(Ronda Greer Photo)

As the track record holder and a former winner at Martinsville Speedway the Circle Bar Team looks forward to the paper clip half-mile speedway in Virginia. This year's installment of the Kroger 200 would give the team another opportunity to bring home the bacon and improve on their 5th place position in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series standings.

Crew chief Kevin "Cowboy" Starland called on the team's favorite short track chassis CB-17, nicknamed Elvis after it's resurrection in Memphis earlier this year. Elvis has 2 victories on its resume, ORP this year and Louden last year and has the "feel" that driver Rick Crawford likes to have on the short tracks. Off the hauler Elvis was rock and rolling putting the team inside the top 10 on the speed chart. As always the team looked for a good qualifying setup that would translate to a good race setup. With a little too much emphasis on race setup the team posted a 17th place starting position.

From the start of the Kroger 200 the Circle Bar Truck corral team was on the move forward. By lap 30, the team had moved up 4 spots to 13th and a three wide battle turned into a caution. With a shorter Fall race the caution on lap 30 would put the Circle Bar Team in their pit window for their only stop of the day. Looking to gain spots on pit road Cowboy called for a full load of Sunoco fuel and a 2-tire stop. The pit strategy paid dividends with the team picking up a couple of spots on pit road and sitting just outside the top 10. Just like the real Elvis, Circle Bar's Elvis doesn't move quickly right off. It takes him a few laps to really get going. Elvis's wake up laps would cost the team a few spots.

With the sleep out of his eyes and the Goodyear Wranglers having built up some pressure Elvis was on the move. While Elvis likes to rock and roll Martinsville Speedway is a slow dance to the front. Patiently, Crawford picked off trucks one at a time, working his way up to the back bumper of Nextel Cup Chase contender Denny Hamlin. The pair would make the circuit nose to tail hooked together like the train and cars behind the speedway. When the checkered flag finally flew the Circle Bar team had posted another top 10 (9th) and gained ground on the 4th place driver in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series standings.

Crew chief Kevin "Cowboy" Starland: "We had good race truck but we needed a better qualifying effort to start with better track position. The guys had a solid stop and we gambled taking only 2 tires and we picked up some spots in the pits. The 2 left side tires went the distance and it paid off with a top 10 finish."

Driver Rick Crawford: "We were off just a little at the start of the race and with only 1 pit stop it was tough to get the Circle Bar F-150 where we could make some bold moves. Passing at Martinsville is always tough and today was no different. By the end of the race, our truck had really come to us and we were able to pick up some spots and I felt like we had a top 5 truck we just couldn't get there. We go to Atlanta next week and it is about as opposite from Martinsville as you can get. We set the track record there last year and I'm looking forward to going back."