Tuesday, March 31, 2015

Newman's No. 31 RCR team severely penalized for tire manipulation

Ryan Newman finished fifth at Fontana on March 22
NASCAR issued one of the largest penalties in its history Tuesday after Ryan Newman's No. 31 team at Richard Childress Racing was found to have illegally manipulated tires.

Rumors had swept through the NASCAR garage last weekend at Martinsville Speedway after officials confiscated tires for two straight weeks. Drivers like Jeff Gordon and Denny Hamlin said they were certain some teams were drilling small holes in the tires in order to let air out during the course of a run, thus allowing for better wear and grip.

Newman's team was found to be guilty of that, earning a whopping "P5" penalty on NASCAR's six-tier infractions scale. The sanctions include a 75-point deduction, a $125,000 fine for crew chief Luke Lambert and six-race suspensions for Lambert, tire technician James Bender and team engineer Philip Surgen.

It's said that NASCAR has a holy trinity of sacred areas on the car: Engines, fuel and tires. Any illegal modification or manipulation in those areas is expressly frowned upon.

When officials took tires after the March 22 race at Auto Club Speedway and sent them to an independent lab for analysis, it was clear there could be trouble if any results came back positive.

"NASCAR takes very seriously its responsibility to govern and regulate the rules of the sport in order to ensure competitive balance," NASCAR executive vice president Steve O'Donnell said. "We've been very clear that any modifications to race vehicle tires is an unacceptable practice and will not be tolerated."

The points penalty means Newman, who made an unlikely run to the four-driver championship race last year, drops from sixth in the Sprint Cup Series point standings to 26th. His chances at points-racing his way into the 16-driver Chase for the Sprint Cup -- as he did last year -- are now greatly diminished.

Read More Here...USA Today

NASCAR Sprint Cup odds from Westgate: 2015 Duck Commander 500 at Texas

Jimmie Johnson has won three of past five Texas races
DUCK COMMANDER 500
TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
SATURDAY, APRIL 11, 2015


KEVIN HARVICK 4
JIMMIE JOHNSON 6
KURT BUSCH 6
JEFF GORDON 10
BRAD KESELOWSKI 10
JOEY LOGANO 10
DALE EARNHARDT JR 10
MATT KENSETH 10
DENNY HAMLIN 12
CARL EDWARDS 15
MARTIN TRUEX JR 18
KASEY KAHNE 20
KYLE LARSON 20
RYAN NEWMAN 25
JAMIE McMURRAY 50
TONY STEWART 40
DAVID RAGAN 60
PAUL MENARD 60
CLINT BOWYER 75
GREG BIFFLE 75
RYAN BLANEY 100
AUSTIN DILLON 200
AJ ALLMENDINGER 300
ARIC ALMIROLA 300
DANICA PATRICK 300
TREVOR BAYNE 500
RICKY STENHOUSE JR 500
SAM HORNISH JR 500
CASEY MEARS 500
FIELD 300

IndyCar Odds from Westgate: 2015 Indy Grand Prix of Louisiana

INDY GRAND PRIX OF LOUISIANA
NOLA MOTORSPORTS PARK
SUNDAY, APRIL 12, 2015


WILL POWER 5-2
SIMON PAGENAUD 4
SCOTT DIXON 6
HELIO CASTRONEVES 7
JUAN MONTOYA 5
RYAN HUNTER-REAY 12
SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS 12
JAMES HINCHCLIFFE 25
SAGE KARAM 50
CHARLIE KIMBALL 40
TONY KANAAN 30
JACK HAWKSWORTH 30
CARLOS MUNOZ 60
JOSEF NEWGARDEN 30
LUCA FILIPPI 40
MARCO ANDRETTI 50
TAKUMA SATO 40
GRAHAM RAHAL 50
SIMONA DE SILVESTRO 50
FIELD 40

Monday, March 30, 2015

Hamlin's epic burnout after Martinsville win causes stir on social media

Sunday's STP 500 was a marquee day for Joe Gibbs Racing. The four-car Toyota team had not won in the previous 31 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts and, after placing three of their teams inside the top five, the entire organization was visibly elated.

No one more than race-winner Denny Hamlin.

Earning his fifth Martinsville victory and first of the season, Hamlin's post-race celebration was a treat to everyone in attendance.

Hamlin drifted his No.11 FedEX Camry through Turns 1 and 2, spinning into the infield grass. He then smoked the tires down the entire length of the frontstretch before doing donuts in Turns 3 and 4. His celebratory performance was met with thunderous applause from fans and fellow competitors alike.

Many in the NASCAR community took to social media to both document and praise the Virginia native after his 'epic' burnout.

Read and see more awesomeness here.....Fox Sports

Updated Westgate odds to win 2015 Sprint Cup following Martinsville

Martin Truex Jr. is 20/1 to win 2015 Sprint Cup
2015 SPRINT CUP CHAMPIONSHIP

JIMMIE JOHNSON 6
KEVIN HARVICK 7-2
JEFF GORDON 8
BRAD KESELOWSKI 8
JOEY LOGANO 8
MATT KENSETH 10
KYLE BUSCH 50
CARL EDWARDS 12
DENNY HAMLIN 12
DALE EARNHARDT JR 10
KYLE LARSON 40
TONY STEWART 40
KURT BUSCH 12
KASEY KAHNE 15
RYAN NEWMAN 25
CLINT BOWYER 60
JAMIE McMURRAY 100
GREG BIFFLE 100
AUSTIN DILLON 200
BRIAN VICKERS xxxx
PAUL MENARD 200
MARTIN TRUEX JR 20
AJ ALLMENDINGER 200
TREVOR BAYNE 500
SAM HORNISH JR 500
RICKY STENHOUSE JR 500
DANICA PATRICK 500
FIELD 500

F-1 Chinese Grand Prix odds by Westgate LV SuperBook

Lewis Hamilton the easy favorite again
CHINESE GRAND PRIX
SHANGHAI INT'L CIRCUIT
SATURDAY, APRIL 11, 2015


LEWIS HAMILTON 5-8
NICO ROSBERG 11-4
SEBASTIAN VETTEL 5
VALTTERI BOTTAS 40
KIMI RAIKKONEN 10
FELIPE MASSA 50
DANIEL RICCIARDO 100
DANIIL KVYAT 200
FERNANDO ALONSO 500
CARLOS SAINZ 300
FELIPE NASR 1000
PASTOR MALDONADO 500
ROMAIN GROSJEAN 500
MAX VERSTAPPEN 200
JENSON BUTTON 500
NICO HULKENBERG 2000
SERGIO PEREZ 2000
MARCUS ERICSSON 1000
ROBERTO MERHI 5000
WILL STEVENS 5000

Sunday, March 29, 2015

Denny Hamlin grabs fifth Martinsville grandfather clock with STP 500 win

Hamlin had a badass burnout around track after winning 
MARTINSVILLE, VA. - It was a long wait for a win but a familiar Victory Lane for Denny Hamlin.

Hamlin held off a wild charge from Brad Keselowski to win Sunday’s STP 500 at Martinsville Speedway, for Hamlin’s first Sprint Cup Series victory of the season and the first for Toyota Racing.

The win is Hamlin’s fifth at the speedway and the first since his victory last spring at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway.

Joey Logano finished third, Matt Kenseth was fourth and David Ragan was fifth.

With the win, Hamlin is all-but assured a spot in this season’s championship Chase.

Turning point
Hamlin restarted fifth on the restart on Lap 467 of 500 and quickly moved into the lead with new tires on Lap 474. Equally as impressive was Hamlin’s work holding off Keselowski in the final laps.

Read More Here....Charlotte Observer

STP 500 Results


Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/sports/nascar-auto-racing/thatsracin/article16843787.html#storylink=cpy

Saturday, March 28, 2015

Final Martinsville STP 500 Driver Ratings

How about Denny Hamlin?
LAS VEGAS -- There isn’t too much to report following the practice and qualifying sessions at Martinsville Speedway that we didn’t already know ahead of Sunday’s race (1:16 p.m. ET, Fox Sports 1). Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon and Denny Hamlin are the drivers to beat, just like they’ve been over the past decade. But a few of the side stories to emerge involve Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Carl Edwards.

After 30 Martinsville starts, Earnhardt Jr. finally captured the checkers on the flat half-mile layout last fall. Even though victory had eluded him for so long, he had always been very respectable at the track and came close to winning a few times. Expectations were high coming into this week, not just because of last year’s win, but also because he was using the same chassis. However, during Saturday’s practices he couldn’t muster a lap better than 18th quickest in either session. That isn’t encouraging for Sunday, and he could even be a driver to pick on in match-ups against quality drivers.

Edwards is a driver we used to be able to pick against consistently at Martinsville, as he hasn’t had a top-five there since 2008. While he’s not terrible there, you’d never consider him a contender to win. But in the final practice session on Saturday, he came up with the fastest 10-consecutive lap average, a good sign he might be good on long runs – and at Martinsville, there are lots of long runs.

New teammate Denny Hamlin might have helped Edwards find a better line, or a quicker way around the track. Each and every Joe Gibbs Racing driver wants to do well in this race after the terrible news they got about the health of team president J.D. Gibbs earlier in the week. Edwards, Hamlin and Matt Kenseth are all capable of fighting for top-five finishes on Sunday.

Hamlin has the look of a winner, and it’s been a seven-race drought since he won for the fourth time at Martinsville. He had the fastest lap during Saturday’s early practice and then came back with the third-fastest 10-consecutive lap average in the final session.

All roads still go through Johnson and Gordon, but it’s hard not to root for Hamlin and the Gibbs organization this week.

Micah Roberts’ Top-10 driver ratings, STP 500, Martinsville Speedway

Read More Here........Final Driver Ratings

Updated Westgate odds to win F-1 Malaysian Grand Prix

Losing Malaysian GP is not likely for Lewis Hamilton
MALAYSIAN GRAND PRIX
SEPANG INT'L CIRCUIT
SUNDAY, MARCH 29, 2015


LEWIS HAMILTON 1-3
NICO ROSBERG 7-2
SEBASTIAN VETTEL 7
VALTTERI BOTTAS 100
KIMI RAIKKONEN 60
FELIPE MASSA 100
DANIEL RICCIARDO 40
DANIIL KVYAT 75
FERNANDO ALONSO 2000
CARLOS SAINZ 1000
FELIPE NASR 1000
PASTOR MALDONADO 1000
ROMAIN GROSJEAN 300
MAX VERSTAPPEN 300
JENSON BUTTON 2000
NICO HULKENBERG 2000
SERGIO PEREZ 2000
MARCUS ERICSSON 1000
ROBERTO MERHI 5000
WILL STEVENS 5000

Updated Westgate odds to win 2015 STP 500 at Martinsville

Jimmie Johnson goes for ninth grandfather clock
STP 500
MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAY
SUNDAY, MARCH 29, 2015


KEVIN HARVICK 6
JIMMIE JOHNSON 7-2
JEFF GORDON 7-2
DALE EARNHARDT JR 10
BRAD KESELOWSKI 12
JOEY LOGANO 8
MATT KENSETH 25
CARL EDWARDS 25
KASEY KAHNE 20
DENNY HAMLIN 7
KYLE LARSON 40
MARTIN TRUEX JR 25
KURT BUSCH 15
RYAN NEWMAN 25
JAMIE McMURRAY 40
TONY STEWART 40
CLINT BOWYER 100
DAVID RAGAN 100
CHASE ELLIOTT 100
PAUL MENARD 100
AUSTIN DILLON 200
GREG BIFFLE 200
AJ ALLMENDINGER 100
ARIC ALMIROLA 200
DANICA PATRICK 300
TREVOR BAYNE 500
RICKY STENHOUSE JR 500
SAM HORNISH JR 500
CASEY MEARS 500
FIELD 500

Martinsville Practice Notes: Easy to root for Joe Gibbs Racing this week

Junior not so hot in final practices
There isn’t too much to report here following all practice and qualifying sessions at Martinsville that we didn’t already know coming into the race. Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon and Denny Hamlin are the drivers to beat just like has been the case over the past decade. But a few of the side stories that did come to light involve Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Carl Edwards.

After 30 Martinsville starts, Earnhardt Jr. finally captured victory of the flat half-mile layout last fall. Even though victory had eluded him for so long, he had always been very respectable and come close to winning a few times. Expectations were high coming in this week not just because of last years win, but also because he was using the same chassis again this week. 

However, during Saturday’s practices Junior couldn’t muster a lap better than 18th-quickest in either session. That isn’t encouraging for Sunday, and he could even be a driver to pick on in match-ups against quality drivers.

A driver that we used to be able to consistently pick against at Martinsville had been Edwards, who hasn’t had a top-five there since 2008. He’s not terrible there, but you’d never consider him a contender to win. But in the final practice session he came up with the fastest 10-consecutive lap average which is a good sign he might be good on long runs and at Martinsville, there are lots of long runs. 

New teammate Denny Hamlin might have helped Edwards find a better line, or a quicker way around the track. Each and every Joe Gibbs Racing driver wants to do well in this race after the terrible news they got about the health of team president J.D. Gibbs earlier in the week. Edwards, Hamlin and Matt Kenseth are all capable of fighting for top-five finishes on Sunday.

Hamlin has the look of a winner and it’s been a seven race drought since he won his fourth Martinsville race. He had the fastest lap during Saturday’s early practice and then came back with the third-fastest 10-consecutive lap average in the final session. All roads still go through Johnson and Gordon, but it’s hard not to root for Hamlin and the Gibbs organization this week to give them some kind of good news.


Micah Roberts’ Top-10 Driver Ratings
STP 500
Martinsville Speedway
Sunday, March  29, 2015 -  10:16 am (PT)

RATING    DRIVER   ODDS            PRAC 1   QUALIFIED  PRAC 2  PRAC 3 
 1. Jimmie Johnson 7/2            4th           5th           2nd        2nd 
Eight time winner with 6.2 average in 26 starts; wins every 3.2 starts; winless past three starts.
 2. Jeff Gordon 5/1                   3rd           4th           3rd         3rd 
Eight-time winner with 6.8 average in 44 starts; using 2014 Martinsville runner-up chassis.
 3. Denny Hamlin 7/1                9th         15th           1st         4th 
Four-time winner with 8.76 average finish for the Virginian who grew up racing on this track.
 4. Ryan Newman 25/1             1st           2nd           7th         5th  
2012 winner with 15th-place average in 26 starts, third last fall; using new chassis this week.
 5. Kurt Busch 18/1                  14th         26th         12th        1st 
Two-time winner, including this race in 2014; second best 10-consecutive lap average in practice 2.
 6. Joey Logano 10/1                6th           1st          15th        7th 
Career-best second in 2010; top five finishes in both 2014 races. The kid has the hang of it.
 7. Kevin Harvick  5/1               16th        17th          10th        8th  
2011 winner, one of only three top-five finishes in 27 starts; it’s not his best track (16.4 average).
 8. Carl Edwards 25/1              12th         11th           5th        9th  
Career-best third in 2008; not his best track, but looked very good in final practices Saturday.
 9. Matt Kenseth 20/1               26th          8th          16th      11th  
No wins in 30 starts, but has been outstanding in past three starts with second and two sixths.
10. Dale Earnhardt Jr. 10/1      25th         14th         18th      18th 
After 30 career starts, he finally won here last fall; using the same winning chassis this week.

Note: Qualifying well is key at Martinsville with 95 of the 132 winners (71.9%) coming from a top-10 start position.

Odds courtesy of the Westgate Las Vegas Super Book






Friday, March 27, 2015

Joey Logano wins STP 500 pole at Martinsville

Joey Logano 'was' 10/1 to win STP 500 before pole performance
Joey Logano got his second pole in six 2015 races and first ever at Martinsville Speedway.

His first pole in 2015 came at Atlanta where he finished fourth a week after winning the Daytona 500. Logano put down a lap of 98.461 MPH to best Ryan Newman for the top spot. Newman was the fastest car in the second round of qualifying.

Martin Truex Jr. starts third to continue his early-season success. He's finished in the top-10 in every race this season and has started no lower than 15th.

Behind Truex are a few guys who have had success at Martinsville. Jeff Gordon starts fourth, while Jimmie Johnson starts fifth and Tony Stewart sixth. Gordon and Johnson have eight wins at the half-mile track while Stewart has three.

Read More Here....Yahoo! sports

STP 500 Starting Lineup

Ryan Newman fastest in first Martinsville practice session

Chase Elliott needs to qualify to make STP 500 field; he's listed at 75/1 to win 
Rain delayed the first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice at Martinsville Speedway on Friday, but when they got going it was Ryan Newman who threw down the fastest lap at 97.835 mph in the shortened session. Newman, who won at Martinsville in 2012 (big assist from Clint Bowyer), took the fast lap on his 17th and final lap of the session while in qualifying trim.

AJ Allmendinger had the second fastest lap at 97.679 mph followed Jeff Gordon (97.664), Jimmie Johnson (97.618) and Martin Truex Jr. (97.558). Allmendinger will definitely be someone to watch during final practices on Saturday on the basis of a 10th-place average in both races last season and runner-up in 2012. Gordon and Johnson, well you know, they have 16 wins between them and are always drivers to watch on the flat half-mile layout.

Rounding out the top-10 in practice was Joey Logano (97.412), Jamie McMurray (97.412), Brad Keselowski (97.397), Denny Hamlin (97.212) and Kyle Larson (97.192). Of that group of five, only Hamlin has a win at Martinsville. Hamlin, a Virginia native who grew up racing there, has four wins but none since 2010.

Perhaps the biggest surprise of the day was to not see the Stewart-Haas cars of Kevin Harvick and Kurt Busch among leaders. They've been fast everywhere lately. Harvick had the 16th fastest lap while two-time Martinville winner Busch was 14th. For Harvick, despite capturing a win in 2011, Martinsville has not been his best track with only three top-5 finishes in 27 career starts.

Nine drivers ran at least 10-consecutive laps during the session with Chase Elliott having the fastest average. Elliott will attempt to make his Sprint Cup debut Sunday, but has to qualify on speed, and if rain is a problem, Elliott won't be able to qualify on points.

There are two practices scheduled for Saturday and those will be the defining sessions that should be used to finalize your wagers or fantasy selections. Martinsville has been pretty cut and dry with not too many surprises over the years, but every once in a while someone steps up to show they're ready to challenge Gordon and Johnson.

Updates will comes on Saturday with final driver ratings.

Denny Hamlin talks with media Friday at Martinsville

Hamlin is 7/1 to win STP 500 Sunday
DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 FedEx Express Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

How does your car stack up based on practice speeds?

“It’s a little early to tell. Nobody was really in race trim much that first practice so you really aren’t going to know until tomorrow where you stand as far as that’s concerned. Overall, our cars had okay speed – ours did. Our teammates were a little bit off, but it looked like the Hendrick cars have some very good speed, as they should. I’m sure today we’ll probably be chasing them in qualifying and I’m sure in the race as well.”

Why do drivers get so upset with each other during this race?
“It’s the tight confines and contact is almost unavoidable at this race track. Usually when there is contact, it affects somebody negatively and that person feels like it could have been avoided and the other person sometimes doesn’t. There’s a disagreement. It’s just part of this race track. If you put us on a quarter-mile track, we’re probably going to have even more altercations with each other. It’s just the smaller the track, the more chances of that is going to be inevitable. It’s a one-groove track and the other short tracks we go to, you can move around a little bit and you can avoid it where here everyone fights for the bottom. It usually happens because someone is hung on the outside, they’re trying to get to the bottom and trying to force their way to the bottom and somebody doesn’t cut them a break and ends up spinning them out. That’s usually what happens here and it’s probably 90 percent of why the wrecks happen and people are upset.”

Are you more concerned with keeping up with other team’s performance or working on your performance?
“I think ourselves, it’s a fair question. I think that as a program we could still be better. I thought last week we showed signs of progress. You still have to finish and execute the way you’re supposed to at the end of these races to win them, but I thought overall on the mile-and-a-half program that’s been our strong suit really for the last year and a half if we’ve had any strong suit at all it’s been on the bigger tracks. It’s these tracks that you become a little more concerned with and are anxious for us to see this weekend kind of where our program stands on the short tracks. We feel like we have some great short track drivers in our stable that haven’t got to showcase that over the last two years because our program has been so bad. I think that hopefully that turns around this weekend.”

Is this a track where you have the best opportunity win?
“Normally I would say yes, but really it’s been the bigger tracks where we’ve had our best opportunities to win races. It hasn’t been at these. We did run pretty strong here though in the Chase race last time we were here. For me, our struggles come more at like Richmond, Loudon and Phoenix where our program has just taken a turn to the bad over the last couple years. This is kind of a one-off race track that the driver can make up a little bit of a difference and that’s why you see the same drivers up front here really no matter what’s going on in their program they’re up front here. I think that this is kind of a one-off track as far as that’s concerned. I’m very confident when we come here that this is one of those opportunities where you just need to seize as a race team. We should be in the mix. Hopefully, come Sunday it’s just a matter of if we can get our cars to do the things we need them to do.”

Would it be a big deal to get the win here for JGR and Toyota?
“It would be and obviously it’s been said 1000 times about when the last Toyota win has been. It’s been tough and it’s been a hard year for the organization and the manufacturer. Not that a win here would just satisfy all those needs – we still know that realistically we’ve got a lot of work to do, but it definitely would take a lot of pressure off because right now we’re all in that hornets’ nest of the bubble spot if this thing comes down to points.”

Has the first stretch of races given you an idea of who is strong?
“I think it does and really I’m in favor of just going wherever there’s not going to be a high chance of rain or cold weather. Really it doesn’t matter how they iron out these race tracks at the beginning of the season, but we definitely need to think about weather and what it’s going to be like. Atlanta luckily turned out pretty decent, but it was a very cold weekend thrown in there. It’s tough to do because we are in an outside sport to try to predict weather, but I think that we do have an idea of what we’ve got, but it’s so early in the season that it’s going to be mid-summer before we really start to understand where your program fully is and you go back to some of these race tracks again. I think everyone right now is chasing really the 4 (Kevin Harvick) car and some other Hendrick guys. Still plenty of time to catch those guys here in the future.”

What role has J.D. Gibbs played in your career and how has the team been impacted by the news?
“J.D. (Gibbs, president of JGR) has been the guy that has really run the company when I first came in back in 2004, 2005 and 2006 when Joe (Gibbs, team owner of JGR) was still doing football. He was a huge part of that and his role is probably reduced a little bit when his dad came back, but he’s obviously still a very important part of our organization and how it’s run and things like that. It’s not like he can’t do those things, he’s still going to be at the shop doing some work and doing things, but obviously he’s got to overcome some obstacles and really that family has faced some obstacles with his son just a few years ago. They’re tough and they’ll work through it and as an organization we’re all praying for him.”

Have you spoken with J.D. Gibbs since the news came out on Wednesday?
“I haven’t since they announced it, but personally I’ve known for a little bit about it. Really, he seems upbeat about it. I saw him last weekend at the race track and he seems fine. It’s not something that he really harps on, but obviously it’s something that’s very serious and you have to treat it seriously. I think that they’ve got some of the best doctors in the world trying to help him and trying to figure out what’s going on and I think they’re still in the process of figuring out what all is going on so that will be ongoing I’m sure for a little while.”

Do you believe there are teams in the garage tampering with tires?
“I think for sure it has. I don’t think — I know NASCAR sat down all the crew chiefs last year in Phoenix and told them to stop doing it. My guess is that if they said stop then they’ve seen something. If it’s out there and they know about it, you should be gone forever. That’s a major, major thing and this isn’t like the old rodeo days of being able to go out there and run a big motor or soak the tires – this is a professional sport and people alter tires — that’s a big, big deal. Definitely no room for it in the sport, that’s for sure. Hope they clamp down on that if they do find it and if they find it multiple times with somebody, they should have a permanent vacation somewhere.”

How long have rumors of tire altering been going through the garage?
“This has been going on for years and years – it’s just ramped up again here lately. When I say going on, I mean just rumors and stuff. People can only say something about you so much before it’s actually reality and it’s reality. Things like this doesn’t keep getting brought up and said if it’s not actually happening. I’m not real close to it because we haven’t had our tires confiscated or anything like that – wish we were running well enough for that to happen, but we haven’t. I think that it’s going to be a tough thing, from what I understand for them to figure out whether it’s a natural leak or a drill-induced leak. They’ll figure out a way and whether it be somebody else looking at the tires to try to figure it out, they’ll find it and when they do the person – when they feel NASCAR getting hot on them they’re going to stop doing it. That’s maybe when you see some performance differences, you never know. We don’t know what kind of performance difference it can do because we haven’t done it.”

Are you looking forward to your Denny Hamlin Short Track Showdown again?
“We’re going back to South Boston Speedway for the second year in a row and they did such a great job the first year helping with promotion and putting the event on and running the event – everything just went so well for us last year. Obviously it was a pretty quick decision to go back again this year and had a great race there last year. Matt Bowling won in great fashion. It was awesome to see a good finish at the end and I wish I was a part of it. Unfortunately I haven’t run very good over the last few years in my own race, but lack of practice time more than likely I will blame it on. I don’t know, we have close to 50 cars and some great guys come out to support that and we had standing room only or stand in the back of your truck room only type of atmosphere last year. Had cars on top of each other – we had just about everything you can imagine. We’re very excited to have it again and the proceeds – 100 percent go to the Denny Hamlin Foundation, which will benefit a lot of different children’s charities, mainly cystic fibrosis, which my cousin has and is still fighting with. We’re hopefully going to have another successful year this year with it. Tickets are $20 and suites are $200. We’ve got some great stuff going on with it. It will be a sold out crowd again and better get your tickets now if you want to watch it.”

- Toyota Racing

Thursday, March 26, 2015

Martinsville Driver Chassis Selections: 2015 STP 500

Earnhardt Jr. using winning Martinsville chassis from last fall.
#3-Austin Dillon will pilot Chassis No. 489 in the Martinsville 500 at Martinsville Speedway. This is the same Chevrolet SS that Dillon raced at Martinsville Speedway in October 2014, securing a 12th-place finish.

#4-Kevin Harvick: will pilot the No. 4 Budweiser/Jimmy John's Chevrolet SS built on Chassis No. 4-864 in the Martinsville 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race Sunday at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. Built in 2014, Chassis No. 4-864 made its debut at Martinsville last March, when it started 18th and led one lap and finished seventh. It made its second appearance at Martinsville in October, when it started 33rd and finished 33rd after being collected in an accident with Matt Kenseth.

#5-Kasey Kahne: Crew chief Keith Rodden has selected Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 5-925 for Sunday's race at Martinsville. This is a brand new car.

#10-Danica Patrick: will pilot Chassis No. 909 in the Martinsville 500. Previously a No. 41 team chassis, the car made its on-track debut with her Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) teammate Kurt Busch last October at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. He started 10th, led 21 laps and raced inside the top-10 until an oil line failure on lap 424 relegated him to a 36th-place finish.

#14-Tony Stewart: Chassis No. 14-742: This car first turned its wheels on a racetrack in 2012 during a test session Sept. 4-5 at the Milwaukee Mile in West Allis, Wisconsin, which prepared Chassis No. 14-742 for its debut in the Sept. 23 Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon. There, the car qualified third and led 38 laps before finishing seventh. Chassis No. 14-742 returned to another relatively flat, 1-mile oval when it made its second career start in the penultimate race of the 2012 season at Phoenix International Raceway. After qualifying ninth, a pit road miscue and a lap-282 spin conspired for a 19th-place finish. With a new 2013 Chevrolet SS body, Chassis No. 14-742 returned to Phoenix in February for its third career start, where it had a solid outing, qualifying sixth and finishing eighth. With the exception of a test June 25-26 at New Hampshire, the car sat idle for the remainder of the 2013 season. Chassis No. 14-742 reprised its testing regimen in 2014, with tests Jan. 30-31 at New Smyrna (Fla.) Speedway and Feb. 6 at Gresham Motorsports Park in Jefferson, Georgia. The March 2014 race at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway marked Chassis No. 14-742's first start in more than a year and its fourth overall. The run, however, was a quiet 17th-place effort. The car returned to Martinsville in October, where in just its second start of 2014, it qualified fourth and led 18 laps before finishing fourth. Chassis No. 14-742 returns to Martinsville this weekend for its first start this season and sixth overall.

#15-Clint Bowyer: Chassis No. 806 serves as Bowyer's primary chassis at Martinsville. Bowyer raced the chassis to top-10 finishes in both Martinsville races in 2014. He finished ninth in March and seventh in October. This weekend's back-up chassis also served as the back-up at both Martinsville races in 2014.

#24-Jeff Gordon: #24 crew chief Alan Gustafson has selected Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 24-902 for this Sunday's race. Gordon raced this chassis to a runner-up finish at Martinsville in October of last year.

#27-Paul Menard: will utilize chassis No. 488 during the 263-mile event at Martinsville Speedway. This Richard Childress Racing-prepared Chevrolet SS will make its first laps of the 2015 season.

#31-Ryan Newman: will drive chassis No. 490 on Sunday at Martinsville Speedway. This is a brand new Chevrolet SS that will be utilized under race conditions for the first time this weekend.

#32-Mike Bliss: Crew Chief Clinton Cram will be bringing chassis 669 to serve as the primary car. This chassis previously ran at the fall Martinsville event in 2015 with Kyle Fowler finishing 28th in his NSCS debut. Chassis 289 will serve as the backup car.

#41-Kurt Busch: will pilot Chassis No. 865 in Sunday's Martinsville 500 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. Formerly a No. 10 chassis for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) teammate Danica Patrick, Chassis No. 865 debuted in March 2014 at Martinsville , where Patrick started 10th but struggled with an ill-handling racecar and finished 32nd. Its next event was in July at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, where she started 29th and finished 22nd. Chassis No. 865 then raced again at Martinsville in October, where Patrick started 30th and finished 34th after being involved in a massive accident on the frontstretch late in the race. Chassis No. 865 will see its first laps of 2015 competition this weekend.

#48-Jimmie Johnson: For this weekend's event, crew chief Chad Knaus has selected chassis No. 48-913, which Johnson raced last October at Martinsville. The backup car is No. 48-749, which Johnson raced at Martinsville in March 2014.

#55-Brett Moffitt: Primary: 807 - Brian Vickers drove this chassis to 16th and 27th-place finishes at Martinsville in 2014. Backup: 785 - served as backup in Martinsville in 2014.

#88-Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Crew chief Greg Ives will unload Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 88-789 for this weekend's race at Martinsville Speedway. Earnhardt most recently won with the chassis at Martinsville last October.

- Jayski.com

Wednesday, March 25, 2015

STP 500 odds: Johnson favored to win ninth Martinsville race

Expect to see Hamlin and Gordon running up front at Martinsville
LAS VEGAS -- There's been nothing that can slow Kevin Harvick down so far this season. He's been dominant to the point that he's finished first or second in all fives races. If we take it back to last season, he's got a streak of top-two finishes that's currently at eight straight. It's one of the most incredible runs we've seen in NASCAR history, especially for the modern era.

However, none of those eight races were on the flat half-mile layout at Martinsville Speedway like Sunday's STP 500 will be. He's had only three top-five finishes in 27 starts with a 16.4 average finish on the track.

The Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook knows all too well about Harvick's Martinsville history, which is why he isn't listed as the favorite. This is the case for the first time since the season opening Daytona 500, where anyone has a legitimate chance to win.

Let's take a look at all the drivers' odds offered by the Westgate along with how they have fared at Martinsville over their careers.

JIMMIE JOHNSON 7/2: It seems like an eternity since the last time he won here, but only three races have passed since winning in the spring of 2013. It's just because for a decade, no one was better, including his teammate Jeff Gordon. In 26 starts, he's averaged a 6.2 finish that includes eight wins. He's got a long way to go to catch Richard Petty's track record 15 wins, but consider that Petty had 67 starts, or one win in every 4.4 Martinsville starts. Johnson gets one win in every 3.2 starts, and that means he's due here after failing in his last three starts which is part of the reason he's the easy favorite this week.

KEVIN HARVICK 5/1: It's amazing that Harvick hasn't fared better over his career here because he grew up racing on the short flat tracks. It's the type of racing that shaped the no-nonsense attitude that we all have grown fond of. He did win in the spring of 2011, and then finished fourth in the fall of the same year. It really is astonishing that he's only had one other top-five finish in all 25 other starts, including 33rd last fall. The only reason his odds are as low as they this time around is just because he's currently in a zone, and the books aren't doubting that he can win despite history saying he most likely won't.

JEFF GORDON 5/1: Just like Johnson, Gordon's house can be quite noisy at the top of the hour with eight grandfather clock (Martinsville trophy) bells chiming away. In 44 career starts, he's had an average finish of 6.8 aided by 28 top-five finishes. It's the one track that he has remained dominant at throughout all phases of his career between different crew chiefs, and even two different wives. It would only seem fitting if he closed out his final season of Sprint Cup racing with at least one more Martinsville win, and the good news for Gordon backers this week is that he's using the same chassis that finished second here last fall.

DENNY HAMLIN 7/1: There was a time when he was one of the co-favorites with Gordon and Johnson for every Martinsville race. During one stretch, the trio won 18 of 22 races, with Hamlin contributing four wins, but that last win came in 2010 when he swept the season. Last fall, there were signs that he was back to being himself again at the track he grew up racing on, only three hours from his Chesterfield, VA home; he finished eighth, but led twice for 68 laps. We'll get a better idea during Friday and Saturday practices where Hamlin stands with the elite, but expect a top-5 start position like last fall, which will be a good sign. Start position is huge at Martinsville where 71 percent of all races have been from a top-10 qualifier.

DALE EARNHARDT JR 10/1: He's always been good at Martinsville, but he just happened to get stuck in the wrong generation with all-time greats like Johnson and Gordon hogging all the wins. After 30 starts, he finally got his grandfather clock last fall. He'll be using that same winning chassis this week and offers pretty good value at 10-to-1. It might be his turn to start reeling off some wins for Hendrick Motorsports who have gathered a track record 22 wins.

Read More Here....Odds/write-up for every driver

Will Power favored to win IndyCar Firestone GP of St. Petersburg

WESTGATE LV SUPERBOOK ODDS TO WIN
FIRESTONE GRAND PRIX OF ST PETERSBURG
ST PETERSBURG STREET CIRCUIT
SUNDAY, MARCH 29, 2015


WILL POWER 5-2
SIMON PAGENAUD 9-2
SCOTT DIXON 9-2
HELIO CASTRONEVES 7
JUAN MONTOYA 10
RYAN HUNTER-REAY 10
SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS 15
JAMES HINCHCLIFFE 15
SAGE KARAM 25
CHARLIE KIMBALL 30
TONY KANAAN 30
JACK HAWKSWORTH 30
CARLOS MUNOZ 30
JOSEF NEWGARDEN 30
LUCA FILIPPI 30
MARCO ANDRETTI 50
TAKUMA SATO 50
GRAHAM RAHAL 50
SIMONA DE SILVESTRO 50
FIELD 60

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Martinsville STP 500 Preview: Finally something that can slow Harvick down

Can Denny Hamlin get back to winning Martinsville ways Sunday?
We’ve all been waiting for a driver to step up and not take any more of this Kevin Harvick domination to start 2015, and surprisingly the one that has is Harvick’s teammate Kurt Busch who raced to a top-5 finish for the consecutive week since being reinstated by NASCAR after missing the first three races of the season.

Neither of those two Stewart-Haas teammates won last week at Fontana as Brad Keselowski stole one after cautions flew on two separate occasions when Busch had one lap to go before victory was his, but it’s still clear these two cars have a major edge over everyone else in the new rules package, and they don‘t seem willing to share their secret with anyone -- not even car owner/teammate Tony Stewart.

Busch finished third for the second consecutive year at Fontana, but he easily had the car to beat over the weekend. He put on a speed display during Friday and Saturday practices that not even Harvick has pulled off this season. Busch had the fastest lap in all three practice sessions as well as the fastest 10-consecutive lap average in both Saturday sessions. He also won the pole.

Harvick no longer had that huge edge we have seen from the end of last season when he won the final two races to win his first Sprint Cup to this season when he won the first two races on the West Coast swing. However, he still managed to finish ahead of Busch in second-place which is his eighth straight top-2 finish.

That is unreal in this era of NASCAR!

This week, the playing field is more even for the drivers at Martinsville. Other than the road courses, Martinsville is the most reliant upon a drivers skills where a car that may not be the fastest can out duel the top power teams just because of the driver being the equalizer. Over the past few years, we’ve seen the top Martinsville performers come from those power teams.

Read More Here.....Top-5 Finish Prediction

Ryan Newman: "I wish we had more short tracks like Martinsville"

Ryan Newman is 25/1 to win STP 500
Ryan Newman
No. 31 Quicken Loans Chevrolet SS
Race Notes and Quotes:

This Week’s Quicken Loans Chevrolet SS at Martinsville Speedway
… Ryan Newman will drive chassis No. 490 on Sunday at Martinsville Speedway. This is a brand new Chevrolet SS that will be utilized under race conditions for the first time this weekend.

Newman at the Paperclip … In 26 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series events at Martinsville Speedway, Newman visited victory lane at this event in 2012. The Rocket Man also owns three pole awards, all happening in the fall events in 2002, ’04 and ’09. In total, he owns eight top-five and 12 top-10 finishes along with 194 laps led in competition. The South Bend, Ind., native has an average start of 9.7 and average finish of 15th.

Engineered to Amaze … Detroit-based Quicken Loans Inc. is the nation’s second largest retail home mortgage lender. The company closed $140 billion of mortgage volume across all 50 states in 2013-2014. Quicken Loans generates loan production from web centers located in Detroit, Cleveland and Scottsdale, Arizona. The company also operates a centralized loan processing facility in Detroit, as well as its San Diego-based One Reverse Mortgage unit. Quicken Loans ranked “Highest in Customer Satisfaction for Primary Mortgage Origination” in the United States by J.D. Power for the past five consecutive years, 2010 – 2014, and highest in customer satisfaction among all mortgage servicers in 2014.

Quicken Loans was named among the top-30 companies on FORTUNE magazine’s annual “100 Best Companies to Work For” list for the last 12 consecutive years, ranking No. 12 in 2015. It has been recognized as one of Computerworld magazine’s ‘100 Best Places to Work in IT’ the past ten years, ranking No. 1 in 2014, 2013, 2007, 2006 and 2005. The company moved its headquarters to downtown Detroit in 2010, and now more than 10,000 of its nearly 12,000 team members work in the city’s urban core. For more information about Quicken Loans, please visit QuickenLoans.com, on Twitter at @QLnews, and on Facebook at Facebook.com/QuickenLoans.

Where’s Ryan? … Newman is scheduled to visit the Chevy Stage located in the Martinsville Speedway Midway starting at 9:55 a.m. ET., for a question and answer session.

Get to the Points … Newman earned his third-straight, top-five and fourth-consecutive top-10 finish of the season with a fifth-place result at Auto Club Speedway. He now ranks sixth in the championship point standings entering this weekend’s race event at Martinsville.

Last Time Around … Newman took advantage of a strong restart in the closing laps to go from eighth to a third-place finish. The top-five result kicked off a strong Eliminator Eight Round for the No. 31 team and equated to the crew’s fourth top-five of the season.

Rummage the Ranch … On Saturday, March 28 from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. visit Rescue Ranch to find great deals. The sale is to support of Rescue Ranch. For information, call 704-768-0909 or visit:http://www.rescueranch.com/special-events.

RYAN NEWMAN QUOTE:

What are your thoughts on Martinsville Speedway?

“I really like Martinsville Speedway. I wish we had more short tracks like Martinsville. Short-track racing is some of the best racing we have going for our sport because of the quality of racing we have there. The mechanical grip is always a factor at that track and it depends on which tire Goodyear brings for us. Mechanical grip and tires can manipulate the kind of weekend you are going to have and hopefully you can adapt quickly, as well as adjust appropriately throughout the course of the weekend. I like the challenge of having to chase the combination of the tire and racetrack. The track changes day-to-day, so the key is making the right adjustments so you don’t go off path. I am really looking forward to having a good race there in the Quicken Loans Chevrolet.”

- Richard Childress Racing

Matt Kenseth sixth or better in past three Martinsville starts

Matt Kenseth is 20/1 to win STP 500 at Martinsville
Matt Kenseth / No. 20 Dollar General Toyota Preview
STP 500 at Martinsville Speedway

No. 20 Dollar General Toyota News and Notes:

JOE GIBBS RACING AT MARTINSVILLE:
Joe Gibbs Racing has 98 Sprint Cup Series starts at Martinsville Speedway earning a total of seven wins, 31 top-five, 51 top-ten finishes, and eight poles. The organization also has led for a total of 3,395 laps and has an average finish of 13.3 at the 0.526-mile short track.

KENSETH BY THE NUMBERS: In 30 Sprint Cup Series starts at Martinsville, Kenseth has completed 14,901 of 15,034 laps (99.1 percent). Kenseth has led for a total of 409 laps and has earned four top-five and 11 top-ten finishes at the half-mile track. A runner-up finish is Kenseth’s career best finish at Martinsville, which he earned in April 2002 and October 2013.

THIS WEEK ON THE NO. 20 DOLLAR GENERAL TOYOTA: Dollar General vendor partners Hamburger Helper, Angel Soft, Sun, Colgate, Clorox, Hefty Reynolds Wrap, Stacker2 and Gatorade will be featured on Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 20 Toyota Camry this weekend at Martinsville Speedway.

RACE INFO: The STP 500 at Martinsville Speedway (0.526-mile) begins at 1:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, March 29. The race will be broadcast live on FOX Sports 1, Sirius XM Channel 90 and MRN Radio.

Kenseth’s 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Season Stats:
StartsWinsTop 5Top 10PolesLaps LedEarningsStartAvg. Finish
5012054$931,86016.819.2
Kenseth’s Career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Stats:
StartsWinsTop 5Top 10PolesLaps LedEarningsAvg. StartAvg. Finish
54931152272139,509$108,096,10818.214.2

From the Cockpit:
Matt Kenseth:
“Martinsville is one of those tracks, like all short tracks actually, where you need to have a car that turns really well, along with having some grip on entry and exit. I have a feeling it’s going to be a little bit different with the reduced horsepower this year. It’s always one of those tracks where you need to remain patient and try to keep your cool all day. Pit road is fairly tight at Martinsville, but it’s honestly just like any other pit road in the sense that it’s easier to pass on pit road at Martinsville than on the track itself. When you have a great pit crew like we do, you want to take advantage of those opportunities to get as much as you can to improve your position from pit road.”

From the Pit Box:
Jason Ratcliff:
“I feel that Martinsville is a big deal to win a race at because you really just fight all day long to survive there. I feel that we’ve had some great races there since Matt (Kenseth) has joined the No. 20 team where we were able to lead for a lot of laps. I think that we have an opportunity to win there because our cars, as an organization, have been strong, so I’m confident that we’ll have a strong run this weekend. Martinsville is very temperamental to the outdoor temps, but I’m looking forward to our weekend and know that we have a strong DG Toyota that we’re bringing with us.”

About Dollar General:
Dollar General Corporation has been delivering value to shoppers for over 75 years. Dollar General helps shoppers Save time. Save money. Every day!® by offering products that are frequently used and replenished, such as food, snacks, health and beauty aids, cleaning supplies, basic apparel, house wares and seasonal items at low everyday prices in convenient neighborhood locations. With more than 11,700 stores in 43 states, Dollar General has more retail locations than any retailer in America. In addition to high quality private brands, Dollar General sells products from America’s most-trusted manufacturers such as Clorox, Energizer, Procter & Gamble, Hanes, Coca-Cola, Mars, Unilever, Nestle, Kimberly-Clark, Kellogg’s, General Mills, and PepsiCo. For more information on Dollar General, please visit www.dollargeneral.com.

DG at the Track:
Dollar General has more retail locations than any retailer in America, with more than 11,700 stores in 40 states.

- Joe Gibbs Racing

Clint Bowyer 10th or better past six Martinsville starts

Clint Bowyer is 20/1 to win STP 500 at Martinsville
MARTINSVILLE, Va. (March 24, 2015) – Clint Bowyer chuckles when asked about his first trip to Martinsville Speedway and replies in his usual candid manner.

“I hated it when I first came here. There is no other way to describe it: I sucked,” Bowyer told a gathering of media at Martinsville Speedway Tuesday, just three days before the STP 500 weekend begins.

“It was completely embarrassing the first couple of times I came here. This is a place you have to learn and you have to appreciate and hone your skills to get a good finish here. It’s one thing to go fast at this race track, but then you’ve got to do it 500 times. The first couple of times I came here, I couldn’t figure when to get out of it, I was driving into the corner too hard and made me go slower. Then I was picking up the gas too soon. It just takes time here.”

It didn’t take him long to figure out the difficult half-mile. He scored a ninth-place finish in his fourth start at Martinsville and seldom has been out of the top 10 since. In 18 starts, he has 12 top 10s and his last five starts he has finished seventh, ninth, third, second and fifth.

“This is a cool race track and we’ve come so close to getting that darned clock,” said Bowyer, referring to the traditional grandfather clock winner’s trophy.

“I even brought my ratchet straps the last time. I was going to get it in my truck. This is a track we can win at. It’s needed for us, my race team and Toyota.”

“Martinsville, she’s kind of a stand-alone event. To be good at Martinsville, it takes a different setup in your race car. It’s a track where as a driver you can get up on the wheel and make a difference in the race car,” said Bowyer.

Bowyer guaranteed that the STP 500 would be full of excitement, even from his seat.

“It’s really, really action-packed and not just for (the fans), but for us. I’m telling you the whole time you’re here, you are tip-toeing around and you’re on pins and needles because of the closeness of the action, no matter if it’s on pit road or on the race track or rolling out of the pits in practices.

“All of these things are so difficult to manage as a race-car driver in these tight confines and all the while you’ve got 42 other lunatics out there you are racing with.”

Ticket prices for the STP 500 start at $50.

Tickets to the Virginia Lottery Pole Day on March 27, the Kroger 250 Camping World Truck Series race on March 28 and the STP 500 Sprint Cup Series race on March 29 can be purchased by calling 877.RACE.TIX or online atwww.martinsvillespeedway.com.

- Martinsville Speedway

Five straight top-10 finishes for Martin Truex Jr. heading to Martinsville

Martin Truex Jr. is 40/1 to win at Martinsville Sunday
DENVER, Colo. (March 24, 2015) – As Martin Truex Jr. heads to one of the more perplexing racetracks for this weekend’s Sprint Cup Series race at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway, the Furniture Row Racing driver can find solace with how his team has performed in the first five races compared to the same period last year.

After five races last season, Truex did not have any top fives or top 10s and was ranked 30th in driver points. After five races this season, Truex’s lowest finish has been eighth with one top five (second at Las Vegas) and is ranked third in the driver standings.

The five straight top-10 finishes equaled the total amount of top 10s Truex achieved in 2014, his first season with Furniture Row Racing. The five straight top 10s also equals Truex’s personal career best for consecutive top-10 finishes.

“Those five straight top 10s haven’t been easy,” stated Truex. “But we’ve made some nice comebacks and the early results have given Furniture Row Racing a big boost of confidence. We just need to keep on rolling and try to improve each week.”

But to keep the current pace, Truex, driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row/Denver Mattress Chevrolet, needs to figure out the Martinsville conundrum before the green flag drops for Sunday’s STP 500 at the shortest track on the NASCAR Sprint Cup circuit of 0.526 miles.

“They call Martinsville the paper-clip track, I call it the puzzle,” said Truex. “I don’t have anything against the quality of Martinsville Speedway — it’s just not one of my favorite tracks. The main reason for feeling that way is that after nearly 20 races there the track is still perplexing to me. We might have similar first names — Martin and Martinsville — but we just don’t get along or see eye to eye. I hope we can change that this weekend.”

Truex, who is in his 10th full season of Sprint Cup competition, might be a little too harsh on himself when talking about his Martinsville results.

“It’s not that I haven’t run well there – I’ve had a couple of top-fives and a few more top-10s, but I have had a hard time finding consistency in what I am doing and trying to get my car to do on Sunday,” explained Truex. “Bottom line — Martinsville just spins me out. I am hoping that what we do at Martinsville follows the same pattern of what we’ve been able to accomplish in the first five races this season.”

In 18 career starts at Martinsville, Truex has posted two top-five finishes and four top-10s. Last year at Martinsville Truex finished 21 st in the spring race and crashed in the fall race, which resulted in a 38 th-place finish.

Truex’s Career Record at Martinsville
 
Year
 
Start
 
Finish
 
Status/Laps
Laps
Led
 
Earnings
20062119Running, 498/500094,208
1836Running, 453/500072,575
20071529Running, 496/500196,670
219Running, 506/506095,695
20084221Running, 499/5000105,258
1810Running, 504/5040110,708
20092029Running, 498/5000108,890
328Running, 499/5010108,940
2010205Running, 508/508095,300
1629Running, 473/500071,275
20111840Crash, 219/500077,025
248Running, 500/500088,425
2012135Running, 515/5150117,949
1223Running, 499/5000103,424
20131240Running, 385/500095,925
1516Running, 500/5000115,910
20143121Running, 500/5000111,708
2638Crash, 436/5000100,138
Martinsville Speedway Totals
RacesWinT5T10PoleLedAvgStAvgFnDNFMoney
180240118.123.121,770,023
Truex’s 2015 Sprint Cup Series Results
No.DateEventStFnLapsLedStatusMoneyPointsStanding
12/22Daytona 500108203/2031Running489,772378
23/1Atlanta146325/3250Running150,61538/755
33/8Las Vegas82267/2673Running268,95043/1184
43/15Phoenix157312/3120Running121,02537/1553
53/22Fontana128209/2095Running136,24037/1923

- DMF Communications for Furniture Row Racing

David Ragan calls Martinsville 'an equalizer'

David Ragan is 75/1 to win STP 500 at Martinsville
HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. (March 24, 2015) – The winner of Sunday’s STP 500 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway, like every NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race winner there since the mid-1960s, will receive the traditional grandfather clock trophy in victory lane.

Martinsville track president Clay Campbell’s late grandfather and track founder H. Clay Earles teamed up with a local clock company almost five decades ago to create one of the most unique trophies in all of racing.

So, as David Ragan, driver of the No. 18 M&M’s Crispy Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR), heads to Martinsville this weekend, he’ll keep in mind that the key to a strong run at Martinsville is all about “time management.” Taking the time to manage cooling fans, brakes and tires during each lap around the .536-mile paperclip-shaped racetrack can pay huge dividends for competitors in the form of speed at the end of each green-flag run.

There are several other keys to a top finish Sunday at Martinsville, starting with a good qualifying effort Friday to ensure not only a prime starting spot, but a preferred pit stall, which enables competitors to get on and off of pit road as easily as possible.Ragan’s M&M’s Crispy pit crew will need to stay on top of its game by performing flawless stops, as track position at Martinsville pays more of a premium than anywhere else on the Sprint Cup circuit.

Finally, a good brake package will be crucial for Ragan to be competitive for all 500 laps. Throughout the long afternoon, drivers will be at top speed down the long straightaways, then do all they can to slow their 3,400-pound racecars enough to roll through the corners before jumping back on the gas. Few if any drivers can be successful at Martinsville if they’ve used up their brakes before covering the race distance.

So, as Ragan and the M&M’s Crispy Racing crew head to Martinsville this weekend, they’ll focus on a total team effort and use a little time management in order to bring home a strong run at NASCAR’s shortest track.

DAVID RAGAN, Driver of the No. 18 M&M’s Crispy Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing:

You’ve had some good runs at Martinsville in recent years. What is your outlook for this weekend?

“I really enjoy Martinsville. It’s a unique track. Having grown up on the asphalt short tracks, it’s a comfortable layout for me. It’s a track that is kind of an equalizer. Some of the smaller teams, like Front Row Motorsports, we’ve been able to get our car driving well and have good strategy and able to run in the top-10 and top-15. It’s always encouraging to have that competition throughout the entire field. It makes it very interesting. I enjoy the short tracks. I think that, as a fan, it’s some of the best racing we have. For sure, 500 laps is a big test on drivers and equipment. Martinsville just has an old-school feeling to it and a track that goes back as far as the history of our sport goes. Martinsville is a fun race, and certainly the JGR cars have been successful there over the years, and it’s a track that I’m very much looking forward to with our M&M’s Crispy Camry.”

What’s the hardest part about getting around Martinsville?
“I think Martinsville, from a driver’s perspective, mentally, it’s a tough race. It’s also important to manage your equipment throughout the race as the track rubbers up and changes throughout the day. You are constantly in traffic and you always have someone on your nose and on your bumper and you can’t make a mistake. Managing your brakes, fenders, tires are very important. Having good forward drive is a key. So is managing your tires. So, if you abuse your tires on the beginning of the run, you usually have to pay for it later in the run. There are just so many different variables to keep in mind. It sounds so simple because you don’t have to worry about your aero platform and how your splitter height is, but it’s very important to take care of your car so your brake ducts and fans work efficiently. It’s a grueling race, for sure.”

Do you feel more comfortable now that you have four races under your belt with the team?
“It’s great to get to the racetrack and know everyone’s name and get a feel for their process through a weekend and how they communicate, and how all four teams work together for the common good. So, that certainly does make things a little easier. I’ve been a little disappointed with just our overall results on Sundays. We’ve had moments of brilliance through the weekends, but we really haven’t been able to put an entire weekend together, so it’s encouraging to get back to the racetrack and again have some speed. This weekend is very, very important to get a good run and, obviously, just set the tone for the next few races. As far as being on a smaller team and being hungry to get to a more competitive program, I think in the Sprint Cup Series sometimes your careers go in different directions. And I think every driver – maybe with the exception of one of two over the years – have all had ups and downs and have been more successful with multiple teams. So in my situation, leaving Roush (Fenway Racing), going to Front Row Motorsports, I knew I had a great opportunity to help a smaller team and meet some new people and still work on some of my skills. The resources and all the tools that the larger teams have, it’s really remarkable that a smaller organization can even keep up with the larger teams. Kudos to NASCAR for keeping the rules as tight as they have over the years. That will allow a Harry Scott Motorsports or Front Row Motorsports or a Phoenix Racing over the years to win a race or to qualify in the top-10 or get a top-10 finish. I think over the last few years I’ve worked hard to try to make David Ragan a better driver, but when you get to a team like Gibbs (Joe Gibbs Racing) or a Hendrick (Motorsports) or Stewart-Haas (Racing), you’re surrounded by greatness. You definitely have to elevate and not make any mistakes, and there’s some really, really good drivers, really good crew chiefs and the engineers, who are out there and they make you a better driver. Just in the last few weeks, the tools that have been at my fingertips and some of the information just to help me drive and be a smarter driver, it’s been unbelievable and so it’s something that’s definitely given me a shot in the arm to keep digging and keep working hard being a young guy.”

Do you get the impression that Toyota is still adjusting to the new rules package?
“I’ve heard a little talk about the nose and a little talk about the engine package, so yeah, I still think there are some growing pains and understanding what their limits are and how aggressive they can be and how to get the most out of their Toyota Camry parts and pieces. I think that’s the case with any manufacturer. As you go to some different racetracks these first five or six races, it’s really a perfect schedule to have a speedway, a couple of downforce tracks, a short track, and then we go to Martinsville this weekend. There’s going to be a different group of issues when you get to Martinsville with the low-speed corners and accelerating out of those tight corners with a lot of torque that you need with the engine package. Time will tell how each manufacturer develops, but I think the Toyota guys feel pretty confident with where they’re at and where they’re going.”

DAVID RAGAN’S MARTINSVILLE SPRINT CUP SERIES PERFORMANCE PROFILE
YearDateEventStartFinishStatus/LapsLaps LedEarnings
20143/30STP 5002428Running, 497/5000$99,322
 10/26Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 5002910Running, 500/5000112,898
20134/7STP Gas Booster 5002330Running, 493/5000$89,950
 10/27Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500843Engine, 109,5000$59,750
20124/1×Goody’s Fast Relief 5002424Running, 511/5150$91,518
 10/28TUMS Fast Relief 5001626Running, 499/5000$87,068
20114/3Goody’s Fast 500148Running, 500/5000$90,525
 10/30†TUMS Fast Relief 5001833Running, 444/5000$77,750
20103/28×Goody’s Fast Pain Relief 5002716Running, 508/5080$85,050
 10/24TUMS Fast Relief 5001017Running, 499/5000$83,350
20093/29Goody’s Fast Pain Relief 5002627Running, 498/5000$82,375
 10/25×TUMS Fast Pain Relief 5001422Running, 500/5010$82,675
20083/30Goody’s Cool Orange 500411Running, 500/5000$87,200
 10/19†×TUMS QuikPak 5001313Running, 504/5040$85,300
20074/1Goody’s Cool Orange 5002715Running, 500/5000$113,250
 10/21×Subway 5004126Running, 506/5060$101,650
200610/22Subway 5004125Running, 500/5000$66,125

× Race length extended due to green-white-checkered finish.
† Qualifying canceled due to weather, starting position set via car owner points.

- True Speed Communication for M&M’s Racing