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Wednesday, April 7, 2021
Kyle Busch is 10/1 to win 2021 Blue-Emu 500 at Martinsville
Chase Briscoe is 300/1 to win Saturday night at Martinsville
CHASE BRISCOE Martinsville Advance No. 14 Rush Truck Centers Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing
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Event Overview |
● Event: Blu-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500 (Round 8 of 36) ● Time/Date: 7:30 p.m. EDT on Saturday, April 10 ● Location: Martinsville (Va.) Speedway ● Layout: .526-mile oval ● Laps/Miles: 500 laps/263 miles ● Stage Lengths: Stage 1: 130 laps / Stage 2: 130 laps / Final Stage: 240 laps ● TV/Radio: FS1 / MRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
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Notes of Interest |
● Fresh off the NASCAR Cup Series off-weekend, Chase Briscoe looks to Martinsville (Va.) Speedway as a clean slate and the perfect opportunity for the No. 14 Rush Truck Centers team to kickstart its season. The tight and flat .526-mile oval may not seem like the ideal place for a rookie driver to find his footing, but Briscoe has proven that he can handle himself on short tracks like Martinsville.
● The 25-year-old racer from Mitchell, Indiana, made 15 short-track starts in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, scoring two wins – last September at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway and July 2019 at Iowa Speedway in Newton – and earning 10 top-10 finishes. When the Xfinity Series made its return to Martinsville last fall after a 13-eyar hiatus, Briscoe finished seventh.
● Briscoe also has two NASCAR Camping World Truck Series starts at Martinsville. His best result came in April 2017 when he started eighth and finished 11th. He returned in October to start on the pole and lead the first 39 laps before a late-race accident resulted in a 19th-place finish.
● This weekend marks Briscoe’s first race carrying the colors of Rush Truck Centers on the No. 14 Ford Mustang. Rush Truck Centers is the largest network of commercial vehicle dealerships in the United States with more than 100 locations in 22 states. These vehicle centers, strategically located in high-traffic areas on or near major highways throughout the United States, represent truck and bus manufacturers, including Peterbilt, International, Hino, Isuzu, Ford, Mitsubishi, IC Bus and Blue Bird. They offer an integrated approach to meeting customer needs – from sales of new and used vehicles to aftermarket parts, service and body shop operations, plus financing, insurance, leasing and rental.
● After seven races, Briscoe leads the Rookie of the Year standings by 46 points over Anthony Alfredo. With Rookie of the Year honors in the Truck Series (2017) and Xfinity Series (2019), Briscoe is looking to join Erik Jones and William Byron as only the third driver in history to claim the title in all three of NASCAR’s national touring series.
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Chase Briscoe, Driver of the No. 14 Rush Truck Centers Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing: |
We’re heading into two weekends of Virginia short-track racing, starting with Martinsville this weekend before we head to Richmond. Are these races you’re looking forward to? “I don’t know if it’s fair to say I’m looking forward to either. For whatever reason, it seems like the state of Virginia haunts me. Every time we race at Richmond or Martinsville I tend to struggle. I enjoy running at Martinsville, but from a luck standpoint I’ve had terrible luck there. Maybe we can turn it around this year, but it was a struggle the first few years of my career. There’s a certain rhythm to the racing at Martinsville and, if you can find that, it definitely makes it more fun. But it’s a true short track and you can get caught up in a mess real quick.”
It has been a slow start to the season for the No. 14 team. Was the off weekend a chance to hit the reset button? “Yes, definitely. I wouldn’t say we’ve had a bad start to the season. We’ve made a lot of progress in terms of learning how to work together. I got a better idea of things I need to work on and they know what I like in a car and what I’m looking for at certain tracks. Those are all things we can build on. But having a week off to take a breath and regroup is never a bad thing. We’ve still got work to do, but this is a chance to turn things around and start moving in the right direction.”
There’s a lot of pressure put on young guys when they move up to the Cup Series to do well right off the bat. Have you been able to enjoy it and have fun? “Absolutely. This is something I’ve dreamed of my whole life, to get to this point specifically and to drive the car I’m driving now. It’s frustrating but, at the same time, this is a dream being lived out. The results will come eventually, it’s just a matter of learning and keeping things in perspective. I knew it was going to be a big jump and I’d need to adjust, but it’s for sure a bigger adjustment than I expected. But we’re only seven races in, I’ve still got a lot to learn even with as much as I’ve learned so far. I’m just taking it all in. It’s never a guarantee that you’re back the next year. So, I’m just trying to live in the moment, enjoy every moment and have fun along the way.” |
Kevin Harvick is 18/1 to win at Martinsville
KEVIN HARVICK Martinsville Advance No. 4 Busch NA Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing
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Event Overview |
● Event: Blu-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500 (Round 8 of 36) ● Time/Date: 7:30 p.m. EDT on Saturday, April 10 ● Location: Martinsville (Va.) Speedway ● Layout: .526-mile oval ● Laps/Miles: 500 laps/263 miles ● Stage Lengths: Stage 1: 130 laps / Stage 2: 130 laps / Final Stage: 240 laps ● TV/Radio: FS1 / MRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
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Notes of Interest |
● When the green flag drops on Saturday night's Blu-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500, Kevin Harvick will make his milestone 40th NASCAR Cup Series start at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. The driver of the No. 4 Busch NA Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) has the second-most starts at Martinsville among active Cup Series drivers (39). Kurt Busch leads the series with 41 Cup Series starts at the .526-mile oval. However, Busch and Harvick are Martinsville neophytes compared to NASCAR Hall of Famer and seven-time series champion Richard Petty who leads the series with 67 Cup Series starts at the track in a career that spans more than three decades (1959-1992).
● Harvick’s best Martinsville finish since joining SHR in 2014 is a pair of fifth-place finishes – Oct. 29, 2017 and March 20, 2018. That fifth-place drive in 2017 came in a No. 4 Busch NA Ford and, for the first time in four years, the Busch NA paint scheme is back on the No. 4 Ford. Busch NA is a fully-brewed, non-alcoholic beer using premium hops, barley malt, grain and water to produce a smooth, malty flavor.
● Harvick has five top-five results at Martinsville and has finished in the top-10 in half his starts at the paperclip-shaped track (19), but in his last two NASCAR Cup Series starts there, Harvick has finished 15th and 17th, respectively. If the Busch NA paint scheme can help deliver Harvick back to the top-five, he’ll take it. Speaking of delivery, Busch delivers. Get your Busch NA delivered right to your doorstep by visiting Busch.com/delivery.
● Harvick has tasted success in every type of car he has raced at Martinsville. He has a NASCAR Cup Series win, a NASCAR Xfinity Series win and three NASCAR Camping World Truck Series wins.
● Harvick’s lone NASCAR Cup Series victory at Martinsville came on April 3, 2011 when he beat Dale Earnhardt Jr., by .727 of a second. It was Harvick’s 20th Cup Series start at the track and his 16th career Cup Series victory. Harvick now has 58 career Cup Series wins and is alone at ninth on the all-time win list. Next on the all-time win list is NASCAR Hall of Famer and seven-time series champion Dale Earnhardt with 76 victories.
● Harvick is batting .1000 in the Xfinity Series at Martinsville. He earned the equivalent of a walk-off homer on July 22, 2006 when in his only Xfinity Series start at the track, he led three times for a race-high 149 laps to take the win by .271 of a second over Clint Bowyer.
● Harvick’s three Truck Series wins at Martinsville came in 17 starts. He won on March 30, 2009 (defeated Ron Hornaday Jr.), March 27, 2010 (defeated Hornaday again) and March 31, 2012 (defeated Ty Dillon).
● The Truck Series is where Harvick made his first start of any kind at Martinsville – Sept. 26, 1998 when he finished 25th. Harvick earned his first top-10 at Martinsville on April 17, 1999 in a Ford F-150 for team owner Jim Herrick.
● DYK? Harvick tested a Whelen Modified Tour car at Martinsville on Jan. 21, 2020. The Modified Tour is NASCAR’s oldest division and it is the only open-wheel series sanctioned by NASCAR. Compared to a NASCAR Cup Series car, a Tour car is 11 inches shorter in height and a little more than 23 inches wider. It also weighs nearly 800 pounds less. Harvick’s test came via Ryan Preece’s No. 6NY Tour car. Preece was the 2013 series champion and he earned the first of his 22 career Modified Tour victories at Martinsville on Sept. 20, 2008, leading 265 of the race’s 300 laps. Harvick and his company, KHI Management, represent Preece, who is now in his third full season competing in the Cup Series.
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Kevin Harvick, Driver of the No. 4 Busch NA Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing |
The NASCAR Cup Series had a rare off-weekend prior to Martinsville. What do you typically do with those free moments of your time, or is there anything you’d like to do? “I’m going to tell you what I want to do, but I’ve not been able to convince my wife of this. I want to load everybody up in a motorhome and take our own road trip as a family. I think the things we would learn and experience together would be way more entertaining than going on a trip with somebody we don’t know. For instance, when we go to Road America this year, we’re racing go-karts the week before we race the Cup car, and then we race go-karts again the week after at Road America. So, I’ve been trying to convince my wife that we should just get in the motorhome, drive it ourselves, go up there and go somewhere, and she said absolutely not, it would be a complete train wreck. But it could also be made for TV, so who knows?”
Martinsville is a throwback venue in that it’s a short track where we’ll race under the lights on a Saturday night – the kind of racing in which everyone starts their careers. Is that Martinsville’s niche? “I think the short-track stuff is definitely meant to be run on Saturday nights under the lights. But at our level of racing, a lot more goes into it than just that. There’s the professional side of it in determining when we get the best TV ratings and when the most people are watching. And then from the show side of it, just seeing the brakes glow at night and seeing the sparks fly and all the stuff that comes with a night race on a short track is pretty neat.”
Martinsville can be a frustrating track. For instance, you’ve won there, you’ve finished in the top-10 in half your races there, but you’ve also left that place shaking your head. Describe what it is that makes Martinsville so maddening, but also so rewarding when you do have success? “Look, I’ve done this a long time, and there’s really not going to be a racetrack that I go to that I don’t leave thinking that I could’ve done better. Martinsville is the one I leave thinking that probably more often than some of the others, but it’s going to be the exact same as any other racetrack when I get to Monday – it’s just going to be in the past and I’m not going to think about it. But I definitely would tell you it’s not a racetrack that I would say, ‘This is where I want to go.’ It’s just not been a place where I’ve had streaks of success. It’s been a racetrack where you just never know what’s going to happen. It’s just one of those places that’s been like that. I have no idea how we’ve won there, but we have. At KHI, it was one of our most successful racetracks in the Truck Series, and I was able to win an Xfinity race there back in ’06. We’ve won in all the divisions there. It’s just one of those places that’s frustrating. Even on a day when you do well, you just leave there with your wires crossed.”
If you make a mistake at Martinsville and it impacts someone else, how and when do you deal with it? “You only have so much time, so you just have to deal with it after the race. The repercussions of doing something on purpose are usually pretty noticeable. You have to balance that, especially with guys who have been doing this for a long time.”
Where’s the best place to be at Martinsville to help avoid trouble on the racetrack? “The best position to be in at any racetrack is in the lead. You want to be in control of the race and try to get yourself in a position to where you can have a good, clean restart and have as much clear track, especially at Martinsville. There is so much pushing and shoving on the restarts to get to the bottom lane that I want to have our Busch NA Ford Mustang as far forward as possible.” |
Denny Hamlin is 8/1 to win 2021 Blue-Emu 500 at Martinsville
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| Denny Hamlin 5 Martinsville wins. |
11 FedEx Office Toyota
Joe Gibbs Racing
Race Info:
Race: Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500
Date/Time: April 10/7:30 p.m. ET
Distance: 500 laps/263 miles
Track Length: .526 miles
Track Shape: Oval
2020 Winner: Martin Truex Jr.
Express Notes:
Press Kit: Download the 2021 FedEx Racing press materials at www.fedexracing.com/presskit, including bios for Denny Hamlin, Chris Gabehart and Joe Gibbs Racing has leadership, program highlights and statistics.
Bristol Recap: The spectacle of the NASCAR Cup Series’ first dirt race in more than 50 years was postponed a day, after heavy weekend rains washed out Sunday’s track activity. The wait seemed to be worth it, as a limited-capacity crowd cheered Monday as Hamlin led the field to the green flag for the first of 253 laps. (The FedEx Racing driver inherited the lead after an engine change forced pole-sitter Kyle Larson to start from the rear.) Hamlin led the first lap before his loose-handling car dropped him back outside the top five. But, even with the unfamiliar racing conditions of the temporary dirt track, the FedEx team stayed competitive throughout the 127-mile event, racing near the front and picking up stage points. The #11 team was in second and battling leader Joey Logano when the yellow flag flew on Lap 246, forcing a green-white-checkered finish. During the two-lap dash to the finish, Hamlin tried to pass Logano on the outside, but lost traction and fell back to third, allowing Logano and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. to cross the finish line ahead of him. The third-place result was Hamlin’s fourth consecutive top-five finish, padding his championship points lead to 58.
Martinsville Outlook: The series shakes the dirt off its feet from Bristol and heads to Martinsville Speedway, the paperclip-shaped short track that typically produces a lot of bumping and banging on track – and occasionally some anger among the drivers. Hamlin and the FedEx Racing team have five wins at the Ridgeway, Va., track. The Virginia native will look to win his sixth Martinsville grandfather clock trophy on Saturday under the lights.
Hamlin Statistics:
Track: Martinsville Speedway
Races: 30
Wins: 5
Poles: 4
Top-5: 15
Top-10: 21
Laps Led: 1608
Avg. Start: 8.7
Avg. Finish: 9.9
Hamlin Conversation – Martinsville:
After the unfamiliarity of the Bristol dirt track, are you eager to get to the more familiar Martinsville?
“NASCAR and Bristol Motor Speedway did a great job with the dirt race, but, yes, I’m ready to get back onto some asphalt. Martinsville is always a place we take confidence to, even when we know we need to keep making improvements to our short track program.”
Is Martinsville a place where you can get your first win of 2021?
“Absolutely. We’re obviously on a strong run with all the top-fives we have, so we’re doing a lot of things right. It’s just a matter of time before we get ourselves up front at the checkers. In the meantime, we’re going to keep working on collecting stage points and growing our lead any way we can.”
Odds to win 2021 Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500 at Martinsville
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| Martin Truex Jr won last June at Martinsville. |
Martin TRUEX JR 7/2
Brad KESELOWSKI 5/1
Ryan BLANEY 5/1
Chase ELLIOTT 5/1
Joey LOGANO 7/1
Denny HAMLIN 8/1
Kyle BUSCH 10/1
Kyle LARSON 18/1
Kevin HARVICK 18/1
Kurt BUSCH 30/1
Alex BOWMAN 40/1
William BYRON 40/1
Matt DIBENEDETTO 60/1
Aric ALMIROLA 60/1
Christopher BELL 60/1
Bubba WALLACE 60/1
Ryan NEWMAN 200/1
Chris BUESCHER 200/1
Austin DILLON 200/1
Cole CUSTER 200/1
Tyler REDDICK 200/1
Erik JONES 300/1
Daniel SUAREZ 300/1
Ricky STENHOUSE JR 300/1
Ross CHASTAIN 300/1
Chase BRISCOE 300/1
Michael McDOWELL 1,000/1
Ryan PREECE 1000/1
Justin HALEY 5000/1
Anthony ALFREDO 5000/1
Corey LAJOIE 10000/1
Quin HOUFF 10000/1
BJ McLEOD 10000/1
JJ YELEY 10000/1
Cody WARE 10000/1
Josh BILICKI 10000/1
James DAVISON 10000/1
Matt DiBenedetto is 60/1 to win at Martinsville
It will be the team’s 120th Cup Series start at Martinsville and the third there since DiBenedetto took the wheel of the No. 21 Mustang.
Last year, DiBenedetto finished seventh in the spring at Martinsville and 10th in the fall, and he’s looking to continue that success in this year’s race under the lights on the half-mile oval.
“Short-track racing is my favorite, and it’s even cooler that it will be a Saturday-night race,” DiBenedetto said. “We finished top 10 both races last year, so obviously this is one we look forward to a little extra.”
Saturday’s race will be the first since the passing of the team’s matriarch Bernece Wood on March 30. The Motorcraft/Quick Lane Mustang will carry a special decal in memory of Mrs. Wood, who spent many a Sunday afternoon back in the day in the infield of the track.
“It was one of her favorite tracks,” Eddie Wood said. “She liked the short tracks like Martinsville, Bowman Gray Stadium and Starkey Speedway, which were tracks my Dad liked as well. They were kind of his specialty.”
Wood remembers his mom, and other drivers’ wives, bringing picnic dinners to Martinsville. “There would be plenty of food for us and for everybody around us,” he said.
DiBenedetto said he also will be thinking about Mrs. Wood as he returns to Martinsville Saturday night.
“Our hearts will be heavy this race with the passing of Bernece,” he said. “I really want to get that 100th win for her and the whole family, but the first goal is to go there and have a good clean night and execute.”
There will no practice or qualifying before Saturday’s race. DiBenedetto will start 22nd in a line-up set by NASCAR using statistics from prior races. The 500-lap race will have Stage breaks at 130 and 260 laps.
The green flag is set to fly just after 7:30 p.m., with TV coverage on FOX Sports 1.
About Motorcraft:
Motorcraft offers a complete line of replacement parts that are recommended by Ford Motor Company. From routine maintenance to underhood repairs, Motorcraft parts offer value with high quality and the right fit at competitive prices. Motorcraft parts are available nationwide at Ford and Lincoln Dealers, independent distributors and automotive parts retailers, and are backed by the Service Parts Limited Warranty of Ford Motor Company. For more information, visit www.motorcraft.com.
About Omnicraft:
Omnicraft is part of the Ford lineup of parts brands: Ford Parts, Motorcraft and Omnicraft. Omnicraft is the exclusive non-Ford/Lincoln parts brand of premium aftermarket parts. With over a century of parts heritage to build upon, Omnicraft provides excellent quality and fit and is a preferred choice of professional automotive technicians. To find out more about Omnicraft, visit www.omnicraftautoparts.com or contact your local Ford or Lincoln Dealership.
About Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center
Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center offers extraordinary service for routine vehicle maintenance including tire repair and replacement with a Low Tire Price Guarantee and a full menu of automotive services including oil and filter, brakes, alignments, batteries, and shocks and struts on all vehicle makes and models. Service is performed by certified technicians at more than 1,000 locations worldwide while you wait, and no appointment is necessary. For more information about Quick Lane, please visit www.quicklane.com.
Cole Custer is 200/1 to win Blue-Emu 500 at Martinsville
COLE CUSTER Martinsville Advance No. 41 HaasTooling.com Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing
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Event Overview |
● Event: Blu-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500 (Round 8 of 36) ● Time/Date: 7:30 p.m. EDT on Saturday, April 10 ● Location: Martinsville (Va.) Speedway ● Layout: .526-mile oval ● Laps/Miles: 500 laps/263 miles ● Stage Lengths: Stage 1: 130 laps / Stage 2: 130 laps / Final Stage: 240 laps ● TV/Radio: FS1 / MRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
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Notes of Interest |
● It’s back to racing on pavement after the season’s first off weekend for Cole Custer and his fellow NASCAR Cup Series competitors, who head to the .526-mile paperclip-shaped Martinsville (Va.) Speedway oval for Saturday night’s Blu-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500. The 500-lap race marks the 47th career Cup Series start and third at Martinsville for the 23-year-old driver of the No. 41 HaasTooling.com Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR). He flirted with a top-10 finish, taking the checkered flag 13th, in his most recent visit there last fall.
● Custer, last year’s Cup Series Rookie of the Year, had solid runs among his six NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races at Martinsville from 2014 through 2016. He qualified on the pole and led a race-high 96 of 200 laps before finishing fourth in the October 2015 race, when he drove the No. 00 JR Motorsports entry. His next-best Martinsville Truck Series finish of seventh came in the October 2016 race, his most recent, when he drove the JR Motorsports racetruck to a seventh-place finish after qualifying third and leading 17 laps. He drove to another front-row qualifying spot alongside polesitter and race-winner Joey Logano in the March 2015 Truck Series race at Martinsville, leading two laps of the race before finishing 16th in the JR Motorsports racetruck.
● Custer arrives at Martinsville 23rd in the Cup Series standings, 209 points behind leader Denny Hamlin, after his 24th-place finish at the Food City Dirt Race on the Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway half-mile oval two weekends ago.
● Returning to Custer’s No. 41 Ford Mustang for SHR is team co-owner Gene Haas’ newest holding, Haas Tooling, which was launched as a way for CNC machinists to purchase high-quality cutting tools at great prices. Haas cutting tools are sold exclusively online at HaasTooling.com and shipped directly to end users. HaasTooling.com products became available nationally last July, and the cutting tools available for purchase at HaasTooling.com have proven to be even more important during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic as CNC machines have become vital to producing personal protective equipment. Haas Automation, founded by Haas in 1983, is America’s leading builder of CNC machine tools. The company manufactures a complete line of vertical and horizontal machining centers, turning centers and rotary tables and indexers. All Haas products are constructed in the company’s 1.1-million-square-foot manufacturing facility in Oxnard, California, and distributed through a worldwide network of Haas Factory Outlets.
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Cole Custer, Driver of the No. 41 HaasTooling.com Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing |
You’re moving back to asphalt after racing on the dirt at Bristol two weekends ago. Will any of that experience on the short track at Bristol carry over to your efforts Saturday night Martinsville? “I can’t see how being on the dirt racing from Bristol is going to translate to Martinsville. It’s so much different of a driving style, running on the dirt and the tire we had (at Bristol) and everything. It’s a matter of resetting your entire mind so it’s probably good that we had the off weekend to try and reset ourselves because it’s going to be completely different than what we had at Bristol.”
So the off weekend came at a good time. What did you end up doing? “Yes, we don’t have another off weekend until the end of July, so you have to take advantage of it and enjoy your Easter. So I went back to my girlfriend’s family’s home in Iowa and we had a very nice Easter. It’s nice to have that off weekend to try and get reset and try and get organized.”
What kind of mindset is required for you and the team as you head to Martinsville? “Now, we’re back to not having any practice or qualifying, so it’s all about getting yourself into the rhythm. You have to watch a lot of video, you have to try and do simulator work. It’s so much about rhythm going to Martinsville. You’re hard-braking, the track is so small, you’re on the gas and you’re off the gas and right back again, so it’s a lot about trying to get into a good rhythm. Trying to get into that rhythm by doing simulator work is the best avenue we have to take. And when we get to the track, it’s a lot about trying to figure it all out in the first five laps or so.”
How difficult is it to race but also have to always be mindful of taking care of your brakes, your racecar? “That’s where you’re in between a rock and a hard place because you just want to go and pass people, but if you go too hard, you’re going to burn your stuff up, you’re going to burn your brakes up, and you’re going to find yourself in trouble in 50 laps. So it’s that balance of when you want to be aggressive and when you don’t. You see some of the more experienced guys, the guys who’ve been going there for a while, they’re probably better at knowing when to push it and when not to.”
Do you try to take after any of the more veteran drivers there, in particular? “You try and look at all the guys who are good here. You look at Denny (Hamlin), you look at (Joey) Logano, I think Clint Bowyer was somebody who was really good there who drove for SHR. Being able to kind of grab things from those guys and try and figure out how they get around the racetrack. If you take something from each one of them, you can hopefully make something that’s even better. Obviously everybody’s a little bit different, everybody drives a little bit differently, and you also have to try and figure out your own way, too.”
At this race last June, there were no fans in the stands, and there were just 1,000 for the fall race. This weekend, the grandstands will be at 30-percent capacity. What does that mean on such a tight track where it seems they’re right on top of you? “It’s huge. I think, when you look at it, it’s a tight track where the fans – you’re right there with them, almost. They create such a different energy and atmosphere before and after the race for the drivers, just because they’re yelling and cheering and booing and there’s just a lot of energy going on. Last year, when we had no fans, it was the weirdest thing in the world to have nobody there. It was almost like a practice session, it felt like. To have them back, I think everybody is so excited just to have the atmosphere back.”
How difficult had it been to get energized and stay energized when there were not fans in the stands? “A lot of it became a routine, I would say. You have to put the work in before the weekend and studying tape and different data and simulation and stuff like that to try and get ready for the race. But it does hurt before the race to not have the fans there to pump you up, so it’s one of those things you just had to kind of get used to. It became the normal at the time and you had to get used to that.”
We’ve seen seven different winners in the first seven races. Is that surprising in any way? “I think it’s one of those things where we’ve had the same rules package in the Cup Series for a few years, now, and all of the teams have been able to figure it out more and more and you’re seeing more parity. So you’re going to see more different winners because you’ve got guys who are figuring it out more and more. I think it’s a matter of applauding NASCAR for keeping the rules the same for so many years.”
Seven different winners means seven of the 16 playoff spots are already spoken for. What do you and your team have to do to get one of the remaining playoff spots? “It’s going to come down to, it looks like, we’re going to have to win. It’s something where I think the rules changed just enough going into this year that it kind of threw our team a little bit of a curveball. And it’s one of those things where we don’t have practice to figure it out, so we have to try and use as many notes and try and figure out how to get our cars on the right track.” |
Aric Almirola is 75/1 to win at Martinsville Saturday night
Aric Almirola Martinsville Advance Smithfield Anytime Favorites Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing
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Event Overview |
● Event: Blu-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500 (Round 8 of 36) ● Time/Date: 7:30 p.m. EDT on Saturday, April 10 ● Location: Martinsville (Va.) Speedway ● Layout: .526-mile oval ● Laps/Miles: 500 laps/263 miles ● Stage Lengths: Stage 1: 130 laps / Stage 2: 130 laps / Final Stage: 240 laps ● TV/Radio: FS1 / MRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
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Notes of Interest |
● History at Martinsville: In 25 starts, Almirola has earned five top-10 finishes, one top-five, and has led 75 laps. He finished seventh in his most recent start Nov. 1, 2020.
● Crew chief Mike Bugarewicz visited victory lane at Martinsville in 2018 with former Stewart-Haas Racing driver and current FOX analyst Clint Bowyer after leading 215 laps. “Buga” is in his sixth fulltime season at SHR and his second with Almirola. To learn more, click here.
● Looking at the next six races on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule, Almirola has finished no worse than eighth at least once at each respective track in 2020. He earned a seventh-place finish at Martinsville, eighth at Richmond (Va.) Raceway, third at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway, sixth at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, seventh at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway and seventh at Dover (Del.) International Speedway.
● The start to Almirola’s 2021 season has been mired by accidents and unfortunate situations, but the No. 10 team has performed much better than the results show. Almirola kicked off the season with a win at the Duel at Daytona. He proved to have a fast Smithfield Ford in the Daytona 500 before he was involved in an accident not of his doing while running at the front of the field. Almirola raced inside the top-10 the following weekend on the Daytona road course, showing his and the team’s improved speed at road courses, and ran inside the top-10 at Homestead-Miami Speedway before he was involved in an accident. At Las Vegas Motor Speedway, he gradually gained speed, running in the top-15 before a flat tire sent him into the wall, causing irreparable damage. At Phoenix Raceway, Almirola ran as high as sixth, but a speeding penalty demoted him to the rear of the field before he raced back to a solid 11th-place finish. Almirola cracked the top-14 at Atlanta Motor Speedway before handling issues hampered his progress, and he was not able to show his dirt racing speed at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway two weekends ago due to an accident on lap 41, when he was pinched to the bottom lane and struck a large clump of dirt and then was contacted on all sides by multiple cars to end his day.
● Almirola has shown his best performance this year at the 750-horsepower, low-downforce-package tracks, which will be in effect this weekend at Martinsville.
● Career Stats: Almirola has career totals of two wins, two poles, 24 top-five finishes, 79 top-10s and 842 laps led in 359 NASCAR Cup Series starts.
● Almirola’s Ford Mustang this weekend will sport a fresh new look for the first time this season with Smithfield Anytime Favorites livery adorning the No. 10 car. Smithfield Anytime Favorites, with its versatile portfolio of products, lets you enjoy ham at breakfast, lunch, and dinner any day of the year. The full line of Anytime Favorites is pre-cooked, making it a convenient meal solution. Quickly warm a Ham Steak or Smoked Chop on the stovetop or Pit Boss grill for a flavor packed, center-of-the-plate protein.
● Smithfield Foods celebrates 10 years of partnership with Almirola this season with a special campaign called Taste Victory.As one of the most active partners in NASCAR, Smithfield plans to engage fans all year long by hosting a microsite that provides the opportunity to win when Almirola wins or finishes inside the top-10. When Almirola wins, one fan wins $10,000, and 10 fans win a gift card for each top-10 finish. The microsite also doubles as an Aric Almirola fan page and entertainment source where fans can get behind the wheel of the No. 10 Smithfield Ford with a custom racing game, and learn more about Almirola with fast facts, favorite recipes and custom content about his life on and off the track. Visit www.tastevictory.com to learn more. Thanks to Almirola’s Feb. 11 win in his Duel qualifying race for the Daytona 500, one lucky fan has already won $10,000.
● Beyond the 10 YouTube Series:In 2021, Almirola continues to share his life beyond the No. 10 Smithfield Ford with season three of his award-winning YouTube series. Fans and media can subscribe on YouTube to see Almirola’s personality on and off the track. Episodes have already featured life as a dad, a husband and an athlete, and it gives fans a unique perspective on what goes on in the life of a professional NASCAR driver. Fans can also follow Almirola’s social media channels: @Aric_Almirola on Twitter and Instagram, and @AricAlmirola on Facebook.
● The Smithfield Ford team sits 28th in the championship standings with 88 points, 239 behind leader Denny Hamlin. |
Aric Almirola, Driver of the No. 10 Smithfield Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing |
What mindset do you have heading to Martinsville?
“The mindset is really the same as every weekend. We have a great Smithfield Ford team, a playoff-contending team, and I’ll say that every weekend whether we run well or not. We head to every race weekend knowing we can have a chance to run up front or win these races and our better days will come. I really like Martinsville. We had a good run the last time we visited Martinsville and Buga (crew chief Mike Bugarewicz) has had success there in the past. We saw what speed we had in Phoenix and, even after a speeding penalty, we overcame to have a solid day.”
Tell us about your “Beyond the 10” series on YouTube.
“The Beyond the 10 series gives fans a different perspective on a NASCAR season that they can’t find anywhere else. It shows them what all goes into a NASCAR season from start to finish each year. We have a huge following now and we’re really proud of the content we’re able to provide fans. This year, we’ve shown a lot of ups and downs of the season. Bristol dirt didn’t go the way we wanted, but we showed what all went into that weekend and how it was different from a typical race. You’ll see a lot more of that this year.”
What does it take to run well at short tracks?
“No matter what the situation is, we as racers always love going to short tracks. It’s what we grew up doing and it puts the outcome in the driver’s hands more than the superspeedway races. You can’t pass much there, so it’s extremely important that you stay mentally and physically focused throughout the entire run.” |