The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series' current short track swing continues with Sunday's running of the Goody Fast Pain Relief 500 at Virginia's Martinsville Speedway. As in the case of last Sunday at Bristol, we're talking about lining up 43 full size stock cars on a half mile track that has an asphalt surface on the straights and is covered with concrete on the turns. It's a situation where patience is absolutely vital. A driver is going to have to protect his tires, protect his fenders and, more importantly, protect his brakes. The team's spotters are going to have to be razor sharp in order to keep their driver away from a potential demolition derby.
At the end of this physical endurance contest is the time of day. That would be the beautiful, custom made, grandfather clock the winner receives. This is one of the most coveted trophies in NASCAR. Every driver wants to take home the time of day from Martinsville. That clock, along with those famous pure red hot dogs, are part of the Martinsville tradition.
THE STORY BREAKDOWN
The Martinsville race will launch the latest debut from NASCAR's current winds of change era. That would be the traditional spoiler replacing the rear wing on their Cars Of Today, COT. The most immediate noticeable change involves aesthetics. The spoiler is ten inches wider than the wing but, unlike the wing, is not adjustable.
Recent NASCAR sanctioned tests, such as the two day events this week at the Charlotte Motor Speedway, has netted overall favorable comments from the teams although many of the drivers are saying the changes are minimal. The one change they do pinpoint is an increase in down force, reported to be in the area of 60 to 100 pounds. That's good news because it will help keep all four tires on the ground following an altercation which was one of the major factors that prompted this change to begin with.
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The other story line concerns stopping the continued forward progress of Jimmie Johnson and that Lowes #48 team. They have now won three of the first five races in 2010. It's been repeatedly reported that Johnson and company has literally gotten inside of the heads of their competitors. That could turn out be a good thing for the competition. To run with this team the competition is going to have to start thinking like them.
Johnson's win at Bristol's short track last Sunday was not expected. He arrived there win less in 16 previous starts and when he parked his car in victory lane there were more than a few competitors were scratching their heads. However, there's a different situation regarding next Sunday at Martinsvile. Johnson is expected to win. He's a six time winner at Martinsville and he's the defending race winner from last year.
But it's his Hendrick Motorsports' team mate and co team owner Jeff Gordon who owns all the stats at the Martinsville Speedway. That includes topping the all time win list among active drivers. Gordon is the proud owner of seven Martinsville clocks. He also leads the active driver's squad with most poles at seven, top five finishes at 22, top tens at 28 and his 2,796 laps led at Martinsville also tops that category.
With the stats compiled by these two drivers team owner Rick Hendrick is in an excellent position to tie a major Martinsville milestone. Petty Enterprises has a record setting 19 wins at this track. "King" Richard Petty has 15 of them along with one of the most impressive grandfather clock collections in the country. Hendrick Motorsports has 18 wins at Martinsville and will be looking to share the track win record with the Pettys this Sunday.
Even the manufacturer's win list is working in Hendrick's favor. Chevrolet has a record leading 45 wins at Martinsville.
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THE VEGAS BREAKDOWN
The Las Vegas based WSE-World Sports Exchange, begins their weekly NASCAR rankings with the completely obvious: Jimmie Johnson at 5 to 2 odds. Anything different simply would have been to difficult to comprehend.
The other obvious choice is Hendrick Motorsports team mate Jeff Gordon at 6 to 1. Joining him with those same numbers is Denny Hamlin and his Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. This is another good choice. Hamlin is a home town hero and resides just a few miles from the track. He also won the Martinsville fall race last October. However, this team is often to a rather surprising rugged start in 2010 mostly due to luck issues such as the blown tire that sent them into the wall during the Bristol race. The law of averages says that has to turn around sometime and Martinsville is a very likely location.
In other Sprint Cup rankings the WSE has Tony Stewart at 10 to 1, Kevin Harvick at 12 to 1 and the trio of Mark Martin, Kurt Busch and Kyle Busch are rated at 15 to 1 to win the race. From the middle to the bottom of this week's list you'll find Juan Pablo Montoya all by himself at 18 to 1. At 20 to 1 you'll find the quartet of Matt Kenseth, Clint Bowyer, Jeff Burton and Carl Edwards. For you Junior Nation fans, Dale Earnhardt Jr is rated at 25 to 1 this week as is Jaime McMurray.
Now for this week's disclaimer: NASCAR wants us to remind you that these posted numbers should be viewed as entertainment. They neither encourage or condone the placing of wagers on their events. You may want to consider taking all of the money you're planning to spend gambling this year and invest it into something far more meaningful such as sponsoring a start and park team.
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THE RACE BREAKDOWN
The Goody Fast Pain Relief 500 is 500 laps, 263 miles, around the Martinsville Speedway's 0.526 of a mile asphalt concrete combined oval. The track, opened in 1947, has a very rich history and is recognized as one of the oldest, continually operated, race tracks in the country. Martinsville began as a dirt track and was paved in 1955. The concrete corners were installed in 1976. 122 NASCAR Sprint Cup events have been presented at Martinsville since 1950 that has sent 45 different winners to victory lane. The legendary Red Byron won the first NASCAR race there.
The speedway is basically flat with only 12 degrees of banking in the turns and no banking at all on the straightaways. The straight stretches are short, only 800 feet long, which adds to the physical demands placed on the drivers while running 500 laps there. The speedway presently seats 91,000.
Pit road is also a major challenge for the drivers at Martinsville. They will have to be careful with their entry onto pit road in order to watch pit road speeds. The speed limit on pit road is 30 MPH. The speedway has 43 pit stalls that are tight measuring 14 feet wide by 28 feet long. That makes getting out of the stall and down pit road very challenging.
Like any long race on a short track yellow caution flags often play a role in the final conclusion. The Martinsville record for caution flags in one race is 19 set back in the fall of 2005. However, on three different occasions, this race has been ran with only one caution flag slowing the pace but the last time that happened was in 1971.
The race has 46 entries vying for the 43 starting positions. Eleven of those entries are on the go or go home list meaning they do not have a guaranteed start because they are outside of NASCAR's top 35 in owner's points. These teams will have to rely on their qualifying speeds to earn a starting berth in this race.
That could be a problem for at least three of these go or go home teams. Qualifying is scheduled for Friday and the Martinsville weather forecast calls for a 60% chance of rain that afternoon. The forecast for the remainder of the race weekend calls for partly cloudy conditions and day time highs around 60 degrees.
The Goody Fast Pain Relief 500 will be broadcast live by Fox Sports with the pre race show beginning at 12pm eastern time. The rebroadcast will be Wednesday, March 31st, on SPEED at 12pm eastern.
