Thursday, October 24, 2013

Martinsville Chassis Selections: Johnson using winning spring chassis

Jimmie Johnson is using the same chassis he won with in April; he's 9/5 to win

#2-Brad Keselowski: Primary Chassis:PRS-834 - Last Raced Watkins Glen (finished second). Backup Chassis: PRS-838 - Last Raced: Darlington (finished 32nd)

#5-Kasey Kahne: Crew chief Kenny Francis has selected Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 5-787 for Sunday's race at Martinsville. Kahne drove this chassis at Martinsville in April, when he started fifth and finished fourth.

#9-Marcos Ambrose: The No. 9 team will bring chassis No. 865 at Martinsville. This chassis was previously ran at the fall Richmond and Loudon races earlier this year.

#10-Danica Patrick: Goody's 500 Racecar Chassis No. 10-535: This car (formerly No. 14-535) debuted in April 2009 with Tony Stewart at the wheel at Phoenix International Raceway, where Stewart used it to qualify sixth and lead once for 19 laps before finishing second. Chassis No. 10-535 returned to another flat track with Stewart in June via New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, but its time on the racetrack was short after an accident in practice. It was repaired with new front and rear clips for its return trip to New Hampshire in September. There, Chassis No. 10-535 led four times for 52 laps before a loose axle cap forced an unscheduled pit stop, which resulted in a 14th-place finish for Stewart. The November trek to Phoenix marked the car's third career start, where it qualified eighth and went from a possible top-10 performance to a disappointing 25th-place result when Stewart was caught up in a multi-car accident on lap 171 of the 312-lap race. With a new body, Chassis No. 10-535 returned to Phoenix with Stewart in April 2010 and had a quiet outing in its fourth start, qualifying 11th and finishing 23rd. The car was quickly turned around and tested by Stewart on April 26, 2010, at Gresham Motorsports Park in Jefferson, Ga. The last outing for Chassis No. 10-535 with Stewart at the wheel was in November 2010, when he started 20th and finished 17th at Phoenix. The car was on standby for the No. 14 team throughout many race weekends in 2011 and 2012 but was never pressed into service. Since the end of the 2012 season, it was updated to the sixth-generation (Gen-6) Chevrolet SS configuration and transferred to the No. 10 GoDaddy team of Danica Patrick and crew chief Tony Gibson. It was first used in April 2013 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway, where Patrick qualified 32nd but was forced to start from the rear of the field due to an engine change. Despite the setback, Patrick drove to an impressive 12th-place finish one of the best finishes for a rookie in the history of Martinsville Speedway.

#14-Mark Martin: Chassis No. 14-710: This car debuted in April 2012 with Tony Stewart in the Capital City 400 at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway. It qualified 22nd and led four times for 118 laps before a late-race caution canceled Stewart's two-and-a-half second lead and forced him to settle for a third-place finish. It was then tested June 6-7 at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway and again during a Goodyear Tire Test June 12-13 at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway. The Lenox Industrial Tools 301 in July at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon marked Chassis No. 14-710's second career start. There, a new tire compound from Goodyear confounded Stewart and crew chief Steve Addington, and they labored to a 12th-place finish. The car returned to Richmond in September for its third career start via the Federated Auto Parts 400, where it rallied from its 28th-place starting spot to lead 15 laps before finishing fourth. Its last start of 2012 came in October at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway where in its fourth career start, it qualified seventh and finished a disappointing 27th. With 2013 Chevrolet SS bodywork covering it, Chassis No. 14-710 returned to Martinsville in April for the STP Gas Booster 500. After rallying from its 26th starting spot to 10th by lap 200 and then hovering in or near the top-10 for the remainder of the race, Stewart found himself hung in the outside lane following a restart on lap 473. The final 27 laps of the 500-lap race around paperclip-shaped .526-mile oval proved arduous, as Stewart was stuck in the outside lane as the seemingly express lane to his left boxed him out of the preferred line. When the checkered flag dropped, Stewart was 17th. Chassis No. 14-710 sat idle until being tested at Richmond Aug. 26-27 with Mark Martin at the wheel in preparation for the track's Sept. 7 Sprint Cup race. The testing paid off as Martin scored a top-10 after starting 16th. Chassis No. 14-710 returns to Martinsville for its third start of 2013, its second with Martin and seventh overall.

#15-Clint Bowyer: Primary chassis No. 786 is brand new to the No. 15 fleet. It has never raced.

#16-Greg Biffle: Primary Chassis: RK-856 Last ran Richmond finished 12th. Backup Chassis: RK-867 Last ran Loudon finished 3rd.

#17-Ricky Stenhouse Jr.: Primary Chassis: RK 858 last raced at Richmond finished 10th. Backup Chassis: RK 801 - 2012 No. 99 chassis.

#22-Joey Logano: Primary Chassis: PRS-836 - Last Raced: Watkins Glen (finished seventh). Backup Chassis: PRS-848 - Last Raced: Loudon (finished 14th)

#27-Paul Menard: will pilot chassis No. 419 at Martinsville Speedway. This No. 27 Chevrolet SS was previously run this season at Martinsville Speedway, Richmond International Raceway and New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

#29-Kevin Harvick: will pilot chassis No. 420 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable in the Goody's Headache Relief Shot 500. Harvick has driven this RCR-prepared machine four times this season at Martinsville Speedway in April, to Victory Lane at Richmond International Raceway in May, New Hampshire Motor Speedway in July and again at Richmond in September.

#31-Jeff Burton: will race chassis No. 435 this weekend at Martinsville Speedway. This is a brand new No. 31 Chevrolet seeing its first on-track action during Friday's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice session.

#39-Ryan Newman: Chassis No. 39-790: Chassis No. 39-790 debuted at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway in May 2013, when Newman finished 15th. Chassis No. 39-790 was then wind-tunnel tested in August and was utilized for a test session at Richmond in preparation for the Federated Auto Parts 400 in September. In that race, Newman was a handful of laps from victory until a controversial late-race caution foiled what would have been the second win of the 2013 season for Newman and the No. 39 team.

#47-Bobby Labonte: Crew chief Lance Burns, "Our Clorox Toyota that we will have at Martinsville is a car that we have raced a lot. It is chassis 700 and it is a good short track car."

#48-Jimmie Johnson: will drive a chassis No. 749 at Martinsville, the same one that won in April race. Chassis No. 806 serves as the backup.

#55-Elliott Sadler: Primary 785 has not raced in 2013.

#88-Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Crew chief Steve Letarte will unload Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 88-789 for this weekend's race at Martinsville Speedway. Earnhardt first raced this chassis at Martinsville in April.

#99-Carl Edwards: R - 857 last ran at Richmond. RK 866 last ran at Loudon

- compiled by Jayski.com

MARTINSVILLE EVENT SCHEDULE

Thursday, October 24
5:00 PM NSCS HAULERS ENTER

Friday, October 25
7:00 AM NSCS GARAGE OPENS
11:00 AM NSCS ROOKIE & SPOTTER MEETINGS & DRAWING FOR QUALIFYING ORDER
12:00 PM 1:30 PM NSCS PRACTICE
3:40 PM NSCS QUALIFYING
6:00 PM NSCS GARAGE CLOSES

Saturday, October 26
9:00 AM NSCS GARAGE OPENS
10:30 AM 11:25 AM NSCS PRACTICE
12:00 PM 12:50 PM NSCS FINAL PRACTICE
3:00 PM NSCS GARAGE CLOSES

Sunday, October 27
7:30 AM NSCS GARAGE OPENS 9:15 - 11:45 AM Martinsville Speedway Track Walk
11:30 AM NSCS DRIVER/CREW CHIEF MEETING
1:00 PM NSCS DRIVERS INTRODUCTION
1:30 PM Goody s Headache Relief Shot 500 NSCS RACE

NSCS = Sprint Cup Series

All times Eastern

No comments: