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| Martinsville provides action packed racing every NASCAR visit. |
It's obvious we have an imbalance in the series on the down-force tracks and it's produced some runaway races. But it's hard to runaway at Martinsville's flat, half-mile paperclip layout. It's a level playing field with the car and driver being an equal component to success.
Besides close races, what also stands out at Martinsville is the slow speeds (pole 96 mph last fall) that make it easier for drivers to administer NASCAR justice. Drivers don't want to wreck others mostly for fear of injury and at 200 mph, injuries can happen easily at bigger tracks. But a punt here or there at Martinsville to send a message is a regular occurrence.
“This type of racing is what put this sport on the map, and it’s been a while since we’ve been that, and it’s a breath of fresh air to get back to a short track where it can breed some of that and put on a show for the fans,” said Clint Bowyer who finished seventh and third last season at Martinsville.
Part of the show we all love is the fireworks after the race when the drivers get out of their car to hunt down whoever did them wrong. Is it wrong to root for fights? I don't care. I love it. I want more of it and I haven't had any of it this season. I need some action, man. Entertain me, please.
“I know I was entertained by the racing last year and I expect we’ll see the same thing again this weekend,” Bowyer said.
Bowyer is going to be one of those drivers that goes from being a driver with odds to win usually in the 25/1 range down to 12/1, which is the same odds his Stewart Haas Racing teammate Kevin Harvick has posted at the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook.
Harvick has been dominating the down force tracks winning three straight races following Daytona and probably would have won Sunday if he didn't wreck himself so early at Fontana. In 35 Martinsville starts, he has just one win (2011) and a 15.8 average finish.
The driver chasing Harvick the most the past four weeks has been Kyle Busch. Twice runner-up to Harvick and third last week. He wants a win bad and he's at the right place to get it winning two of the past four races there which is why he's the 7/2 favorite.
“We’ve run well the last two years especially at Martinsville and we’re definitely pumped about getting back there," said Kyle Busch. "I’m hoping we can have a really good car there again this time around, like we did the last two years, especially. We led a lot of laps and we were really fast. Hoping that some of those things we were able to push through there last fall at Martinsville we’ll be able to do this time around with our M&M’s Caramel Camry.”
Busch is on a run of five straight top-five finishes at Martinsville. A lot of his success there can be attributed to Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin, a native Virginian, who has five Cup wins and two Truck wins at Martinsville. Hamlin knows how his car should be set-up and how to enter and exit the turns best and he's shared the knowledge.
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