Skinner sits seventh in NCTS points after three of 25 races, and he'll be looking to make a big leap forward in Saturday's Kroger 250 at the 0.526-mile short track, a facility that opened way back in 1947, before NASCAR was even formed.

In addition to moving up in points, Skinner also will be looking to make history. He is the only three-time Martinsville winner, and if he can capture the Kroger 250 on Saturday, Skinner will become the first competitor in series history to win three consecutive races at the same short track. He also would be the third driver to win four races at the same track, joining Todd Bodine and Brendan Gaughan, four-time winners each at Texas Motor Speedway.

It's little wonder that Skinner is fired up about getting back to Martinsville in his Bill Davis Racing No. 5 Toyota Tundra. "Our goal this weekend is to definitely win, but we will take what we get," said Skinner, who last year finished second in points to Ron Hornaday Jr. "We've got to catch back up in the points, and this weekend would be a great weekend to do so. We tested well at Martinsville the week before last, and we are taking a great truck here as well. I can't wait to get on the track. We have had great success there, so it should be a lot of fun."

Skinner can expect plenty of stiff competition at Martinsville. Dennis Setzer, Jon Wood, Rick Crawford, David Starr and Jack Sprague, all past winners at Martinsville, will be in the field for Saturday's NCTS race. Sprague led afternoon testing at the track March 13 in his Kevin Harvick Inc. Camping World Chevrolet Silverado, and the following day was second-fastest behind Terry Cook's Wyler Racing Toyota Tundra.

Interestingly, one driver who has not won at Martinsville in his long and storied career is the defending NCTS Champion Hornaday, who certainly will be looking to rectify that situation on Saturday. Hornaday's Kevin Harvick Inc. No. 33 Chevrolet will be sponsored by the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States this weekend.

Also a force to be reckoned with on Saturday will be Kyle "Rowdy" Busch, the series point leader, who will be back behind the wheel of Billy Ballew's No. 51 Toyota. Busch has won the last two NCTS races at Atlanta and Fontana, Calif., and has shown phenomenal pace in all three of NASCAR's top divisions this season.

Billy Ballew Motorsports will run a second truck at Martinsville, the No. 15, which will be driven by Virginia native Denny Hamlin, Busch's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teammate at Joe Gibbs Racing.

Busch currently leads the NCTS points standings by 72 over Todd Bodine, the 2006 series champion. Bodine has never won a race at Martinsville, but if he can claim victory Saturday, he will join brothers Brett and Geoffrey as the first three siblings to win a national series race at the same track.

There are some interesting newcomers to watch, too: Reigning NASCAR Whelen Modified Series Champion Donny Lia was impressive in testing in his TRG Chevy, while Chrissy Wallace, the 19-year-old daughter of NASCAR Nationwide Series regular Mike Wallace, will attempt to put the No. 03 Germain Racing Toyota into the Martinsville field.

And if youth is to be well served at Martinsville, there's a popular veteran to look for, too: Ken Schrader will make his first NCTS start of the year in the No. 52 Federated Auto Parts Toyota.

All told, the field for Saturday's race is as deep and as talented as the Truck Series has seen all year, which should make for an excellent race. SPEED will broadcast qualifying live at 10:10 a.m. EST Saturday morning at the Kroger 250 at 3 p.m.

Tom Jensen is the Senior NASCAR Editor for SPEEDtv.com, the former Executive Editor of NASCAR Scene and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com.  He is the author of "Cheating: The Bad Things Good NASCAR Nextel Cup Racers Do In Pursuit of SPEED," and has appeared on numerous television and radio shows to discuss NASCAR racing. Jensen is the President of the National Motorsports Press Association.