Saturday was Judgment Day so to speak as the Kroger 250 wrapped up the four races in which 2005 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series owner championship points awarded guaranteed starting positions.

There were winners and losers as 25 teams among the top 30 from last season go to Gateway International Raceway knowing each retained a spot in the Dodge Ram Tough 200 field.

Cracking the top 30 among teams previously having to time their way into the lineup were the No. 9 Team ASE Toyota of Germain Motorsports, No. 60 Con-Way Toyota of Wyler Racing, the Wood Brothers/JTG No. 20 and 21 Fords and the No. 02 Team Copaxone Chevrolet.

Losers in the early-season shuffle were the No. 29 K Automotive Ford/Chevrolet, No. 1 R3 Racing Dodge, the No. 59 H-T Racing Dodge/Ford, No. 25 Woodard-Sharp Racing Dodge and No. 8 Montgomery Racing Dodge.

A single point gave Evernham Racing's No. 98 Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge the nod for 30th over the No. 29 team.

With 15 points the difference between 30th and 33rd it's likely the drama will continue.                     

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Thirty-six teams have attempted to compete in all of the season's first four races.

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David Starr found out before the race that his sister, Melissa, had given birth to her first son Matt - and their parents' first grand child - an event that gave the driver some extra inspiration.

Starr is just the eighth series driver to score a victory in two makes of truck. His previous wins at Las Vegas, Gateway and Phoenix came in the Spears Manufacturing Chevrolet. He became Martinsville's 14th different winner, a figure that continues to lead all NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series tracks.

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Getting a pair of laps back as the beneficiary at the race's final two cautions helped Erin Crocker record her first lead-lap finish in a NASCAR national touring series. Crocker finished 25th to better her career best 26th in Atlanta last month.

"We have a few scratches but I think we have a lot less damage than most of the trucks," said Crocker. "We're going in the right direction."

Evernham's team reorganized prior to the Kroger 250 with crew chief Dan Glauz departing and truck chief Ronnie Hornaday III elevated to director of competition. Hornaday handled crew chief duties on Saturday.

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A perfect, spring day in southern Virginia produced a crowd estimated at 43,000 and easily the best for the series in 15 trips to the .526-mile short track. Last year's attendance was estimated at 35,000.

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A deal struck to give Richard Childress Racing driver Clint Bowyer the seat in Green Light Racing's No. 07 Chevrolet worked out well for the Gene Christensen/Bobby Dotter outfit. RCR provided an engine for Bowyer's series debut that saw the Kansas native qualify third, lead 84 laps and finish seventh despite a mid-race spin in Turn 1.

The drive gave a big boost to the team that previously had been in danger of losing its top 30 owner ranking. Bowyer's drive elevated the truck from 32nd to 23rd in owner points.

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Dave Fuge's Xpress Motorsports team is running race-to-race without a sponsor but 2002 champion Mike Bliss is raising some eyebrows as the best-ranked Chevrolet in the point standings. Bliss's first top-five of the season, which followed a pair of sevenths, moved the Oregon veteran to eighth in the points.

"We just need to keep doing this and we need to go Monday and try to get going for the next race," he said. "You know, it's always one race at a time and Martinsville was a good points day."

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The welcome to America moment for Australian V8 Supercar champion Marcos Ambrose came at lap 151 when a three-truck skirmish severely rearranged the front end of his Ford. Ambrose, who'd qualified 20th, finished the race in 33rd - 52 laps behind the winner.

"I dived to the bottom as fast as I could and we ended up getting into trouble because we were trying to stay out of trouble," he said of the Turn 4 accident with Johnny Benson and Terry Cook.

Overall, Ambrose was pleased.

"If you look at the whole weekend, I wanted to make the race and everything else was a bonus," said Ambrose, the first of his countrymen to compete in NASCAR since the early Dick Johnson in 1990. Australian Tony Spanos was the only Aussie to compete previously at Martinsville in 1987. "I'm looking forward to the next one. I think we're going to make a big step forward."