2014 Kroger 250

The 2014 Kroger 250 was the 2nd stock car race of the 2014 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, and the 16th iteration of the event. The race was held on Saturday, March 30, 2014, in Ridgeway, Virginia at Martinsville Speedway, a 0.526 mile (0.847 km) permanent paper-clip shaped short track. The race was originally scheduled to be contested over 250 laps, but was increased to 256 laps, due to a NASCAR overtime finish. Matt Crafton, driving for ThorSport Racing, would hold on to his first win of the season. To fill out the podium, Bubba Wallace, driving for Kyle Busch Motorsports, and Ben Kennedy, driving for Turner Scott Motorsports, would finish 2nd and 3rd, respectively.

Background
Martinsville Speedway is a NASCAR-owned stock car racing short track in Ridgeway, Virginia, just south of Martinsville. At 0.526 mi 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. 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.

Practice
Practice session was held on Friday, March 28, at 3:00 PM EST, and would last for 30 minutes. Ron Hornaday Jr., driving for Turner Scott Motorsports, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 19.690, and an average speed of 96.171 mph.

Qualifying
Qualifying was scheduled to be held on Saturday, March 29, but after rain came down, qualifying was canceled. Bubba Wallace, driving for Brad Keselowski Racing, would score the pole.