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Sprint Cup
CUP: Top Chasers Dominate Martinsville
Jimmie Johnson and Denny Hamlin have combined to win the past eight NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Martinsville Speedway...
Jimmie Johnson (Top) has a total of six wins at Martinsville Speedway, including five in the past four years while Denny Hamlin (Bottom) won the season’s first race in the spring for a total of three wins. (Photo: LAT Photographic)
With the Chase for the Sprint Cup rolling into its final weeks, wouldn’t it be fun if this week’s race was at a track that fits perfectly for the top contenders?
That’s precisely the case. Well, with one exception.
Jimmie Johnson and Denny Hamlin, the two drivers atop the Chase leaderboard, have combined to win the past eight races at Martinsville Speedway, site of Sunday’s Tums Fast Relief 500. Jeff Gordon, fourth in points, is the top winner at Martinsville among active drivers with seven.
The only piece of the puzzle that doesn’t fit here is third-place Kevin Harvick, who is 0-for-18 at Martinsville in Sprint Cup races and has never scored a top-five finish at NASCAR’s shortest track. Harvick has won a pair of Camping World Truck Series races at the track, however.
“I always love going to Martinsville,” Gordon said. “I feel like we’re really good there. The cars handle well there. I like the track. … It’s a track that I think as a group we carry a lot of confidence going into.”
That would be logical. In 35 Sprint Cup appearances at the track, Gordon has finished outside the top 10 only six times. He has an average finish of 6.7.
Although he enters Martinsville fourth in points, Gordon has some serious work ahead to be in contention for a fifth championship. He trails leader Johnson by 156, and Hamlin and Harvick sit between them, both in much better position to challenge Johnson. Hamlin is 41 points behind, and Harvick trails by 77.
Hamlin won the season’s first race at Martinsville to start a remarkable spring run that propelled him from the depths of the point standings into the top five and, eventually, into first place. He has nine top 10s in 10 runs at Martinsville and has won three times.
“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,” Hamlin said. “It’s one of those tracks where braking is so important. All your lap 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 is the new king of Martinsville, owning a total of six wins, including five in the past four years. But all that didn’t come easily, he said.
“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,” Johnson said. “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, and I think all of our dirt backgrounds really help that.”
Mike Hembree is NASCAR Editor for SPEED.com and has been covering motorsports for 28 years. He has written several books on NASCAR, including "NASCAR: The Definitive History of America's Sport" and "Then Tony Said To Junior: The Best NASCAR Stories Ever Told". He is a six-time winner of the National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year Award.
That’s precisely the case. Well, with one exception.
Jimmie Johnson and Denny Hamlin, the two drivers atop the Chase leaderboard, have combined to win the past eight races at Martinsville Speedway, site of Sunday’s Tums Fast Relief 500. Jeff Gordon, fourth in points, is the top winner at Martinsville among active drivers with seven.
The only piece of the puzzle that doesn’t fit here is third-place Kevin Harvick, who is 0-for-18 at Martinsville in Sprint Cup races and has never scored a top-five finish at NASCAR’s shortest track. Harvick has won a pair of Camping World Truck Series races at the track, however.
“I always love going to Martinsville,” Gordon said. “I feel like we’re really good there. The cars handle well there. I like the track. … It’s a track that I think as a group we carry a lot of confidence going into.”
That would be logical. In 35 Sprint Cup appearances at the track, Gordon has finished outside the top 10 only six times. He has an average finish of 6.7.
Although he enters Martinsville fourth in points, Gordon has some serious work ahead to be in contention for a fifth championship. He trails leader Johnson by 156, and Hamlin and Harvick sit between them, both in much better position to challenge Johnson. Hamlin is 41 points behind, and Harvick trails by 77.
Hamlin won the season’s first race at Martinsville to start a remarkable spring run that propelled him from the depths of the point standings into the top five and, eventually, into first place. He has nine top 10s in 10 runs at Martinsville and has won three times.
“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,” Hamlin said. “It’s one of those tracks where braking is so important. All your lap 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 is the new king of Martinsville, owning a total of six wins, including five in the past four years. But all that didn’t come easily, he said.
“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,” Johnson said. “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, and I think all of our dirt backgrounds really help that.”
Mike Hembree is NASCAR Editor for SPEED.com and has been covering motorsports for 28 years. He has written several books on NASCAR, including "NASCAR: The Definitive History of America's Sport" and "Then Tony Said To Junior: The Best NASCAR Stories Ever Told". He is a six-time winner of the National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year Award.
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