Kyle Busch has solved short Martinsville track

Kyle Busch generally isn’t the first name to spring to mind when NASCAR aficionados discuss the masters of Martinsville Speedway.

He doesn’t get name-dropped like Hall of Famers Richard Petty and Darrell Waltrip or future Hall inductees and longtime Hendrick Motorsports teammates Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson — each with at least nine victories on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series’ shortest track. Yet no driver has had a better handle recently on the paper clip-shaped track than Busch.

Busch, who has won at least one Cup race on every active track except for Charlotte Motor Speedway, did not immediately take to the racing at Martinsville. In his first 15 races at the .526-mile Virginia track, Busch finished 20th or worse seven times, and it took until his 22nd race there to reach victory lane.

But beginning with the 2015 fall race, something seemed to click. He came home fifth and three races later scored his first Cup series championship. The next time Busch visited Martinsville, in April 2016, he won. He followed that up with another fifth-place result and a second-place finish before storming to his second Martinsville victory last fall after leading a race-high 184 laps.

“We’ve run well the last two years at Martinsville, and we’re definitely pumped about getting back there,” Busch said. “I’m hoping we can have a really good car there again this time around, like we did the last two years, especially. We led a lot of laps and we were really fast.”

Busch was in top form in the justcompleted Western swing, with two runner-up finishes and a third-place result. He ranks second in the standings through five races behind reigning series champion Martin Truex Jr.

Busch wants to turn that momentum into a win.

“I think just being able to get comfortable, get settled and make sure that you’re good to go for those long hauls,” Busch said about the key to victory in the 263-mile, 500-lap race. “You just keep battling, keep driving, keep your focus forward on what you’re doing. That’s the best way to go about those long, long races.”