With only four races remaining on the 2006 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series schedule, Bill Lester and his Bill Davis Racing crew were hoping for big things on the short track in Martinsville. After being involved in a lap one incident, the team rebounded to earn a 12th place finish, its best effort of the season.

Lester was the seventh of 40 drivers to make his qualifying attempt around the .526-mile oval Friday evening. Lester posted a time of 20.330 seconds (93.143 mph) around the track in his SunTrust Toyota Tundra, which landed him the 28th starting spot for the event.

The green flag waved for the start of the Kroger 200, and Lester ran into trouble almost immediately. Several cars spun in front of him in turn three, and though Lester checked up in time, the driver behind him was unable to stop before he ran into the back of the SunTrust Toyota. Lester drove down pit road so his crew could assess the damage. When the race resumed on lap eight, Lester was in the 35th position. After falling that far back in the field, Lester was unable to hold off the leader and went one lap down on lap 30. Fortunately, things began to improve for the No. 22 team when a caution flag waved one lap later, and Lester received the Lucky Dog pass. After a pit stop on lap 35 during which the crew made chassis adjustments to remedy a tight handling condition, Lester returned to the track in the 29th spot.

Lester continued to make his way toward the front of the field despite still battling a tight-handling truck. Lester broke into the top 25 on lap 65. At the midway point of the 200-lap race, he stood in 21st. Lester communicated to Crew Chief Doug Wolcott that the truck was handling better after the chassis adjustments that were made during the most recent pit stop. He moved to 15th by lap 146.

The final 50 laps of the race were plagued by caution flags. Slowly but surely, Lester made his way past slower competitors, and by the time the checkered flag waved, Lester had driven into 12th place. It was the best finish of the season for the No. 22 team.