Mike Skinner put his Toyota truck in just about the only safe place there was at Martinsville Speedway – the lead – and stayed there to pick up the victory in Saturday’s rough-and-tumble Kroger 200.

Skinner grabbed his 24th career Craftsman Truck Series victory after passing Jack Sprague and Terry Cook in a three-way battle on Lap 135 and holding on through a shower of caution flags the rest of the way.

Ron Hornaday slogged through 13 caution flags plus one that didn’t count – half the field piled up in Turn 4 on the final lap after Skinner took the checkered flag – to finish third.

Still, Skinner’s win moved him back into the lead in the Truck Series standings by 11 points over Hornaday. Hornaday began the race with a 14-point lead.

“We saw lead changes, we saw tempers flare and we saw people act professionally,” Skinner said after the wild finish. “We saw it all. It was classic short-track racing.”

More at Kentucky.com/Charlotte Observer

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