Last fall, Brian Scott earned his stripes at Martinsville Speedway finishing 15th in the Kroger 200. The event, only Scott's third career start in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, taught the 20-year-old Boise, ID driver just what is necessary to be successful at the venerable .526-mile Martinsville oval.

"You have to be tough," said Scott. "You can't let guys punt your around because if you do that, they will take advantage of you all day long. You have to stick up for yourself and know when it's time to not give an inch and when it's a better time to give."

Scott (right) hopes there will be plenty of give and take when he flashes under the green flag in the Kroger 250 this Saturday at Martinsville. In addition to a firm but patient attitude, the young driver will be riding a very fast No. 16 Shark Energy Drink/Albertsons Chevrolet this weekend thanks to a solid test at the Virginia oval a week ago.

"It's easy to look like a hero at a test when your team shows up as prepared as mine did," said Scott of his Xpress Motorsports mates. "We unloaded really fast and stayed that way throughout the entire test. Even though we were really good, we didn't just sit around and adjust air pressures. The team tried a lot of stuff that we normally couldn't do during the couple hours of practice you get before a race. We tried a bunch of things we were curious about. Some worked out and some didn't. In the end, we had two days of everyone working their tails off to get us the best data and information possible so that when we come back to Martinsville to race, we'll be in a position to run up front and have a good finish."

The Martinsville test numbers show Scott will have a chance to do just that in the Kroger 250 this weekend. Scott's team was the fastest of 39 trucks in the first of four practice sessions held over two-day event. He then closed out the test in style posting the fifth-fastest speed in the final session on day two.

While getting additional track time was beneficial to the Raybestos Rookie of the Year candidate, Scott was quick to point out that it is his experience in last year's Kroger 200 at Martinsville that may give him advantage over his rookie competitors this time around.

"I don't look at just making laps at Martinsville as good experience for me," said Scott. "Sure, it helps, but running that race last year was a huge benefit to me There's a big difference between running a test or practice there and actually being in a race. When the green flag falls, there's a style of racing in the Truck Series at places like Martinsville that is unlike anywhere else we race. I think that will be an advantage for us over the other Truck Series rookies who haven't raced at Martinsville. Adapting to the track is easy, adapting to the racing conditions at Martinsville is something completely different."

Scott, who is coming off a 17th-place finish in the most recent NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series event at Atlanta, is 17th in the 2008 Truck Series season championship chase after three races. Scott's 344 point total is just 32 markers out of 10th place in the standings and has him looking to move up in the title battle this weekend at Martinsville.

"My expectations are the same every week - stay out of trouble and finish all the laps," Scott stated. "We need to be competitive and score the best finish we can get. That means being smart and not trying to take something that isn't there. If you race smart and stay out of trouble, good finishes will be the payoff. Good finishes come with good preparation and race strategy. We want to get faster and faster from the time the gates open to the time the checkered flag falls. Our game plan at each race is to do just that. If we can do that, everything will fall in place and we will be successful."

The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Kroger 250 will take the green flag at Martinsville Speedway this Saturday, March 29 at 3 p.m. Eastern Time.

The event will be televised live on SPEED and will be broadcast worldwide on Motor Racing Network (MRN) and SIRIUS Satellite Radio NASCAR Channel 128.