 | Paige Decker | Mike Harmon Racing | RAM | Mike Harmon Racing |
| 75 | Caleb Holman | Henderson Motorsports | Chevrolet | Food Country USA, Tide Pods |
| 82 | Austin Hill | Empire Racing | Ford | Empire Racing Driver Development |
| 86 | Brandon Brown | Brandonbilt Motorsports | Chevrolet | Coastal Carolina University |
| 87 | Chuck Buchanan Jr. | Charles Buchanan Racing | Ford | Spring Drug |
| 88 | Matt Crafton | ThorSport Racing | Toyota | Fisher Nuts, Menards |
| 92 | David Gilliland (i) | RBR Enterprises | Ford | Black's Tire Service |
| 94 | Timmy Hill | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet | Testoril, Champion Machinery |
| 98 | Johnny Sauter | ThorSport Racing | Toyota | Smokey Mountain Herbal Snuff |
| Official entry list |||||

## Practice
### First practice

The first practice session was held on Friday, October 30, at 1:00 PM EST, and would last for 55 minutes. Timothy Peters, driving for Red Horse Racing, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 19.721, and an average speed of 96.020 mph (154.529 km/h).
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
| 1 | 17 | Timothy Peters | Red Horse Racing | Toyota | 19.721 | 96.020 |
| 2 | 88 | Matt Crafton | ThorSport Racing | Toyota | 19.776 | 95.752 |
| 3 | 13 | Cameron Hayley (R) | ThorSport Racing | Toyota | 19.805 | 95.612 |
| Full first practice results |||||||

### Final practice

The final practice session was held on Friday, October 30, at 2:30 PM EST, and would last for 1 hour and 20 minutes. Timothy Peters, driving for Red Horse Racing, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 19.708, and an average speed of 96.083 mph (154.631 km/h).
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
| 1 | 17 | Timothy Peters | Red Horse Racing | Toyota | 19.708 | 96.083 |
| 2 | 13 | Cameron Hayley (R) | ThorSport Racing | Toyota | 19.712 | 96.063 |
| 3 | 02 | Tyler Young | Young's Motorsports | Chevrolet | 19.838 | 95.453 |
| Full final practice results |||||||

## Qualifying

Qualifying was held on Saturday, October 31, at 10:15 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.
Cole Custer, driving for JR Motorsports, would win the pole after advancing from the preliminary rounds and setting the fastest time in Round 3, with a lap of 19.530, and an average speed of 96.959 mph (156.040 km/h).
Brandon Brown, Camden Murphy, Jim Weiler, and Charles 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 | 00 | Cole Custer | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 19.860 | 95.347 | 19.690 | 96.171 | 19.530 | 96.959 |
| 2 | 13 | Cameron Hayley (R) | ThorSport Racing | Toyota | 19.782 | 95.723 | 19.707 | 96.088 | 19.622 | 96.504 |
| 3 | 8 | John Hunter Nemechek (R) | SWM-NEMCO Motorsports | Chevrolet | 20.073 | 94.336 | 19.750 | 95.878 | 19.679 | 96.224 |
| 4 | 19 | Tyler Reddick | Brad Keselowski Racing | Ford | 19.973 | 94.808 | 19.692 | 96.161 | 19.696 | 96.141 |
| 5 | 14 | Daniel Hemric (R) | NTS Motorsports | Chevrolet | 19.853 | 95.381 | 19.626 | 96.484 | 19.720 | 96.024 |
| 6 | 51 | Daniel Suárez (i) | Kyle Busch Motorsports | Toyota | 20.026 | 94.557 | 19.755 | 95.854 | 19.752 | 95.869 |
| 7 | 54 | Gray Gaulding | Kyle Busch Motorsports | Toyota | 20.075 | 94.326 | 19.744 | 95.908 | 19.762 | 95.820 |
| 8 | 4 | Erik Jones (R) | Kyle Busch Motorsports | Toyota | 19.992 | 94.718 | 19.746 | 95.898 | 19.781 | 95.728 |
| 9 | 02 | Tyler Young | Young's Motorsports | Chevrolet | 19.911 | 95.103 | 19.768 | 95.791 | 19.813 | 95.574 |
| 10 | 11 | Ben Kennedy | Red Horse Racing | Toyota | 19.835 | 95.468 | 19.786 | 95.704 | 19.859 | 95.352 |
| 11 | 17 | Timothy Peters | Red Horse Racing | Toyota | 20.057 | 94.411 | 19.647 | 96.381 | 19.870 | 95.299 |
| 12 | 92 | David Gilliland (i) | RBR Enterprises | Ford | 19.907 | 95.122 | 19.785 | 95.709 | 19.886 | 95.223 |
| Eliminated from Round 2 |||||||||||
| 13 | 88 | Matt Crafton | ThorSport Racing | Toyota | 19.936 | 94.984 | 19.789 | 95.690 | – | – |
| 14 | 29 | Austin Cindric | Brad Keselowski Racing | Ford | 19.931 | 95.008 | 19.805 | 95.612 | – | – |
| 15 | 5 | Dalton Sargeant | Wauters Motorsports | Toyota | 20.065 | 94.373 | 19.807 | 95.603 | – | – |
| 16 | 33 | Brandon Jones (R) | GMS Racing | Chevrolet | 20.039 | 94.496 | 19.829 | 95.496 | – | – |
| 17 | 98 | Johnny Sauter | ThorSport Racing | Toyota | 20.102 | 94.200 | 19.833 | 95.477 | – | – |
| 18 | 75 | Caleb Holman | Henderson Motorsports | Chevrolet | 19.853 | 95.381 | 19.853 | 95.381 | – | – |
| 19 | 15 | Mason Mingus | Billy Boat Motorsports | Chevrolet | 20.021 | 94.581 | 19.859 | 95.352 | – | – |
| 20 | 23 | Spencer Gallagher (R) | GMS Racing | Chevrolet | 20.039 | 94.496 | 19.884 | 95.232 | – | – |
| 21 | 07 | Ray Black Jr. (R) | SS-Green Light Racing | Chevrolet | 20.090 | 94.256 | 20.016 | 94.604 | – | – |
| 22 | 32 | Justin Haley | Braun Motorsports | Chevrolet | 19.959 | 94.874 | 20.102 | 94.200 | – | – |
| 23 | 50 | Travis Kvapil | MAKE Motorsports | Chevrolet | 20.098 | 94.218 | 20.154 | 93.957 | – | – |
| 24 | 94 | Timmy Hill | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet | 20.065 | 94.373 | – | – | – | – |
| Eliminated from Round 1 |||||||||||
| 25 | 18 | Ross Kenseth (i) | Hattori Racing Enterprises | Toyota | 20.104 | 94.190 | – | – | – | – |
| 26 | 05 | John Wes Townley | Athenian Motorsports | Chevrolet | 20.107 | 94.176 | – | – | – | – |
| 27 | 82 | Austin Hill | Empire Racing | Ford | 20.110 | 94.162 | – | – | – | – |
| Qualified by owner's points |||||||||||
| 28 | 63 | Bobby Pierce | MB Motorsports | Chevrolet | 20.295 | 93.304 | – | – | – | – |
| 29 | 08 | Brandon Hightower | MB Motorsports | Chevrolet | 20.377 | 92.928 | – | – | – | – |
| 30 | 1 | Camden Murphy | Rick Ware Racing | Chevrolet | 20.420 | 92.733 | | | | |
| 31 | 74 | Paige Decker | Mike Harmon Racing | Dodge | 20.886 | 90.664 | – | – | – | – |
| 32 | 10 | Jennifer Jo Cobb | Jennifer Jo Cobb Racing | Chevrolet | 21.093 | 89.774 | – | – | – | – |
| Failed to qualify |||||||||||
| 33 | 86 | Brandon Brown | Brandonbilt Motorsports | Chevrolet | 20.146 | 93.994 | – | – | – | – |
| 35 | 35 | Jim Weiler | Empire Racing | Ford | 20.623 | 91.820 | – | – | – | – |
| 36 | 87 | Chuck Buchanan Jr. | Charles Buchanan Racing | Ford | 21.608 | 87.634 | – | – | – | – |
| Withdrew |||||||||||
| 37 | 6 | Norm Benning | Norm Benning Racing | Chevrolet | 20.758 | 91.223 | – | – | – | – |
| 38 | 0 | Brad Foy | Jennifer Jo Cobb Racing | Chevrolet | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Official qualifying results |||||||||||
| Official starting lineup |||||||||||

## Race results

| Fin | St | # | Driver | Team | Make | Laps | Led | Status | Pts | Winnings |
| 1 | 13 | 88 | Matt Crafton | ThorSport Racing | Toyota | 200 | 63 | Running | 47 | $39,197 |
| 2 | 3 | 8 | John Hunter Nemechek (R) | SWM-NEMCO Motorsports | Chevrolet | 200 | 32 | Running | 43 | $29,673 |
| 3 | 2 | 13 | Cameron Hayley (R) | ThorSport Racing | Toyota | 200 | 0 | Running | 41 | $21,627 |
| 4 | 1 | 00 | Cole Custer | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 200 | 96 | Running | 42 | $23,569 |
| 5 | 4 | 19 | Tyler Reddick | Brad Keselowski Racing | Ford | 200 | 0 | Running | 39 | $17,413 |
| 6 | 11 | 17 | Timothy Peters | Red Horse Racing | Toyota | 200 | 0 | Running | 38 | $15,471 |
| 7 | 16 | 33 | Brandon Jones (R) | GMS Racing | Chevrolet | 200 | 0 | Running | 37 | $15,005 |
| 8 | 18 | 75 | Caleb Holman | Henderson Motorsports | Chevrolet | 200 | 0 | Running | 36 | $12,700 |
| 9 | 17 | 98 | Johnny Sauter | ThorSport Racing | Toyota | 200 | 0 | Running | 35 | $14,895 |
| 10 | 8 | 4 | Erik Jones (R) | Kyle Busch Motorsports | Toyota | 200 | 0 | Running | 34 | $15,789 |
| 11 | 26 | 05 | John Wes Townley | Athenian Motorsports | Chevrolet | 200 | 0 | Running | 33 | $14,783 |
| 12 | 5 | 14 | Daniel Hemric (R) | NTS Motorsports | Chevrolet | 200 | 0 | Running | 32 | $14,644 |
| 13 | 9 | 02 | Tyler Young | Young's Motorsports | Chevrolet | 200 | 0 | Running | 31 | $14,589 |
| 14 | 10 | 11 | Ben Kennedy | Red Horse Racing | Toyota | 200 | 0 | Running | 30 | $14,534 |
| 15 | 23 | 50 | Travis Kvapil | MAKE Motorsports | Chevrolet | 200 | 0 | Running | 29 | $14,823 |
| 16 | 6 | 51 | Daniel Suárez (i) | Kyle Busch Motorsports | Toyota | 200 | 0 | Running | 0 | $12,290 |
| 17 | 25 | 18 | Ross Kenseth (i) | Hattori Racing Enterprises | Toyota | 200 | 0 | Running | 0 | $12,035 |
| 18 | 19 | 15 | Mason Mingus | Billy Boat Motorsports | Chevrolet | 200 | 0 | Running | 26 | $14,228 |
| 19 | 27 | 82 | Austin Hill | Empire Racing | Ford | 200 | 0 | Running | 25 | $11,923 |
| 20 | 21 | 07 | Ray Black Jr. (R) | SS-Green Light Racing | Chevrolet | 200 | 0 | Running | 24 | $14,618 |
| 21 | 7 | 54 | Gray Gaulding | Kyle Busch Motorsports | Toyota | 200 | 9 | Running | 24 | $14,090 |
| 22 | 28 | 63 | Bobby Pierce | MB Motorsports | Chevrolet | 200 | 0 | Running | 22 | $14,062 |
| 23 | 12 | 92 | David Gilliland (i) | RBR Enterprises | Ford | 200 | 0 | Running | 0 | $11,785 |
| 24 | 30 | 1 | Camden Murphy | Rick Ware Racing | Chevrolet | 200 | 0 | Running | 20 | $12,757 |
| 25 | 14 | 29 | Austin Cindric | Brad Keselowski Racing | Ford | 200 | 0 | Running | 19 | $12,852 |
| 26 | 24 | 94 | Timmy Hill | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet | 199 | 0 | Running | 18 | $11,674 |
| 27 | 29 | 08 | Brandon Hightower | MB Motorsports | Chevrolet | 196 | 0 | Running | 17 | $11,591 |
| 28 | 15 | 5 | Dalton Sargeant | Wauters Motorsports | Toyota | 196 | 0 | Running | 16 | $11,345 |
| 29 | 20 | 23 | Spencer Gallagher (R) | GMS Racing | Chevrolet | 196 | 0 | Running | 15 | $11,290 |
| 30 | 31 | 74 | Paige Decker | Mike Harmon Racing | RAM | 193 | 0 | Running | 14 | $10,790 |
| 31 | 32 | 10 | Jennifer Jo Cobb | Jennifer Jo Cobb Racing | Chevrolet | 186 | 0 | Running | 13 | $9,290 |
| 32 | 22 | 32 | Justin Haley | Braun Motorsports | Chevrolet | 119 | 0 | Accident | 12 | $8,290 |
| Official race results |||||||||||

## Standings after the race

| | Pos | Driver | Points |
| | 1 | Erik Jones | 776 |
| 1 | 2 | Matt Crafton | 766 (-10) |
| 1 | 3 | Tyler Reddick | 763 (–13) |
| | 4 | Johnny Sauter | 722 (–54) |
| | 5 | Timothy Peters | 680 (–96) |
| | 6 | Cameron Hayley | 663 (–113) |
| | 7 | Daniel Hemric | 644 (–132) |
| | 8 | John Wes Townley | 627 (–149) |
| | 9 | Ben Kennedy | 595 (–181) |
| | 10 | Spencer Gallagher | 574 (–202) |
| Official driver's standings ||||