Friday nights are for breaking records.
Three NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series drivers took turns crushing a nine-year track record at Martinsville Speedway. In 2015, the now two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, Joey Logano, put down the track record with a time of 19.504 seconds, driving for Brad Keselowski Racing.
Ahead of Friday’s Long John Silver’s 200 at Martinsville, Ty Majeski beat Logano’s previous track record, posting a time of 19.417 seconds (97.523mph). The triumph in qualifying marks the seventh NASCAR Truck Series pole for Majeski in 77 career starts.
Not only did the Seymour, Wisconsin-native impress with a strong qualifying lap, but the ThorSport Racing driver also paced Friday’s practice session, making the No. 98 Ford F-150 one of the favorites for when the race begins. However, with practice and qualifying taking place under the sun, and the race scheduled for under the lights, Majeski feels as though the race may be unpredictable.
“Just don’t know how the race is going to play out,” he shared on the FS1 broadcast. “[You] have to have the right strategy tonight so, it’s gonna be a balance between keeping track position and what the rest of the field does tire-wise. You don’t want to have a disadvantage out front without tires. Overall, super proud of this No. 98 team we’ve been working pretty hard at ThorSport to make our trucks a little better, and I think we’re doing that. “
Right behind Majeski in qualifying is Christian Eckes, whose streak of consecutive short-track poles in the NASCAR Truck Series, came to an end at the half-mile paperclip. Layne Riggs qualified third place in the No. 38 Ford F-150 for Front Row Motorsports. Riggs was the first driver to smash the track record in Friday’s single-truck qualifying run.
“Anybody that’s been watching all the truck series races knows how much we’ve been struggling and how much bad luck’s been striking,” Riggs shared on the FS1 broadcast. “I think that’s the best handling thing I’ve had in qualifying. It did all the work for me.”
Starting alongside Riggs on the second row is Corey Heim, the defending NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series winner at Martinsville, with Nick Sanchez completing the top five in qualifying. Ben Rhodes was sixth, with Jake Garcia, Dean Thompson, Tyler Ankrum, and Jack Wood rounding out the top-10.
Outside of the track record being smashed, all eyes were on Australian Supercars star, Cam Waters, making his series debut in the No. 66 Ford F-150 for ThorSport Racing. With David Ragan as his mentor this weekend, he quickly impressed with a 12th-place time in practice. However, the Australian-born driver will lineup outside the top-20 to start Friday’s 200-lap contest.
Though it is not his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series debut, Sammy Smith began his four-race stint with Spire Motorsports in the No. 7 at the half-mile paperclip. The Xfinity Series regular will take the green flag 13th with a lap time of 19.607.
For the second straight race, Thad Moffitt was unable to make a qualifying lap due to brake issues on the No. 46 Chevrolet Silverado. Like Moffitt, Justin Carroll did not make a qualifying lap in the No. 90 truck for Terry Carroll Motorsports. Unfortunately, the team was unable to make it through inspection, not getting a single on-track lap prior to the event.
With that, the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is set to race under the lights at Martinsville Speedway starting at 7:30 P.M. ET on FS1.
Qualifying Results: NCTS Long John Silver’s 200 at Martinsville Speedway
