Race preview: Gordon owns Martinsville
by Mark Taylor, RotoWire
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Brakes are the name of the game in Martinsville, because you essentially have two drag strips with hairpin corners on either end. Preserving your brakes for the full 500 laps becomes the real trick. The new stock cars are much heavier than the old ones, so expect to see more brake wear issues than usual.
Like any short track, not only is equipment preservation important, but qualifying and track position is huge. If you start in the back of the field here, you can find yourself down a lap in a matter of minutes from the start of the race, so teams must place high priority on qualifying well. Track position will become so important over the course of the race that you'll see teams chose either not to pit certain times, or to take on two tires in order to grab track position.
This weekend's race will be very important from a qualifying standpoint. Martinsville and the Goody's Cool Orange 500 is where the 2008 championship points kick-in for provisional starts. Teams have fallen back on last season's points thus far for provisional starts. There are a handful of teams that were in the top 35 last season and aren't right now. Also, there are some teams that have worked their way into the top 35 that weren't there last season. The following is a rundown of some of the teams of importance.
| DRIVER | TEAM | RANKING |
| Michael McDowell | No. 00 MWR Toyota | 26th |
| Michael Waltrip | No. 55 MWR Toyota | 30th |
| David Reutimann | No. 44 MWR Toyota | 34th |
| Sam Hornish Jr. | No. 77 Penske Dodge | 35th |
| Jamie McMurray | No. 26 Roush Ford | 36th |
| Dave Blaney | No. 22 BDR Toyota | 37th |
| Dario Franchitti | No. 40 Ganassi Dodge | 38th |
| Regan Smith | No. 01 DEI Chevrolet | 39th |
| Kyle Petty | No. 45 PE Dodge | 40th |
The Michael Waltrip Racing teams are all in good shape this season. All three are within the top 35, and that'll help tremendously compared to last season's struggles. The teams outside the top 35 are in jeopardy of missing races. The No. 26 team of Jamie McMurray is probably the biggest surprise there. Those teams outside this mark are a risky fantasy racing proposition due to not being locked-in for the provisional starts.
You have to like the Chevrolet teams when going to Martinsville right now. Chevy teams have won the last seven straight Martinsville races, including three straight for Jimmie Johnson. The Chevrolet cars of Richard Childress also finished 1-2-3 at Bristol two weeks ago, and Chevy took four of the top five there as well. Right now, Toyota seems to be the biggest threat to Chevrolet on the short tracks, but the way Joe Gibbs' cars broke down at Bristol recently, the emphasis on equipment could be a big problem for the teams of Kyle Busch, Tony Stewart and Denny Hamlin going to Martinsville. Twenty and 40 dollar parts get a real beating when we travel to Martinsville Speedway, so the Gibbs' teams need to have their technical problems worked out. We'll take a look at the stats and show you the drivers that'll be chasing the Chevrolet drivers for the win this weekend at Martinsville.
The Contenders
Tony Stewart — We enter this weekend's race at Martinsville, and Smoke is hitting on all cylinders coming off the off-weekend. Stewart led a whopping 267 laps at Bristol two weeks ago and looked ready for the win until he was wrecked by Kevin Harvick with just a handful of laps remaining. Stewart's a two-time winner at Martinsville and has led well over 1,100 laps for his career at the paper clip shaped oval.
Kevin Harvick — Harvick's never finished in the top five at Martinsville Speedway, but he makes an intriguing contender pick this weekend. The No. 29 team's running as well as anyone in the series right now, and Harvick does posses incredible short track racing skills. He has one Nationwide Series win and two Craftsman Truck Series top fives at the Virginia short track.
Dale Earnhardt, Jr. — The fastest car in the final stages of the Bristol race two weeks ago was Earnhardt's No. 88 Chevrolet. He sliced through the field in the closing laps to be in contention for the victory at the end. He's never won at Martinsville, but he does finish in the top five nearly half the time he races there. His first career Martinsville victory could be in the Goody's Cool Orange 500 this Sunday.
Kyle Busch — Busch has been in contention for the win in each race thus far this season. No reason to drop him from the contender list now. He led 116 laps and collected a pair of fourth-place finishes for Hendrick Motorsports here last season. He has faster cars this season and will likely wind up in victory lane for the second time this season on Sunday.
Solid Plays
Jeff Gordon — With things not quite running smoothly at Hendrick Motorsports, Gordon gets a downgrade from contender to solid play this weekend. His career record at Martinsville Speedway is remarkable, with seven wins and 18 top fives. He and the rest of the No. 24 team have yet to be the fastest car on the track this season, with the exception of the Las Vegas race, so a top-10 at Martinsville is much more likely than a win.
Jeff Burton — The most consistent driver in the Sprint Cup Series the last 10 races (dating back to last season) has been Burton. He has one win, last week at Bristol, and seven top 10s in his last 10 starts. He has a near 50 percent rate of cracking the top 10 at Martinsville over the years, so another great run is in store this weekend.
Clint Bowyer — The Richard Childress Racing teams flexed their short track muscle at Bristol a couple weeks ago, finishing 1-2-3 in the Food City 500. Bowyer was the third-place finisher that day. He posted ninth and 11th-place finishes at Martinsville last season, and we expect even better results in the Goody's Cool Orange 500.
Denny Hamlin — Hamlin was another Joe Gibbs Racing driver who flirted with victory lane at Bristol two weeks ago. However, a fuel cell/fuel pickup problem derailed his chances to win on a late restart. He won the pole and led 125 laps before finally finishing third in this event one year ago. A similar result should be in order this Sunday.
Sleepers
Juan Pablo Montoya — Montoya's name on this list may raise a few eyebrows. Surprisingly, he and the No. 42 team had two very solid starts in his rookie season at Martinsville in 2007, finishing 16th and eighth. He's coming fresh off a top-15 effort at Bristol, so we expect to see him in about the same finishing order at Martinsville.
Ryan Newman — The two poles and six career op 10s show that Rocket Man can get the job done at Martinsville Speedway. He finished runner-up here in the fall race last season and should qualify well as his record shows. Track position is so incredibly important at this facility. Newman should be able to get it and hold on to it for the 500 laps.
Matt Kenseth — Kenseth will likely be the most competitive Roush Fenway driver at Martinsville. He collected a top five and a pair of top 10s at Martinsville Speedway last season. He's fresh off a top 10 run at Bristol, and the No. 17 team should have no trouble keeping that short track momentum rolling.
David Reutimann — Reutimann will make the jump into the No. 44 MWR Toyota this weekend for the retiring Dale Jarrett, but that shouldn't slow down the good start he has to this season. He cracked the top 20 at Martinsville last fall and finished 20th two weeks ago at Bristol. He's likely a top 20 candidate at Martinsville as well.
Scott Riggs — The No. 66 team of Haas/CNC Racing has really taken off with Riggs behind the wheel. The team's currently 24th in the championship standings, and Riggs runs very competitively every week. He's a one-time pole winner at Martinsville and finished eighth and 16th at the Virginia short track for former boss Ray Evernham last season.
Kurt Busch — No short track racing list would be complete without Busch. He and the No. 2 team aren't in top form right now, but he did battle his way to a 12th-place at Bristol two weeks ago. He's a previous winner at Martinsville and has led well over 350 laps at the paper clip shaped oval over his career.
Flops
Jimmie Johnson — No one seems to know what's going on in the No. 48 camp of Hendrick Motorsports. Johnson has only one top-10 finish in five races this season. He's won the last three Martinsville races coming into this event, but the problems in his team will likely prevent a fourth consecutive victory at the Virginia short track. He's likely a top-15 candidate this weekend, but that's far below expectations for this team.
Robby Gordon — Gordon has the worst record of any Sprint Cup driver with four or more starts at Martinsville Speedway. With six DNFs, he's approaching a near 50 percent rate for not finishing the race at Martinsville. He'll likely finish outside the top 30 again in the Goody's Cool Orange 500.
Casey Mears — The expectations of the new season must be weighing heavily on Mears. Add to that the bad luck he's encountered this season, and that explains his 33rd-place rank in the championship standings. He has only one career top-10 finish in 10 starts at Martinsville Speedway, so we don't expect the slump to end on Sunday.
Dave Blaney — He's only finished inside the top 30 once this season, and his last three visits to Martinsville have yielded 33rd, 36th and 37th-place finishes for Bill Davis Racing. We can't scream stay away loud enough.
Fox Sports Fantasy Auto Racing — Top Four
Ryan Newman — Rocket Man makes a good start this weekend. We have to spread the starts around, and he should fetch a really good finish on Sunday. His runner-up finish at the short track in the fall of last year is fresh in our memory.
Tony Stewart — Smoke's poised to win his first race of the season. He was robbed at Bristol two weeks ago, so let's hope the bad luck takes a break this Sunday. His four top 10s in the last five races at Martinsville Speedway fill us with confidence in this selection.
Jeff Burton — Why not give the most consistent driver in the series as start this Sunday? Sounds like a good idea to us. Burton has no finish worse than 13th in the last 10 races, which dates back to Martinsville last fall. He led 51 laps and finished 12th that day.
Kevin Harvick — Harvick's near win at Bristol two weeks ago could turn into a spin in victory lane this weekend. At worst, a top-five finish should be very achievable for him and the No. 29 team. It would be his first in 14 career starts at the Virginia short track.
Article first appeared 3/25/08
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