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Surprising and Not Surprising: Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500

In race number 33 of the 2015 NASCAR season, here is what was surprising and not surprising after the completion of the 67th Annual Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500 at Martinsville Speedway.

Surprising: It was a surprisingly rough day for the Ford Racing teams, with Aric Almirola as their highest finisher in the 16^th position. And it was also a surprisingly difficult race for Ford’s Team Penske, with Brad Keselowski finishing 32^nd and Logano finishing 37^th after a controversial move into the wall by Matt Kenseth.

“I got wrecked. I don’t know. What am I supposed to say about it?” Logano said after he was wrecked while leading the race by rival Matt Kenseth. “His race was over and he tried so hard to catch us the first time and he took out half the field, and he was successful the second time so I give that to him. It’s kind of a coward move. Actually, a really coward move for a race car driver to do that, essentially someone as mature and an experienced race car driver that knows what this is all about.”

Logano’s Ford and Team Penske teammate also had his own encounter with Matt Kenseth, which resulted in a less than satisfactory finish for the driver of the No. 2 Alliance Truck Parts Ford.

“I got hit from behind and pushed me into the 20 and my right-front wheel hit Kenseth’s left-rear and it just broke the right-front suspension off the car,” Keselowski said. “The car wouldn’t turn and just kept going straight until I couldn’t do anything and I started wrecking everybody. I just didn’t have any steering wheel left.”

Logano fell to the eight spot in the Eliminator Eight round and Keselowski fell to the sixth spot.

Not Surprising: At a track that has seen many highs and a major low with the loss of so many loved ones in that tragic plane crash, Hendrick Motorsports and their driver Jeff Gordon celebrated one of the highest of highs with a trip to Victory Lane.

This was Gordon’s 93^rd career victory and his ninth win at Martinsville Speedway. And the driver, running his last few races of the season, guaranteed that he will be one of the participants in the Chase for NASCAR’s Sprint Cup championship.

“This is the sweetest, most amazing feeling,” the driver of the No. 24 AARP Member Advantages Chevrolet said. “I am so proud of this team. You want to talk about holding back emotions; right now man, wow, we’re going to Homestead! I can’t believe it. What an incredible battle that was.”

Surprising: There were quite a few drivers craving illumination as the race at the track shaped like a paperclip came to a close.

“It was dark!” Martin Truex Jr. said after finishing sixth in his No. 78 Furniture Row/Visser Precision Chevrolet. “It was getting borderline where we had to quit, but I’m glad the fans got to see a good ending.”

“I love Martinsville,” Dale Earnhardt Jr. said after he took the checkered flag in the fourth spot. “But if we are going to run at night we need to put some damn lights up here.”

Not Surprising: The highest finishing Toyota drivers, Denny Hamlin in third and Kyle Busch in fifth, both had to overcome obstacles before taking the checkered flag in the top-5. Hamlin had not just one, but two speeding penalties and Busch hit a wet spot that had him spinning.

“My race was eventful to say the least – two pit road penalties, my car wasn’t very good at all up until the very, very end and we just took a long time to get going,” Hamlin said. “It’s just part of it. This racing now is different now than what it used to be when I first came in the sport and its just survival of the fittest.”

“I screwed us up early in the race and touched that water down there in turn one and spun out with the 3 (Austin Dillon) car so that was my bad,” Kyle Busch said. “I bent up the front end of the car and it was just never right from there on out, but we persevered and we just made the changes that we needed to make for this car for our conditions that we had. The M&M’s Crispy Camry there at the end was good enough for a top-five so I’m glad we finished there.”

Although Hamlin was eliminated from the Chase after Talladega, Busch goes into the next Chase race in Texas in the second spot in the standings, just eight points behind leader Jeff Gordon.

Surprising: There was a great deal of apparent comradery at the back of the field, which resulted in at least two drivers working their way back up for top-ten finishes. Both Kasey Kahne and Tony Stewart had to start from the rear in backup cars and both finished well, in fact in ninth and tenth respectively.

“Kasey (Kahne) and I both finished top-ten in backup cars,” Smoke said. “That was what was really cool; seeing two Team Chevy drivers come from the back like that. He and I both worked pretty good going through the pack there.”

“I’m happy with it.”

Not Surprising: There was definitely ‘more to the story’ of Kurt Busch, who finished 34^th after being involved in a wreck that was not of his doing. The driver of the No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet debuted his new sponsor Monster Energy for the first time at Martinsville.

“For us there is so much more to our story,” Busch said. “It’s been a fantastic season. I’m really proud to debut a new sponsor in the Sprint Cup series with Monster Energy. They were here today. We led laps today we were up front. Restarting third with a set of fresh tires and 70 laps to go I mean we were in perfect position. We did our job we just didn’t have luck on our side.”

Surprising: Carl Edwards found himself in a foreign land at the end of the race, finishing 14th in his No. 19 XFINITY Toyota.

“I thought it was going to be a top-10 there at the end,” Edwards said. “We struggled for a lot of the day, but really proud of all these guys. Our XFINITY Camry was fast at the end, maybe if we got tires – we were just in no man’s land, we didn’t know whether to get tires or not at the end.”

“That was a crazy day.”

Not Surprising: While it might not have been the outcome he desired, the runner-up at Martinsville admitted that he would be leaving with the best of memories of the competition on the track.

“For me, Jeff Gordon is the only die cast or T-shirt that I ever bought growing up before I made it to NASCAR,” Jamie McMurray, driver of the No. 1 McDonald’s Chevrolet, said. “So it was really a cool moment for me to get to battle with him on a green-white-checkered at Martinsville.”

“I certainly wish it would have turned out a little bit differently. But that’s a really good memory for me and a very good moment that I will not forget.”

Surprising: While many drivers were relieved after surviving Talladega, Kevin Harvick was thankful to end his time in Martinsville with an eighth place finish, especially after getting run into and suffering significant damage to his race vehicle.

“Well, we didn’t score many points here last year,” Harvick said. “We were in a big hole leaving Martinsville. It’s very easy to get in a hole leaving here. I feel like Texas has been a very good race track for us as we’ve gone through the past couple of years at Stewart-Haas, and we all know how Phoenix has gone.”

“So, we just need to have two more solid weeks and hopefully position ourselves well to have a chance to get to Homestead.”

Not Surprising: Who says NASCAR cannot be compared to stick and ball sports, especially given that the World Series is currently underway? Well, driver Matt Kenseth did just that in his post-race comments after finishing 38^th.

“It’s a tough sport, some days you’re the bat and some days you’re the ball,” the driver of the very wrecked No. 20 Dollar General Toyota. “I was the ball a few weeks ago and I was the ball again today so that part is never fun.”

The Sprint Cup Series will head deep into the heart of Texas for next weekend’s race, the AAA TEXAS 500, the second in the Eliminator Round.

November 1, 2015
Martinsville Recap of Saturday’s Events

Here’s a recap of everything that happened Saturday at Martinsville Speedway in the second and final practice sessions for the Sprint Cup drivers.

Second practice

Dale Earnhardt Jr. was the fastest in the second practice session with a time of 19.522 and a speed of 96.998 mph. Martin Truex Jr. was second with a time of 19.546 and a speed of 96.879 mph. Ryan Newman was third with a time of 19.547 and a speed of 96.874 mph. Joey Logano was fourth with a time of 19.571 and a speed of 96.755 mph. Denny Hamlin rounded out the top-five with a time of 19.576 and a speed of 96.731 mph.

Kyle Busch finished sixth followed by Matt Kenseth in seventh and Tony Stewart in eighth. Jimmie Johnson finished ninth with Greg Biffle rounding out the top-10.

Of the remaining Chase-eligible drivers, Kevin Harvick finished 13th, Kurt Busch finished 15th, Jeff Gordon finished 16th and Brad Keselowski finished 18th.

Carl Edwards was the lowest-finishing Chase driver in 20th.

Final practice

Johnson was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 19.500 and a speed of 97.108 mph. Harvick was second with a time of 19.578 and a speed of 96.721 mph. Keselowski was third with a time of 19.578 and a speed of 96.721 mph. Paul Menard was fourth with a time of 19.580 and a speed of 96.711 mph. Earnhardt rounded out the top-five with a time of 19.615 and a speed of 96.538 mph.

Casey Mears finished sixth followed by Logano in seventh place. Truex, Hamlin and Jamie McMurray rounded out the top-10.

Jeff Gordon finished 12th, Kurt Busch finished 19th and Carl Edwards was the lowest-finishing Chase driver in 21st.

November 1, 2015
Martinsville Recap of Friday’s Events

Here’s a recap of the on-track activity Friday at Martinsville Speedway.

Practice

Joey Logano was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 19.161 and a speed of 98.826 mph. Jeff Gordon was second with a time of 19.251 and a speed of 98.364 mph followed by Brad Keselowski who was third with a time of 19.256 and a speed of 98.338 mph. Kevin Harvick was fourth with a time of 19.258 and a speed of 98.328 mph. Casey Mears rounded out the top-five with a time of 19.284 and a speed of 98.195 mph.

Kasey Kahne finished sixth. Jamie McMurray finished seventh. Kyle Busch finished eighth. Clint Bowyer finished ninth and Matt Kenseth rounded out the top-10.

Denny Hamlin finished 12th.

Carl Edwards was the lowest-finishing Chase driver in 17th.

Qualifying

Logano won the pole for the race with a time of 19.215 and a speed of 98.548 mph.

He said that he’s amazed at the “run we’re on right now. I’m just the lucky guy that gets to drive this thing right now. It’s so much fun and we’re doing everything right. But all that can in a blink of an eye, so we all just have to keep our focus. I don’t believe in luck. I believe in hard work, and that’s what this team is doing right now.”

Martin Truex Jr. will join him on the front row with a time of 19.227 and a speed of 98.487 mph.

He said that his team “didn’t know going into qualifying we’d have that good of speed. Definitely a good start to the weekend for us.”

A. J. Allmendinger will start third with a time of 19.309 and a speed of 98.068 mph. Jamie McMurray will start fourth with a time of 19.321 and a speed of 98.007 mph. Jeff Gordon rounded out the top-five with a time of 19.343 and a speed of 97.896 mph.

Kyle Busch will start sixth. Ryan Newman will start seventh. Aric Almirola will start eighth. Kyle Larson will start ninth. Denny Hamlin rounds out the top-10.

Brad Keselowski will start 11th, Kevin Harvick will start 12th and Carl Edwards will be the lowest starting Chase driver in 14th.

Edwards said afterward that he “just wasn’t fast enough the very first run so I put a run on the tires and got us a cycle behind everyone. It’s okay, we’re going to be just fine. I think in my history of qualifying here, this is still about 10 spots better than normal. We have a fast pit crew, the car is a lot better than it was in practice and I think for all these XFINITY guys, I think they’re all excited about the race. It’s one of our strong points at JGR and I’m going to have some fun on Sunday.”

Kasey Kahne went to his backup car after wrecking out in the first round of qualifying. Because he attempted a qualifying run, he’ll start from the rear of the field.

October 31, 2015
NASCAR Racing Schedule for Martinsville

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and the Camping World Truck Series travel to Martinsville Superspeedway this weekend while the XFINITY Series is off. On-track action for the Sprint Cup Series can be seen on NBCSN, CNBC and NBC Sports Live Extra. The Camping World Truck Series events will be broadcast on FS1. Radio coverage will be provided by Motor Racing Network (MRN) and SiriusXM Satellite NASCAR Channel 90.

All times are Eastern.

Friday, Oct. 30:

On Track:

11:30 a.m.-12:55 p.m.: Sprint Cup Series Practice – NBCSN/Live Extra
1-1:55 p.m.: Camping World Truck Series Practice – FS1
2:30-3:50 p.m.: Camping World Truck Series Final Practice – FS1
4:20 p.m.: Sprint Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying – Broadcast live on Live Extra, CSN Mid Atlantic, CSN Chicago, CSN Northwest, CSN Bay Area, TCN (Philadelphia) – (Note: On tape delay at 6 p.m. ET on NBCSN.)

GarageCam: (Watch live)

11 a.m.: Sprint Cup Series
2 p.m.: Camping World Truck Series

Press Conferences: (Watch live at NASCAR.com)

10 a.m.: Stewart-Haas Racing announcement with Danica Patrick
10:30 a.m.: Joey Logano
10:45 a.m.: Timothy Peters
1 p.m.: Carl Edwards
2 p.m.: Jeff Gordon
5:45 p.m. Post-NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Qualifying

TV Schedule- Additional NASCAR Coverage:

2 p.m.: The 10: Greatest Truck Series Moments – FS1

Saturday, Oct. 31:

On Track:

9-9:55 a.m.: Sprint Cup Series Practice – CNBC/Live Extra
10:15 a.m.: Camping World Truck Series Keystone Light Pole Qualifying – FS1
Noon-12:50 p.m.: Sprint Cup Series Final Practice – CNBC/Live Extra
1:30 p.m.: Camping World Truck Series Kroger 200 (200 laps, 105.2 miles) – FS1 (Green flag: 1:46 p.m. approx.)

Press Conferences: (Watch live at NASCAR.com)

3:15 p.m.: Post-Camping World Truck Series Race

TV Schedule- Additional NASCAR Coverage:

1 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Setup – FS1

Sunday, Nov. 1:

On Track:

1:15 p.m.: Sprint Cup Series Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500 (500 laps, 263 miles) – NBCSN/Live Extra (Green flag: 1:28 p.m. approx.)

Press Conferences: (Watch live at NASCAR.com)

9:30 a.m.: Jerry Cook and David Gilliland
10:30 a.m.: Ned Jarrett
10:45 a.m.: Goody’s with Dale Earnhardt Jr.
5:15 p.m.: Post-Sprint Cup Series Race

TV Schedule- Additional NASCAR Coverage:

10 a.m.: NASCAR RaceDay – FS1
11 a.m.: NASCAR America Sunday – NBCSN
12:30 p.m.: NSCS Countdown to Green – NBCSN
5:30 p.m.: NSCS Post-Race – NBCSN
6:30 p.m.: NASCAR Victory Lane – FS1 (Re-air at 3 a.m. – FS1)
11 p.m.: NASCAR Victory Lap – NBCSN

October 29, 2015
Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500 Preview

One driver could grab the “Golden Ticket” to Homestead Sunday at NASCAR’s last original track.

This week, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series rolls into Ridgeway, Va. for the Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500 at Martinsville Speedway. It’ll be the 33rd race of the season, the seventh race of the Chase and the first of the Eliminator Round.

Martinsville is a .526 mile (.847 km) paperclip short track located in Southern Virginia. Opened in 1948, it’s the only remaining track that’s been on the NASCAR schedule since the first season in 1949. If Bristol were not my home track, Martinsville would be my favorite track. It’s a very close second to Thunder Valley.

In all my years of following NASCAR, tracks have come and gone and some have changed dramatically. While some argue that Bristol has changed for the worse, I’ll forever argue that the racing at Thunder Valley now is better because of the changes (please finish reading this piece before you jump to the comment section to argue Bristol with me). There was a time when Richmond was high on my favorite track list, but for reasons I don’t comprehend, the racing has gotten progressively worse there. But Martinsville is the one track that’s changed the least over my time. The way they raced at Martinsville when I came into this sport is virtually the same as the way they race at Martinsville now.

A lap of Martinsville begins coming off Turn 4. You moderately get back onto the throttle and accelerate down the frontstretch. Some drivers use a different reference point on the inside wall, but when your car reaches that point, you let off the gas and hit the brakes. You let off the gas and roll through Turn 1. When you reach the center, you get back onto the throttle and accelerate down the backstretch. Once you reach your reference point on the backstretch, you hit the brakes going into Turn 3. You let off the brakes when you reach the concrete and roll through it. You squeeze the throttle rolling through Turn 4 and accelerate down the front again. When you figure out the rhythm of Martinsville, you should be able to click off laps of roughly 19-seconds (close to 100 mph average).

Being a short track, passing is a premium at Martinsville. It often requires using the chrome bumper to move the competition out of the way. This often leads to cars in the wall and tempers boiling over.

Paul Menard’s bad day was compounded by his lap 367 wreck. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)

A speeding penalty cost Jeff Gordon a chance at a ninth grandfather clock this past spring at Martinsville. Photo Credit: Ted Seminara

Being the first race of the Eliminator Round, a win here guarantees a spot in the championship race in three weeks at Homestead-Miami Speedway. At 6/1, Jeff Gordon is tied with five other drivers as the odds-on favorite to win this weekend (Vegas Insider). His 62.22 percent top-five average at Martinsville – 28 top-five finishes in 45 starts – is his best at any racetrack. His 80 percent top-10 average – 36 top-10 finishes in 45 starts – is second only to his 100 percent top-10 average at Kentucky Speedway. His eight wins at the Virginia paperclip is his best at any track. He’s led close to four-thousand laps – 3,744 to be exact – and run over 22-thousand – 22,269 exactly – in 45 starts. His 6.9 average finish is his best at any track. His career driver rating at Martinsville is 119.1 (second only to teammate Jimmie Johnson at 119.4). Finally, not only has Gordon never failed to finish a race at Martinsville, he’s only finished outside the top-10 nine times. It’s no joke when the pundits say that Martinsville is Gordon’s playground.

Nothing went right for Jimmie Johnson this past spring at Martinsville. Photo Credit: Ted Seminara

But the driver of the No. 24 car isn’t the only driver to watch this weekend. His teammate Jimmie Kenneth Johnson can lay claim to the Virginia paperclip being his playground as well. His top-five average of 66.67 percent – 18 top-five finishes in 27 starts – bests Big Daddy Gordon, as does his 81.48 percent top-10 average (22 top-10 finishes in 27 starts). However, he can’t say he’s finished every race at Martinsville and he’s amassed a lower average finish – 7.3 – than his car owner. His last two outings have also not been kind with finishes of 32nd and 35th. With that said, it would be wrong to count out the driver of the No. 48 car this weekend.

Denny Hamlin burning down the house after winning the STP 500. Photo Credit: Ted Seminara

Another 6/1 driver is James Dennis Alan “Denny” Hamlin (yes, that’s his full name). He has five wins at Martinsville, including this past spring. He has a 52.63 percent top-five average – 10 top-five finishes in 19 starts – and a 78.95 percent top-10 average (15 to-10 finishes in 19 starts). He’s led over one-thousand laps (1,312 exactly) and has an 8.3 average finish. He’s only failed to finish one race at Martinsville. This past spring, he led 91 laps and held off a hard-charging Brad Keselowski to score the victory. While he was knocked out of the Chase last week at Talladega, expect to see the driver of the No. 11 car up front this Sunday.

Getting hung on the outside snapped Kevin Harvick’s eight-race streak of top-two finishes. Photo Credit: Ted Seminara

Next is Kevin Michael Harvick. He only has one win in his career at Martinsville and his stats aren’t as stellar. He has a 10.71 percent top-five average – three top-five finishes in 28 starts – and a 46.43 percent top-10 average (13 top-10 finishes in 28 starts). While he’s failed to finish just one race at Martinsville, he’s only averaged a 16.1 career average finish here. The one positive stat that leads me to somewhat understand why he’s at 6/1 is that he was the dominant car of the race in March leading 154 of the 500 laps and he finished eighth. However, I don’t expect the driver of the No. 4 car to really challenge for the win Sunday.

After starting on the pole, Joey Logano had the dominant car in the early stages of the race. Photo Credit: Ted Seminara

Finally, the fifth 6/1 driver is Joseph Thomas “Joey” Logano. He has zero wins at Martinsville and his stats are the worst of the five 6/1 drivers. He has a 30.77 percent top-five average – four top-five finishes in 13 starts – and a 38.46 percent top-10 average (five top-10 finishes in 13 starts). However, he can join Jeff Gordon in saying he’s never failed to finish a race at Martinsville. His 13.2 average finish is also better than that of Harvick. He’s finished the last three races here in the top-five and led a combined 207 laps. Logano is also riding a three-race win streak after sweeping the Contender Round – which is also the first time a Ford driver has done that since Mark Martin in 1994 – and has all the momentum in the world. Expect to see the driver of the No. 22 car up front this Sunday.

Tune in this Sunday to see who gets both the grandfather clock and golden ticket to Homestead-Miami Speedway. Coverage of the Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500 begins at 12:30 p.m. on NBCSN. You can also hear the radio broadcast on MRN and Sirius XM (subscription required).

Joe Moore, Jeff Striegle and seven-time Martinsville winner Rusty Wallace will be in the booth. Dave Moody will be in Turn 3 calling the action on the backstretch. Alex Hayden, Winston Kelley and Steve Post will work pit road. Eli Gold will join the crew on Sunday to host the pre-race show at noon. As always, the lineup is subject to change.

October 29, 2015
Matty’s Picks 2015: Bristol – Part 1

It has been a couple weeks since you’ve heard from me, and I couldn’t pick a better track to make my return on. Not only is it one of the best venues on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series circuit, but its one of the best venues in all of sports. From the 160,000 seats, to the extreme banking, to the tiny pit stalls, to the extreme speeds for a short track, Bristol is a bucket list race for any NASCAR fan, despite the claims that the racing was ruined in 2007 when the track was re-paved and progressive banking added. If you’re a fan of racing, Bristol Motor Speedway is on your list.

I watched my first race at Bristol Motor Speedway in August of 2002, amongst a sold out crowd of over 150,000 when I watched Jeff Gordon execute the bump and run on Rusty Wallace with three laps remaining in the Sharpie 500. I happened to be sitting with a Rusty Wallace fan at the time, who was not happy with the move, but later on admitted if the roles were reversed, Wallace would have done the same thing. It’s just the way things went back then, if you were not on the bottom, you were losing positions. With the progressive banking, drivers are using all parts of the track to improve their position. The top side can be as good as the bottom, and the middle groove offers a safe haven for drivers with ill-handling cars that will not make it to the bottom or for those without the courage to run up next to the wall.

I will save you all the grief of reading through my last few weeks of finishes, and let you know that I am sitting fourth in the CNY Sports Fans group and 12,044th on the FoxSports Fantasy Auto Leaderboards. I will let you know that I’ve finished second and third the last two weeks on my trek out of the basement.

(more…)

April 18, 2015
Martinsville – A Love Affair With a Track

It is common for this writer to say I love Martinsville Speedway. Some say it’s because my home is only 150 (give or take) miles from the speedway. Some try to get into my mind and say it’s because it was the first speedway I ever visited, but the truth of the matter is that little paper clip-shaped track is exactly how the whole phenomenon we now call NASCAR started. It is and was a short track where the competition is and was fierce and difficult. Everyone has and had a good seat. It’s nearly perfect as any track can be. As I calculate it, I haven’t missed but one Sprint Cup race there in 44 years.

The track is close enough to the hub of NASCAR racing (about 130 miles) that drivers can drive up on Thursday or Friday and be home Sunday night. Fans will normally run into a driver or two—it’s too small to get lost or hide—and chat with the friendly track personnel. Its position on the calendar mystifies me.

It was cold over the weekend. Friday, it didn’t get to 40 and Saturday didn’t do much better. After spending a week in 50-60 degree temperatures at my home 150 miles north, I had to pack my winter coat this time. Sunday broke the 50 degree mark, but I had to wonder why this race that traditionally (and I’m dating myself here) was run in mid April is now in late March. Mid April in southern Virginia is very nice. Late March is hit or miss.

I looked at the schedule and had a rough time understanding why Texas Motor Speedway’s race is held two weeks later in what is a much warmer climate. Why not switch these two races? It would give the series three straight short tracks, kind of a short track swing. Yes, I know that Texas is close to Talladega and having them back to back might be the reason, but asking fans to come out when the daytime temperature is 40 or less and the nighttime temperature is in the 20’s is a bit much.

In the fall, the Martinsville race is in the Eliminator Round on, you guessed it, November 1. That time of year, there could be snow in Henry County. Note that Texas is properly scheduled the week after Martinsville, but why have Talladega in October?

The attendance was good this weekend despite the weather. Most folks were bundled up in down coats, but one has to wonder what the attendance would be if they could have a comfortable experience in April or early October. And yes, where would they put all these fans? I don’t imagine Clay Campbell would complain too much.

It always seems like the big news comes out at Martinsville. This year was the buzz about doctoring tires, the announcement that Coach Joe Gibbs’ son, JD, was having a health problem and Kyle Larson fainting on Saturday and having to sit out Sunday’s race. Chase Elliott made his Cup debut. The racing was filled with drama and we saw two extremely close finishes. Joey Logano’s pass on the last lap of the truck race was breathtaking. Denny Hamlin holding off a determined Brad Keselowski was very exciting. Domination like we saw at other venues didn’t exist here. Oh yeah, and the hot dogs. I’m proud to say that I sampled a few and they’re just as good as they have been for 40 years. A little controversial for sure, but I’m not the business manager at the speedway.

I always look forward to two weekends a year at the Paper Clip, making sure my schedule is clear during race week. I’m never disappointed at what I see, and dread the cookie cutter tracks that just don’t hold up to what I see at this little track. I just wish it could be held in warmer weather.

March 31, 2015
Surprising and Not Surprising: Martinsville STP 500

From the first short track of the season with the grandfather clock as the trophy, here is what was surprising and not surprising from Martinsville Speedway’s STP 500.

Surprising: Denny Hamlin embarked on his own version of the ‘Drive for Five’ while the driver trying for his fifth championship doomed his own chances of winning with a pit road speeding penalty late in the race.

“Well, by no means did we have a smooth race at all, and we still won,” the driver of the No. 11 FedEx Express Toyota said after his fifth win at Martinsville. “So that to me shows what we’re capable of, and once we get everything worked out the way it needs to be and we’re back to our normal selves on pit road and we don’t have any penalties and everything just runs a smooth race, we can win a lot of these things.”

Conversely, Jeff Gordon, with an eye on a fifth championship in his last full-time season, doomed his victory chances with a pit road speeding penalty on Lap 462, finishing in the ninth position in his No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet.

“Oh my gosh, I’m so disappointed in myself,” Gordon said. “I felt like we finally got the car, got ourselves in a position to win the race. I knew I was pushing the limit but I didn’t think I had done anything different than I had all day. I’m very, very disappointed.”

Not Surprising: Although Chase Elliott made his first Cup debut, qualifying his way into the show, he joined his Hendrick teammates in having unusual struggles at Martinsville.

Elliott finished 38^th after some damage sustained early in the race, while teammates Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. suffered not only damage from incidents on the track. but also mechanical problems to finish 35th and 36th respectively.

“A lot of guys I think were having some transmission or gear problems,” Junior said. “We got some real bad vibration in the car 30 laps into the race and it just kept breaking the shifter. It was just swinging up there like a tuning fork.”

“It was a tough race.”

Surprising: While Team Penske seemed to experience some moral dilemmas about wrecking, they still managed to finish in the second and third positions respectively.

Brad Keselowski, on one hand, wrestled with his conscience as to whether or not he should wreck Denny Hamlin for the win, while his teammate Joey Logano was hoping beyond hope that Keselowski and Hamlin would wreck each other so that he could have the win and the weekend of his life.

“I did everything I could other than wreck him,” the driver of the No. 2 Miller Lite Ford said after the race. “Morals and racing are pretty subjective, but I just felt like I raced him the way I wanted to be raced and I guess that is what it is.”

“I was hoping so,” the driver of the No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford said when asked if he thought Keselowski and Hamlin might wreck each other. “That was my only shot at it once they got pretty far away.”

“That was the only shot I had for the win.”

Not Surprising: In NASCAR, records are made to be surpassed and broken and both happened at Martinsville. Martin Truex Jr. continued his streak of consecutive top-10 finishes for the sixth race in a row, while Kevin Harvick’s streak of top-2 finishes came to an end with his eighth place run.

“It is awesome,” Truex Jr. said of his top-10 streak. “I can’t say enough about the team. Again to battle like we did today. We showed we never give up. We haven’t all year long. We haven’t given up on each other since I started here.”

“It feels good to have another good run at one of my worst race tracks,” Truex continued. “Just can’t believe we were able to stay on the lead lap, fix the power steering and all that and drive back through there. It was a hell of an effort.”

Although Harvick led the most laps, 154 of 500, the driver of the No. 4 Budweiser/Jimmy John’s Chevrolet lost track position on a late-race restart and simply could not recover.

“I just got hung on the outside and couldn’t get back down,” Harvick said. “By the time I got down, I was 10th or 11^th.”

“Everybody did a good job, just lost track position at the wrong time.”

Surprising: NASCAR seems to be in significant need of recovery, with the announcement of J. D. Gibbs facing a significant health issue and Kyle Larson fainting during an autograph session.

“We’ve been dealing with this for about six months and basically what the doctor’s say is that they really don’t know,” Coach Joe Gibbs said of his son’s situation. “J.D. has lived a very active lifestyle. All the things that he’s done in his life physically he’s loved all sporting events and it’s everything from football to snowboarding, racing cars, racing motor bikes – he’s lived in a lot of ways for him, he loved all those things.”

“We can’t point to any one serious thing that happened to him, certainly any injury is a possibility that led us into some of the symptoms that he’s experiencing now.”

In addition to Gibbs, Kyle Larson suffered his own surprising health symptoms after passing out prior to the Martinsville race.

After fainting at an autograph session in Martinsville, VA, Kyle Larson was first evaluated at a local hospital in Martinsville and ultimately evaluated at a Charlotte hospital,” Chip Ganassi Racing said in a prepared statement prior to the race. “Although all tests came back negative and Larson feels completely fine, the doctors felt he should be held for more testing.”

Regan Smith, sub extraordinaire, filled Larson’s seat and after starting from the back of the field in the No. 42 Target Chevrolet, managed a respectable 16th place finish.

Not Surprising: In spite of scoring his first ever top-five at Martinsville, David Ragan had nothing but thoughts of Kyle Busch, for whom he continues to substitute in the No. 18 M&M’s Crispy Toyota, and his recovery from injuries sustained at Daytona.

“I just hope I helped the 18 team for the Chase race later in the year,” Ragan said. “We’ll enjoy Easter and I cannot wait to get to Texas.”

Surprising: Smoke surprisingly got in the eyes of both Austin Dillon and AJ Allmendinger. The two Chevrolet drivers both had motor issues that determined their 41st and 43rd place finishes.

“I’m not sure what the exact problem was with the motor,” Allmendinger, driver of the No. 47 Bush’s Beans Chevrolet said. “I noticed some smoke start rolling in the car and I could see it start out of the back of the car.”

“I was smoking so bad they black flagged me.”

“Yeah it was a motor issue,” Dillon, driver of the No. 3 Cheerios Chevrolet, said. “I think the same things as the No. 47. We just have to do a better job of going through our procedures at ECR right now. We have some power but we are not finishing races.”

Not Surprising: It was a weekend of celebration for the Gilliland family, with dad David, in his 300th Cup start, having his best run ever at Martinsville with a 25th place finish and 14 year-old-son son Todd winning his first Late Model Stock Car race at Southern National Motorsports Park.

“I’m proud of the guys,” Gilliland, driver of the No. 38 Love’s Travel Stops Ford, said. “The pit stops were good and this was the best I’ve personally ever run here, so we’ll build from it.”

“And I couldn’t be prouder of my son,” Gilliland continued. “He’s a great young man and a great race car driver. I think he proved a lot with his win.”

“I’m so glad I was racing in Martinsville this weekend so I could drive down to see this race.”

Surprising: The penalty of uncontrolled tires in the pits continued to dominate. There were five such penalties in the Martinsville race, adding to the total of 21 of these out-of-control tires for the season.

Not Surprising: Danica Patrick about summed it all up at Martinsville. When asked, how she avoided the wrecking on the track, she asked “Well, which one are you talking about?”

“That’s kind of the way it goes at Martinsville,” the driver of the No. 10 TaxAct Chevrolet said. “I think all four corners were banged up.”

“It’s all a matter of luck, too,” Patrick continued. “I could have got drilled from the back and hit into the car. I could have swerved to the right and had somebody clip my right rear and spun, somebody could have been out there.”

“Crashes are about observing where you’re at and making a good decision about where to go, but they’re also about luck. I got lucky that there was nothing in my way to get around that one. That would have probably wrecked my day.”

Patrick finished seventh at the track known as the ‘Paper Clip’, tying her second-best career finish in the Cup Series.

March 29, 2015
Kyle Larson Will Miss STP 500 While Undergoing Tests after Fainting at Martinsville Speedway

Kyle Larson, the 2014 Sprint Rookie of the Year, fainted during an autograph session at Martinsville Speedway Saturday afternoon and was taken to Martinsville Memorial Hospital for an initial evaluation. Afterwards, he was sent to Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, North Carolina for further testing and will miss the STP 500.

The incident occurred after Larson participated in two Sprint Cup practice sessions and then attended an autograph session for fans.

The team reported that Larson was “awake and alert on the way to the hospital,” and were hopeful that Larson would be able to compete in Sunday’s STP 500 at Martinsville.

However, after an examination at the hospital, it was determined that Larson should also be checked out by a neurologist. Because Martinsville Memorial did not have a neurologist available, Larson was sent to Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, North Carolina.

John Olguin, vice president of communications for Chip Ganassi Racing confirmed this Saturday, adding that “everything checked out well for Kyle Larson, however, just to be safe, they felt he should also be evaluated by a neurologist.”

Chip Ganassi Racing Teams issued an update Sunday morning stating, “After fainting yesterday at an autograph session in Martinsville, VA, Kyle Larson was first evaluated at a local hospital in Martinsville and ultimately evaluated at a Charlotte hospital. Although all tests came back negative and Larson feels completely fine, the doctors felt he should be held for more testing today.

“Subsequently, Larson will be unable to race today in the STP 500 in Martinsville. Regan Smith has agreed to fill-in for Larson today in the No. 42 Target Chevrolet SS.”

Car owner Felix Sabates spoke to SiriusXM NASCAR Radio before the Sprint Cup race Sunday and provided additional information on Larson’s condition. Sabates was at Carolinas Medical Center where he is on the board of directors, Sunday morning to visit Larson and arrange for an examination by a cardiologist. He said that Larson had already been examined by three doctors Sunday and had undergone multiple tests including an MRI and a CT scan.

“They don’t think it’s anything serious,” Sabates said, “but he drives a race car. They don’t want him hitting the wall or passing out again.”

“Nobody thinks it’s anything serious because his blood pressure has been pretty normal,’’ he continued, “But they are checking the heart area. That’s where they’re looking at.’’

Sabates joked that he had woken Larson up this morning and told him “get your ass out of bed,” saying Larson was “in good spirits.”

Regan Smith, subbing for Larson in the No. 42 Chevrolet, finished the STP 500 at Martinsville Speedway in 16th place.

March 28, 2015
Matty’s Picks 2015 – Martinsville Speedway – STP 500

We’re back from the West Coast swing and the shortest track on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule is the site of the welcome home party this weekend. It will be the 133rd time the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series visits the .526 mile paper clip in southern Virginia, and the winner of the STP 500 will go home with one of the most unique and coveted pieces of hardware in the sport – a grandfather clock from the Ridgeway Clock Company.

Martinsville Speedway is one of my favorite tracks because of the combination of the long straightaways, lack of banking, and tight corners all contributing to the intense racing produced each and every race at the paper clip. The progressive banking at Bristol Motor Speedway has produce multiple racing grooves, making Martinsville the lone one-groove short track on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule. Drivers will be fighting for real estate in the bottom of the concrete corners before they hit the asphalt straightaways requiring the correct combination of braking and acceleration a thousand plus times to go home with the grandfather clock on Sunday afternoon.

Not a bad result last week for me on the third weekend of the West Coast tour, with my worst driver finishing 14th. I thought I had the race-winner locked up in Kurt Busch, but the restarts at the end last week bit me as much as they did Busch. My roster last week included Joey Logano, Kurt Busch, Jimmie Johnson, Carl Edwards and Tony Stewart. 196 points under the FoxSports Fantasy Auto rules last week put me second in the CNY Race Fans group and 18,201 overall.

Martinsville Picks

The drivers making up my fantasy roster this week boast 25 combined wins and are the only five active drivers on the list of 24 who have multiple wins at Martinsville Speedway. A couple of important statistics to keep in mind this week when making your picks – 95 of the 132 (71.9 percent) NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Martinsville Speedway have been won from a top-10 starting position. However, only seven of the 132 races at Martinsville have been won from a starting position outside the top 10 but both races last season added to that tally. If this year’s races at Martinsville are anywhere close to last year’s events, starting position should not weigh in as heavily as past races at the paper clip.

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March 28, 2015