Series: NASCAR Sprint Cup. Date: Sunday,
October 25. Race: Tums Fast Relief 500. Site: Martinsville Speedway. Track:
0.526-mile "paper-clip"-shaped oval. Start time: 1:30 p.m. (et). Laps: 500.
Miles: 263. Defending winner: Jimmie Johnson. Television: ABC. Radio: Motor
Racing Network (MRN)/SIRIUS XM Satellite.
The 2009 championship Chase reached the halfway point last Saturday with
Jimmie Johnson winning in convincing style at Lowe's Motor Speedway and
stretching his lead to 90 points over Mark Martin and 135 ahead of Jeff
Gordon. Hendrick Motorsports currently holds the top-three spots in the Chase
standings.
Johnson is coming off a "perfect weekend" at Lowe's where he captured the
pole, led the way in practices and won the 500-mile event -- his third victory
in the first five Chase races.
This week, the Sprint Cup Series heads up the road two hours north of
Charlotte to Martinsville for 500-laps of beating and banging. Johnson also
returns to the track where he has been dominant throughout his Cup career.
Since finishing 35th in his first start at Martinsville in April 2002, Johnson
has recorded 14 straight top-10 finishes there, including victories in five of
the last six races.
Johnson is looking forward to Martinsville this time, with double-file
restarts being used for the first time at the flat 0.526-mile track.
"I think that double-file restarts are going to make it more intense and more
exciting; a lot of the same stuff we've been seeing," Johnson said. "I think
at the start of a race, you might see some guys forcing their way to the
bottom and maybe taking some unneeded risks to get down to the bottom lane.
But I think at the end of the race, you'll see guys stuck door-to-door for a
long, long time and not able to clear the other guy and take that position."
NASCAR's rule change for restarts went into effect in June at Pocono, with
lead-lap cars lining up side-by-side just before the green flag waves.
Johnson's teammate, Gordon, equally is impressive at Martinsville. Gordon
has scored 13 straight top-10 finishes there. He also leads all active drivers
with seven wins at Martinsville.
Gordon and Johnson combined have won 10 of the last 13 races there.
Virginia-native Denny Hamlin is another notable driver at Martinsville. Hamlin
has finished no worse than sixth in the last six races there. He won at
Martinsville in March 2008 and finished second to Johnson there earlier this
year.
"We've performed really well at that racetrack," Hamlin said. "The best we've
ever run there actually was this spring, so I'm looking forward to it.
Hopefully we get an opportunity to race for the win again at Martinsville."
Hamlin has tumbled in the Chase the last two weekends. After finishing 37th at
California and 42nd at Lowe's, he has dropped from sixth to 11th in the
rankings. His 372-point deficit has pretty much eliminated him as a
championship contender.
Martinsville is not only the shortest track on the current Sprint Cup
schedule, but it's the oldest facility on the series. The track held the first
NASCAR sanctioned race on July 4, 1948. Martinsville will host its 122nd
Cup race there on Sunday.
"I like the racetrack right now the way it is since it has been reworked,"
said Martin, who has won at Martinsville twice. "It's a lot better for racing,
and it's easier to race on. It used to be a very difficult racetrack. But it's
still incredibly challenging with these cars on a racetrack that small."
In March, Martin finished seventh at Martinsville, his first start there since
the 2006 fall race. He skipped Martinsville as part of his limited Cup
schedule the 2007 and '08 seasons.
Forty-four teams are on the preliminary entry list for the Tums Fast Relief
500.
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