NASCAR’s smallest and largest tracks – Martinsville Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway, respectively – are combining for a potentially active two weeks in and out of the Chase standings.

Martinsville, tiny in comparison to Talladega, nevertheless is the big track’s equal in difficulty.

One of the country’s oldest racing facilities, .526-mile Martinsville hosted events during NASCAR’s debut season of 1949 and still poses problems for today’s drivers.

Hairpin turns, a flat surface and a unique combination of concrete and asphalt make Martinsville a tough venue in any era. Contact is a given, with priority given to keeping one’s car clean.

Heard of “boiling the brakes?”

Drivers do it regularly at Martinsville, punishing pads, fluid and pedal because they’re constantly on and off them heading into and out of the tight corners.

At 2.66-mile Talladega, which hosts the seventh Chase event next week, brakes often are an afterthought. It’s the season’s final restrictor-plate race and Talladega’s high-banked layout and unpredictability often lead to surprise winners and jumbled finishes and standings.

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SOME STORYLINES:
•Johnson On The Point: Jimmie Johnson is not only chasing the title – he’s also chasing history, trying to become the first driver to win four consecutive NASCAR Sprint Cup championships, and break the record of three straight he shares with legendary Cale Yarborough. Johnson has won the last two races at Martinsville and five of the last six.

•Martinsville: Wild Card I: Martinsville Speedway, site of Sunday’s race, represents the first of two “wild-card” races in the Chase. Due to its tight, precarious half-mile layout, contact between cars is commonplace, opening the possibility for multi-car incidents – and huge shake-ups in the standings. Talladega Superspeedway next week is what you could call “Wild Card II” due to its 2.66-mile layout and the inherent unpredictability of restrictor-plate races.

Continue reading “Martinsville Storylines”

Five Races Left In Statistically Rich Season

Five races remain, as the season hits its stretch run. A statistical look back at the previous 31 shows that 2009 has been one of the most competitively balanced ever. For example:

• 13 different race winners
• 10 different Coors Light Pole winners
• 42 drivers led at least one lap
• 35 drivers have scored at least one Top 10 this year
• Average Margin of Victory of 1.138 seconds
• 16 races with an MOV under 1 second
• Average of 10 leaders per race
• Average of 19 lead changes per race
• Average of 21 green flag passes for the lead all along the track
• Average of 2,804 green flag passes per race
• 53% of the cars finished on the lead lap
• 84% of the cars were running at the finish

Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup: Race 6, Martinsville Speedway

THE RACE: Tums Fast Relief 500

WHEN: Sunday, October 25

TV: ABC (1 p.m. ET)

THE CHASE STANDINGS: Jimmie Johnson 5,923; Mark Martin 5,833; Jeff Gordon 5,788; Tony Stewart 5,768; Kurt Busch 5,746; Juan Pablo Montoya 5,728; Greg Biffle 5,655; Ryan Newman 5,635; Kasey Kahne 5,592; Carl Edwards 5,582; Denny Hamlin 5,551; Brian Vickers 5,438.

DEFENDING NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES CHAMPION: Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet)

DEFENDING NASCAR Banking 500 Only from Bank of America RACE CHAMPION: Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet)

CHASE FACTS:
•The Chase consists of the season’s last 10 races.
•The top 12 drivers in the series standings after the season’s 26th race (Richmond on Sept. 12) qualified for the Chase.
•All Chase drivers had their point totals reset to 5,000. They then received 10 bonus points for each race victory prior to the Chase, creating seedings. The top seed at the outset of the Chase was Mark Martin, who has retained the point lead after the first two Chase races.

THE CHASE SCHEDULE (track sizes in parentheses)
Sept. 20—New Hampshire (1.058 miles); Sept. 27—Dover (1 mile); Oct. 4—Kansas (1.5 miles); Oct. 11—Auto Club Speedway (2 miles); Oct. 17—Lowe’s Motor Speedway (1.5 miles); Oct. 25—Martinsville (.526 mile); Nov. 1—Talladega (2.66 miles); Nov. 8—Texas (1.5 miles); Nov. 15—Phoenix (1 mile); Nov. 22—Homestead (1.5 miles).