Ricky Craven Finds Redemption at Martinsville

Ricky Craven, competing in his final five races for Roush Racing, became the season's record-matching 14th winner Saturday as he captured the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Kroger 200 at Martinsville Speedway.

Craven, who finished second in April's Kroger 250 driving the same No. 99 Ford, pitted early in the race and holding track position over his rivals led the final 104 of 200 laps to edge Roush partner Todd Kluever by slightly over a second.

The victory was the first by Roush since August 2004 at Bristol Motor Speedway but gave the team a series high 37 wins to break a tie with Ultra Motorsports. Roush trucks last finished one-two in 2003 as Jon Wood and Carl Edwards swept the Kroger 200's top positions.

Craven, who started the season with three top four finishes in his first four races, had slumped to 12th in series standings and hadn't cracked the top 10 since early June. Owner Jack Roush earlier had announced that the Maine native was being replaced in 2006.

"We lost our way at mid-year," said Craven. "This was redemption for all of us."
Craven, who won his first NASCAR NEXTEL Cup event at Martinsville, became the 15th driver to win in each of NASCAR's three national touring series.

He won $46,725 from posted awards of $414,767 at an average speed of 64.332 mph. He was the fifth of five leaders who traded the point five times.

Brandon Whitt finished third in a Toyota with Ted Musgrave fourth in a Dodge and Kyle Busch fifth in a Chevrolet. Willie Allen was sixth in his series debut followed by Terry Cook, Raybestos Rookie Timothy Peters, Ron Hornaday Jr. and Todd Bodine.
Twenty-seven of 30 finishers completed all 200 laps.

Double Martinsville winner Dennis Setzer had a disastrous afternoon and wound up 19th after twice going to the rear of the field on penalty and again following a spin in Turn 4. Leading Musgrave by five points entering the season's 21st of 25 races, Setzer heads to next Saturday's Easycare Vehicle Service 200 at Atlanta Motor Speedway facing a deficit of 54 points. Setzer took the point lead from Musgrave after the June 18 event at Michigan International Speedway and led by as many as 227 points in early August.