Need For Speed Martinsville Preview

The Martinsville Speedway will host its 122nd Sprint Cup Series race this Sunday.

Thesouthern Virginia track is the oldest on the cup schedule and one of the oldest continuously operating racing facilities in the US. The first cup series race was held on Sept. 25, 1949.

Known for its tight turns and paper clip shape, drivers will have to be up on the wheel for 500 laps/263 miles.

Will we see Hendrick domination @ Martinsville once again? Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson have combined to win 9 of the last 12 races there.

Who's Mr. Martinsville?

Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with 7 wins and 7 poles @ Martinsville. He's won 4 of the last 12 races there. He's also finished in the top 5 in the last 8 races. He has an average finish of 6.9 - 2nd best among active drivers. The bad? Gordon has extended his winless streak to 46 races now. The good? He's been on top of the point standings for 3 consecutive weeks now. He has only 1 finish outside the top 10 so far into this season. Gordon finished the Daytona 500 - 13th.

Jimmie Johnson has won 5 of the last 9 races @ Martinsville along with posting 10 top 5s and 13 top 10s in his 14 races at the track. His average finish of 5.6 is tops among all active drivers. The plus: Johnson's finished in the top 10 in all of his races @ Martinsville except for one - his only DNF at the track.

This weekend marks the 25th anniversary of Hendrick Motorsports first Sprint Cup Series win. Geoffrey Bodine drove the #5 to victory lane on April 29, 1984.

Denny Hamlin is the defending race winner. In his 7 Martinsville races, he's notched 1 victory, 4 top 5s, 6 top 10s and 1 pole. His average finish of 8.9 ranks 3rd best among active drivers and right behind Johnson & Gordon. The plus: Momentum means everything in this sport. Hamlin's runner up finish last week @ Bristol moved him up 6 spots in the series standings. Hamlin's currently 8th in points.

A Chevy driver has won 11 of the last 13 races @ Martinsville. The bad? Chevy is the only manufacturer that hasn't won a race so far this season. It's the first time since 2002 that a Chevy hasn't made it into victory lane by this point in the season. It was 9 races into the 2002 season for Chevy to pick up their first manufacturer win.

And... we can't forget Kyle Busch. He has yet to win @ Martinsville however he's won a race in 1 of NASCAR's top 3 national series in each of the past 4 race weekends: Bristol (NSCS), Atlanta (NCWTS), Las Vegas (NSCS) and California/Auto Club (NNS & NCWTS).

47 drivers are on the entry list for Sunday's race. Beginning this weekend now, the top 35 based on this year's owner points are locked in.

The Camping World Truck Series Kroger 250 - Saturday at 2pm on FOX
The Sprint Cup Series Goody's Fast Pain Relief 500 - Sunday at 1:30pm on FOX

MIS Press Release - Congrats to Roger Curtis

Michigan International Speedway’s Curtis receives local chamber award

BROOKLYN, Mich. (March 23, 2009) ­— Being an active member of the local community is important to Michigan International Speedway President Roger Curtis. The Brooklyn-Irish Hills area is home to MIS and Curtis is committed to support a community that has embraced the track as its own for over 40 years.

The Brooklyn-Irish Hills Chamber of Commerce has recognized Curtis’ commitment by honoring him with the President’s Award for his positive influence and impact on the community.

“Roger (Curtis) has really been an asset to the chamber, and has gone over and above his call,” Pam Johnson, president of Brooklyn Irish-Hills Chamber, said. “He jumps in with both feet and truly commits his personal and professional time to making the Irish Hills a great place to live and do business.”

Although the Brooklyn Irish-Hills Chamber award was developed 15 years ago, but it is not given annually, Johnson said. The chamber president chooses a recipient whom they feel is well deserving and exemplifies community spirit.

“This is an extremely prestigious award. It is for everyone at MIS and is an acknowledgement of our efforts as a team to communicate, respect and support our great hometown of Brooklyn,” Curtis said. “It is an honor for me to be recognized by this community. We live, work and play here in this beautiful area so it is a real honor to be acknowledged for doing something that I love.”

At the time of his appointment as the head of MIS in June of 2006, Curtis had served as the vice president of Sales and Marketing at Auto Club Speedway in California. Before his time at California, Curtis, 42, a native of Terre Haute, Ind., served as the senior director of Marketing and Sales at Richmond International Raceway. Prior to that, he was the director of Marketing and Sales at Watkins Glen International in New York.

With his appointment at Michigan, Curtis returned to his Midwestern roots. His wife, Marla, grew up attending races at MIS and hails from nearby Clarkston, Mich. The couple has one son and two daughters: Austin, Bailey and Cameron.

Curtis currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Michigan Chamber of Commerce, Qualite Sports Lighting and the Lenawee Chamber for Economic Development.

He also was appointed by the Governor to serve on the Michigan State Travel Commission.
Nestled in the lush Irish Hills of Southeastern Michigan, Michigan International Speedway is the Great Escape, a venerable NASCAR national park where fans can get away and enjoy the very best in racing and camaraderie. It’s the love of racing and the thrill of a great time for race fans and drivers alike.

Tickets and camping are on sale now. For additional information, call the MIS Ticket Hotline at 800-354-1010 or visit MISpeedway.com.

Michigan International Speedway - 2009 Schedule
Friday, June 12 ARCA RE/MAX Series Racing for Wildlife 200
Saturday, June 13 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
Sunday, June 14 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series LifeLock 400

Friday, Aug. 14 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Practice & Qualifying
Saturday, Aug. 15 NASCAR Nationwide Series
Sunday, Aug. 16 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series

NSCS - Food City 500 @ Bristol 3-22-09

Kyle Busch won the Food City 500 in dominant fashion! What a difference 24 hours can make. Kyle dominated the Nationwide Series race @ Bristol on Saturday, but problems during a late race pit stop took him out of contention to win. Fast Forward to Sunday, Kyle lead 378 of 503 laps and held off his teammate on the green-white-checkered finish on his way to victory lane.

"It was a good day for us. The Snickers Toyota was really fast. We knew it was fast. We knew it was going to be a good race car coming here from our performance last fall. We fine tuned on it a little bit here and there. We need to work on the qualifying package a little bit. Ultimately, it doesn't really matter where you start here. You have to bide your time, take it easy when you have a car that's good. It was a very satisfying day today. We had a great run there. We really enjoyed it. So hopefully all the Mars family is happy today. Bringing home the Snickers brand to Victory Lane was cool." Kyle Busch (photo credit: Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR)

It's Kyle's 2nd win of the season and 14th career. The Busch brothers have now won the past 3 races. It's nothing new for the 2. They won 4 consecutive races last year. Kurt finished 11th Sunday.

Kyle's Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin held on for a runner up finish. Jimmie Johnson brought it home where he started - 3rd. Jeff Gordon and Kasey Kahne round out the top 5.

There were 9 cautions for 58 laps and 13 lead changes among 7 drivers:

M. Martin 1-2; R. Newman 3-27; J. Johnson 28-68; Kyle Busch 69-124; D. Reutimann 125; Kyle Busch 126-190; D. Hamlin 191; M. Waltrip 192-193; Kyle Busch 194-316; D. Hamlin 317-321; J. Johnson 322-368; Kyle Busch 369-443; D. Hamlin 444; Kyle Busch 445-503

Jeff Gordon leads the point standings by 76 over Kurt Busch.

NNS - Scotts Turf Builder 300 @ Bristol 3-21-09

Kevin Harvick won the Scotts Turf Builder 300 @ Bristol on Saturday. His 5th Nationwide Series win @ Bristol; the new all-time series win record at the high banked short track.

It's Harvick's 1st series win of the season and 2nd top 10 finish. The win on Saturday also marks the first time he won in his own car for Kevin Harvick Inc.

"Finally, we got this out of the way," Harvick said. "The alternator went out today -- it was kind of hot in there -- but everybody did a great job… There's been a tremendous amount of pressure that I've put on myself -- probably more pressure than any of the guys want to see at the shop over the last year, but it's been well worth the reward today. And I guess it's kind of fitting that it comes on what's been my most successful track in the Nationwide Series here at Bristol, and I'm just glad it all finally came together." Kevin Harvick post race
(photo credit:Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR)

Harvick lead twice for 46 laps, but it was Kyle Busch who looked like the one to beat throughout the day - leading 156 of the scheduled 300 laps. Kyle had problems in the pits during the final pit stop on lap 254. A tire taken off the right rear wheel of the #18 bounced off the inside wall and rolled back out onto pit road. Busch left his pit box before his crew could retrieve the tire and drew a penalty that dropped him from first to 16th for a restart on Lap 259. Kyle Busch finished 6th.

What's in a number? It's Harvick's 33rd Nationwide Series victory. He drove his #33 to victory lane. And Harvick is 33 years old.

Carl Edwards finished 2nd followed by Clint Bowyer, Matt Kenseth and rookie Justin Allgaier.

15 cars finished on the lead lap. There were 10 cautions for 62 laps and a new track record of 16 lead changes among 8 drivers:

B. Gaughan # 1-6; C. Edwards 7-30; K. Busch 31-87; C. Bowyer 88; J. Nemechek 89-99; K. Harvick 100; J. Nemechek 101; C.Edwards 102-139; C. Bowyer 140; K. Wallace 141; C. Edwards 142-143; K. Busch 144-236; C. Edwards 237-247; K. Busch 248-253; C. Bowyer 254; M.Annett # 255; K. Harvick 256-300.

Carl Edwards leads the point standings by 114 points over Kevin Harvick. Harvick is not planning to run the entire Nationwide Series schedule.