NASCAR Truck Series: 2019 TruNorth Global 250 preview

By Mark Kristl | Mar 22, 2019

MARTINSVILLE, VA - OCTOBER 27: The NASCAR Truck Series drivers race in the 2018 Texas Roadhouse 200 at Martinsville Speedway (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images) /

The NASCAR Truck Series is set to return to action at Martinsville Speedway this Saturday with the TruNorth Global 250. What can we expect in the first short track race of the 2019 season?

This weekend, the NASCAR Cup Series and Truck Series are set to race at Martinsville Speedway, the first short track on the schedule. After a short break from the beginning of its season, the Truck Series is set to return to action in the TruNorth Global 250 at the track. What can we expect in this race?

First of all, qualifying will be a hotly contested session. As of press time, 38 drivers are entered into the race, meaning that six drivers will fail to qualify for it.

The race’s entry list boasts some noteworthy storylines. First of all, riding a three-race Truck Series win streak, including back-to-back victories earlier this season this season, Kyle Busch is entered in his #51 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota.

Kyle Busch Motorsports are set to field four entries in this race, with the fourth being for Raphael Lessard. Lessard seeks to make his Truck Series debut this weekend as the driver of the #46 Toyota and a teammate to Busch and full-time drivers Todd Gilliland and Harrison Burton.

After failing to qualify for the NextEra Energy 250 at Daytona International Speedway to open up the season, Spencer Davis is set to return as the driver of the #11 Rette Jones Racing Ford. Reid Wilson is set to make his season debut for Niece Motorsports driving the #44 Chevrolet.

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Last season, Derek Kraus impressed in his Truck Series debut when he finished in eighth place in the November race at ISM Raceway. He is set to return to the Truck Series this weekend as the driver of the #19 Bill McNally Racing Toyota.

There are two new driver-owners entered into the TruNorth Global 250. Tony Mrakovich is set to attempt to make his Truck Series debut driving the #43 Chevrolet for Tony Mrakovich Racing. Timmy Hill is set to drive the #56 Chevrolet in the inaugural race for Hill Motorsports. Timmy and his brother Tyler own the team, and they are set to split the driving duties of the #56 Chevrolet this season.

Beginning with the TruNorth Global 250, Tyler Ankrum is set to drive the #17 DGR-Crosley Toyota for the rest of the season. Ankrum won the 2018 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East championship, and he made the first two Truck Series starts of his career last season.

So who will win the TruNorth Global 250? In addition to Kyle Busch, there are two other Cup Series drivers entered into this race: Austin Dillon and Darrell Wallace Jr.

Although Dillon has never won a Truck Series race at Martinsville Speedway, his team, NEMCO Motorsports, won there last year when John Hunter Nemechek drove the #8 Chevrolet to victory lane in the March race at the track.

Wallace Jr. is set to drive the #22 AM Racing Chevrolet in this Saturday’s race, marking his first Truck Series start since he competed in the May race at Kansas Speedway last season. He has won at Martinsville Speedway twice in the Truck Series, so he hopes to repeat that performance tomorrow. Johnny Sauter and Matt Crafton have also won at Martinsville Speedway.

In addition, Ross Chastain has impressed this season, Grant Enfinger is the current leader of the Truck Series championship standings, and Kyle Busch Motorsports teammates Gilliland and Burton are both eager to win their first Truck Series race.

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The 250-lap TruNorth Global 250 at the four-turn, 0.526-mile (0.847-kilometer) Martinsville Speedway oval in Ridgeway, Virginia is scheduled to take place at 2:00 p.m. ET on Saturday, March 23, and it is set to be broadcast live on Fox. Be sure not to miss this race, which is the fourth of 23 races on the 2019 NASCAR Truck Series schedule.

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