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NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
PEMBERTON: Big Short Tracks
Bristol and Martinsville are two small tracks with huge implications not only for the points but for some teams’ entire seasons...
Randy Pemberton  |  Posted March 19, 2009   Charlotte, NC
Randy Pemberton on SPEED. (Photo: SPEED)
Randy Pemberton on SPEED. (Photo: SPEED)

Bristol and Martinsville, the next two races on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule, are two small tracks with huge implications not only for the points but for some teams’ entire seasons.

It’s not only about who can perform well at these short tracks but also about who can sustain themselves, especially in regard to the championship and locking into the top 35.

We’re entering a critical stretch with Bristol and Martinsville because it’s difficult to hit the right setup and run well at these venues. Both are very tough tracks that the driver really needs to like in order to run well. Plus, the tracks are such volatile, fast-paced crapshoots that anyone can fall victim to a wreck, just as at Daytona and Talladega. It is funny how NASCAR’s biggest tracks are so similar in their end results to its smallest tracks because a driver’s destiny often is out of his hands at both.

Some drivers, including Kurt Busch, Jeff Gordon and Clint Bowyer, are off to a great start and may pad their points advantages and really jumpstart their seasons at Bristol because they tend to run well in the “big cereal bowl.” We may see Bristol and Martinsville play right into their hands while others leave wringing their hands.

Then there are guys you wouldn’t normally expect to see in the top 12 in points – Brian Vickers and David Reutimann. It is vital for this duo to get through the next two races to maintain the momentum they’ve built.

Vickers’ and Reutimann’s goal is to perpetuate the results they’ve posted thus far and leave Thunder Valley in one piece with a 15th or 20th-place finish until we get to the mile-and-a-half tracks they tend to favor and that suit their driving styles. But they first have to finish, a tall order at these places.

I’ve got my eye on Vickers because I think he has a legitimate shot at The Chase for the Sprint Cup this season if he can survive these short track races. He came from 40th at California and Las Vegas to score top-10 finishes at both. That team has momentum on their side but Vickers hasn’t done much on the half-miles. If he’s off at just one of the pair of tracks, he could be back to 25th or so in points in the blink of an eye.


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