Before the race went green #46 Dennis Setzer would have to drop to the back of the field from his 5th spot qualifying effort because his crew changed a leaking power steering issue.
The race would start and everyone was side by side. Ted would make a few moves and find himself up to 3rd by lap 8.
Caution #1 comes on lap 8 as #04 Bobby Hamilton spins all by himself.
They would restart on lap 12 and Ted would still be in 3rd right behind #15 Kyle Busch. He would stay right behind him while they both pass #14 Rick Crawford. Ted is now 2nd.
Caution #2 comes out on lap 35 as Setzer went into turn four to pass #10 Terry Cook much too aggresively and spun himself out. He would get slight damage.
The race would restart again with Ted in 2nd place. On lap 47 Ted would move past Busch and take the lead.
Caution #3 flew on lap 54 as #70 Tam Topham got involved with #5 Mike Skinner and goes for a spin. At this time most of the drivers pit. Ted would enter the pits with the lead and get four tires, fuel and adjustments. Setzer and six others would stay out at this time.
The race would restart with Ted in 8th place. On lap 67 Ted would move up to 7th by moving #08 Jarit Johnson out of the way. Two laps later Ted is in 6th. Just three laps later Ted would nose Setzer out of the way for 5th. We would hear that the adjustments the Mopar crew made during the last pit stop made the truck better and by lap 75 Ted is now in 4th! Ten laps later Ted would be 3rd. Twelve laps after that Ted would move to 2nd!
Ted would regain the lead just after the halfway point of the race by passing #4 Timothy Peters. Just after he does.....
Caution #4 comes out as #59 Robert Pressley had a small fire in his leftside rear tire. He would stop on the track to make sure the flag would come out and he would get penalized for doing so. Ted would pit once again for tires and fuel only. The Mopar boys would once again get Ted out of the pits first. However trucks would stay out again and Ted would line up in 7th place. Setzer would be nailed for speeding on pit row and go to the back again.
The race would restart on lap 111 and Ted would gain one quick spot before the next caution and find himself 6th.
Caution #5 comes out on lap 117 as #62 Scott Lynch spins. His teammate #77 Brendan Gaughan recieves the lucky dog.
The race restarts on lap 121 and Ted would move up to 5th by the time they come around one lap. Just two laps later he moves up to the 4th spot! At this time we see #6 Ron Hornaday driving once again like a maniac. We would see him bumping and banging with Cook and Busch. Nascar would radio to Hornaday and Busch and tell them to tone it down or else.
Caution #6 would come out as #07 Chase Pistone hits the wall on lap 143.
The race restarts with 50 laps to go and just five laps later there is big trouble in turn four.
Caution #7 has many people involved with #22 Bill Lester, #75 David Starr and Lynch recieving the brunt of damage. Just before the wreck there was a report of oil on the track which may of been a factor for the pile up. The race would be red flagged at this point.
During the red flag we would hear that a crew member from Kyle Busch's team came to visit the Mopar Dodge crew. He would announce that Kyle was not point racing and that he was here to win and would make a hole for himself to get to the front if he had to. Well the response from Ted's crew was if he wants to make a hole he'd better be bringing a bigger shovel!
The race would restart again with Ted in 4th and it would last just one lap.
Caution #8 would come out as #30 Todd Bodine and #2 Jimmy Spencer get aquainted once again and spin. Setzer would collect a piece of aftermath from this and recieve some more damage.
The race would restart with 25 to go with Ted still in 4th until the next caution just 7 laps later.
Caution #9 is for #8 Debra Renshaw and Gaughn wrecking.
The final restart would come with just 12 laps to go. Ted would try but he could not gain any more positions on the day. Ted would finish the race in 4th!
#99 Ricky Craven would win the race with his teammate #50 Todd Kluever in 2nd and #38 Brandon Whitt in 3rd. Dennis Setzer would finish in 19th after all his troubles on the day.
After the race when asked about taking the point lead Ted replied that both teams were doing their best and that Dennis was just having some bad luck while he was having a run of good luck. When asked about point racing Ted said that he has been going for the win each week and that the points fall were they do.
Ted would leave Martinsville with the point lead!
Ted is now 54 points ahead of Setzer.
Kyle Busch was a non factor.
Roush regains the owner's win lead from Ultra Motorsports.
Craven is the 15th driver to win in all 3 of Nascar's premier divisions.
On to Atlanta Motor Speedway. Ted finished 8th there last year and finished 6th in the spring race this year. Keep up the great work Mopar Crew. It is paying off!