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March 31, 2012

By Reid Spencer
NASCAR Wire Service

MARTINSVILLE, Va. — Kevin Harvick may have relinquished ownership in his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series team, but he hasn’t lost any speed in the process.

Harvick crushed the rest of the field in Saturday’s Kroger 250, winning in seemingly effortless fashion by .953 seconds over Richard Childress Racing teammate Ty Dillon.

A caution for David Reutimann’s right-front tire on Lap 227 of 250 erased Harvick’s 1.4-second lead at that point, but after a restart on Lap 245, Harvick’s claim to the trademark grandfather clock trophy was a mere formality.

Continue reading “Kevin Harvick puts on Martinsville Clinic – Pure Domination”

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Brian Vickers returns to Michael Waltrip Racing’s No. 55 Toyota at Martinsville Speedway buoyed by his top-five finish at Bristol Motor Speedway in the combination’s debut.

Five races into the 2012 season, MWR’s plan is working. The combination of Vickers and Mark Martin has put the team into the top 10 in NASCAR Sprint Cup owner championship points along with the No. 56 of Martin Truex Jr. and No. 15 of Clint Bowyer.

Vickers has work to do at Martinsville, where a sixth-place finish in 2010 is his best of two top-10 finishes in 13 starts. He has yet to lead a lap around the 0.526-mile “paperclip” layout and has finished on the lead lap six times.

Bowyer led 91 laps of last year’s Martinsville spring race and finished ninth. In the fall race, well, his luck wasn’t as pronounced. Vickers’ No. 83 Toyota was listed in five of the 18 caution periods.

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No Waiting Around For Stewart This Time

Smoke’s smokin’ – and the calendar has just flipped over to spring.

Rarely a fast starter, Tony Stewart is the 2012 season’s first double winner following his victory in Sunday’s weather-shortened Auto Club 400 in Southern California.

In his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career, Stewart never had won multiple races before May. Only six of the three-time champion’s 46 wins – this year’s included – have come prior to June. He climbed into a tie for 14th on the all-time series win list with 1956-57 champion Buck Baker.

All of which spells worry for Stewart-Haas Racing’s driver/owner. Stewart climbed to fourth in the standings after winning in Fontana for the second time.

Continue reading “Tony Stewart ‘Smokin’ Early”

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Harvick Milestone Weekend At Track With ‘Happy’ Memories
Kevin Harvick, defending winner of this weekend’s race, will start his 400th career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race on Sunday.

Harvick, currently second in the points, has enjoyed a prolific first 399 races. The Bakersfield, Calif., native has 18 career wins including the 2007 Daytona 500. Harvick will also race in Saturday’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race.

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Teammates Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson will likely attract much of the “favorites” attention this weekend. But Dale Earnhardt Jr. best not be counted out.

Owning a Driver Rating of 99.0, Martinsville is Earnhardt’s top track in terms of the Loop Data statistic.

Earnhardt has finished in the top 10 in each of the last three Martinsville races, and was runner up to Kevin Harvick in this race last year.

Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson have the wins. But Dale Earnhardt Jr. has the momentum. And the hunger.
Earnhardt’s win drought has reached 134 races, but right now, it’s no big deal. He’s third in points, one of three drivers to have scored 30 or more points in every race and heads to arguably his best track.

In terms of Driver Rating, it is his best track. Earnhardt boasts a Martinsville Driver Rating of 99.0, his best at any track in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Scoring three consecutive Martinsville top 10s coming into this race (including a runner-up finish last spring), Earnhardt certainly has the skill to take home the oddly elusive 200th win for Hendrick Motorsports.

Whichever driver it is, there would be no better spot for win No. 200 than the tiny Virginia track. You want storybook? This is it.

Hendrick has more wins at Martinsville (18) than any other track, and one more would tie Petty Enterprises for most all time.

Continue reading “Dale Jr. A Fine Pick At Martinsville”