Storylines: Martinsville Speedway
The Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup has reached its halfway point – five races down, five to go. Race 6 is set for Sunday at Martinsville Speedway in Martinsville, Va.
Also this weekend, the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series will race Saturday at Martinsville. The NASCAR Nationwide Series has its final off-week of the season.
Storylines for this weekend follow, starting with a look at “in the garage” local angles for the Martinsville Speedway weekend, a group highlighted by two Chase competitors from Virginia – Jeff Burton and Denny Hamlin.
In The Garage
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Jeff Burton (South Boston) – No. 31 driver
Denny Hamlin (Chesterfield) – No. 11 driver
Elliott Sadler (Emporia) – No. 19 driver
Robert “Bootie” Barker (Brookneal) – No. 66 crew chief
David Bryant (Farmville) – No. 88 car chief
Todd Brewer (Manassas) – No. 96 car chief
Jeff Curtis (Fairfax) – No. 31 engineer
Darian Grubb (Floyd) – No. 88 engineer
Tom Stewart (Hampton) – No. 88 engineer
Brandon Evans (South Hill) – No. 48 engineer
Rick MacGowan (Reston) – No. 96 engineer
Kevin Kidd (Tazewell) – No. 19 engineer
Tommy Wallace (Richmond) – No. 07 mechanic
Jim Jenkins (Hampton) – No. 88 mechanic
Alan Howard (Covington) – No. 84 shock specialist
Todd Bosserman (Waynesboro) – No. 48 shock specialist
Tracey Ramsey (Fredericksburg) – No. 31 tire specialist
Charles Moles (Floyd) – No. 07 tire specialist
Franky Nester (Ridgeway) – No. 31 transporter driver
Barry Sheppard (Stuart) – No. 07 transporter driver
Kirk George (Ararat) – No. 24 transporter driver
Jay Hackney (Haysi) – No. 2 front tire changer
Curt Bowman (Meadows of Dan) – No. 31 gas man
Caleb Hurd (Pulaski) – No. 24 gas man
Rodney Rhodes (Hickory) – No. 10 gas man
Andy Pope (Midlothian) – No. 21 gas man
Ed Watkins (Richmond) – No. 19 jack man
Ben Surface (Pulaski) – No. 96 rear tire carrier
Mark Robertson (Richmond) – No. 20 spotter
Ryan Quann (Richmond) – No. 42 pit support
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series
Jim Harris (Lynchburg) – No. 59 owner
Jeff Hensley (Ridgeway) – No. 16 crew chief
Trip Bruce (Chester) – No. 23 crew chief
Hal Ralston (Staunton) – No. 6 engineer
Chuck Day (Alexandria) – No. 33 engine tuner
Curtis Key (Chesapeake) – No. 40 general manager
Dan Mrak (Woodbridge) – No. 11 catch can man
Curtis Martin (Rocky Mount) – No. 23 rear tire changer
Scott Blackburn (Mechanicsville) – No. 16 rear tire changer
Mary Quay (Halifax) – No. 22 scorer
Kevin Riddle (Martinsville) – No. 5 pit support
Halfway: Chase Reaches Its Mid-Point
Five races are complete in the 10-race Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. The plot thickens – in a variety of directions. Check it out:
• Coming into Sunday’s event, the top three drivers – Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Burton and Greg Biffle – are separated by only 86 points.
• Jimmie Johnson has the points lead coming into a track where he has seriously excelled. Johnson has won four times at Martinsville since 2004. His chances of winning a third consecutive series championship look more realistic all the time. Only one driver has ever pulled off that trifecta – Cale Yarborough from 1976-78.
• Jeff Burton is in the sport’s top echelon – for the second time. The South Boston, Va. native was one of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series’ premier drivers from 1997-2000, posting 15 wins during that four-season span, driving for car owner Jack Roush. After a several-season slump, Burton has returned to prominence the last few years with owner Richard Childress, who he joined in 2004.
• Two weeks ago, the Chase made an always-precarious stop at the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series’ biggest track, 2.66-mile Talladega Superspeedway. This week, the Chase comes to the series’ smallest track, .526-mile Martinsville Speedway. Those two disparate layouts have one undeniable common denominator – unpredictability, due to close-quarters racing. A bump here, a spin there … and the standings could easily be altered drastically, this Sunday.
• When the Chase’s top seed, Kyle Busch, fell far behind after the first two Chase races, Carl Edwards looked like the smart pick to win the title. With five races to go, however, Edwards’ title chances are on the ropes. He crashed at Talladega and had engines problems this past week at Lowe’s Motor Speedway – resulting in finishes of 29th and 33rd. He comes into Martinsville fourth in points, 168 points behind Johnson. Edwards has one top 10 in eight races at Martinsville, and a Driver Rating of 72.4 over his last seven races there.
The Ratings Game: Hendrick Duo Top Martinsville Driver Rating
Clearly, Hendrick Motorsports has figured out Martinsville Speedway. Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson rank one-two in Driver Rating over the last seven races at Martinsville, one of the trickiest tracks in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Over that span, Gordon has an average finish of 2.3, while Johnson has a 3.0. Below are the top 10 drivers in pre-race Driver Rating at Martinsville. (x-denotes non-Chase driver)
Jeff Gordon 124.5
Jimmie Johnson 121.2
Tony Stewart 116.3
Dale Earnhardt Jr. 100.7
Denny Hamlin 100.6
Kyle Busch 93.3
x-Jamie McMurray 87.9
Kevin Harvick 87.4
x-Ryan Newman 85.8
Jeff Burton 85.3
NASCAR NATIONWIDE SERIES
Testing….1,2,3
This final open week of the season begins with the final “new car” test of the season, scheduled for Monday and Tuesday at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. Seven teams are expected for the session. It’s the first test at an intermediate track for the car following the inaugural test at Richmond International Raceway in early September. Seven teams are expected to participate including Joe Gibbs Racing which did not test at Richmond last month. Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates, Roush Fenway Racing (two teams), Richard Childress Racing, JD Motorsports and Michael Waltrip Racing tested at Richmond and are back at LMS.
Championship Battle: Bowyer Maintaining Series Lead
Clint Boywer’s lead in the series points over Carl Edwards remains at 196 points. Third-place Brad Keselowski is still in the hunt, 286 points behind. in third.
Championship Battle, Part 2: RCR Entry Takes the Lead
Clint Bowyer’s second-place finish this past week at Lowe’s Motor Speedway also helped his car owner, Richard Childress, take the lead in the car owner championship standings. The No. 2 entry driven by Bowyer has a one-point lead over the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota that has had a variety of drivers this year. Joey Logano drove the No. 20 at LMS, finishing 14th.
Record Chasing: Kyle Busch Eyes Ard
Kyle Busch’s win at Lowe’s Motor Speedway last Friday night was his ninth victory of the year in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. The series record is 10 set in 1983 by two-time series champion Sam Ard.
Busch is not expected to compete in the next event, the final stand-alone of the season at Memphis Motorsports Park on Oct. 25, but is planning on running in the following three events to close out the year at Texas Motor Speedway, Phoenix International Raceway and Homestead-Miami Speedway. He won the fall race at Phoenix last year and also won at Texas and Phoenix earlier this year. With Busch out at Memphis, JGR development driver Marc Davis, 18, will attempt to make his NNS debut.
NASCAR CRAFTSMAN TRUCK SERIES
Championship Battle Picks Back Up
Ron Hornaday Jr. reassumed the championship lead with a second-place finish at Talladega Superspeedway. Johnny Benson, who entered the season’s 20th race with a single-point advantage, is 39 points out after finishing 11th. The lead changed hands for the seventh time in 2008.
Hornaday’s lead is fourth-closest in series history following the season’s 20th race. Point leaders after 20 races have won the championship in three of the past four seasons and nine times in the series’ 13 previous years. The last 20-race leader failing to become champion was Dennis Setzer in 2005.
Setzer Looks for Four Pack
Dennis Setzer won Martinsville Speedway’s March 31 race, matching Mike Skinner’s record of three victories at the .526-mile track. Setzer attempts to become the series’ third different driver to win four races at a single track. (Brendan Gaughan and Todd Bodine, Texas Motor Speedway).
Contenders Looking for First Martinsville Win
Coming into Martinsville, the last short-track race of the NCTS season, Hornaday and Benson are among five short-track winners in 2008. While neither Hornaday nor Benson has a victory at Martinsville despite a combined 22 starts, the two have victories at the tracks on the remainder of the schedule. Hornaday has wins at Atlanta, Texas, Phoenix and Homestead-Miami; Benson at Phoenix and Homestead-Miami.
Youngest Skinner to Debut at Martinsville
Dustin Skinner, youngest son of 2005 NASCAR Craftsman Truck champion Mike Skinner, will attempt to make his first NCTS trace this weekend at Martinsville, running the No. 03 Germain Toyota. Dustin, 23, follows in his father’s and brother Jamie’s footsteps — both made their NASCAR debut at Martinsville.
Several other new names will be behind the wheel of some trucks this weekend: Hermie Sadler (No. 48 Chevrolet), Jamie McMurray (No. 09 Zaxby’s Ford), Kevin Harvick (No. 2 American Commercial Lines Chevrolet), Sam Hornish, Jr. (No. 4 Bobby Hamilton Racing Dodge).
Then, there are some series veterans set to strap into new rides. Terry Cook will pilot the No. 59 Team ASE/Harris Trucking Toyota for the remainder of the season while Jack Sprague will be in the No. 60 Wyler Racing Toyota.
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