If the Call Before You Dig 250 at Martinsville Speedway (April 15) was Mortal Kombat, John Hunter Nemechek would’ve scored a ‘Flawless Victory’.
This was the race last year where the post-race scene on pit road looked a bit like the popular video game. Sam Mayer and Ty Gibbs had their memorable dust up that saw Mayer take a couple knuckle sandwiches to the face.
Sammy Smith finished second. Cole Custer, Josh Berry, and Brandon Jones rounded out the top five.
This year’s event was tamer than that, but there was no shortage of action on the track. We had plenty of raised tempers, a lot of wrecked race cars, and a victory celebration that required the safety team to bring in the fire extinguishers.
The Winners
Nemechek scored 60 of 60 possible points. He led a total of 198 of the 250 laps. The 25-year-old from Mooresville, N.C. got off to huge launches on a handful of restarts and made it all look easy. He emerges from Martinsville as the points leader.
Smith’s second-place finish was a good showing. The 18-year-old rookie held his own at the physical short track. At times he was bumped, and he did some bumping of his own. With stage finishes of second and fourth, he had a great points day, moving up from ninth to seventh.
How about a little cold custard for Custer? After getting his first top five at Richmond, he scored a third-place finish at Martinsville. Maybe all ol’ Cole needed was some short track action to find his groove. Custer struggled keeping pace with Nemechek and Smith on restarts but looked very competitive on the few long runs that occurred. He’s now eighth in the standings, up four spots from where he was two races ago.
Everyone was wondering, “What the heck is wrong with Brandon Jones in that 9 car?” Like Custer, Jones just needed some short track therapy. He didn’t lead any laps, where his predecessor Noah Gragson was always a factor. But he stayed out of trouble and put together a top-five run, something to build on for sure.
How About Derek Kraus? The Stratford, Wis. native ran in the top 10 for most of the night and brought it home in eighth. Kraus is at an interesting crossroads in his career. After three full-time NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series seasons, he is without a full-time ride in any NASCAR National Series. But he’s now gone two for two in…
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