Bobby Hamilton Jr. made the most out of his first start as the substitute driver of the No. 18 Fastenal Dodge by winning the pole for the Kroger 250 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Martinsville Speedway. Hamilton turned a track record lap of 19.895 seconds/95.180 miles per hour en route to his second career NCTS pole. Hamilton Jr. then followed that performance up with an impressive 10th place finish in the caution flag laden Kroger 250. Hamilton Jr. is filling in for his father Bobby Hamilton Sr. while the senior Hamilton undergoes treatment for cancer.

 "We were talking about it on the way over here, and we were going to give up on the second lap," Hamilton Jr. said following qualifying. "I drove in a little hard on the first lap so we had to go make it work on the second one. I gave up on the second lap and tried to run a smooth lap and wound up on the pole. We had an idea we could do that, but I figured we'd end up in top-five. We were a little free on the throttle which is what you need here. That makes it two poles in the last two Martinsville spring races for BHR, so that's pretty cool. I was really, really nervous coming here because Dad is always good here. He is here and he came over and gave me a big hug as soon as soon as qualifying was over."

No. 18 Fastenal Dodge Martinsville Race Recap

• Hamilton Jr. kept his No. 18 Fastenal Dodge at the front of the pack after the start of the Kroger 250. He led the first 18 laps of the event before yielding the point to rookie Clint Bowyer on lap 19.

• As the race unwound, spotter Danny Gill informed the Fastenal Dodge crew that it appeared as if Hamilton Jr’s truck was getting tight off of turn two.

• Hamilton Jr. came down pit road on lap 65 for four fresh Goodyear Wrangler tires and a load of Sunoco fuel. His crew made two chassis adjustments by adding one pound of air pressure in the right rear tire and making a wedge adjustment to the right rear.

• Hamilton Jr. restarted the event in the 8th position. After 20 laps of green flag competition he radioed to his crew chief Danny Rollins that he felt like the right front of his Fastenal Dodge needed to dig in more. “It still wants to scoot the nose, and it is a little free coming off. I can live with that but I need that right front to dig in.”

• By lap 120 Hamilton Jr. had climbed back into the top three, running comfortably in the third spot behind Mark Martin and Dennis Setzer.

• On lap 130 Hamilton Jr. brought the Fastenal Dodge down pit road for the last scheduled pit stop. His crew bolted on four tires, added fuel and went two rounds down on the track bar. Hamilton Jr. exited the pits in the 20th position.

• The Fastenal Dodge continued to reel in positions despite the record number of accidents that routinely brought out the yellow flag. This trend allowed some of the front runners to save their tires and fuel thus relieving them of an extra pit stop on their end. By lap 180 Hamilton Jr. had already clawed his way back into the 10th position.

• As the race wound down Bobby Hamilton Sr. came on the team radio to encourage his driver. “You’re doing a good job protecting yourself out there but when it gets to be 10 laps to go these guys get crazy trying to pick up positions. Keep watching ahead of yourself and protecting your truck from behind.”

• Hamilton Jr. fell out of the top ten late in the race only to come back and claim the 10th position in the closing laps.

• Hamilton Sr. gave his driver and his crew some encouragement after the checkered flag fell. “A pole and a top ten for this Fastenal Dodge team. I am thrilled – this is the best run we have had this year and it was a good points day. I’ll take that.”

David Starr won the Kroger 250 in front of 43,000 sun-baked NASCAR enthusiasts. Ted Musgrave, Matt Crafton, Mark Martin and Mike Bliss rounded out the top five.  The next stop for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series competitors will be on April 29th at Gateway International Raceway in Madison, Illinois.