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Tag: Martinsville Speedway

  • Wallace leads first practice for Kroger 250

    Wallace leads first practice for Kroger 250

    The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series is back in action this weekend at Martinsville Speedway after a stretch of five weeks off. Darrell Wallace Jr wasted no time showing how strong he is at Martinsville.

    Wallace, who won his first career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at the half-mile paperclip last fall, was fastest in first practice with a lap of 96.662 mph in his No. 54 Toyota  #1 for Everyone Sales Event Toyota Tundra.

    Wallace was followed by Ryan Blaney in the No. 29 Cooper Standard Ford. Blaney posted a fast lap of 96.288 mph, only .176 seconds behind Wallace. Timothy Peters, Erik Jones and Ben Kennedy rounded out the top-five.

    Three rookie drivers making their debut this weekend in the Kroger 250 also made an impressive showing. Cole Custer was ninth fastest in the No. 00 Haas Automation Chevrolet with a lap of 95.762 mph. Gray Gaulding ended the session in 11th driving the No. 20 Gemini Southern/Krispy Kreme Chevrolet posting a lap of 95.636 mph. Gaulding was followed closely by Ben Rhodes in the No. 32 Alpha Energy Solutions Chevrolet. Rhodes finished the session in 12th with a fast lap of 95.405 mph.

    The NASCAR Camping World Trucks will have one final practice Friday afternoon at 3 p.m. local time.

  • Stewart-Haas Racing Gets Back On Track At Fontana

    Stewart-Haas Racing Gets Back On Track At Fontana

    Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) reassured their dominance in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series on Sunday at Fontana after team owner, Tony Stewart finished fifth and first-year SHR driver Kurt Busch placed third. While the team didn’t cross the finish line first, the top five runs for Busch and Stewart may be all the momentum the entire team needs heading to Martinsville Speedway and beyond.

    Busch and Stewart gained track position late in the going at Fontana, to try and win the race – as with the new system a win almost guarantees you a ticket into the Chase. However, on the ensuing green white-checkered shootout their two tire strategy couldn’t hold off the four tires of Kyle Busch and Kyle Larson, they were eventually passed and barley hung onto their top five positions.

    “It was sketchy not knowing what was going to happen with two versus four (tires) but I was glad Chad (Johnston) made the right cal again two weeks in a row.” Stewart explained after climbing from his No. 14 Chevrolet SS.

    Despite not scoring the win, as they anticipated by gambling, the entire organization has some positive to look back on heading forward.

    “I was glad that we had two SHR (Stewart-Haas Racing) cars there in contention at the end.” Stewart furthered commented. “We hadn’t been a top-five car all day so really proud of these guys.”

    The top five is the second straight for Stewart, while this is the first one on the season for the ‘Outlaw’ Busch – and a much needed one.

    “It was an awesome finish racing your boss Tony Stewart for a win.” Busch told reporters after climbing from his No. 41 Chevrolet SS. “A little like happy, but sad, one of us should have brought it (the win) home for Stewart-Hass Racing and it just didn’t pan out with the four tires versus two.

    While most attention followed Stewart and Busch’s runs, Danica Patrick had a quiet, but impressive, 14th place finish, her season-best placing. And while it’s not an astonishing run, it’s still a confidence booster heading to a track she did fairly well at last season.

    “It seems like some of our most trying weekends end up with our better results.” Patrick expressed following her career-best result at Fontana. “We will take it and we will know that there is so much more potential for those weekends where we feel like we are running a lot better.”

    While most of the SHR camp had success at the tricky California track, Kevin Harvick had his struggles. He finished 36th after having what seemed like a multitude of tire issues – which was common for many drivers throughout the event. However, the two dismal finishes at Bristol and Fontana don’t affect Harvick greatly, as he’s already (pretty much) locked himself into the Chase after winning in Phoenix.

    “It’s kind of the same story as the last few weeks.” Harvick explained following the disappointing finish. “We’ll have a really strong run going, and something happens and we don’t get the finish that we deserve. It’s really frustrating.”

    The SHR team prepares now for the catastrophic Martinsville Speedway where they are hoping to build off the impressive run at Fontana, and hopefully turn it into a victory.

     

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Fontana Auto Club 400

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Fontana Auto Club 400

    From the unique race command from Muppet star Gonzo to Denny Hamlin’s pre-race trip to the hospital for a sinus infection and vision problems, here is what else was surprising and not surprising from the Auto Club 400 in Fontana, California.

    Surprising:  There are not many drivers who, after winning a thrilling race in green-white-checkered fashion, can combine ‘Days of Thunder’ with faith-filled references right out of ‘Talladega Nights’. But Kyle Busch surprisingly managed to pull it all together in his Victory Lane remarks.

    “Man oh man.  The first thing that comes to mind when the caution came out with just a few laps to go — that was total Rowdy Burns ‘Days of Thunder’ right there,” the driver of the No. 18 No. 18 Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry said. “There’s a couple laps to go — I’m not pitting.”

    “Everybody has to pit, Cole (Trickle), we’re coming down for four tires because there’s a green-white-checkered coming,” Busch continued. “I knew four tires was going to win the race, so I’m glad Dave (Rogers, crew chief) called that.”

    “I was able to keep Kyle Larson behind me. Man, what a shoe that boy is,” Busch continued. “If he drove it in further than I did, Jesus must have told him to stop.”

    “I just can’t believe it.  I thank the Lord for putting ourselves here and getting us locked in the Chase.”

    This was Busch’s 29th win in 334 Cup races but his first victory of the 2014 season. This was his third victory and 12th top-10 finish at Auto Club Speedway.

    Not Surprising:  What double file restarts and shortening up the length of the race has done for Pocono Raceway, the rough, aged racing surface with multiple grooves and huge bumps has done the same, if not more, for Auto Club Speedway.

    In fact, it seemed like just a few years ago when the track was criticized for boring racing and the grandstands were empty. This Cup race yielded some of the most exciting racing to date, with six and seven cars abreast, in front of a packed house, most of whom barely sat down for the entirety of the show.

    Surprising:  Kyle Larson went from thinking he was pretty much going to have a tough day to finishing as the highest running rookie, in P2 no less. This stellar finish came on the heels of his Nationwide victory over none other than Cup race winner Kyle Busch.

    “I thought we were in trouble or not be able to get to the front,” the driver of the No. 42 said after the race. “I don’t know where everybody went on that last restart.”

    “It went through my mind then that I might sweep the weekend,” Larson continued. “That last run, we got good enough to charge to the front. What a weekend.”

    Not Surprising:  Sam Hornish’s new mantra should be ‘have helmet, will drive.’ Originally, the currently unspoken for driver was on standby to drive for Matt Kenseth in the event that his wife Katie went into labor with their third child.

    In the end, however, Hornish ended up substitute driving for Denny Hamlin, finishing a respectable 17th in the No. 11 FedEx Express Toyota. This was his best finish since his 13th place run in 2012 at Martinsville.

    Surprising:  The normally cool, calm and collected Aric Almirola, driver of the No. 43 Farmland Ford Fusion, had some surprisingly harsh words for competitor No 33 car driver Brian Scott after their accident brought out the fourth caution of the race.

    “The 33 was obviously a dart without feathers and coming across the race track,” Almirola said. “Man, he came from all the way at the bottom of the race track and ran into me.”

    “He’s not even racing this series for points,” Almirola continued. “He’s out there having fun because his daddy gets to pay for it and he wrecked us.”

    Not Surprising:  After tires blew out in practice as well as the race, the debate not surprisingly was on as far as what exactly led to so many tire issues, especially in the left rear.

    Brad Keselowski, a driver that suffered particular tire problems in practice and the race, weighed in after the race to share his perspective.

    “There were a lot of reasons why we blew a tire today or two or five over the weekend and the field did,’’ Keselowski said after finishing 26th. “I don’t know what to really say about it. As a driver you are left between the choice of driving your car to the limit and blowing a tire out or being a wuss and saving it.”

    NASCAR’s most popular driver weighed in with a whole different take on the tire situation.

    “I don’t think there is anything wrong with the tire OR the way we choose 2 use them,” Dale Earnhardt Jr. tweeted after the race. “My bet is it’s the bumps on the backstretch.”

    “Those are more like jumps and ramps.”

    NASCAR representative Vice President for Competition Robin Pemberton shared the more official perspective, saying that some teams were running tires with air pressures as low as 14 pounds, whereas Goodyear had commended tire pressures at 22 pounds for the race weekend.

    And finally, Goodyear, echoing Pemberton’s assessment, advised that the problems were not tire-related but more team-related due to the very aggressive set ups.

    “Every left-side tire that we’ve seen gone down or had issues with is kind of the same characteristics as (Saturday),’’ Greg Stucker, Director of Race Tire Sales for Goodyear, said.  “The common denominator being aggressive on air pressure.”

    “You’re in race conditions, so everybody is running a little bit harder.”

    Surprising:  For the second straight race, NASCAR official human error came into play. This weekend, a NASCAR official actually got his uniform stuck in the fence and he literally could not move to flip the pit road light switch to green.

    Because of this error, Brad Keselowski, Jeff Gordon and Clint Bowyer did not pit because there was a red light instead of a green light.

    All three drivers went on to suffer less than ideal finishes, with Jeff Gordon finishing the best of the bunch in 13th, Bowyer in 16th and Keselowski in 26th.

    “We can’t seem to catch a break,” Bowyer said. “We lead for a while, we came back after confusion with the lights on pit road and were in contention to win at the end.”

    “However, we started feeling a vibration with about four to go and it just didn’t make it,” Bowyer continued. “It just stinks for this team.”

    Not Surprising:   Bosses sometimes do influence the workplace even at the track. One of NASCAR’s most notable bosses, team owner Rick Hendrick, played the encourager role with driver Jeff Gordon, who started from the back not once but twice, passing at least 70 plus cars.

    Kurt Busch, who finished third, was also quite emotional about racing with his boss Tony Stewart. “The amount of emotions running well today and we were face and then to race your boss for the win,” Busch said. “Neither one of us got the win but it was a genuine moment for us to race.”

    The Cup Series heads next to Martinsville Speedway for the STP 500.

     

     

  • The Final Word – Jimmie and Matt continue their battle, Harvick starts a family feud at Martinsville

    The Final Word – Jimmie and Matt continue their battle, Harvick starts a family feud at Martinsville

    We were wrong. We were wrong about the big wild card that is Talladega, though to our credit neither Jimmie Johnson nor Matt Kenseth finished in the top ten that day. Still, even with a runner up finish there, Dale Earnhardt Jr remained miles away from the leaders. Kyle Busch made up all of seven points on Johnson and a whopping 15 on Kenseth, but still nowhere near enough.

    We were wrong about Martinsville, which should be renamed Johnsonville the way Jimmie lays it down there. While Jeff Gordon tied Five Time in wins at the paper clip, claiming his 8th at the track and the 88th of his Cup career, and while Johnson made it 17 top fives in 24 attempts, Kenseth finished second. It was only his 4th top five there in 28 attempts. So, it would appear that whatever the 2003 champ did while employed by Jack Roush no longer applies in any negative sense since he joined Joe Gibbs. For Matt, his history is history as he forges a new path.

    What we have is a new Matt, a renewed Jimmie, and as we change our focus to Texas we have these boys tied in points, 27 points ahead of Gordon and 28 up on Kevin Harvick. It remains a two way fight, unless fate intervenes and messes up the plans of one or both of them. Could that intervention come in Texas? Based on the past two weeks, how in hell should I know?

    Still, both leaders have done well at Fort Worth in the past. Both have a couple of wins there, both have an average finish of better than tenth, both are tied with 15 Top Tens on this track. So, both should do well on Sunday. Should.

    There should be peace and harmony the world over, but Kevin Harvick is preparing to leave RCR after a thirteen year association by crapping all over the bosses grandsons. It is one thing to criticize a young driver with whom he had issues in the truck race on Saturday. It is another to state that a reason for the job change next year was due to these punk-ass, rich kids, who have had everything spoon fed to them, coming up to eventual Cup rides with grand pappy while having no respect for the sport. Who urged the boy to run into Harvick to get things nice and hot? Well, that would be Grandpa Childress himself, never mind the less than loving comments the two had in regards to Harvick in the garage area afterwards. Kevin said on Sunday’s telecast that he was sorry. I am sure that will make everything all better between all concerned. Hallmark, no doubt, has a new card to write.

    Rating Martinsville – 5.5/10 – The oldest venue on the NASCAR circuit deserved better on Sunday’s telecast. We all did.

    Fort Worth just means more of the same. A two-man race with a few waiting in the wings for something bad to happen to the front duo. Maybe we should dub this the Tango in Texas, because it takes two to…ah, forget it. Enjoy the week.

  • Gordon gets the clock, closes the points gap at Martinsville

    Gordon gets the clock, closes the points gap at Martinsville

    Four time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion, Jeff Gordon, scores his first win of the season and eighth career win at Martinsville Speedway on Sunday in the Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500. He is now tied with teammate, Jimmie Johnson, for the most wins at Martinsville among active drivers.

    Gordon led a total of 78 laps and passed Matt Kenseth in the closing laps en route to victory. As he pulled into victory lane, his No. 24 Drive to End hunger Chevrolet looked like a war torn relic, beaten and battered from another Martinsville battle. A battle that was slowed by 17 cautions, signifying how rough and tumble the racing was today.

    Gordon also managed to close the gap in the points standings. He now sits in third place, 27 points behind Matt Kenseth and Jimmie Johnson who are tied for the lead. He has now secured a spot in the 2014 Sprint All-star race.

    Gordon talked about today’s win, ”Oh my gosh this meant so much, I mean I feel like we worked so hard, and many weekends we’ve left the racetrack looking at one another going what do we have to do? We’ve had racecars we’ve had pitstops, we’ve had strategy, I feel like I’ve had days where I’ve done my part, but just couldn’t get it all lined up. Today, we come to this race with a lot of confidence, you know this is a great rack for us the 24 team, for me personally, these guys, Alan especially, give me a great racecar all weekend long, I was a little disappointed in myself qualifying, I feel like we should have done better job than that, but it made up for t getting that number two pit stall. That was sort of turnaround for our weekend in many ways, or just that kind of added bonus, and that paid of for us today as well.”

    Kenseth came into today’s race trailing Johnson by four points. He led 202 laps today en route to a second place finish. Kenseth said, “I mean, I think we led the most laps and finished second. The only guy happier is Jeff. Again you’re always s a little disappointed when your crew puts you out front at the end and you can’t hold on.”

    Johnson was touted as the favorite to win all week. Many practically had has name engraved on the trophy. The five-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion ran strong all day, leading 123 laps. He ended the day in fifth place, a good day by many standards, mediocre for Johnson.

    Kenseth and Johnson now head to Texas Motor Speedway tied atop the championship standings. Gordon and Harvick 27 and 28 points back respectively.

    Kyle Busch who finished 15th, now sits 36 points back and sees his championship hopes slipping away. One glimmer of hope, however, is that the series now head to Texas Motor Speedway where he won earlier this season.

    Clint Bowyer had his best finish of the Chase with a solid sixth place effort. 55 points out of the lead, however, Bowyer will need a lot of things to go his way to have a shot at the title. Bowyer talked about how tough the outside lane was day, “Yeah, I mean, it was – it’s just the nature of the beast here. You know, we got jumbled up there going for the inside. The 48 was very, very aggressive for the point leader to be dive bombing to the inside. I was all over the brakes to keep from running him over a couple times. But that’s how important it is to get to the inside on these restarts.”

  • Harvick tries to calm the storm with Richard Childress… or does he?

    Harvick tries to calm the storm with Richard Childress… or does he?

    In the closing laps of the Kroger 200 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Martinsville Speedway, Ty Dillon, grandson of Richard Childress, and Kevin Harvick, driver of Richard Childress’s No. 29 Sprint Cup Series car, made contact crashing both trucks.

    Following the crash, the two took several shots at each other under caution. Harvick taking a hard left on the backstretch making hard contact with the right front of the No. 3 truck driven by Dillon. As Harvick proceeded into turn three, Dillon took several shots at Harvick’s truck, appearing to be making attempts to spin him out. Though his attempts were unsuccessful, it escalated the situation even further. As the two truck made their way down pit road, Harvick stopped in the pit box of Dillon, blocking him from getting into his pits.

    Harvick’s move infuriated the crew of the No. 3 truck. Several crew members approached the driver side door of Harvick’s truck yelling and reaching in towards Harvick. One crew member even threw a large sledgehammer at the truck, a move that definitely made all of the highlight reels.

    Upon exiting the truck, Harvick made several comments aimed at Dillon and at the Richard Childress team. Harvick, with his temper raging, commented, “I don’t care what they throw at me, that’s exactly why I am leaving RCR is because you’ve got those kids coming up and they gor no respect for what they do in this sport and they’ve had everything fed to them with a spoon, so I cut him slack all day and you know he just drives – dive bombs me in there and dumps me, so it’s a shame you got to get taken out by some rich kid like that.” After making his comments, Harvick quickly headed to the tunnel and exited the track.

    Richard Childress responded to Harvick’s comments saying, “I’m very disappointed – that’s all I can say. I’ve got to much class to say what I want to right now.” Childress was seen in the garage immediately after the incident and was visibly angry with what had just occurred. Childress also stated in the garage area after the incident, “I got plans for him.” Though he may not have known he was on camera at the time.

    Evidently, Harvick received the message or had time to think about his comments. On Sunday morning Harvick issues an apology saying, ”I think there was just a lot of emotion involved, I hate it for everybody at RCR and you know you go back and look at the things that happened and sometimes you just regret the things that you say for sure and yesterday was definitely one of them, so I just hate for my guys and everybody working on the cars and obviously when those emotional situations come about you say things that you really don’t want to say, so just want to apologize to all those guys and work hard to day and try to do everything we can to win this race.”

    One thing very noticeable about the apology is that he specified his RCR crew and the guys that work on his car. Although he did say “everybody at RCR” he did not specifically mention Dillon or Richard Childress himself. So was this apology aimed only at the No. 29 team in an effort to maintain a good relationship with them since he is so dependent on them for the next four races? It sure sounds like it. But, who can blame him. After all, Childress himself did say this on Dillon’s team radio before the incident, “***-**** if he messes with you, turn his ass upside down.”

    One thing to keep in mind is that even though Harvick drives for RCR in the Cup series, he was driving for NTS Motorsports on Saturday on the Camping World Truck Series race. So, you have a driver that will only be employed for the team for another four races, and driving a truck that does not belong to the team. Therefore, there were  no repercussions for Childress giving Dillon the instruction to turn Harvick if he “messed with him”, other than the friction it would create with Harvick.

    We all know that, many times, emotional outbursts contain mostly truth. Harvick’s statements, though he says now he shouldn’t have said it, were most likely what he truly feels inside. Additionally, the statements that were caught on camera during Dillon’s emotional outburst were again, most likely filled with what he truly believes when he said, “He hadn’t done nothing for RCR but ****** up, he screws up stuff for us every year he’s been here.” Richard Childress’s response during Dillon’s tirade was simply, “I know.”

    There is an obvious division among the RCR team. The question is can the team hold it together for the balance of the season to try and secure a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship? Also, how will Harvick race against the RCR team cars next season when he is driving for Stewart-Hass Racing?  Only time will tell. But, it sure did make for an exciting afternoon at Martinsville Speedway.

  • Darrell Wallace Jr. scores historical win at Martinsville

    Darrell Wallace Jr. scores historical win at Martinsville

    The last time and only time an African-American driver visited victory lane in a NASCAR national touring series was 1963 when Wendell Scott took the win at Jacksonville. On Saturday at Martinsville Speedway, Darrell Wallace Jr. became the second.

    Wallace, a NASCAR drive for diversity graduate, led 96 laps in his Kyle Busch Motorsports No. 54 ToyotaCare Toyota Tundra. The win was Wallace’s 11th top-10 finish this season and second top-10 at Martinsville.

    NASCAR implemented the driver for diversity program in an effort give more opportunities to minorities who want to pursue a career in NASCAR. Though several drivers have worked through the program, Wallace is the first driver to find success in a national touring series.

    NASCAR chairman and CEO, Brian France commented on Wallace’s victory,” We congratulate Darrell Wallace Jr. on his first national series victory, one that will be remembered as a remarkable moment in our sport’s history.” He continued, “Darrell’s success, following fellow NASCAR Drive for Diversity graduate Kyle Larson’s win earlier this season, is indicative of a youth and multicultural movement that bodes well for NASCAR’s future growth.”

    Wallace’s success came early on when he drove in the drive for diversity program. He won Sunoco rookie of the year honor in the K&N Pro East Series in 2010. He then backed that up with a second place finish in the championship standings in 2011.

    In 2012, Wallace has compiled 11 top-10’s and five top-5 finishes in 18 starts in the Camping World Truck Series. He also started four Nationwide Series starts this season for Joe Gibbs Racing, finishing in the top-10 in three of those starts.

    An emotional Wallace was asked what this win means to him, “It means everything. This is an emotional win for me. Especially to do it in Wendell Scott’s backyard and I love coming here to Martinsville, it’s always good to me and it finally paid off.”

     

  • Ford’s Logano Leads Saturday’s First Cup Practice

    Ford’s Logano Leads Saturday’s First Cup Practice

    Ford Racing NSCS Notes & Quotes:
    Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500 Advance (Martinsville Speedway)
    Saturday, October 26, 2013

    Joey Logano, driver of the No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Fusion, recorded the fastest single-lap speed in Saturday’s first practice session at Martinsville Speedway in preparation for tomorrow’s Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500.  Logano spoke about being at the top of the chart before heading out for happy hour.

    JOEY LOGANO – No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Fusion – YOU’RE FASTEST IN THE FIRST PRACTICE SO HOW IS YOUR CAR?  “Not too bad.  The car is pretty decent, but this second practice we want to work on getting a little bit more long-run speed and making some longer runs to make sure it’s there.  We just tested some parts and pieces because it’s just so cold out there today that it’s not really realistic yet.  The guys did a good job.  They built this car brand new and did a nice job because it’s really light.  So far it’s all paying off.  I feel like I’ve got a car that’s good, but I’ve just got to figure out how to beat the 48 still.”

    HOW BENEFICIAL WAS THE TEST YOU HAD HERE A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO?  “It helped us a ton.  I think it was probably the most successful test we had for sure.”

    YOU START SIXTH, BUT WOULD YOU RATHER BE ON THE INSIDE?  “I’d rather be on the inside.  When Kyle went out there at the end and beat me I was pretty mad about it.  I didn’t want to be sixth because I wanted to start on the inside, but we’ll just try to find a hole and get down as quick as we can.  That’s all you can do.”

    YOU MENTIONED THE 48.  DO YOU FEEL YOU HAVE SOMETHING FOR HIM TOMORROW?  “Yes.  I thought yesterday when we unloaded my car was really fast, so I was like, ‘We’ve got a good shot at winning this thing.’  If everything goes right and if there’s a late-race caution here, we’ve all seen what that brings with two tires, four tires and what people will do to try to get track position.  At that point it really just depends what lane you line up in, so you never know.”

  • Championship leaders talk about racing at Martinsville and each other

    Championship leaders talk about racing at Martinsville and each other

    Martinsville and Jimmie Johnson go together like bread and butter. Even championship contender Matt Kenseth said, “…you can almost pencil the 48 in here.” Johnson has been extremely impressive, with eight wins in 23 starts. He comes into the weekend with a slim four point lead over Kenseth.

    Kenseth, who started off the Chase with two wins and the points lead, was asked if he would prefer to be leading or in the underdog mode chasing the leader. Kenseth replied, “I can’t imagine for the life of me anybody that wouldn’t want to have the points lead or why you wouldn’t want to have it. Certainly, we started off strong. We still perform pretty well, we didn’t have the finish last week and that was really disappointing. A couple other ones we didn’t quite have the finish, but certainly I wish we were still leading and you would have want to have as big of a lead as you could and I think anybody would.”

    Kenseth’s record at the flat half-mile is less than stellar, especially compared to Johnson. In 27 starts, Matt has only three top-5 and eight top-10’s. Johnson has eight wins in only 23 starts. This past spring, however, Kenseth seemed to have Martinsville figured out. Even though he only finished 14th, he led 96 laps and ran strong most of the day. 96 laps is more than he led in all of his Martinsville starts combined up to that point.

    “I don’t know why it’s always been such a struggle, although I do feel like the last couple years on average has been much better.” Kenseth continued, “This spring at least the first half of the race we were really good and really competitive, and really, really helped me be better because we had the car good.”

    Before this season, Kenseth had started all of his Martinsville races with Roush-Fenway Racing. He made the change to Joe Gibbs Racing after 2012 and has improved in several areas. The most noticeable of which is qualifying.

    Johnson talked about how good Martinsville has been for him, “Without a doubt it’s been a good track for the No. 48 team. It doesn’t guarantee anything for this weekend’s race and we have to go out and get everything we can in this first practice session and then try to get our best two laps possible for qualifying. We all know how important that first pit stall is and it can make life so much easier come Sunday afternoon.”

    Johnson seemed confident and very laid back on Friday. Those traits could spell trouble for the rest of the field. When this team is this confident, they are almost unbeatable, but more importantly, they rarely beat themselves. That is a crucial factor at this track. Drivers who get antsy, over aggressive and/or angry, will use up their equipment pre-maturely and find themselves hanging on for dear life.

    Johnson was also asked about racing against Matt Kenseth now, compared to 2006 when the two went head-to-head. He replied, “We have had a good banter texting back and forth. For a guy that can come across dry, as we all know in here, he is awfully funny. He asked me to not pester him and ask him for too many tips this weekend and bunch of other things.” He continued, “I think his departure from Roush and then joining up with Gibbs it’s filled in some weak spots that you would normally think that Matt would have. This track is a perfect example.” Referring to the Roush-Fenway team’s historical poor performance at Martinsville.

  • Danica returning to site of her best performance of the season

    Danica returning to site of her best performance of the season

    Martinsville Speedway was not the site of Danica Patrick’s best finish of the season. That, of course, was the season opening Daytona 500. The spring race at Martinsville, however, was the site of her most impressive performance.

    When Patrick sat on the pole at Daytona, her critics instantly began saying “Well anybody can qualify at Daytona”. After she stayed near the front for most of the day and finished a very respectable eighth, the critics continued, “Well, it’s Daytona, anyone can run well at restrictor plate tracks”.

    The flat half-mile paperclip, has been referred to by many drivers all week as the toughest track on the schedule. In the STP Gas Booster 500 earlier this season, Patrick qualified a dismal 32nd. Qualifying has not been her strong suit. She followed that up with a very impressive run in the race, however.

    Patrick fought her way through the field into the top-15. She then got involved in a spin and had to restart at the near the rear of the field. She started the process again, fighting her way back to the front and into the top-10, accomplishing the feat not only once, but twice.

    She appeared well on her way to a top-10 finish until some late race beating and banging with Brian Vickers bumped her just outside the top-10 finishing 12th. Funny, we didn’t hear the critics praising her for her good performance.

    Patrick’s run at Martinsville was very impressive, especially for a rookie. That is one thing we all seem to forget in regards to her – she is a rookie. Many of the top drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series had less than stellar years in their rookie season. Patrick’s is no different.

    She has also torn up several racecars this season, but, so did four-time series champion, Jeff Gordon. Also, let’s not forget the rookie year for Tim Richmond, he hit everything but the pace car! Let’s at least give her the opportunity to learn before we rule her out as someone who will never make it in this series.

    While Patrick may not contend for the win in Sunday’s Goody’s 500, she may very well find herself in the top-10. When all the drivers a person races against every week, point out how tough a track is, hopefully, they will respect the results a driver get at that track. If Patrick repeats her success this weekend, it will be interesting to see if the critics step-up and give her credit for a job well done.