Martinsville a rude host for open-wheel newcomers

MARTINSVILLE, Va. -- Unfulfilling certainly described Saturday's Kroger 200 at Martinsville Speedway for the six drivers making their Craftsman Truck Series short-track debuts -- five of them who were making their first starts in a NASCAR national touring division race.

But unfair doesn't, because after all this was Martinsville, a short track that's NASCAR's shortest venue

Autostock

Jacques Villeneuve

Kroger 200

Results

Pos.	Driver	Make	Start
1.	Mike Skinner	Toyota	4
2.	Jack Sprague	Toyota	1
3.	Ron Hornaday	Chevrolet	12
4.	David Starr	Ford	11
5.	Rick Crawford	Ford	7
6.	Mike Bliss	Dodge	9
7.	Chad Chaffin	Chevrolet	14
8.	Ted Musgrave	Toyota	10
9.	Johnny Benson	Toyota	17
10.	Dennis Setzer	Dodge	13
32.	J. Villeneuve	Toyota	27
33.	D. Franchitti	Dodge	30

• Complete Results: click here
• Race Video: click here

Open-wheel drivers Jacques Villeneuve, who made his third Craftsman Truck Series start and his fourth in NASCAR, and Dario Franchitti, making his NASCAR debut and his second stock-car start, were both eliminated in accidents.

Villeneuve's No. 27 Toyota finished 32nd after completing 157 of 200 laps before being involved in a three-truck skirmish that resulted in Villeneuve hammering the inside wall on the frontstretch. It was the second consecutive Truck race in which he's crashed out.

Franchitti's No. 41 Dodge got as high as 15th, for 20 laps at mid-race, before he was involved in an accident and retired in 33rd position due to rear-end failure.

The other four first-timers -- Chris Jones, Travis Dassow, Michael McDowell and Colin Braun, who all have larger backgrounds in closed-body cars -- had mixed results. Jones and Dassow finished 21st and 22nd, respectively, a lap down to winner and new points leader Mike Skinner, while McDowell (30th) and Braun (34th) were involved in accidents, Braun's caused by a flat tire.

Villeneuve got the furthest forward in the 36-truck field, as high as 12th when he was wiped out in an accident that involved a pair of veterans, Chase for the Nextel Cup contender Clint Bowyer and Busch Series regular Jason Leffler.

"The 1 [Leffler] got into [Villeneuve] and I got underneath of [Villeneuve], he kind of came down and got loose and the 1 ran over him and spun him out," said Bowyer, who himself was seventh with less than a lap to go before he was enveloped in a backstretch crash. "There was a lot going on [Saturday], so I don't know."

Bowyer said it was all part of gaining experience at this level in NASCAR -- and more importantly, at this type of facility.

"The guy was doing a good job," Bowyer said of Villeneuve. "There were faster trucks behind him and on a track like this -- I've been there and done that -- and there's no getting out of the way here. You can't get out of the way.

"I'll guarantee you he was in a situation he didn't want to be in -- but you can't get out of it. It was just like what happened to me at the end. I should have finished seventh and ended up wherever we ended up [17th]."

Villeneuve left the facility quickly as his spotter and Nextel Cup crew chief, Slugger Labbe, said Villeneuve had a flight to catch, but before he did said he was pleased with his progress.

"It's a shame because the truck was handling real well -- the team was working hard and we were gaining positions," Villeneuve said. "I got hit a few times and then got turned around coming off of Turn 4. (Continued)