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
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