MARTINSVILLE, VIRGINIA (TICKER) — Defending champion Jack Sprague will be the leader of the pack in Saturday’s Kroger 200 at Martinsville Speedway.

Sprague’s time of 19.796 at a speed of 95.656 mph on Saturday earned him the pole in this the 21st of 25 Craftsman Truck Series races.

This is the second pole of the season for Sprague, who will be participating in the 400th NASCAR national series race of his career. The 43-year-old veteran also won the pole here a year ago and went on to win the race.

Sprague currently ranks 10th in the standings, a distant 868 points behind leader Ron Hornaday Jr., who has complied 3,207 points.

Hornaday will be starting this 200-lap race in the six row after posting a 20.110 qualifying time.

A mere 14 points back in the standings, Mike Skinner has positioned himself to overtake Hornaday for the top spot after completing the course in 19.953. Tied for the series lead with four wins this season, Skinner will start in the No. 4 position in row two.

Matt Crafton will be seeking his second top-5 finish this season as he’ll start outside of Sprague in the first row after a 19.939 qualifying time. Denny Hamlin posted a time of 19.948 to secure the No. 3 spot next to Skinner.

The race is scheduled to start at 3 p.m. EDT. First place is $50,900.