The 2016 Alpha Energy Solutions 250 was the 3rd stock car race of the 2016 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, and the 22nd iteration of the event. The race was held on Saturday, April 2, 2016, in Ridgeway, Virginia at Martinsville Speedway, a 0.526 mile (0.847 km) permanent paperclip shaped short track. The race was increased from 250 laps to 255 laps, due to a NASCAR overtime finish. Kyle Busch, driving for his team, Kyle Busch Motorsports, held off John Hunter Nemechek on the final restart, and earned his 45th career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series win, along with his first of the season.[1] To fill out the podium, William Byron, also driving for Kyle Busch Motorsports, would finish in 3rd, respectively.
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 3 of 23 of the 2016 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series | |||
| Date | April 2, 2016 | ||
| Official name | 22nd Annual Alpha Energy Solutions 250 | ||
| Location | Martinsville Speedway, Ridgeway, Virginia | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility 0.526 mi (0.847 km) | ||
| Distance | 255 laps, 134.1 mi (215.861 km) | ||
| Scheduled Distance | 250 laps, 131.5 mi (211.628 km) | ||
| Average speed | 61.811 miles per hour (99.475 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | ThorSport Racing | ||
| Time | 19.659 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Kyle Busch | Kyle Busch Motorsports | |
| Laps | 123 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 18 | Kyle Busch | Kyle Busch Motorsports | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | FS1 | ||
| Announcers | Vince Welch, Phil Parsons, and Michael Waltrip | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | MRN | ||
Background
edit
Martinsville Speedway is a NASCAR-owned stock car racing short track in Ridgeway, Virginia, just south of Martinsville. At 0.526 miles (847 m) in length, it is the shortest track in the NASCAR Cup Series. The track was also one of the first paved oval tracks in stock car racing, being built in 1947 by partners H. Clay Earles, Henry Lawrence, and Sam Rice, nearly a year before NASCAR was officially formed.[2] It is also the only race track that has been on the NASCAR circuit from its beginning in 1948. Along with this, Martinsville is the only oval track on the NASCAR circuit to have asphalt surfaces on the straightaways and concrete to cover the turns.
Entry list
edit- (R) denotes rookie driver.
- (i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.
Notes
edit- ^ Driver changed to Austin Wayne Self for the race after Self failed to qualify.
Practice
editFirst practice
editThe first practice session was held on Friday, April 1, at 10:00 AM EST, and would last for 55 minutes.[3] William Byron, driving for Kyle Busch Motorsports, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 19.868, and an average speed of 95.309 mph (153.385 km/h).[4]
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 | William Byron (R) | Kyle Busch Motorsports | Toyota | 19.868 | 95.309 |
| 2 | 17 | Timothy Peters | Red Horse Racing | Toyota | 19.995 | 94.704 |
| 3 | 18 | Kyle Busch (i) | Kyle Busch Motorsports | Toyota | 20.104 | 94.190 |
| Full first practice results | ||||||
Second practice
editThe second practice session was held on Friday, April 1, at 12:30 PM EST, and would last for 1 hour and 25 minutes.[3] Ben Rhodes, driving for ThorSport Racing, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 19.839, and an average speed of 95.448 mph (153.609 km/h).[5]
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 41 | Ben Rhodes (R) | ThorSport Racing | Toyota | 19.839 | 95.448 |
| 2 | 9 | William Byron (R) | Kyle Busch Motorsports | Toyota | 19.856 | 95.367 |
| 3 | 00 | Cole Custer (R) | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 19.901 | 95.151 |
| Full second practice results | ||||||
Final practice
editThe final practice session was held on Friday, April 1, at 3:00 PM EST, and would last for 50 minutes.[3] Cole Custer, driving for JR Motorsports, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 19.788, and an average speed of 95.694 mph (154.005 km/h).[6]
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 00 | Cole Custer (R) | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 19.788 | 95.694 |
| 2 | 8 | John Hunter Nemechek | NEMCO Motorsports | Chevrolet | 19.826 | 95.511 |
| 3 | 41 | Ben Rhodes (R) | ThorSport Racing | Toyota | 19.837 | 95.458 |
| Full final practice results | ||||||
Qualifying
editQualifying was held on Saturday, April 2, at 11:15 AM EST.[3] Since Martinsville Speedway is under 1.5 miles (2.4 km) in length, the qualifying system was a multi-car system that included three rounds. The first round was 15 minutes, where every driver would be able to set a lap within the 15 minutes. Then, the second round would consist of the fastest 24 cars in Round 1, and drivers would have 10 minutes to set a lap. Round 3 consisted of the fastest 12 drivers from Round 2, and the drivers would have 5 minutes to set a time. Whoever was fastest in Round 3 would win the pole.[7]
Ben Rhodes, driving for ThorSport Racing, would score the pole for the race, with a lap of 19.659, and an average speed of 96.322 mph (155.015 km/h) in the third round.[8]
Austin Wayne Self, Jordan Anderson, Travis Kvapil, Norm Benning, Chris Fontaine, and Natalie Decker would fail to qualify.
Full qualifying results
editRace results
edit| Fin | St | # | Driver | Team | Make | Laps | Led | Status | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 18 | Kyle Busch (i) | Kyle Busch Motorsports | Toyota | 255 | 123 | Running | 0 |
| 2 | 8 | 8 | John Hunter Nemechek | NEMCO Motorsports | Chevrolet | 255 | 0 | Running | 31 |
| 3 | 7 | 9 | William Byron (R) | Kyle Busch Motorsports | Toyota | 255 | 0 | Running | 30 |
| 4 | 5 | 24 | Kyle Larson (i) | GMS Racing | Chevrolet | 255 | 79 | Running | 0 |
| 5 | 16 | 17 | Timothy Peters | Red Horse Racing | Toyota | 255 | 0 | Running | 28 |
| 6 | 11 | 23 | Spencer Gallagher | GMS Racing | Chevrolet | 255 | 0 | Running | 27 |
| 7 | 10 | 88 | Matt Crafton | ThorSport Racing | Toyota | 255 | 0 | Running | 26 |
| 8 | 25 | 92 | Parker Kligerman | RBR Enterprises | Ford | 255 | 0 | Running | 25 |
| 9 | 4 | 13 | Cameron Hayley | ThorSport Racing | Toyota | 255 | 11 | Running | 25 |
| 10 | 20 | 98 | Rico Abreu (R) | ThorSport Racing | Toyota | 255 | 0 | Running | 23 |
| 11 | 15 | 11 | Ben Kennedy | Red Horse Racing | Toyota | 255 | 0 | Running | 22 |
| 12 | 18 | 81 | Ryan Truex | Hattori Racing Enterprises | Toyota | 255 | 0 | Running | 21 |
| 13 | 13 | 02 | Tyler Young | Young's Motorsports | Chevrolet | 255 | 0 | Running | 20 |
| 14 | 23 | 86 | Brandon Brown | Brandonbilt Motorsports | Chevrolet | 255 | 0 | Running | 19 |
| 15 | 24 | 44 | Austin Wayne Self (R) | Martins Motorsports | Toyota | 255 | 0 | Running | 18 |
| 16 | 1 | 41 | Ben Rhodes (R) | ThorSport Racing | Toyota | 255 | 42 | Running | 18 |
| 17 | 28 | 07 | Shane Lee | SS-Green Light Racing | Chevrolet | 255 | 0 | Running | 16 |
| 18 | 6 | 51 | Daniel Suárez (i) | Kyle Busch Motorsports | Toyota | 255 | 0 | Running | 0 |
| 19 | 14 | 4 | Christopher Bell (R) | Kyle Busch Motorsports | Toyota | 255 | 0 | Running | 14 |
| 20 | 9 | 29 | Tyler Reddick | Brad Keselowski Racing | Ford | 255 | 0 | Running | 13 |
| 21 | 21 | 05 | John Wes Townley | Athenian Motorsports | Chevrolet | 255 | 0 | Running | 12 |
| 22 | 17 | 19 | Daniel Hemric | Brad Keselowski Racing | Ford | 253 | 0 | Running | 11 |
| 23 | 32 | 1 | Bryce Napier | MAKE Motorsports | Chevrolet | 249 | 0 | Running | 10 |
| 24 | 29 | 49 | Timmy Hill | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet | 248 | 0 | Running | 9 |
| 25 | 30 | 74 | Paige Decker | Mike Harmon Racing | Ram | 246 | 0 | Running | 8 |
| 26 | 22 | 32 | Justin Haley | Braun Motorsports | Toyota | 244 | 0 | Accident | 7 |
| 27 | 31 | 10 | Claire Decker | Jennifer Jo Cobb Racing | Chevrolet | 243 | 0 | Running | 6 |
| 28 | 27 | 63 | Spencer Boyd | MB Motorsports | Ram | 237 | 0 | Accident | 5 |
| 29 | 12 | 00 | Cole Custer (R) | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 235 | 0 | Accident | 4 |
| 30 | 26 | 71 | Mike Bliss | Contreras Motorsports | Chevrolet | 115 | 0 | Electrical | 3 |
| 31 | 19 | 33 | Kaz Grala | GMS Racing | Chevrolet | 91 | 0 | Accident | 2 |
| 32 | 3 | 21 | Johnny Sauter | GMS Racing | Chevrolet | 43 | 0 | Accident | 1 |
| Official race results | |||||||||
Standings after the race
edit
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
References
edit- ^ Spencer, Lee (April 2, 2016). "Kyle Busch scores first Martinsville win in contact-filled Truck race". Motorsport.com. Retrieved December 12, 2022.
- ^ "HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 76".
- ^ a b c d "2016 Truck Series Martinsville Spring Race Info". Jayski's NASCAR Silly Season Site. Archived from the original on April 5, 2016. Retrieved December 12, 2022.
- ^ Bonkowski, Jerry (April 1, 2016). "Truck Series rookie William Byron tops first Martinsville practice". NASCAR Talk | NBC Sports. Retrieved December 12, 2022.
- ^ White, Tucker (April 1, 2016). "Ben Rhodes Fastest in Second Truck Practice". Speedway Media. Retrieved December 12, 2022.
- ^ White, Tucker (April 1, 2016). "Cole Custer Fastest in Final Truck Practice". Speedway Media. Retrieved December 12, 2022.
- ^ "NASCAR Qualifying Rules". ESPN.com. February 7, 2018. Retrieved December 12, 2022.
- ^ Bonkowski, Jerry (April 2, 2016). "Rookie Ben Rhodes wins pole for today's Truck race at Martinsville". NASCAR Talk | NBC Sports. Retrieved December 12, 2022.