Sat Mar 29 11:29:39 2008

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Sprague sets track record in Martinsville

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Martinsville, VA (Sports Network) - Three-time series champion Jack Sprague captured the pole for Saturday afternoon's Kroger 250 Craftsman Truck Series race at the Martinsville Speedway. The No.2 Kevin Harvick Inc. Chevrolet set a track record around the flat 0.526-mile short track of 19.658 seconds (96.327 m.p.h.).

The pole victory was Sprague's first of the season and 32nd of his truck career.

"Everybody at KHI has done a wonderful job building trucks," said Sprague.

Starting alongside Sprague will be Denny Hamlin, who posted a time of 19.818 seconds.

Sprague's teammate Ron Hornaday Jr. (19.886) and Brian Scott (19.910) will make up row two.

After three events the Craftsman Truck Series should be renamed the "Kyle Busch Series."

Busch has been masterful against the combination of veterans and rookies which make up the truck races. Busch finished second to Todd Bodine in the season opener, then has won back-to-back events in California and Atlanta. "Rowdy" is scheduled to start 11th.

But if Busch doesn't dominate, there are plenty of other drivers, mainly veterans, ready to challenge.

Last year, Mike Skinner won both Martinsville races. He edged Bodine in the first race and beat Sprague to the checkered flag in the second. Dennis Setzer won at Martinsville in 2002 and 2003. And Hornaday Jr., the defending series champion, is also pretty good on short tracks. Hornaday Jr. is third in the standings. After a bad start in Daytona (25th) the defending champion has returned to form with a fifth in California and a second place in Atlanta.

The race is set to drop the green flag to at 3 p.m. (et).