| Type: | CUST |
| Pole Team: | ThorSport Racing |
| Official Name: | 22nd Annual Alpha Energy Solutions 250 |
| Network: | FS1 |
| Avg: | 61.811mph |
| Date: | April 2 |
| Pole Driver: | Ben Rhodes |
| Most Driver: | Kyle Busch |
| Most Team: | Kyle Busch Motorsports |
| First Driver: | Kyle Busch |
| First Team: | Kyle Busch Motorsports |
| Car: | 18 |
| Most Laps: | 123 |
| Scheduled Laps: | 250 |
| Location: | Martinsville Speedway, Ridgeway, Virginia |
| Scheduled Mi: | 131.5 |
| Scheduled Km: | 211.628 |
| Distance Km: | 215.861 |
| Distance Laps: | 255 |
| Radio: | MRN |
| Description: | Race 3 of 23 of the 2016 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series |
| Pole Time: | 19.659 |
| Course Km: | 0.847 |
| Course Mi: | 0.526 |
| Race Name: | Alpha Energy Solutions 250 |
| Year: | 2016 |
| Distance Mi: | 134.1 |
| Announcers: | Vince Welch, Phil Parsons, and Michael Waltrip |
The 2016 Alpha Energy Solutions 250 was the 3rd stock car race of the 2016 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, and the 22nd iteration of the event. The race was held on Saturday, April 2, 2016, in Ridgeway, Virginia at Martinsville Speedway, a 0.526 mile (0.847 km) permanent paperclip shaped short track. The race was increased from 250 laps to 255 laps, due to a NASCAR overtime finish. Kyle Busch, driving for his team, Kyle Busch Motorsports, held off John Hunter Nemechek on the final restart, and earned his 45th career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series win, along with his first of the season.[1] To fill out the podium, William Byron, also driving for Kyle Busch Motorsports, would finish in 3rd, respectively.
Martinsville Speedway is a NASCAR-owned stock car racing short track in Ridgeway, Virginia, just south of Martinsville. At 0.526miles in length, it is the shortest track in the NASCAR Cup Series. The track was also one of the first paved oval tracks in stock car racing, being built in 1947 by partners H. Clay Earles, Henry Lawrence, and Sam Rice, nearly a year before NASCAR was officially formed.[2] It is also the only race track that has been on the NASCAR circuit from its beginning in 1948. Along with this, Martinsville is the only oval track on the NASCAR circuit to have asphalt surfaces on the straightaways and concrete to cover the turns.
The first practice session was held on Friday, April 1, at 10:00 AM EST, and would last for 55 minutes.[3] William Byron, driving for Kyle Busch Motorsports, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 19.868, and an average speed of 95.309mph.[4]
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 | William Byron (R) | Kyle Busch Motorsports | Toyota | 19.868 | 95.309 | |
| 2 | 17 | Timothy Peters | Red Horse Racing | Toyota | 19.995 | 94.704 | |
| 3 | 18 | Kyle Busch (i) | Kyle Busch Motorsports | Toyota | 20.104 | 94.190 | |
| Full first practice results | |||||||
The second practice session was held on Friday, April 1, at 12:30 PM EST, and would last for 1 hour and 25 minutes. Ben Rhodes, driving for ThorSport Racing, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 19.839, and an average speed of 95.448mph.[5]
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 41 | Ben Rhodes (R) | ThorSport Racing | Toyota | 19.839 | 95.448 | |
| 2 | 9 | William Byron (R) | Kyle Busch Motorsports | Toyota | 19.856 | 95.367 | |
| 3 | 00 | Cole Custer (R) | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 19.901 | 95.151 | |
| Full second practice results | |||||||
The final practice session was held on Friday, April 1, at 3:00 PM EST, and would last for 50 minutes. Cole Custer, driving for JR Motorsports, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 19.788, and an average speed of 95.694mph.[6]
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 00 | Cole Custer (R) | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 19.788 | 95.694 | |
| 2 | 8 | John Hunter Nemechek | NEMCO Motorsports | Chevrolet | 19.826 | 95.511 | |
| 3 | 41 | Ben Rhodes (R) | ThorSport Racing | Toyota | 19.837 | 95.458 | |
| Full final practice results | |||||||
Qualifying was held on Saturday, April 2, at 11:15 AM EST. Since Martinsville Speedway is under 1.5 miles (2.4 km) in length, the qualifying system was a multi-car system that included three rounds. The first round was 15 minutes, where every driver would be able to set a lap within the 15 minutes. Then, the second round would consist of the fastest 24 cars in Round 1, and drivers would have 10 minutes to set a lap. Round 3 consisted of the fastest 12 drivers from Round 2, and the drivers would have 5 minutes to set a time. Whoever was fastest in Round 3 would win the pole.[7]
Ben Rhodes, driving for ThorSport Racing, would score the pole for the race, with a lap of 19.659, and an average speed of 96.322mph in the third round.[8]
Austin Wayne Self, Jordan Anderson, Travis Kvapil, Norm Benning, Chris Fontaine, and Natalie Decker would fail to qualify.
| Fin | St | Driver | Team | Make | Laps | Led | Status | Pts | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 18 | Kyle Busch (i) | Kyle Busch Motorsports | Toyota | 255 | 123 | Running | 0 | |
| 2 | 8 | 8 | John Hunter Nemechek | NEMCO Motorsports | Chevrolet | 255 | 0 | Running | 31 | |
| 3 | 7 | 9 | William Byron (R) | Kyle Busch Motorsports | Toyota | 255 | 0 | Running | 30 | |
| 4 | 5 | 24 | Kyle Larson (i) | GMS Racing | Chevrolet | 255 | 79 | Running | 0 | |
| 5 | 16 | 17 | Timothy Peters | Red Horse Racing | Toyota | 255 | 0 | Running | 28 | |
| 6 | 11 | 23 | Spencer Gallagher | GMS Racing | Chevrolet | 255 | 0 | Running | 27 | |
| 7 | 10 | 88 | Matt Crafton | ThorSport Racing | Toyota | 255 | 0 | Running | 26 | |
| 8 | 25 | 92 | Parker Kligerman | RBR Enterprises | Ford | 255 | 0 | Running | 25 | |
| 9 | 4 | 13 | Cameron Hayley | ThorSport Racing | Toyota | 255 | 11 | Running | 25 | |
| 10 | 20 | 98 | Rico Abreu (R) | ThorSport Racing | Toyota | 255 | 0 | Running | 23 | |
| 11 | 15 | 11 | Ben Kennedy | Red Horse Racing | Toyota | 255 | 0 | Running | 22 | |
| 12 | 18 | 81 | Ryan Truex | Hattori Racing Enterprises | Toyota | 255 | 0 | Running | 21 | |
| 13 | 13 | 02 | Tyler Young | Young's Motorsports | Chevrolet | 255 | 0 | Running | 20 | |
| 14 | 23 | 86 | Brandon Brown | Brandonbilt Motorsports | Chevrolet | 255 | 0 | Running | 19 | |
| 15 | 24 | 44 | Austin Wayne Self (R) | Martins Motorsports | Toyota | 255 | 0 | Running | 18 | |
| 16 | 1 | 41 | Ben Rhodes (R) | ThorSport Racing | Toyota | 255 | 42 | Running | 18 | |
| 17 | 28 | 07 | Shane Lee | SS-Green Light Racing | Chevrolet | 255 | 0 | Running | 16 | |
| 18 | 6 | 51 | Daniel Suárez (i) | Kyle Busch Motorsports | Toyota | 255 | 0 | Running | 0 | |
| 19 | 14 | 4 | Christopher Bell (R) | Kyle Busch Motorsports | Toyota | 255 | 0 | Running | 14 | |
| 20 | 9 | 29 | Tyler Reddick | Brad Keselowski Racing | Ford | 255 | 0 | Running | 13 | |
| 21 | 21 | 05 | John Wes Townley | Athenian Motorsports | Chevrolet | 255 | 0 | Running | 12 | |
| 22 | 17 | 19 | Daniel Hemric | Brad Keselowski Racing | Ford | 253 | 0 | Running | 11 | |
| 23 | 32 | 1 | Bryce Napier | MAKE Motorsports | Chevrolet | 249 | 0 | Running | 10 | |
| 24 | 29 | 49 | Timmy Hill | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet | 248 | 0 | Running | 9 | |
| 25 | 30 | 74 | Paige Decker | Mike Harmon Racing | Ram | 246 | 0 | Running | 8 | |
| 26 | 22 | 32 | Justin Haley | Braun Motorsports | Toyota | 244 | 0 | Accident | 7 | |
| 27 | 31 | 10 | Claire Decker | Jennifer Jo Cobb Racing | Chevrolet | 243 | 0 | Running | 6 | |
| 28 | 27 | 63 | Spencer Boyd | MB Motorsports | Ram | 237 | 0 | Accident | 5 | |
| 29 | 12 | 00 | Cole Custer (R) | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 235 | 0 | Accident | 4 | |
| 30 | 26 | 71 | Mike Bliss | Contreras Motorsports | Chevrolet | 115 | 0 | Electrical | 3 | |
| 31 | 19 | 33 | Kaz Grala | GMS Racing | Chevrolet | 91 | 0 | Accident | 2 | |
| 32 | 3 | 21 | Johnny Sauter | GMS Racing | Chevrolet | 43 | 0 | Accident | 1 | |
| Official race results | ||||||||||
| Pos | Driver | Points | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 1 | John Hunter Nemechek | 83 | ||||||
| 1 | 2 | Parker Kligerman | 80 (-3) | ||||||
| 1 | 3 | Timothy Peters | 77 (–6) | ||||||
| 1 | 4 | Tyler Young | 67 (–16) | ||||||
| 6 | 5 | Cameron Hayley | 66 (–17) | ||||||
| 6 | Ryan Truex | 66 (–17) | |||||||
| 5 | 7 | Daniel Hemric | 65 (–18) | ||||||
| 1 | 8 | Brandon Brown | 62 (–21) | ||||||
| Official driver's standings | |||||||||