Sunday, October 30, 2011

Stewart Holds Off Johnson, Wins at Martinsville

Sporting News Wire Service

Tony Stewart wins his third race of the Chase (Getty)
MARTINSVILLE, Va. -- Tony Stewart passed Jimmie Johnson on a restart with three laps left in Sunday's Tums Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway and held off Johnson's desperate bid for the win on the final lap.

The victory was Stewart's third in the Chase for the Sprint Cup and vaulted him into second place in the standings, eight points behind leader Carl Edwards. Stewart won for the 42nd time in his career.

"He'd better be worried," Stewart said of Edwards after the race, "that's all I can say. He's not going to have an easy three weeks."

Miraculously, after twice being lapped on the race track, Edwards salvaged a decent run and retained his lead in the Chase standings with a ninth-place finish, as his two closest pursuers entering the race, Matt Kenseth and Brad Keselowski, both experienced late trouble and finished 31st and 17th, respectively.

Jeff Gordon ran third, followed by Kevin Harvick, who climbed to third in the standings, 21 points behind Edwards. Denny Hamlin came home fifth, with Jeff Burton sixth and Dale Earnhardt Jr. seventh.

After a wild first half of the race had settled into a 97-lap green-flag run after the midpoint, Hamlin squeezed past Gordon on Lap 320 and stayed out front in traffic until Burton's spin caused the 10th caution of the race.

That started a spate of cautions that gave Harvick and Stewart a chance to move to the front with two-tire calls -- and allowed Edwards to return to the lead lap under the 12th caution with a free pass for the highest-scored car one lap down.

At the drivers' meeting before the race, NASCAR announced that any driver intentionally causing a caution by stopping on the race track will be penalized three laps. The rule is in effect for at least the rest of the season, though the number of laps could vary according to the size of the race track.

Martinsville Results

Martinsville Post-Race Notes
• Tony Stewart earned his 42nd career win in his 461st start. His third win of the season came, as the others have, in the Chase.
• This was Tony Stewart's third Martinsville victory, but his first since spring 2006.
• Tony Stewart led three times for 14 laps, including the final three laps after passing Jimmie Johnson on a restart.
• With nine Chase wins in his career, Tony Stewart is second to Jimmie Johnson (20).
• This was the 11th career victory for Stewart-Haas Racing; nine of those have come from Tony Stewart.
• Chevrolet earned its 48th victory at Martinsville, the most of any make.
• Jimmie Johnson (second) earned his 14th top-five finish at Martinsville; he's finished first or second nine times.
• Jeff Gordon (third) has finished in the top five in 13 of the past 14 races at Martinsville. He also became the fourth driver to lead more than 3,000 laps at Martinsville.
• Kevin Harvick (fourth) finished in the top five for the third consecutive race at Martinsville.
• Denny Hamlin (fifth) earned his first top-five in the 2011 Chase.
• Jeff Burton (sixth) followed a second-place run at Talladega with his third top-10 finish of 2011.
• Dale Earnhardt Jr. (seventh) finished in the top 10 in both Martinsville races in 2011.
• Martin Truex Jr. (eighth) picked up his 10th top-10 finish of 2011.
• Carl Edwards (ninth) picked up two free passes in the race; his worst finish in the 2011 Chase is 11th at Talladega.

Saturday, October 29, 2011

Final Driver Ratings for Martinsville Tums Relief 500

Micah Roberts Top 10 Driver Ratings
Tums Fast Relief 500
Martinsville Speedway
Sunday, October 30, 2011 - 11:16 am (PDT)

Rating    Driver     Odds         Lineup*    Practice 1   2010**   2011**

 1. Jimmie Johnson 5/1           7th            3rd             5th         11th
Six-time winner, the last coming in 2009; using same chassis from spring race.
 2. Jeff Gordon 6/1                 10th           9th             20th         5th
Seven-time winner, the last coming in 2005; has 30 top-10 finishes in 37 starts.
 3. Kevin Harvick 6/1               5th           25th             3rd         1st
Using same car this week that won in spring race; the car also won at Richmond.
 4. Clint Bowyer 18/1              13th           2nd             38th        9th
Excellent practice Saturday; using New Hampshire chassis that ran out of fuel leading late.
 5. Dale Earnhardt Jr. 18/1     9th            10th             7th         2nd
Nine top-five finishes in 23 starts; using same chassis that finished runner-up in spring.
 6. Kyle Busch 7/1                    6th          15th              4th         3rd
Six top-five finishes in 13 starts; using winning Michigan chassis from August.
 7. Denny Hamlin 6/1              11th          14th             1st        12th
Five-time winner on his home state track; finished sixth or better in last 9 of 10 races.
 8. Kurt Busch 30/1                  8th           11th            16th       16th
2002 winner with only one top-five since; using Keselowski chassis from Atlanta race.
 9. Juan Montoya 40/1            20th           8th              19th        4th
Finished fourth or better in two of last four starts; using New Hampshire chassis.
10. Tony Stewart 7/1               4th            32nd            24th      34th
Two-time winner, the last coming in 2006; using chassis from both New Hampshire races.

 * The starting lineup was set by points.
** Results from the last two Sprint Cup races run at Martinsville Speedway, October 24, 2010 and April 3, 2011.
     
Odds courtesy of the Las Vegas Hilton Super Book.

Micah Roberts, a former race and sports Director, has been setting NASCAR lines in Las Vegas since 1995. For more Roberts insights and post-practice analysis on the race, go to VegasInsider.com or follow MicahRoberts7 on Twitter.

Friday, October 28, 2011

Friday Practices Rained Out at Martinsville

MARTINSVILLE, Va. (October 28, 2011) – NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice for the TUMS Fast Relief 500 on Friday has been postponed at Martinsville Speedway. Practice is now scheduled for 8:30 a.m. on Saturday prior to the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series qualifying.

Truck Series qualifying is scheduled for 10:40 a.m. followed by Sprint Cup time trials at 12:10 p.m.

Fan gates will open at 8:30 a.m. Saturday.

“It seems like the fall race here in Martinsville we get rain one of the three days, so I guess I would rather have it today, then Sunday,” said driver Ryan Newman said.

Prior to the call by NASCAR to reschedule practice Kevin Harvick emphasized that the weather is out of the hands of the drivers and is not worried about the impact it may or may not have on the No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet.

“I don’t think it will affect us a tremendous amount but it will have an effect on getting the small things right and the things that you do at the beginning of the race, trying to build a little more adjustability into your car. I would rather not see all that happen,” said Stewart.

Jeff Gordon, six-time winner at Martinsville Speedway, expressed his discontent with the current weather, weather that is not forecasted to stay for the entire weekend.

“We’ve got a couple of things we would like to try,” Gordon said. “Things that maybe are on our list of things we didn’t get a chance to try last time or things we’ve come up with since then.”

The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series got its practice session in Friday. Ron Hornaday led that practice, followed by Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, Matt Crafton and Todd Bodine.

TICKETS: Tickets for the TUMS Fast Relief 500 begin at $25 and range to $77.

Tickets to Farm Bureau Pole Day and the Kroger 200 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race Saturday are $30 in advance, $35 on the day of the race, with children 12 and under admitted free.

Tickets for all events may be purchased by calling 1.877.RACE.TIX or by visiting www.martinsvillespeedway.com online.

- Martinsville Speedway, Press Release

Martinsville Preview

By Micah Roberts
VegasInsider.com

Last week's race at Talladega was every bit the wild card anticipated of the Chase and more. Only four races remain and the picture has become much clearer with some of the top names like Jimmie Johnson (-50 pts), Kevin Harvick (-26) and Kyle Busch (-40) tumbling backwards with poor finishes.

Johnson, who is attempting to expand upon his never done before five championships, was the biggest mystery of last Sunday. His tandem partner for the race was Dale Earnhardt Jr and between them, they had the fastest two cars. Add in their plate racing excellence and you should have the make-up a duo that should have finished in the top five.

But for some reason they got cute and outsmarted themselves. They thought by waiting in the back of the pack for the entire race they could avoid trouble and then make their move with five to six laps to go. What they didn’t figure out in their whole master plan is that a few cautions in the final laps would hurt their chances of getting up to speed quicker and being better than everyone.

At the end of the day Johnson finished 26th and fell 50-points behind leader Carl Edwards, who used a similar cautious tactic, but made his move earlier. The end results was an 11th-place finish for Edwards, a result he considers like a win. Matt Kenseth finished 18th, but still put a separation between he and his closest competitors, other than his teammate Edwards.

The two of them have a nice head start going into Martinsville this week and they’re going to need it because it hasn’t been their best track. Kenseth is currently 14 points behind while Brad Keselowski is 18 behind with Tony Stewart 19 back.

Jeff Gordon had his season, one that needed a top-3 finish to get back into the Chase race, smacked away by a kid a helped win the Daytona 500 for. Trevor Bayne was taught how to run the draft by Gordon in the Gatorade Duels. Gordon took the rookie under his wing and the kid goes on to win the 500 the following week using all the insights gained from Gordon.

On the Final restart, Gordon had been shuffled away from his partner, Mark Martin, and Bayne had lost his too. Bayne and Gordon formed an immediate alliance through the radio and with the way Gordon was racing on the final laps, he looked to have the car to beat with Bayne‘s help. He was as intense and daring as I’ve seen in a while and he was moving up. There’s no doubt in my mind that he would have caught and passed the leaders.

But then Bayne got team orders on the radio that he was to run with Kenseth, who had lost his partner, and not Gordon who he agreed to run with. Roush Racing helps build the Wood Brothers car that Bayne drives, cars that are both Ford’s while Gordon drives a Chevy.

With no one pushing him, Gordon fell back all the way to 27th and essentially slammed the door on his season. Bayne was distraught afterwards and tweeted several apologies, but the damage was done. The teacher got taken by the student which will probably make Gordon rethink who he shares his wealth of wisdom with in the future.

It may sound as though the Chase is down to just a few drivers, but because Edwards and Kenseth have run so poorly at Martinsville over the years, this almost becomes as big a wild card race for them as Talladega was for everyone else.

Kenseth only has two top-5 finishes in 23 starts at Martinsville, but has maintained a steady 15.2 average finish position, something he'd like to better in this race, but knows he has to stay patient.

“Probably the most challenging part for me at Martinsville is being calm, thinking through things, and not doing something because you are mad," said Kenseth who finished sixth in the April race. "I don’t like getting run into and I don’t like running into other people and it’s bound to happen there since it’s such a small track. There is no room to move and there is not an outside groove where you have another choice to pass. It is one of the tracks that takes all the patience that I have usually. The first thing is getting the car to go fast all the time, be smooth and drive it like I am supposed to there. After that, it’s being patient and using your head to get the best finish you can.”

Edwards is now the 5-to-8 (-160) favorites to win the Championship at the Las Vegas Hilton Super Book now that Johnson has slid to depths that not even a Superman like him can get out of. But if you do believe in miracles, odds on Johnson winning the title are at a never before seen price of 40-to-1 with four races to go.

Martinsville is not Edwards' best track by any means. He finished 18th in the April race and has a 16.9 average finish in 14 starts with his only top-5 being third-place in 2008. He's bringing a new chassis with him to the track, but still isn't very confident coming in.

“I am a little nervous about Martinsville," admitted Edwards. "I think if we can pick up just a tiny bit of speed there we will be good. Otherwise, that will be one of the tracks we go to and just fight and claw for a top 10 and that is how it usually is for me there. I would like to be surprised and would love to run better but I am a little nervous about that one to be honest.”

Kevin Harvick won this race in the spring and could shave off all kinds of points before heading into the final three races. He has a major edge coming into this race and there could be some value with his Championship odds at 8-to-1. Although Harvick grew up racing on these type of small flat tracks, his win in April was his first in 20 races and only his second top-5.

However, unlike Kenseth and Edwards, he is very comfortable on the track and does have other wins there in the Truck and Nationwide series.

“I think because it’s a short track and when you go back to the roots of where we all grew up racing it was on the short tracks," said Harvick earlier this week. "Over the first several years we didn’t get a lot of the finishes that we probably deserved, whether it was from a mistake on the race track or just dumb luck. The last couple of years we’ve gotten good finishes and our cars have run fast. To finally get that check mark in the win box was important for us.”

Harvick also has an edge this week because of the car he's bringing. Not only is did the chassis slated to run this week win the April Martinsville race, but it also won at Richmond.

Brad Keselowski sits strong in third-place and is 6-to-1 to win the title and knows this is a place where he can make some ground up because of Edwards and Kenseth's past history at Martinsville.

“That was exactly how we needed to leave Talladega, with a strong finish," said Keselowski who debuts a new chassis this week. "We gained points on the leader and gained points on really all the Chase cars. I’m very proud of the effort that everyone on this Miller Lite Dodge team has put forth thus far. We’re still in contention and we have a damn good shot at winning this championship. This weekend’s race at Martinsville is one that I’ve been looking forward to for a while. There is no part or piece of equipment that can substitute for just getting a bunch of laps under your belt there. I’ve learned a lot in my three races, and I know Paul (Wolfe) has as well. This is a race where I think we can really pick up some points on Carl (Edwards) and Matt (Kenseth).”

While the leaders all play the points game, it's more than likely that we see the Martinsville cream rise to the top, no matter where they're at in points. Johnson, Gordon and Denny Hamlin have combined to win 14 of the last 17 Martinsville races. Prior to April's race, Hamlin had won three straight and has four wins overall running in his home state.

“I have raced at Martinsville more than I have raced at any other track when you consider total laps," Hamlin said when asked about why he's so strong at Martinsville. "Growing up in Virginia I had the chance to race here in some other series and all that track time definitely gave me a comfort level at Martinsville. That carried over to trucks and Nationwide Series and now to the Cup Series. I feel really confident at this track and I know we bring great cars – those things together usually lead to success. It’s also a lot of pressure because this is a race we circle as one where we expect to be really competitive.”

Jeff Gordon has sevens wins on the track and Johnson has six throughout their great careers and it looks like they'll be battling it out again this week.

As for the Championship, that may be the most exciting part of the race; watching how the two Roush drivers do against Harvick and Keselowski and the urgency they place on each position -- no matter where they're at --during the late stages.

Top-5 Finish Prediction:
1) #24 Jeff Gordon (6/1)
2) #48 Jimmie Johnson (6/1)
3) #29 Kevin Harvick (6/1)
4) #11 Denny Hamlin (5/1)
5) #18 Kyle Busch (7/1)

Driver Chassis Selections for Martinsville

Note: Not all teams list their chassis in PR releases

#1-Jamie McMurray: Crew Chief Kevin "Bono" Manion and the #1 McDonald's team will be bringing chassis #1116 to the Tums Fast Relief 500. This chassis was used for the first time last month at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

#2-Brad Keselowski: will race chassis PRS-803 during Sunday's Tums Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway. This is a new chassis to the #2 fleet.

#6-David Ragan: Primary: RK-747 Last ran Martinsville - finished eighth; Backup: RK-755 Last ran Richmond - finished fourth

#5-Mark Martin: Crew chief Lance McGrew has chosen Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 5-651 for Sunday's race at Martinsville. This is the same chassis Martin drove to a 10th-place finish at Martinsville in April.

#9-Marcos Ambrose: The #9 RPM team has prepared chassis No. 754 for the 500-lap race at Martinsville Speedway. This Stanley Ford Fusion has been run previously this season at the Martinsville spring race and both Dover (Del.) International Speedway and Pocono (Pa.) Raceway events.

#14-Tony Stewart: Chassis No. 14-587: This car made its debut in March 2010 at Martinsville Speedway, where it qualified fifth and finished 26th. Prior to Martinsville, Chassis No. 14- 587 never turned a wheel on the racetrack. With a new body honed in the wind tunnel, it was tested at The Milwaukee Mile June 1 in preparation for its second career start in June at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon. There, Chassis No. 14-587 earned a hard-fought second-place finish, for after starting 25th, it fell to 33rd after a lap 36 pit miscue on the team's first stop. Two late-race cautions allowed Stewart to regain his lost track position, and with a savvy two-tire pit call, Stewart wheeled Chassis No. 14-587 to pass second-place Kurt Busch on the penultimate lap. The car returned to New Hampshire for the first event of the 10-race Chase for the Championship, where in its third career start, it qualified third before leading three times for 100 laps. But while leading with less than two laps to go, it ran out of fuel. Stewart coasted around the 1.058-mile oval for the final circuit of the 300-lap race and finished 24th, the last driver on the lead lap. Clint Bowyer, who served as Stewart's primary competition for much of the race, wound up with the victory. Chassis No. 14-587 revisited Martinsville for round six of the Chase, where it qualified sixth and rallied back from two pit-road miscues during the race, but a flat right-front tire with less than 10 laps remaining relegated it to a 24th-place finish. With another new body, this car made its first start of 2011 and fifth overall at Phoenix International Raceway in February. It started 18th and led four times for 59 laps before an ill-timed caution period late in the race jettisoned solid pit strategy and left it with a seventh-place finish. Chassis No. 14- 587's second start of 2011 came at Richmond International Raceway back in April, where it qualified 31st and rallied its way to a ninth-place finish. The car sat idle until returning to Richmond in early September for it seventh career start where it logged its third straight top-10 finish.

#17-Matt Kenseth: RK-790 (brand new chassis)

#18-Kyle Busch: Chassis No. 315: This chassis will make its fourth-ever start in Sunday's TUMS Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. In its first outing in July's Brickyard 400 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Busch started a distant 29th but still managed to bring home a respectable 10th-place finish. Next up, No. 315 headed to Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, where Busch started 17th and went on to score his fourth win of the season in the Pure Michigan 400. In its most recent outing, Busch started eighth and finished a respectable 11th in the Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon.

#20-Joey Logano: Chassis No. 309: This chassis will make its fourth-ever start in Sunday's TUMS Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. In its first outing in June's 5-Hour Energy 500 at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway, Logano started 19th and finished 11th. Next up, No. 309 headed to Kentucky Speedway in Sparta for the inaugural Sprint Cup Series race at the 1.5-mile oval, where Logano started 15th and went on to finish 14th. In its most recent outing, Logano started 16th in the September race at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway and appeared headed for a solid top-15 finish midway through the race, but engine trouble forced him to
retire on lap 296 of 400 and he placed 35th.

#22-Kurt Busch: will be racing the "PRS-755" Shell-Pennzoil Dodge Charger at Martinsville Speedway this weekend. This will be the first race for the "Double-Deuce" team with this chassis. However, teammate Brad Keselowski drove this car, dressed in the Miller Lite #2 colors, to a sixth-place finish from a 14th-place start in the Sept. 4 Advocare 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

#27-Paul Menard: will pilot chassis No. 349 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable. This #27 Chevy Impala was a brand new addition to the RCR fleet for the 2011 season and was last seen on track at Martinsville Speedway in April, where Menard started 16th and was forced to settle for a 38th-place result after on-track damages caused the motor to expire, prematurely ending the day for the team.

#29-Kevin Harvick: will race chassis No. 332 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable. It is the same chassis Harvick drove to his first NSCS win at Martinsville Speedway in April. The No. 29 team has utilized this Chevrolet a total of six times so far in 2011 earning two wins (Martinsville and Richmond International Raceway) and three top-five finishes. Harvick finished 12th at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in the team's most recent race with this car.

#31-Jeff Burton: will race chassis No. 317 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable. This #31 Chevy has seen on-track action on three previous occasions this season. The first competitive laps came at Bristol Motor Speedway in March where Burton started 20th and finished in the 17th position. The South Boston, Va., native drove this RCR entry to an 11th-place finish at Dover International Speedway in May and a 33rd-place finish at Pocono Raceway in June.

#33-Clint Bowyer: will pilot chassis No. 324 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable. This Chevy, built new in 2010, accumulated two top-10 finishes during the in 2010 NSCS season at Auto Club Speedway (started-13th, finished-second) and Texas Motor Speedway (started-7th, finished-7th). The five-time Sprint Cup Series race winner also drove this racer twice in 2011 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (started-28th, finished-15th) and most recently at New Hampshire Motor Speedway when Bowyer ran out of gas while leading with two laps remaining, settling for a 26th-place finish.

#36-Dave Blaney: will pilot the No. 910 chassis this weekend at the Virginia track. He most recently piloted the chassis at Dover International Speedway. He also drove the chassis in California, Texas, Darlington, both races at Pocono and Bristol in August.

#39-Ryan Newman: This will be the fourth start for Chassis No. 39-645 this season and the second start for the chassis at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. The chassis made its first start in April at Martinsville, where Newman started second and finished 20th, two laps down. Newman led three laps and was in the top-10 for much of the first 300 laps of the 500-lap race, but a broken header pipe and a flat left-rear tire caused him to lose two laps. The next start for Chassis 39-645 was in July at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, where Newman started on the pole and led 118 of 301 laps en route to his 15th career Sprint Cup Series victory. The last on-track appearance for this chassis came in September at Loudon, where Newman started on the pole and led the first 62 laps before finishing a disappointing 25th. A cut tire with less than five laps remaining dropped Newman from 11th to 25th.

#42-Juan Pablo Montoya: Crew Chief Jim Pohlman and the #42 Target team are bringing chassis #1110 to Martinsville Speedway this weekend. This chassis was last run in September at New Hampshire, where Montoya started 31st and finished ninth. The chassis was also used in the first race at Loudon in July, and the first Martinsville event where Montoya finished fourth, overcoming a 27th-place qualifying effort.

#43-A.J. Allmendinger: The #43 Richard Petty Motorsports team has prepared chassis No. 729 for this weekend's event at Martinsville Speedway. This AdvoCare Ford Fusion was run previously this season at Phoenix Raceway, Martinsville, Darlington (S.C.) Raceway, Pocono (Pa.) Raceway and in New Hampshire.

#48-Jimmie Johnson: will drive chassis No. 653 in Sunday's race. He finished 11th in that chassis at Martinsville in April. Johnson finished 31st in backup chassis No. 590 at Richmond International raceway in September.

#88-Dale Earnhardt, Jr.: Crew chief Steve Letarte will unload Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 88-654 for this weekend's race at Martinsville Speedway. This will be the second time that Earnhardt has raced the car, which he drove earlier this season to a second-place finish at Martinsville.

#99-Carl Edwards: RK-791 This is a new car

- compiled by Jayski.com

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Harvick Using Two-Time Winning Chassis This Week at Martinsville

Harvick is using same car from April win (Getty)
Kevin Harvick
No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet Impala
Event Preview Fact Sheet


This Week’s Budweiser Chevrolet at Martinsville Speedway … Kevin Harvick will race chassis No. 332 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable. It is the same chassis Harvick drove to his first NSCS win at Martinsville Speedway in April. The No. 29 team has utilized this Chevrolet a total of six times so far in 2011 earning two wins (Martinsville and Richmond International Raceway) and three top-five finishes. Harvick finished 12th at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in the team’s most recent race with this car.

Chase Update … With four races remaining in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, Harvick is ranked fifth in the driver point standings, 26 points behind the leader. He fell three spots in the standings after getting caught up in a multi-car accident at Talladega Superspeedway last weekend. In the first six races of the 2011 Chase, Harvick has scored one top-five and four top-10 finishes.

Harvick at Martinsville Speedway … In 20 starts at the Virginia short track, Harvick has earned a total of two top-fives and nine top-10 finishes at Martinsville and has led 307 laps, and scored his first NSCS win at the short track in April..The Bakersfield, Calif. native has also completed 97.3 percent (9,750 of 10,019) laps run in the 20 races he’s competed in at Martinsville and holds an average starting position of 14.4 and an average finishing position of 16.5.

Last Time Around … In the last NSCS race at Martinsville Speedway, Harvick was caught one lap down to the leaders during green-flag pit stops, elected to take the wave around and worked his way to the front in the final laps to score his first win at the 0.526-mile track. Last October, Harvick started 36th at Martinsville and went on to lead 97 laps before finishing third.

In the Loop … Harvick holds several impressive Loop Data statistics at Martinsville (Speedway) heading into Sunday’s race, including: seventh in closers; seventh in driver rating (93.1); seventh in laps run in the top-15 (4,091); eighth in average running position (14.6); eighth in fastest laps run (169); eighth in laps led (160); ninth in fastest driver early in a run; and ninth in green-flag speed.

Truck Racing at Martinsville … Harvick will return to NASCAR Camping World Truck Series competition this weekend at Martinsville Speedway, piloting the No. 2 Kroger/Tide Chevrolet Silverado for Kevin Harvick Inc., in Saturday’s Kroger 200. SPEED will broadcast the race at 2 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time and MRN Radio affiliates and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio will provide live radio coverage beginning at 1:45 p.m.

KEVIN HARVICK QUOTES:


First career Martinsville win came in April
Coming into Martinsville Speedway, you’ve won there in NASCAR Camping World Truck, Nationwide and Sprint Cup Series competition. What is it about Martinsville that works for you? “I think because it’s a short track and when you go back to the roots of where we all grew up racing it was on the short tracks. Over the first several years we didn’t get a lot of the finishes that we probably deserved, whether it was from a mistake on the race track or just dumb luck. The last couple of years we’ve gotten good finishes and our cars have run fast. To finally get that check mark in the win box was important for us.”

It seems like we’ve had a number of long green-flag runs the last couple years at Martinsville (Speedway). Does that change how you attack a 500-lap race there? “You can’t depend on it for sure. I guess you could say it’s dumb luck as to how it’s going to go. You can guess all you want, but it’s never going to be right. It seems as you go through the years we’ve been there and just had a ton of cautions and lately we’ve had some long stretches where we’ve pitted under green. A lot of it depends on what tire they bring as to what kind of racing you see.”

What is it that you had to learn about Martinsville (Speedway) to run in the top 10 as you have so many times? “Martinsville is just one of those places where we could not put a whole day together for a long time. The first couple of years I just crashed. Actually I think the first year, I got black flagged for spinning Bobby Hamilton out with about 10 laps to go, but I think Martinsville is just one of those places on the Sprint Cup Series circuit that just takes some time to figure out exactly why you do not need to charge the corners so hard and let the car roll and work on your car up off the corner. After the first couple of years I felt like we were able to, I don’t know, just kind of figure out what we needed to do set-up wise but we never could put the whole day together to get the finishes. Over the last couple of years I’ve felt like we are finally running fairly well.”

Is there a difference in mentality coming into Martinsville (Speedway) this weekend after winning the spring race at the track? “I think any time after you finally do something that you’ve been trying to do for a while and you finally accomplish that, it definitely eases your mind and you remember those situations and you remember the things you did to make it happen that day. In my opinion, that’s what’s great about our team. I feel like even when the cards are stacked against us or even when people count us out, I feel like we can always rebound and we can always do things that surprise people, whether it’s lead one lap or half a lap or 500 laps. Martinsville has been one of those places where we had never had all the circumstances work out for us on a whole day. I feel like we’ve run well enough to race for wins there, but just never made it happen until the spring.”

Martinsville (Speedway) is the only short track in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. Having grown up racing on short tracks, do you think there needs to be more short tracks on the schedule? “With the schedule, NASCAR is really in control of that. I enjoy the short tracks and I enjoy going to Martinsville. I think it’s a great addition to the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. This sport was built on the short tracks though, so more short tracks definitely wouldn’t hurt things.”

Why do you think Martinsville (Speedway) is a track that’s kept a foothold in our sport while NASCAR has branched out to other tracks across the country? “You have to remember where your roots come from and Martinsville is a good example of that. We all grew up on short tracks and Martinsville keeps that in our sport. All of us drivers like the short-track feel that we grew up racing on, so we’re looking forward to it. It’s kind of a hometown race for us. I live about 35 minutes from the track and it’s always a fun weekend for us.”

- Richard Childress Racing, Press Release

Kenseth Using Brand New Chassis at Martinsville

Kenseth has one of his better career finishes at Martinsville in spring (6th)
Matt Kenseth
Team: No. 17 Crown Royal Ford Fusion
Crew Chief: Jimmy Fennig
Chassis: Primary: RK-790 (brand new chassis)

Kenseth on racing at Martinsville Speedway:
“Probably the most challenging part for me at Martinsville is being calm, thinking through things, and not doing something because you are mad. I don’t like getting run into and I don’t like running into other people and it’s bound to happen there since it’s such a small track. There is no room to move and there is not an outside groove where you have another choice to pass. It is one of the tracks that takes all the patience that I have usually. The first thing is getting the car to go fast all the time, be smooth and drive it like I am supposed to there. After that, it’s being patient and using your head to get the best finish you can.”

Crew chief Jimmy Fennig on racing at Martinsville Speedway: “At Martinsville, there’s always a lot of racing for position since it’s a typical short-track with little room to pass. Qualifying is really important at short tracks so that you can get the advantage of track position from the start. It’s also important to make sure that our Crown Royal Ford drives well in the turns. We don’t have the long straightaways at Martinsville like you do at other larger tracks in order to be able to make passes. Because of the limited space on the track, our No. 17 Ford needs to turn well in the center of the turns and have good grip off the turns in order to race down the short straightaways.”

FAST FACTS:
• In 23 Cup starts at Martinsville, Kenseth has completed 11,409 of 11,519 laps (99.0 percent) and led for 68 laps

• Kenseth has an average starting position of 23.3 and an average finishing position of 15.8 at Martinsville

• Kenseth has achieved two top-five and seven top-10 finishes at Martinsville in the Cup series

• This weekend at Martinsville, Kenseth will pilot the No. 17 Crown Royal Ford Fusion

• Entering the weekend at Martinsville, Kenseth is currently second in the NSCS driver point standings

- Roush Fenway Racing, Press Release

Crunch-Time for Edwards, Time to Tame Martinsville

Edwards best Martinsville finish was runner-up in Truck Series (Getty)
Carl Edwards
Team: No. 99 Scotts Winterguard Ford Fusion
Crew Chief: Bob Osborne
Chassis: RK-791 This is a new car


QUOTES


Carl Edwards on racing at Martinsville Speedway: “I am a little nervous about Martinsville. I think if we can pick up just a tiny bit of speed there we will be good. Otherwise, that will be one of the tracks we go to and just fight and claw for a top 10 and that is how it usually is for me there. I would like to be surprised and would love to run better but I am a little nervous about that one to be honest.”

Crew chief Bob Osborne on racing at Martinsville Speedway: “Martinsville is definitely a race track that we are looking at to be probably the most difficult for us in the Chase. We’ve run well there. We’ve run poorly there. I think we have enough notes and package going back that is going to be competitive. We will just have to wait and see what we get when we unload there and start practice.”

FAST FACTS

* THE CHASE IS ON… Carl Edwards enters Martinsville leading the NASCAR Sprint Cup point standings, by 14 points over teammate Matt Kenseth. He has earned one win, 16 top-five, 22 top-10 finishes and two poles this season.

* FOR THE RECORD… In 14 starts at the 0.526-mile track, Edwards has one top-five and four top-10 finishes. His average start is 18.2, and his average finish is 16.9. Edwards has completed 97.4 percent (6836 of 7019) of laps in Cup competition attempted at Martinsville Speedway.

* Edwards’ best career finish at Martinsville came back in 2003, when he finished second in the Camping World Truck Series race. He started that race from the pole. His best Cup finish was third in the fall of 2008.

* ON THE TRACK… The No. 99 crew will unload RK-791 for the weekend. This is a brand new car with the Scotts Winterguard paint scheme.

* REWIND, MARTINSVILLE, OCTOBER 2010… With 15 cautions for 90 laps of the race, Carl Edwards took advantage of other drivers’ impatience and a smart pit strategy to finish in eighth place.

- Roush Fenway Racing, Press Release

Keselowski Has Series Best 6.5 Average Finish in Last 13 Heading into Martinsville

Keselowski just might win this Title if Roush drivers let up (Getty)is
Brad Keselowski
No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger
Tums Fast Relief 500
October 30, 2011Martinsville Speedway
TV: ESPN at 1:30 PM ET Radio: MRN/Sirius Channel 90 at 12:00 PM ET
No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger News and Notes

* · This Week’s Charger… The No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger team will race chassis PRS-803 during Sunday’s Tums Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway. This is a new chassis to the No. 2 fleet.

* · No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge in 2011… After 32 points-paying events, Keselowski and the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger team are ranked third in the 2011 Chase for the Championship standings. Keselowski is just 18 points behind leader Carl Edwards following a fourth-place finish in the Good Sam Club 500 at Talladega Superspeedway last Sunday afternoon.

* · Top-Five Leader… With four top-five finishes, Keselowski is tied for the most top-five results in the six races run in the 2011 Chase for the Championship.

* · Nothing “Average” About 6.5… Over the last 13 races, Keselowski has scored a series-best average finishing position of 6.5. During that stretch he has produced two wins, eight top-five finishes and he has led the field for a total of 142 laps.

* · Cheers To Chasing Greatness… The featured tag line on the rear bumper of the “Blue Deuce” this weekend in Martinsville will be “Cheers To Chasing Greatness.” Keselowski sits just 18 points out of the lead in the Chase for the Championship, which would be a “great” accomplishment in his first with driving the iconic car.

* · Deuces Wild… When Brad wins a race during the 2011 Chase for the Championship, two lucky fans will win their own “man cave,” compliments of Miller Lite. The man cave gear includes a “kegerator,” a dart board, Miller Lite neon sign, a basketball game and pub furniture. Visit MillerLite.com/Brad to enter.

* · The Rest is History… Martinsville Speedway is a track where Penske Racing has enjoyed its share of success over the years. In 86 starts, the organization has picked up six wins (all by Rusty Wallace), five poles, 19 top-five and 33 top-10 finishes at Martinsville. Wallace made Martinsville his personal playground in the Miller Lite car as he did not finish outside of the top-three in eight consecutive races from September of 1992 through April of 1996.

Brad Keselowski on his position in the Chase with four races remaining: “That was exactly how we needed to leave Talladega, with a strong finish. We gained points on the leader and gained points on really all the Chase cars. I’m very proud of the effort that everyone on this Miller Lite Dodge team has put forth thus far. We’re still in contention and we have a damn good shot at winning this championship. This weekend’s race at Martinsville is one that I’ve been looking forward to for a while. There is no part or piece of equipment that can substitute for just getting a bunch of laps under your belt there. I’ve learned a lot in my three races, and I know Paul (Wolfe) has as well. This is a race where I think we can really pick up some points on Carl (Edwards) and Matt (Kenseth).”

Brad Keselowski on racing at Martinsville Speedway: “Martinsville will always be a track that is hard on brakes. Yes, the braking systems have come a long way over the last 10 years or so. But if you give us more brakes or better brakes, we are going to use more brakes to the point that we will damage the sidewall of the tire. Overheating the brakes is something that is easy to do because you are going so hard every lap as passing is difficult at Martinsville. Managing your brakes is part of being a successful short-track racer.”

Crew chief Paul Wolfe on racing at Talladega Superspeedway: “Everyone on this team feels really good about going to Martinsville this weekend, especially since we were able to take part in the Goodyear tire test there last month. The good thing about Martinsville is that you don’t have to worry about aerodynamics. It’s the shortest track we visit and it’s all about mechanical grip. In the short time Brad has been at Martinsville, he has shown a great ability to get around the place. Hopefully we can get qualifying in – which is never a guarantee during this weekend – so that we can get a good starting spot. Then, if we can maintain forward bite off the corners, I believe we can gain more points on the Chase leaders to really make this thing interesting heading into the final three weeks.”

- Penske Racing, Press Release

Because It's Martinsville, Johnson Not Finished Just Yet

Johnson has six wins at Martinsville; completed 99.4% of all laps (Getty)
JIMMIE JOHNSON 2011


NEWS

Johnson will drive the No. 48 MyLowe’s paint scheme in Martinsville. MyLowe’s is an integrated online tool on Lowes.com that helps keep track of everything in your home. Users will never have to remember paint colors, warranty information or room dimensions again. When using the My Lowe’s card, purchases will all automatically upload to the users MyLowe’s site and can be customized from there. Johnson also will run the scheme in Texas.

RACE NOTES

Martinsville Speedway
• Johnson has made 19 Sprint Cup Series starts at Martinsville Speedway, where he has six wins, 13 top-five and 17 top-10 finishes.
• Johnson has completed 99.4% (9465 of 9519) of competition laps at the .526-mile track and has led 1616.
• He has an average start and finish of 12.2 and 5.6.

Chassis
• Johnson will drive chassis No. 653 in Sunday’s race. He finished 11th in that chassis at Martinsville in April.
• Johnson finished 31st in backup chassis No. 590 at Richmond International raceway in September.

JIMMIE JOHNSON QUOTES

A LOT OF PEOPLE THINK YOU JUST BEAT AND BANG AROUND MARTINSVILLE AND THEN IT’S OVER, BUT IT’S MORE OF A MENTAL GAME. DO YOU KNOW WHY YOU’RE SO GOOD THERE? IS IT A SECRET? AND WHAT DO YOU THINK IT IS THAT PEOPLE DON’T UNDERSTAND ABOUT WHAT IT’S LIKE TO RACE AT MARTINSVILLE AND BE GOOD AT IT? “Quirky tracks have always worked for me. And this track certainly is that. When I first came here, the first year or year and a half, there was no way I thought this track would be one that I liked. But in time, and in learning how to drive it, there is just one way to really get around here. And a lot of tracks have a lot of other options but there’s one very specific line you have to run and when a guy finds it, and he can set his car up to it, you go and go and go for years. And that’s what Denny (Hamlin) has been able to do and what we’ve been able to do and Jeff (Gordon) has done. So I really think it falls into that category. You go to a big track and there are three or four lanes to run on, you can move around and find somewhere that works for your set-up if you missed it (and) for your own driving style. That’s not the case here. There’s one way to drive this place and that’s it.”

SPRINT CUP SERIES CAREER NOTES


Career Wins
• Johnson has 55 wins in his Sprint Cup Series career, his most recent coming at Kansas Speedway on Oct. 9, 2011.
• The El Cajon, Calif.-native is currently tied with Rusty Wallace for eighth on NASCAR’s all-time wins list.
• He is second in total wins among active drivers, behind Jeff Gordon (85).
• Johnson needed only 296 starts to hit the 50 mark. Only three drivers have reached 50 victories quicker – Gordon (232), Darrell Waltrip (278) and David Pearson (293).
• Johnson has won at least three Cup races a season since he posted his first victory in 2002. He is the only driver in the modern era to win at least three races in each of his first eight full-time seasons.
• Johnson has won Sprint Cup Series races at all but five (Michigan, Chicago, Watkins Glen, Homestead, Kentucky) of the 23 tracks on which the series competes.
• Johnson’s 10 wins in 2007 was the highest number recorded in a single season since Jeff Gordon posted 13 victories in 1998.
• The four-consecutive wins scored by the No. 48 team in the 2007 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup ties a modern-era NASCAR record.

Career Poles
• Johnson has collected 25 poles in his Sprint Cup career.
• The championship driver has earned at least one pole a year since his first full-time season in 2002.
• He had a career-high six poles in 2008.
• Johnson’s most recent pole position was at Dover International Speedway on Sept. 24, 2010.

Career Starts
• Johnson has finished in the top five in the Sprint Cup Series point standings each year since his first full season in 2002.
• Johnson is the only driver to qualify for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup every year since the format was adopted in 2004.
• In 359 Sprint Cup Series starts, Johnson has posted 147 top-five and 223 top-10 finishes.
• He has a top-five finish at every track on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series circuit.
• Johnson has led a total of 12,048 laps (of 103,382) in his Sprint Cup career, covering over 138,901 miles.
• He has finished on the lead lap 280 times.

Career Recognition
• Johnson was named by Forbes as the Most Influential Athlete in 2011.
• In 2009, Johnson became the first race car driver to be named Male Athlete of the Year by the Associated Press in its 78-year history.
• Voted Driver of the Year four times in his career (2006, 2007, 2008, 2010), Johnson joins Jeff Gordon as four-time winners of the prestigious award.
• Johnson has won an ESPY for Best Driver four times, in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011.

- GMR Live Marketing for Team Lowe’s Racing, Press Release

Hamlin Looking for Some 5-Time Home Cooking at Martinsville

DENNY HAMLIN EXPRESS NOTES:

Hamlin is 5/1 Vegas favorite to win Sunday (Getty)
Talladega Recap: Denny Hamlin drove the #11 FedEx Office Toyota to a top-10 finish at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday, finishing eighth in the race won by Clint Bowyer. With the finish, Hamlin moved up one spot to hold 11th in the Chase for the Sprint Cup standings with four races remaining in the season.

To start the race, Hamlin was the odd-man-out with 43 cars on the track and struggled throughout most of the day to find a draft partner. By lap 25 of 188, the FedEx team was down a lap and needed the Lucky Dog to get back on the lead lap. Using various drafting partners throughout the remainder of the event — including teammates Kyle Busch and Joey Logano, Juan Pablo Montoya and Ryan Newman — the #11 Toyota worked from the back to the front. However, Newman’s damaged car was unable to keep the duo in the top-10, with the two slipping back.

A caution with 15 laps remaining enabled Hamlin and Logano to link back up, and the duo sliced through the field to get back in contention. Hamlin was collected by Mark Martin in an incident, but quick work by the FedEx crew got Hamlin back on track for the finish, where he was able to move up to eighth for the checkered flag.

Martinsville Preview: The Series shifts to Martinsville (Va.) Speedway, a track that Hamlin has had great success at throughout his career. The 30-year-old Chesterfield, Va., native has won four races at the 0.526-mile ‘paper clip,’ including the last two fall Chase races.

Hamlin has been dominant at Martinsville in his career, finishing in the top-five in eight of 12 starts at the track. In the spring race at the track, Hamlin started fifth and led a race-high 89 of 500 laps, but an untimely caution after the FedEx team had made its green flag pit stop yielded a 12th-place finish.

Hamlin swept the two races at the track in 2010, starting on the pole and leading 40 laps en route to victory lane in last year’s fall race. The spring race saw a determined Hamlin charge from ninth to first in four laps for the win, just two days before undergoing reconstructive knee surgery.

Hamlin earned his first victory at Martinsville in the spring 2008 race, and won again in the fall of 2009. In total, Hamlin has led 1,038 laps at the track, and has an average finish of 6.6.

HAMLIN CONVERSATION:


What has been your key to success at Martinsville? “It’s really a combination of things. I have raced at Martinsville more than I have raced at any other track when you consider total laps. Growing up in Virginia I had the chance to race here in some other series and all that track time definitely gave me a comfort level at Martinsville. That carried over to trucks and Nationwide Series and now to the Cup Series. I feel really confident at this track and I know we bring great cars – those things together usually lead to success. It’s also a lot of pressure because this is a race we circle as one where we expect to be really competitive.”

- Weber Shandwick Worldwide for FedEx Racing, Press Release

Jeff Gordon Going for 8th Martinsville Win Sunday

MARTINSVILLE, Va. (October 25, 2011) – Jeff Gordon rolls into Martinsville Speedway this weekend pretty much out of this year’s Chase for the Sprint Cup, but it doesn’t mean the four-time champion won’t have a huge impact on the weekend.

Actually, with his Martinsville Speedway success, Gordon could prove to be a Chase spoiler this weekend. He comes into the TUMS Fast Relief 500 10th in the standings, 82 points behind leader Carl Edwards.

But Martinsville Speedway is Gordon’s house. He has seven victories in 37 career starts, the most among active drivers at Martinsville. Gordon also owns an average start of seventh and an average finish of seventh. His has finished outside of the top10 just once in his last 17 starts at Martinsville, finishing in 20th-place in 2010.

Conversely Edwards has never won at Martinsville Speedway, has led only 14 laps on the tough half-mile oval and has just one top-five finish in his career at Martinsville.

“We’ve run well and led laps recently, we just haven’t got the win to show for it.” said Gordon. “At times during some of the races, I thought we had the best car. But it doesn’t seem we’ve had the winning combination at the end of races.”

Gordon’s 30 top-10s and laps led lead all active drivers while he is just 19 laps led shy of 3,000. He owns 11 more top-five finishes than any other driver at Martinsville with 24 since his 1993 debut.

Although his last win at Martinsville came in 2005 when he took the checkered flag in both events, winning from the 16th and 15th positions that season.

“I always go to Martinsville with a lot of confidence,” said Gordon. “It is a very challenging track, but we seem to get into a rhythm and seem to be very competitive here – no matter the cars, the tires or any other changes that we’ve had over the years.”

He is not the only one with cause to walk in with confidence this weekend, as defending NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion Jimmie Johnson has won at Martinsville six times in his career, most recently in the spring of 2009. Kevin Harvick and Tony Stewart are the only drivers in the top-five in standings with wins at the shortest track on the circuit. Harvick won the Goody’s Fast Relief 500 in the spring while Stewart has taken the checkered flag at Martinsville twice in his career (2000, 2006).

FIVE-TIME AND MISS SPRINT AT MARTINSVILLE: Five-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Johnson and Miss Sprint Cup will be available for questions from 10:45 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Saturday at The Sprint Experience in the Martinsville Speedway midway. One lucky fan will have the chance to square off against Johnson in the champion’s new video game, “Anything With An Engine,” on a big screen television.

JUST TREATS FOR KIDS AFTER KROGER 200: The Martinsville Speedway midway will be transformed into the largest trick-or-treat zone from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday. Dozens of souvenir rigs gathered around the midway will hand out goodies for youngsters trick-or-treating.

Under the bright red Martinsville Speedway tent, several NASCAR Camping World Truck Series drivers, including Joey Coulter, Timothy Peters, Matt Lofton, Josh Richards and Dakoda Armstrong as well as Clay Campbell, Martinsville Speedway President, will be treating children to candy and other goodies.

The Martinsville midway and souvenir area is located across the fourth-turn are of the track, adjacent to the Bill France Tour.

THE SCHEDULE: The first on-track action at Martinsville Speedway will be a practice session for the Kroger 200 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series at 11 a.m. Friday, kicking off a day full of excitement. It will be followed by practice for the TUMS Fast Relief 500 and another Kroger 200 practice.

Time trials for the Kroger 200 begin at 10:40 a.m. on Saturday with qualifying for the TUMS Fast Relief 500 scheduled for 12:10 p.m.

There will be back-to-back Sprint Cup practice sessions beginning at 10 a.m. Saturday, with the Kroger 200 taking the green flag at 2 p.m.

The TUMS Fast Relief 500 is set to begin at 1:30 p.m. Sunday.

Fan gates open at 9 a.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

TICKETS: Tickets for the TUMS Fast Relief 500 begin at $25 and range to $77.

Tickets to Farm Bureau Pole Day and the Kroger 200 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race on October 29 are $30 in advance, $35 on the day of the race, with children 12 and under admitted free.

Tickets for all events may be purchased by calling 1.877.RACE.TIX or by visiting www.martinsvillespeedway.com online.

- Martinsville Speedway, Press Release

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Martinsville Odds & Ends

At Martinsville Speedway:
History
·         Opened in September 1947 by H. Clay Earles, Martinsville, originally a dirt track, is one of the oldest continuously-operating race tracks in the United States.
·         The first NASCAR-sanctioned race at Martinsville was on July 4, 1948.
·         The first NASCAR Sprint Cup race was Sept. 25, 1949.
·         The track was paved in 1955.
·         The first 500-lap event at Martinsville was in 1956.
·         Concrete corners were added atop asphalt in 1976.
Notebook
·         There have been 125 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Martinsville Speedway, one in the inaugural year and two races per year since 1950.
·         Curtis Turner won the pole for the first NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Martinsville in 1949.
·         Red Byron won the first NASCAR Sprint Cup race.
·         56 drivers have won poles, led by Darrell Waltrip with eight. Jeff Gordon, with seven poles, can tie that mark this weekend.
·         Jeff Gordon, Mark Martin and Darrell Waltrip share the consecutive pole record, each with three.
·         46 different drivers have won, led by Richard Petty’s 15.
·         Jeff Gordon leads active drivers with seven wins. Jimmie Johnson has six and Denny Hamlin has four.
·         19 races have been won from the pole, the last by Denny Hamlin in October 2010.
·         Petty Enterprises has won 19 races, more than any other organization. Hendrick Motorsports, with 18 wins, can tie that mark this weekend. If HMS does win this weekend, it will also be the team’s 200th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory.
·         Kurt Busch won the 2002 fall race from the 36th starting position, the furthest back a race winner has started.
·         Three active drivers average a top-10 finish: Jimmie Johnson (5.6), Denny Hamlin (6.6) and Jeff Gordon (7.0).
·         There were 31 lead changes in the April Martinsville race this season, a track record.
 
Martinsville Speedway Data
Race #: 33 of 36 (10-30-11)
Track Size: .526 mile
Race Length: 500 laps/263 miles
·     Banking/Corners: 12 degrees
·     Banking/Straights: 0 degrees
·     Frontstretch: 800 feet
·     Backstretch: 800 feet
 
Driver Rating at Martinsville
Jimmie Johnson 121.9
Jeff Gordon 119.7
Denny Hamlin 113.0
Tony Stewart 102.4
Dale Earnhardt Jr. 98.9
Kyle Busch 94.3
Kevin Harvick 93.1
Jeff Burton 89.3
Mark Martin 89.3
Ryan Newman 88.8
Note: Driver Rating compiled from 2005-2011 races (13 total) at Martinsville Speedway.
 
Qualifying/Race Data
2010 pole winner: Denny Hamlin (97.318 mph)
2010 race winner: Denny Hamlin, 71.619 mph, 10-24-10)
Track qualifying record: Tony Stewart (98.083 mph, 19.306 seconds, 10-21-05)
Race record: Jeff Gordon (82.223 mph, 09-22-96)
 
NASCAR in Virginia
  • There have been 273 NASCAR Sprint Cup races in Virginia.
  • 162 drivers in NASCAR’s three national series (all-time) have their home state recorded as Virginia.
  • There have been 18 race winners from Virginia in NASCAR’s three national series:
Driver
 NSCS
    NNS
NCWTS
Joe Weatherly
25
0
0
Ricky Rudd
23
1
0
Jeff Burton
21
27
0
Curtis Turner
17
0
0
Denny Hamlin
17
11
0
Ward Burton
5
4
0
Glen Wood
4
0
0
Elliott Sadler
3
5
1
Emanuel Zervakis
2
0
0
Lennie Pond
1
0
0
Wendell Scott
1
0
0
Tommy Ellis
0
22
0
Jimmy Hensley
0
9
2
Rick Mast
0
9
0
Hermie Sadler
0
2
0
Elton Sawyer
0
2
0
Stacy Compton
0
0
2
Jon Wood
0
0
2