Adapting to this track

• One of the most unique things about Martinsville is that the straightaways are asphalt and the turns are concrete. Unlike Bristol and Dover, which are all concrete, this track changes during the race. Rubber builds up in the corners, and it makes the car chatter.
• This track is hard on brakes because you're jamming on them twice a lap. You'll be punishing those brakes 1,000 times on Sunday. The cooler you can keep the brakes, the better, so you'll see teams use different kinds of blowers and air ducts.

Plotting strategy

• Qualifying is so important. After the first caution, all of the lead-lap cars will be single file on the restart, and if you are not in the top half of the field, you are almost half a lap down when the leader takes the green.
• Martinsville is a line-sensitive track. You have to be smooth and hit your marks the right way each lap to roll through the middle and come off the corners.
• The pits go almost all the way around the track. It is tight and scary. There is almost as much beating and banging in the pits as on the track. You try to choose a pit that's easy to get into and out of.

Where the action is

• If a car gets kicked up into the second groove, there is not a lot of grip up there. Early in the race, when all the cars are bunched up, you can go from fifth to 25th if you get kicked out of line.
• Normally there aren't major pile-ups because you can get the cars slowed. You will see a lot of beating and banging because it is such a tight racetrack.