Trucks head to Martinsville week after two-day test

The Craftsman Truck Series held their final NASCAR-scheduled test for the season this past week at Martinsville Speedway. Two of the next four races on the series' schedule will take place on short tracks beginning with a return to Martinsville on March 29.

The test at the .526-mile oval is the only NASCAR-scheduled test done on a short track.

Fast facts

What	Kroger 250
When	Green, 3:13 p.m. ET Saturday
TV	FOX, 3 p.m. ET
Radio	MRN (Sirius Ch. 28), 3 p.m. ET

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Testing at the track also provided teams the opportunity to gather information beneficial for not only short tracks, but some of the flat tracks on the 25-race schedule.

Drivers and teams left the test satisfied with the results.

Veteran driver Terry Cook (No. 60 Toyota) is looking forward to coming back for the Kroger 250. Cook wrapped up testing with the fastest truck, posting best time and speed of 20.113 seconds (94.148 mph).

The driver and team believe they have found the right setup to be competitive come race day. "Instead of coming back and racing for a top-10, I think we can come back and race for the win," Cook said.

With all three of their trucks running fast, the Roush Fenway Racing camp is also confident about returning to the speedway.

Erik Darnell, driver of the No. 99 Ford, was pleased with the test and knows it was a productive two days.

"This test gave us a chance to try a lot of different things that will help our short-track program all year," he said.

"Matt [Puccia, crew chief] and the guys gave me a good truck which I think will be very competitive when we come back for the race."

Next generation drivers spotted at testing

During Martinsville's two-day test, some new faces were spotted in the garage. Among those newcomers were drivers with familiar last names.

• Dustin Skinner, the youngest son of former series champion Mike Skinner, will get testing and seat time in a development program created by Key Motorsports. The hope is to get the 22-year-old driver in a possible six races in 2008.

The younger Skinner tested recently at New Smyrna Speedway, the driver's home track in Florida.

What we had at the end of the test in terms of a race truck and how it drove was a really huge improvement from where we started," he said of the test.

No. 40 Chevrolet crew chief Gary Showalter was on hand during the two days of testing. "Dustin did a really great job," he said.

"You can see that he definitely has the talent and his father's no-fear driving style," Showalter added. "We were genuinely impressed with his performance over the two days." (Continued)