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Sprint Cup
CUP: Martinsville Race Pivotal For Johnson, Hamlin
Jimmie Johnson and Denny Hamlin have ruled Martinsville Speedway the last few years...
Jimmie Johnson (48) and Denny Hamlin (11) lead the field at Martinsville last fall. (Photo: LAT Photographic)
Jimmie Johnson raised a few eyebrows last week when he insisted that he didn’t know the site of this week’s Chase for the Sprint Cup event.
"We go to Martinsville next week?” Johnson said. “I swear I thought it was Talladega. I honestly thought it was Talladega."
When told that, no, this week’s race is not at Talladega, but at Martinsville, Johnson said, "OK, I'd better get my stuff together. Fantastic."
Fantastic for Johnson maybe. And Denny Hamlin, his closest Chase rival.
But bad for the competition and the rest of the drivers in what has become a three-driver race for the Sprint Cup championship.
After five of 10 Chase races, Johnson, Hamlin and Kevin Harvick have separated themselves from the rest of the 12-driver Chase field. Johnson, the four-time defending champion, leads Hamlin by 41 points and Harvick by 77.
No one else is within 150 points of Johnson.
Jeff Gordon fell 156 points behind with a 23rd-place finish at Charlotte while Tony Stewart fell 177 back by finishing 21st. Kyle Busch, who finished second at Charlotte, is also 177 back after stumbling in the previous two Chase races.
That, for now, leaves Johnson battling Hamlin and Harvick for the title. And that doesn’t bode well for Harvick with the next Chase race at Martinsville, a track that Johnson and Hamlin have dominated in recent years.
The narrow, half-mile oval in Martinsville, Va. has always been considered a wild-card track in the Chase, a tough short track where trouble looms just around the next bend.
But for Johnson and Hamlin, it represents a showdown, one that could shake up the top of the Chase standings and possibly determine the championship.
Johnson and Hamlin have combined to win the last eight races at Martinsville, with Johnson winning five and Hamlin three, including the last two.
Johnson, who has six career wins at the track, won three straight Chase races at Martinsville from 2006-08. Hamlin stopped that streak last year, winning last October and backing it up this spring.
And when they aren’t winning, Johnson and Hamlin are always in contention at Martinsville. They have amazingly similar records there.
Johnson has six wins, 12 top-five and 16 top-10 finishes in 17 career starts at Martinsville. His 5.4 average finish there is his third-best at any track (he has a 4.9 average finish at Phoenix and 5.3 at California). His worst finish Martinsville finish, 35th, came in his first trip to the track.
Hamlin has seven fewer starts, but has three wins, seven top-five and nine top-10s in 10 starts. His average finish of 6.6 is his best at any track (he also has a 6.6 average finish at Darlington). His worst finish at Martinsville was 37th in his second career start.
No wonder the media had a hard time believing Johnson didn’t know that Martinsville is up next on the Sprint Cup schedule.
Johnson attributes his success at Martinsville to his off-road racing background and his experience on dirt short tracks.
"It took a while to get there,” said Johnson, who has 10 career short-track victories in the Cup series. When I came into the sport, I had two years in ASA and thought that the short tracks would fit well for me, and it was quite the opposite. It took a long time to understand the big car, the radial tire, the extra power, and how to maneuver around on a short track.
“But the track at Martinsville, especially when the rubber is laid down, reminds me of some of my off-road stuff where we would have barrels or tractor tires stacked up as the turn-marker, but it was that tight of a radius. And when the rubber lays down, especially the right-side rubber on corner exit at Martinsville, you have to change your line to not run through the rubber at the wrong spot.
"And that rhythm really helps all dirt drivers. … I think certain guys have an eye for where the slick spots are on the track and how to change their lines.”
Hamlin, a Virginia native, grew up on short tracks and adapted quickly to Martinsville.
“I’ve been there with several different cars and several different series and I’ve got to have a good car if I’m going to run well there,” he says. “It’s one of those tracks where braking is so important.
“All your laps times are really just made up on how you enter the corners and your braking. A lot of people really try to work on exit, but I, for the most part, work on how I’m going to enter the corner and make sure my car is stable enough.”
Johnson got off to a slow start in the Chase, finishing 25th in the first Chase race at New Hampshire. But he won the following week at Dover and has reeled off four straight top-three finishes to take the points lead.
Hamlin finished second at New Hampshire to take the early lead and has stayed close with four top-10 finishes, including fourth last week at Charlotte.
Hamlin has been racing conservatively, trying to stay close to Johnson before kicking things up a notch beginning this week. He has won at three of the final five tracks on the circuit and likes his chances.
“I’m pretty confident that we should be looking good here soon,” he said prior to last week’s race.
“For myself, the first three or four races, I’ve been trying to avoid wrecks more than worrying about winning races because the wrecks can take me out of the championship. … We’re going out here these next few weeks and really feel like we can gain points at the top.
“I’m in the position I felt like I wanted to be [in] at this point in the Chase.”
Hamlin could gain ground at Martinsville, or Johnson could pad his lead. Or, more likely, both will finish at the front, leaving little to be gained.
The one thing that could upset the finish and the Chase standings is a late restart. Hamlin rallied to win there in the spring when Jeff Gordon and Matt Kenseth collided at the front on the final restart.
“We had a really exciting finish there in the spring with the double-file restart,” Johnson said. “There we can turn people around pretty easily.”
Johnson hopes Hamlin is nowhere near him when the action heats up.
“Who wouldn’t I want next to me? Man, I guess whoever would be second in points,” he said.
“We’re going to be gouging for every single point at that part of the race and the way the points are stacked up, the top five are all guys that are really good at Martinsville. It could be exciting.”
SceneDaily.com • Bristol Motor Speedway President Jeff Byrd dies after long illness
"We go to Martinsville next week?” Johnson said. “I swear I thought it was Talladega. I honestly thought it was Talladega."
When told that, no, this week’s race is not at Talladega, but at Martinsville, Johnson said, "OK, I'd better get my stuff together. Fantastic."
Fantastic for Johnson maybe. And Denny Hamlin, his closest Chase rival.
But bad for the competition and the rest of the drivers in what has become a three-driver race for the Sprint Cup championship.
After five of 10 Chase races, Johnson, Hamlin and Kevin Harvick have separated themselves from the rest of the 12-driver Chase field. Johnson, the four-time defending champion, leads Hamlin by 41 points and Harvick by 77.
No one else is within 150 points of Johnson.
Jeff Gordon fell 156 points behind with a 23rd-place finish at Charlotte while Tony Stewart fell 177 back by finishing 21st. Kyle Busch, who finished second at Charlotte, is also 177 back after stumbling in the previous two Chase races.
That, for now, leaves Johnson battling Hamlin and Harvick for the title. And that doesn’t bode well for Harvick with the next Chase race at Martinsville, a track that Johnson and Hamlin have dominated in recent years.
The narrow, half-mile oval in Martinsville, Va. has always been considered a wild-card track in the Chase, a tough short track where trouble looms just around the next bend.
But for Johnson and Hamlin, it represents a showdown, one that could shake up the top of the Chase standings and possibly determine the championship.
Johnson and Hamlin have combined to win the last eight races at Martinsville, with Johnson winning five and Hamlin three, including the last two.
Johnson, who has six career wins at the track, won three straight Chase races at Martinsville from 2006-08. Hamlin stopped that streak last year, winning last October and backing it up this spring.
And when they aren’t winning, Johnson and Hamlin are always in contention at Martinsville. They have amazingly similar records there.
Johnson has six wins, 12 top-five and 16 top-10 finishes in 17 career starts at Martinsville. His 5.4 average finish there is his third-best at any track (he has a 4.9 average finish at Phoenix and 5.3 at California). His worst finish Martinsville finish, 35th, came in his first trip to the track.
Hamlin has seven fewer starts, but has three wins, seven top-five and nine top-10s in 10 starts. His average finish of 6.6 is his best at any track (he also has a 6.6 average finish at Darlington). His worst finish at Martinsville was 37th in his second career start.
No wonder the media had a hard time believing Johnson didn’t know that Martinsville is up next on the Sprint Cup schedule.
Johnson attributes his success at Martinsville to his off-road racing background and his experience on dirt short tracks.
"It took a while to get there,” said Johnson, who has 10 career short-track victories in the Cup series. When I came into the sport, I had two years in ASA and thought that the short tracks would fit well for me, and it was quite the opposite. It took a long time to understand the big car, the radial tire, the extra power, and how to maneuver around on a short track.
“But the track at Martinsville, especially when the rubber is laid down, reminds me of some of my off-road stuff where we would have barrels or tractor tires stacked up as the turn-marker, but it was that tight of a radius. And when the rubber lays down, especially the right-side rubber on corner exit at Martinsville, you have to change your line to not run through the rubber at the wrong spot.
"And that rhythm really helps all dirt drivers. … I think certain guys have an eye for where the slick spots are on the track and how to change their lines.”
Hamlin, a Virginia native, grew up on short tracks and adapted quickly to Martinsville.
“I’ve been there with several different cars and several different series and I’ve got to have a good car if I’m going to run well there,” he says. “It’s one of those tracks where braking is so important.
“All your laps times are really just made up on how you enter the corners and your braking. A lot of people really try to work on exit, but I, for the most part, work on how I’m going to enter the corner and make sure my car is stable enough.”
Johnson got off to a slow start in the Chase, finishing 25th in the first Chase race at New Hampshire. But he won the following week at Dover and has reeled off four straight top-three finishes to take the points lead.
Hamlin finished second at New Hampshire to take the early lead and has stayed close with four top-10 finishes, including fourth last week at Charlotte.
Hamlin has been racing conservatively, trying to stay close to Johnson before kicking things up a notch beginning this week. He has won at three of the final five tracks on the circuit and likes his chances.
“I’m pretty confident that we should be looking good here soon,” he said prior to last week’s race.
“For myself, the first three or four races, I’ve been trying to avoid wrecks more than worrying about winning races because the wrecks can take me out of the championship. … We’re going out here these next few weeks and really feel like we can gain points at the top.
“I’m in the position I felt like I wanted to be [in] at this point in the Chase.”
Hamlin could gain ground at Martinsville, or Johnson could pad his lead. Or, more likely, both will finish at the front, leaving little to be gained.
The one thing that could upset the finish and the Chase standings is a late restart. Hamlin rallied to win there in the spring when Jeff Gordon and Matt Kenseth collided at the front on the final restart.
“We had a really exciting finish there in the spring with the double-file restart,” Johnson said. “There we can turn people around pretty easily.”
Johnson hopes Hamlin is nowhere near him when the action heats up.
“Who wouldn’t I want next to me? Man, I guess whoever would be second in points,” he said.
“We’re going to be gouging for every single point at that part of the race and the way the points are stacked up, the top five are all guys that are really good at Martinsville. It could be exciting.”
SceneDaily.com • Bristol Motor Speedway President Jeff Byrd dies after long illness
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