Advertisement

Matt Crafton wins truck race at Martinsville

 
Published March 31, 2014

MARTINSVILLE, Va. — Matt Crafton grabbed the lead for the first time late and held on to win the rain-delayed NASCAR trucks series Kroger 250 at Martinsville Speedway on Sunday, his fourth career victory and first on the half-mile paper clip.

Crafton, the defending series champion, passed local favorite Timothy Peters on the inside of the fourth turn to grab the top spot, then survived two two-lap sprints to the finish in the race postponed Saturday because of rain.

"If you don't have the best car or truck there at the beginning of a run, you make changes throughout the race. It's about having a smart crew chief," Crafton said, crediting crew chief Carl Joiner for adjustments throughout the race. "It's not so much stealing. It's about beating them at the end when it counts."

Crafton is the 23rd driver to win in 31 truck races at Martinsville. The series takes a long break, resuming May 9 in Kansas.

nhra: Alexis DeJoria won in Funny Car and Erica Enders-Stevens topped the Pro Stock field in the NHRA Nationals in Las Vegas, the second female double in NHRA history. Enders-Stevens and Courtney Force accomplished the feat in the 2012 Northwest Nationals. Tony Schumacher won in Top Fuel for his division-record 73rd victory. DeJoria beat Robert Hight with a 4.026-second pass at 309.98 mph in her Toyota Camry. Enders-Stevens beat Jason Line in the final for her seventh career victory, finishing in 6.612 seconds at 208.78 mph in her Chevy Camaro. She became the first female driver to lead the Pro Stock standings. Schumacher topped points leader Doug Kalitta with a 3.797 at 326.16.

formula one: Lewis Hamilton broke his drought at the Malaysian Grand Prix and led a one-two finish for the Mercedes team in Sepang. Hamilton beat teammate Nico Rosberg by 17.3 seconds, with defending series champion Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull third. It was the first one-two by the Mercedes factory team since 1955.

Meanwhile, Williams driver Felipe Massa stood by his decision to ignore team orders to let teammate Valtteri Bottas pass him in the closing stages, saying he has interests in the drivers championship. Massa was repeatedly told to let Bottas pass to enable the Finn to chase the McLaren of Jenson Button but refused. He finished seventh; Bottas was eighth.