• Time For A Rebound: Johnson, Gordon In Half-Mile Comfort Zone

• Fifth-Place Earnhardt After First Martinsville Victory

• Michael McDowell Steps In As Dale Jarrett Retires

• The Bubble: Top 35 Guarantees Based On 2008 Points

• 60th Anniversary Season: NASCAR Returns To One Of 1948’s Tracks

Second-Straight Short-Track Week Bodes Well For Johnson, Gordon

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (March 25, 2008) – By any calculation, the following numbers just don’t add up.

Together, Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet) and Jeff Gordon (No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet) have won a total of six NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championships — but not a single race thus far this season.

Five races worth of frustration finds Johnson 13th in the series standings, Gordon 14th.

That has opened the door for some early-season optimism by everyone else, following last season’s Johnson-Gordon domination that resulted in 16 victories and a 1-2 finish in the final standings.

Don’t be surprised if the door gets slammed shut, for at least a week, come Sunday, as the series visits a short track for the second straight week, following the previous event at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Martinsville Speedway — site of Sunday’s Goody’s Cool Orange 500 — seemingly arrives at a most opportune time for the two struggling past champions. Johnson has won the last three Martinsville events; together, he and Gordon have won eight of the last 10 races at the .526-mile oval, the series’ only track that was on the very first NASCAR schedule in 1948.

Sixty years of Martinsville amounts to a lot of history but since 2003, history had been made, basically, by Johnson and Gordon — especially in April of 2007 when the two seriously tested the stability of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series’ “new car” with a contact-laden battle over the race’s closing laps. Johnson outslugged his Hendrick Motorsports teammate by a scant .065 seconds.

Earnhardt Seeks Breakthrough Win; McDowell Seeks Solid Debut

The upside for Dale Earnhardt Jr. (No. 88 Amp Energy/National Guard Chevrolet) coming into Sunday’s event at Martinsville Speedway:

He’s fifth in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series point standings, the highest-ranked of Hendrick Motorsports’ star-studded four-man team.

The downside: He has never won at Martinsville Speedway.

That’s not to say he hasn’t been close.

Earnhardt has seven top fives in 16 Martinsville starts — including a fifth in 2007’s spring event.

Of Earnhardt’s 17 NASCAR Sprint Cup victories, four have come on short tracks (ovals less than one mile in length) — three at Richmond International Raceway, one at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Meanwhile, on the other end of the learning curve this week we find Michael McDowell, who is technically replacing David Reutimann in the No. 00 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota for Michael Waltrip Racing. But in reality, he’s replacing NASCAR legend Dale Jarrett, who retired after the March 16 race at Bristol, leaving the No. 44 UPS Toyota to David Reutimann, the former driver of the No. 00.

McDowell is assured of making his first NASCAR Sprint Cup start Sunday; the No. 00 is safely within the top 35 of the owner points and is thus guaranteed a spot in the field.

Said McDowell: “To make your debut at Martinsville is tough. Lot of laps … lot of hard laps. … I’ve done a lot of training to make sure I’m in shape for 500 laps.”

In The Loop: Gordon Rates Highest, At Martinsville

For the season, Kyle Busch (No. 18 M&M’s/Interstate Batteries Toyota) has the top spot in NASCAR’s Driver Rating. (See chart at right of page.)

As far as Martinsville Speedway is concerned, that status belongs to Jeff Gordon.

Compilation of track-specific Driver Rating data began in 2005, which means the last six Martinsville events are the basis for Gordon’s 124.5 rating.

Gordon’s Martinsville success could mean a shake-up in the top 12 once the checkered flag falls Sunday. Gordon sits in 14th-place, 21 points behind 12th-place Martin Truex Jr. (No. 1 Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Chevrolet), and has finished inside the top five in six consecutive Martinsville races.

During that six-race span, Gordon has an Average Running Position of 7.2 (second-best), a series-high 342 Fastest Laps Run, 2,606 Laps in the Top 15 (second) and 147 Quality Passes (passes of cars in the top 15 under green), which is fourth-best.

Also hoping a continued Martinsville hot streak will lead to a top-12 spot is Jimmie Johnson, winner of the last three races there. Only once has Johnson finished outside the top 10 at Martinsville – as a rookie in 2002 in his first trip.

Since then, he’s had eight top fives in 11 starts. Since 2005, Johnson has a Driver Rating of 120.8 (second-best), an Average Running Position of 7.3 (third), 296 Fastest Laps Run (second) and has spent 86.2% of the laps in the top 15 (third).

Adding to the possibility of a top-12 shakeup – Truex struggles at Martinsville. In four starts at the Virginia short track, Truex has never finished better than 19th and has led just one lap. His Martinsville Driver Rating is 58.3 (the lowest of any driver currently in the top 12) and his Average Running Position is 25.3 (also the lowest among the top 12.)

And finally, here are some Loop Data nuggets in support of Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s chances Sunday. His statistics there since 2005 rank comfortably in the top 10 of several categories. He has a Driver Rating of 95.8 (sixth), an Average Running Position of 11.9 (fifth), 205 Fastest Laps Run (fourth) and a series-high 304 Green Flag Passes.

On The Bubble: Hornish Is In, Franchitti’s Not

With five races in the books for the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup season, the weekly guaranteed starting spots start going to the top 35 teams in current car owner point standings. (For this season’s first five races, the guarantees went to the top 35 teams in the final 2007 points.)

There are some definite surprises thus far — on both sides of the “bubble.”

Michael Waltrip Racing has all three of its teams in the top 35 — with Waltrip (No. 55 NAPA Toyota), David Reutimann (No. 44 UPS Toyota) and Michael McDowell (No. 00 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota) driving.

Sam Hornish Jr. (No. 77 Mobil 1 Dodge) the former Indianapolis 500 and IndyCar Series champion, is safe for now. Hornish, who started the year with an impressive 15th-place run at the Daytona 500 for Penske Racing, has the 35th and final spot going into Martinsville.

Casey Mears (No. 5 CARQUEST/Kellogg’s Chevrolet), part of Hendrick Motorsports’ powerhouse lineup, is 33rd, only 12 points ahead of Hornish. Mears, keep in mind, was a winner of one of NASCAR’s biggest events last season, the Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway.

Jamie McMurray, a member of Jack Roush’s well-stocked stable of drivers, is 36th this week, forced to rely on his qualifying speed to make Sunday’s field. Like Mears, McMurray also had a marquee win last season, capturing the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway in July.

Dario Franchitti, last year’s Indy 500 and IndyCar Series champion, is down in 38th, amid a challenging start to his first NASCAR season driving for Chip Ganassi and Felix Sabates.

And veteran Kyle Petty is 40th, with his team an already-perilous 60 points behind Hornish’s. Encouraging: In recent years, Petty has shown glimpses of his 1980s form at Martinsville; he finished 10th in the 2006 fall race. … “I have a lot of experience at Martinsville and that should help us qualify our way in to Sunday’s race,” Petty said. “This is not an enviable position to be in, but I have a good team around me and we can dig our way out of this. … I’ve been in this situation before and we’ve come out just fine. We’re more than capable of hitting a streak where we get a string of top-10 or top-15 finishes. Martinsville would be a good place to start one.”

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, Etc.

On The Line: Trio of Guests Set For Weekly NASCAR Teleconference … This week’s NASCAR Teleconference is scheduled for Wednesday, from Noon-1 p.m. (ET), with three special guests. Leading off will be Martinsville Speedway President Clay Campbell, followed at 12:15. by former NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion Todd Bodine and Greg Biffle (No. 16 Jackson Hewitt Ford) — currently second in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points — at 12:30. Media should call (888) 699-8040 to participate. Approximately one hour after completion, audio files and a transcript of the teleconference will be available on NASCARMedia.com.

Bowyer Two Times Tough: Clint Bowyer (No. 07 BB&T Chevrolet) is following last year’s spectacular season in fine fashion. A third-place finisher in the Chase for NASCAR Sprint Cup, Bowyer is ninth in series points going into Martinsville. But he’s also leading the points in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, after a runner-up finish at Nashville Superspeedway this past Saturday night. This marks the first time Bowyer has led the standings of a NASCAR national series.
 
Virginia Tech’s Beamer Serving As Grand Marshal … Frank Beamer, head football coach at Virginia Tech, will be the Grand Marshal for the Goody’s Cool Orange 500. “I think most people know how much I love racing, and I’m delighted by this honor,” Beamer said.

“This is a real privilege,” added Martinsville Speedway President Clay Campbell.

Burton After Short-Track Sweep … Jeff Burton (No. 31 AT&T Mobility Chevrolet), winner at Bristol Motor Speedway’s half-mile two weeks ago, will try to pull off an early-season short-track sweep on Sunday. In 2005, an adjustment of the NASCAR Sprint Cup schedule put Bristol and Martinsville back-to-back. Consecutive short-track races were once commonplace, but that had disappeared from the schedule in 1999. The last time a driver swept short-track events on consecutive weeks was Jeff Gordon, at Bristol and Martinsville, in 1997.

Burton — fourth in series points this week — has a solid record at Martinsville: In 27 starts, he has a victory, nine top-five and 13 top-10 finishes. According to Loop Data statistics, Burton has been the sport’s seventh-best green-flag passer at Martinsville over the last six races there.

“Martinsville is both a physical and emotional race,” Burton said. “I think it’s the longest feeling race that we run all year and I like that challenge … obviously some challenges are bigger than others. To me, that’s what our sport is all about. It’s about being difficult and trying to overcome obstacles and Martinsville is a pretty big obstacle to overcome.”

NASCAR’s 60th Anniversary Season Returns To One Of The Originals — Martinsville

The year was 1948 and the fledgling sport was NASCAR. That was the first season, with a 52-race schedule for mostly Modified machines, although there were the relatively sparse appearance of cars that would come to define NASCAR — the Strictly Stocks, precursor to today’s NASCAR Sprint Cup cars.

That schedule came to Martinsville Speedway, with an event on July 4. The speedway had actually opened a year earlier, with only 750 seats.

For the first installment of what would become one of NASCAR’s true traditions — racing on or around the July 4 holiday — Fonty Flock was the winner.

An ambitious gentleman by the name of Bill France, who also was NASCAR’s founder and first president, finished eighth.

Up Next: Samsung 500 At Texas Motor Speedway

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series moves on to Texas Motor Speedway next week, for the Samsung 500, set for Sunday, April 6.

Jeff Burton is the race’s defending champion. Jimmie Johnson won last year’s fall race at TMS, as part of his late-season charge to the series championship.

Burton also won the very first NASCAR Sprint Cup race at TMS, in 1997, driving then for Roush Fenway Racing. He is the only repeat winner in series history at TMS, with 14 races having been held there.

Burton is coming off the 20th win of his NASCAR Sprint Cup career, at Bristol Motor Speedway on March 16. That win was the first this season for his current owner, Richard Childress, and the first for Chevrolet overall in 2008.

The Race: GOODY’S COOL ORANGE 500
The Place: Martinsville Speedway
The Date: Sunday, March 30
The Time: 2 p.m. (ET)
The Track: .526-mile oval
The Distance: 500 laps/263 miles
TV: FOX, 1:30 p.m. (ET)
Radio: MRN, SIRIUS Satellite Radio
2007 Winner: Jimmie Johnson
2007 Polesitter: Jeff Gordon
2008 Points
    Driver                Points
 1 Kyle Busch           782
 2 Greg Biffle             752
 3 Kevin Harvick         749
 4 Jeff Burton             745
 5 Dale Earnhardt Jr.  686
 6 Kasey Kahne         674
 7 Tony Stewart         656
 8 Ryan Newman       635
 9 Clint Bowyer          606
10 Kurt Busch           605
11 Matt Kenseth        604
12 Martin Truex Jr.     595
Pre-Race Schedule: Friday—Practice, 12-1:30 p.m.; Qualifying, 3:40 p.m. Saturday—Practice, 11:30 a.m.-12:15 p.m.; Final Practice, 12:50 -1:50 p.m.

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Young series regulars making strides in 2008 with solid top-10 points ranking
Ambrose, No. 59 team, have to right the ship after crew chief Giles departs

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (March 25, 2008) – In this 60th anniversary season of NASCAR, short tracks like Richmond International Raceway are recognized as having laid the foundation for the sport.

Classic racing, beating and banging, no apologies … those are the words drivers use to describe competing at the .75-mile oval.

If it sounds old school, it is. 

But as the NASCAR Nationwide Series approaches its first open weekend of the season following its lone short-track test of the year at Richmond, there are fresh names popping up in the top 10 standings looking to add their own history to the series.

Kelly Bires (No. 47 Clorox Ford), 23, and Brad Keselowski (No. 88 U.S. Navy Chevrolet), 24, are two of the five series regulars who dot the top 10 rankings this week. Keselowski is a career-best sixth in the standings while Bires jumped from 11th to eighth. Both were among the top-five finishers at Nashville Superspeedway last Saturday.

Both drivers forged similar paths to this stage in their career. Keselowski was named to take over the No. 88 for JR Motorsports last July while Bires got the nod in the No. 47 JTG Racing entry last June.

Now, in their first full year in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, they’re able to build on the information gained during their partial season in 2007.

“Testing is really important for us to get working together and build chemistry with our team,” Keselowski said at a press conference prior to going on track Tuesday afternoon.

“I think if we can find a little more speed with our cars we have a shot at it (the series championship),” he said. “We need to get better at these types of tracks if we want to run with Clint (Bowyer – series points leader) and Carl (Edwards – defending series champion) to have a shot at the championship come November.”

 ”We’ve had a great start to the season,” Bires said. “Consistency has been there, which is really what you need. It’s a long season and if you’re consistent, the top 10s, the top fives and the wins are going to come with that.

“We’re here to try to gain as much information as we can for our short-track program. I ran one race here last year and struggled. That’s one of our big priorities this year, to improve on that program – and it’s starting here today and yesterday.”

NNS TESTING ETC.

Crew Chief Departure Leaves Ambrose Scrambling … The JTG Racing camp was expected to have one of its two teams challenging for a top-10 standing this year, but most figured it would be the No. 59 Kingsford Ford of Marcos Ambrose as opposed to the surprising start of his teammate Kelly Bires. Ambrose, who finished eighth in the 2007 final standings, comes to the open week 16th in the rankings and now has to search for a new crew chief in addition to finding more consistency.

Ambrose’s fellow Australian Walter Giles left the team after last Saturday’s event at Nashville. “(Giles) decided to part ways with us and that has put us on the back foot,” Ambrose said. “We’ve had a tough start to our year, and today it’s about Gary Cogswell, a crew chief who was working with us in the truck series in 2006. We’re just trying to learn each other again.”

Lone Short-Track Test Gets Thumbs Up From Balash … Cloudy and cold weather on Monday gave way to sunny skies and warmer temperatures on Tuesday for the two-day test at Richmond. The combination of the weather – dry after postponements of practice at some races to start the year – and information gained was a plus for the teams according to Joe Balash, NASCAR Nationwide Series director. “From a NASCAR perspective, we’re pleased to see the mix of drivers on top of the leader board,” he said.

“The teams have been working with busy schedules. Drivers have had to modify their driving styles based upon past experience at this track due to the new engine package. Overall, the teams have been happy with the amount of track time they’ve logged as well as the results.”

More than 30 drivers representing more than 20 teams participated in the two-day test and gathered notes for the remaining three short tracks on the 2008 series schedule. The .75-mile facility will host the NASCAR Nationwide Series 250 on May 2.

Pit Stops … Mid-way through Tuesday’s afternoon session, Bobby Hamilton Jr. (No. 25 Smithfield Foods Ford) topped the speed chart at Richmond with a fast lap of 21.733 seconds/124.733 mph. Reigning series champion Carl Edwards (No. 60 Scotts Ford) was the fastest of the two sessions on Monday topping the chart in the evening at 21.600 seconds/125.0 mph. Mike Wallace (No. 7 GEICO Toyota), posted a quick lap of 21.535 seconds/125.377 mph during the afternoon session on Monday. Log on to www.NASCARMedia.com  for all NASCAR Nationwide Series testing speeds from Richmond. Audio from testing press conferences as well as photos from the sessions may also be accessed at NASCAR’s media-only website.

Open Week Up Next … With this test behind them, NASCAR Nationwide Series teams look toward the first open week on the schedule this weekend. They’ll return to the track April 5 for the O’Reilly 300 at Texas Motor Speedway.

Fast Facts

What: NASCAR Nationwide Series testing at Richmond International Raceway.

Track Layout: .75-mile oval.

When: Monday, March 24 and Tuesday, March 25.

Times: 1-5 p.m.; 6-9 p.m. each day.

Who’s Scheduled: Kertus Davis, Clint Bowyer/Steven Leicht, Landon Cassill, David Ragan, Mike Wallace, Chase Miller, Sam Hornish, Jr., Matt Kenseth, Johnny Benson, Denny Hamlin, Bobby Labonte/Stephen Leicht, Mike Bliss, Eric McClure, Bobby Hamilton Jr., Brad Coleman, Scott Wimmer, Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick/Cale Gale, Jason Leffler, Dario Franchitti,  Bryan Clauson, Kelly Bires, Marcos Ambrose, Carl Edwards, David Stremme, Steve Wallace, Brad Keselowski, David Reutimann, Jason Keller, Kevin Lepage, Mark Green, Morgan Shepherd, Jeff Green.

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Chrissy Wallace Ready For NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Debut
Skinner Bids For Record, Third Consecutive Win At Martinsville
Same Track, Different Seat For NASCAR Mod Champion Donny Lia

First Female Driver From Wallace Clan Debuts At Martinsville

Chrissy Wallace (No. 03 Toyota) hopes to follow her father Mike’s footsteps into NASCAR national series competition.

If she’s successful in qualifying for Saturday’s Kroger 250, both father and 19-year-old daughter will have made their debuts at Martinsville Speedway.

Mike Wallace, a four-time NASCAR Craftsman Truck winner, finished second in his maiden NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Martinsville on Oct. 28, 1990.

He’ll also spot for his daughter, who in 2007 became the first female driver to win a late model stock car race at historic Hickory (N.C.) Motor Speedway.

The younger Wallace would become the ninth female to compete in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.

Rookies don’t always benefit from having top equipment. Not Chrissy, whose team has 14 wins and the 2006 championship with Todd Bodine (No. 30 Lumber Liquidators Toyota).

“Obviously, this is a big opportunity for me. I have to thank the Germains, Mike Hillman and Toyota for putting this deal together,” she said. “Our goal is to go out there and run a smart race and finish.” 

Her father is happy to be going along for the ride.

“When I got the call from Chrissy after the test, It was very nice. She just wanted to tell me ‘thank you,’” said Wallace. “She said everything I told her on the radio made her run faster and she said she realized I really did know what I was talking about.

“She asked me to spot for her. I don’t even need to say it, I’m sure, but yes, I’m very proud.”

Skinner Looks For Yet Another Record

Three have tried; none succeeded.

This week, Mike Skinner (No. 5 Toyota Tundra Toyota) looks for a way to win an elusive, third consecutive short track race at the same track.

Dennis Setzer (No. 18 Dodge) was the last before Skinner to score back-to-back victories at a short track. Setzer won at Martinsville in 2002-03 and came tantalizingly close to a third victory the following April, finishing second to Rick Crawford (No. 14 Power Stroke Diesel by International Ford).

Ron Hornaday Jr. (No. 33 VFW Chevrolet) had two shots at win No. 3 in 1998 and 1999, but failed both times to even crack the top 10.

Skinner has been in this position once before at O’Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis in 1997. A broken oil line at mid-race ended the streak.

Martinsville’s only three-time series winner, Skinner, isn’t getting ahead of himself.

“Well, the first thing we have to do is win,” said Skinner, who’ll be aboard the BDR Chassis 5-76 that carried him to both Martinsville wins in 2007.

“Our goal this weekend is to definitely win, but we will take what we can get,” he said. Skinner, ranked seventh in points following top 10s in California and Atlanta, adds it’s too early for an “all in” strategy.

“We’ve got to catch back up in the points and this would be a good weekend to do it,” Skinner said.

Consecutive Victories On NCTS Short Tracks
Driver                 Track            Years
Mike Skinner       Martinsville     2007
Dennis Setzer      Martinsville     2002-03
Ron Hornaday Jr. Bristol            1997-98
Tony Raines        I-70                1997-98*
Ron Hornaday Jr. Louisville        1996-97
Mike Skinner       Mesa Marin    1995-96*
Mike Skinner       Indianapolis    1995-96
* Did Not Compete In Following Season’s Event

A Different Kind Of Martinsville For NASCAR Whelen Modified Champion Lia

Donny Lia (No. 71 TRG Chevrolet) seemingly has an advantage this week over his Raybestos Rookie of the Year classmates.

Lia has won at Martinsville Speedway  before.

The question is whether winning last September’s NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour race provides Lia with insights beyond knowing the location of Victory Lane.

The New York native, following two days of testing at Martinsville last week, isn’t sure driving a 3,400-pound truck will be markedly different from guiding his lighter modified around the track’s paperclip layout.

“It was surprising to me just how hard you drive the trucks into the corners, pretty much as hard and deep as I would drive a modified there,” said Lia, the modified tour’s 2007 champion. “However, you do tend to pick the throttle up a little bit later in the corner and smoother than you would a modified.”

What’s more familiar about Martinsville is how the track fits Lia’s eye. He’s been there many times – just not at Martinsville, Va.

“It is a lot like the track I cut my teeth at, Riverhead Raceway in (Long Island) New York, just bigger,” he said. “So it is like going home for me.”

Lia and his fellow Raybestos Rookie of the Year candidates obviously benefited from testing – something that hasn’t previously happened.

“We learned a lot about our truck and were very competitive,” said Lia, who posted third, fourth and seventh-fastest speeds during three of the test’s four sessions.

His speed topped out at 94.941 mph, slightly more than a tenth-of-a-second slower than Jack Sprague’s (No. 2 American Commercial Lines Chevrolet) top speed of 95.675.

Lia, who got a late start and has ground to make up in the rookie derby, thinks the Kroger 250 is a great opportunity to score points.

“If we can qualify in the top 10 and play the strategy game just right, I think we have a shot to win this race,” he said.

Etc. and Quotable

• Six Winners In Kroger 250 Field … Six drivers with a combined nine of the track’s 18 wins will compete in Saturday’s race. They include Skinner, Setzer, Sprague, Crawford, David Starr (No. 11 Red Horse Racing Toyota) and Jon Wood (No. 21 Barnhill Ford).

• ACS Relay Noted … Wood’s truck will carry the logo of the American Cancer Society on behalf of his mother, Carol Wood, participating in the May 17 Relay for Life being held in Stuart, Va.

• VFW To Ride With Hornaday … The Kroger 250 marks the first of four races the No. 33 VFW Chevrolet of Ron Hornaday Jr. will honor the Veterans of Foreign Wars. His crew has been wearing “Support Our Troops” wristbands.

  “You have to be tough. You can’t let guys punt you around because if you do that, they will take advantage of you all day long.” – Brian Scott, No. 16 Shark Energy Drink/Albertsons Chevrolet, 16th in his 2007 Martinsville Speedway debut.

  “Martinsville is just one of those old-school places. It is good, old hard-nosed short track racing. Martinsville is a place where you can beat, bang, root and gouge and it is acceptable.” –  Jack Sprague, who has a win among seven finishes of third or better and third-best Driver Rating of 107.7.

• Schrader Returns … Ken Schrader will run his own No. 52 for the first time since 2005. The Federated Auto Parts Toyota finished second at Texas Motor Speedway in June 2007 driven by Skinner.

Rookies At Martinsville: 0-For-18

The list of Martinsville winners is a NASCAR Hall of Fame-worthy roster and includes Jimmy Hensley, the late Bobby Hamilton and Bobby Labonte.

Conspicuously absent is any Raybestos Rookie of the Year candidate.

Yet it would be wrong to suggest it can’t happen in 2008 because a rookie nearly broke through on three previous occasions.

Travis Kvapil finished second in 2001; likewise Carl Edwards in 2003 and Todd Kluever in 2005.

The trio shares one common distinction. Each won Raybestos Rookie of the Year honors.

So while the .526-mile layout hasn’t produced any freshman winners, Martinsville Speedway definitely identifies the best in class.

A top five or top-10 finish under the circumstances will go a long way toward establishing a favorite in this year’s rookie competition.

Raybestos Rookie of the Year Point Standings After 3 Races
Justin Marks      30
Phillip McGilton  29
Brian Scott         29
Colin Braun        24
Marc Mitchell     22
Andy Lally         22
Donny Lia          15

Up Next:

Erik Darnell (No. 99 Northern Tool + Equipment Ford) will defend his 2007 Kansas Speedway victory on April 26 .

The O’Reilly Auto Parts 250 will be the eighth held at the 1.5-mile facility in Kansas City, Kan.

This is a track where young drivers have made a huge impact. Four of Kansas Speedway’s previous seven winners were under the age of 25: Darnell, Wood, Carl Edwards and the late Ricky Hendrick.

In The Loop:

The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series regulars make it known they hold their own quite nicely against the double-duty drivers when racing at Martinsville Speedway. The regulars are the clear class at Martinsville, often trumping the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series regulars. It should be interesting to see if the trend continues this Saturday.

The NASCAR Sprint Cup regulars in the field: Kyle Busch (No. 51 Toyota), Denny Hamlin (No. 15 Toyota) and Schrader. And all three have had struggles in the NASCAR Craftsman Trucks at Martinsville.

In two starts there, Hamlin has finishes of eighth (October 2006) and 19th (October 2007). In the two starts combined, he has an Average Running Position of 11.6, a Driver Rating of 90.0, 76.8 percent of the laps in the top 15 and seven Fastest Laps Run. His stats are solid, but not near the top of the charts.

The same can be said for Busch. In three Martinsville starts, he’s finished fifth (October 2005), sixth (October 2006) and 31st (October 2007). In the three races, Busch has an Average Running Position of 10.6, a Driver Rating of 95.5, 81.0 percent of the laps in the top 15 and 19 Fastest Laps Run. Again, solid, but un-Busch like. Schrader, though failing to crack the top 10 in any of his last five Martinsville races, has been consistent over the last three. Since 2005, Schrader has a Driver Rating of 78.5 and an Average Running Position of 15.6. His last three finishes were 14th (April, 2005), 11th (October 2005) and 13th (March 2007). Schrader’s best Martinsville finish – eighth in October 2004 – is the Missourian’s only top 10.

This Week’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Leaders
(Through three races of the 25-race season)

• Points leader – Kyle Busch (555)
• Driver Rating – Kyle Busch (126.7)
• Winnings – Kyle Busch ($175,800)
• Laps led – Ron Hornaday Jr. (97)
• Victories – Kyle Busch (2)
• Keystone Light Poles – Erik Darnell, Ron Hornaday Jr. (1)
• Top-five finishes – Kyle Busch (3)
• Top-10 finishes – Kyle Busch, Todd Bodine (3)
• Raybestos Rookie Leader – Brian Scott (1 point over 3 drivers)
• Races led – Erik Darnell, Ron Hornaday Jr. (18)
• Weeks in Top 10 – Seven drivers (3)

Director’s Take: Wayne’s Words

Fans love Martinsville Speedway for a number of reasons, not the least of which is the bumper-to-bumper, fender-to-fender rubbing  that makes for some of the most exciting races of the season.

And the competitors enjoy the racing as well. Aerodynamics isn’t an issue; it’s all about driving the truck.

That’s easier said than done – especially with 36 trucks on a tight track.

Drivers who can make his or her truck roll through the turns, stay off the curb and keep the brakes working from start to finish are going to have a very good chance of winning at Martinsville.

That said, it’s not all in the driver’s hands. The crew chief is very much a part of the equation from the time the truck is unloaded through the running of the race.

Strategy plays a big part in winning at any NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series short track race, but especially at Martinsville. Having the right setup is one thing. A crew chief also has to know when to call the driver to pit road to protect or gain track position.

That may not be quite as easy to call as in the past. There may be additional stops required due to the smaller, 17.75-gallon fuel cell that should shorten the fuel window.

Our teams had a great, two-day test last week to acquaint themselves with our 2008 engine package requiring a tapered spacer mounted between carburetor and intake manifold. The Kroger 250 marks its introduction to short track racing where a power reduction (around 70 horsepower) should help competitors with wheel spin and allow them to drive off the corners earlier and quicker. – Wayne Auton, NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Director

Martinsville Becoming NASCAR Hub

It’s not yet Charlotte, N.C., but with two teams, a top engine builder and a junior college motorsports program, Martinsville, Va., is becoming a hub of NASCAR in southern Virginia.

Jim Harris’ HT Motorsports and Joey Arrington Engines set up shop near Martinsville Speedway several years back. Bobby Hamilton Racing  VA relocated from the Nashville area a few months ago.

Patrick Henry Community College has sent several students to BHR VA including Darin Goins, tire specialist for Stacy Compton (No. 4 Dodge Dealers Dodge); John Sowder, a general mechanic and tire carrier in training and Chad Martin, tire specialist on the No. 18 Dodge of Dennis Setzer.

2008 Manufacturers’ Championship Point Standings
Toyota     27
Chevrolet 15
Ford        14
Dodge     10

Did You Know?

NASCAR is celebrating its 60th anniversary in 2008 but Martinsville Speedway’s first race pre-dated the organization by a year.

Martinsville is one of four tracks to host a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series in all 14 seasons beginning in 1995.

FAST FACTS

The Race: Kroger 250
The Place: Martinsville Speedway
The Date: March 29, 2008
The Time: 3 p.m. ET
Race Distance: 250 laps/131.5 miles
TV: FOX, 3 p.m. ET
Track Layout: .526-mile paved
2007 Winner: Mike Skinner
2007 Pole: Mike Skinner

Rank Driver             Points
1        Ky. Busch         555
2        T. Bodine          483
3        R. Hornaday Jr. 433
4        C. McCumbee   415
5        J. Benson         413
6        R. Crawford       411
7        M. Skinner        393
8        D. Starr            384
9        D. Setzer         383
10      P. McGilton      376

Schedule: Friday: Practice, 11 - 11:50 a.m. and 1:45 - 3:30  p.m.
Saturday: Qualifying, 10:10 a.m.

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