NASCAR restarts engines in Martinsville showdown
Gentleman, restart those engines! After the annual Easter off-week, the NASCAR Cup Series resumes its marathon season this weekend under the Martinsville lights — the second of three straight shorttrack races on the schedule.
Before heading into our first scheduled primetime race of 2021 (is the Daytona 500 still going?), let’s catch everyone up with the regular season a little over a quarter of the way through.
First gear
Last time we spoke, Joey Logano became the first Cup Series driver to win a race on the dirt since King Richard Petty back in 1970.
Logano joins a diverse group of winners so far this season, including Michael McDowell, Christopher Bell, William Byron, Kyle Larson, Martin Truex Jr. and Ryan Blaney.
The Hendrick and Penske stables have been the most consistent on a weekly basis, but the Joe Gibbs Racing Toyotas appear to be gaining ground.
Guys like McDowell, Daniel Suarez and Chris Buescher have all shown far more speed than anyone expected through the first two months, while usual suspectslike Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin and Chase Elliott have all been inconsistent.
Second gear
So that’s seven different winners to start the season, the most since 2014. Anyone wanna guess the last time we had eight? Yes, 2003. Correct!
Actually, we had nine different winners to start the 2003 season, which was obviously not run under this current format. And yes, of course we’re going to tell you who those winners were!
Michael Waltrip (Daytona 500), Dale Jarrett, Matt Kenseth, Bobby Labonte, Ricky Craven, Kurt Busch, Ryan Newman, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Gordon.
Kurt Busch became the first repeat winner in race No. 10 at Fontana, while Mild Matt Kenseth won the championship despite winning just one race.
Third gear
So, who thinks we can surpass that 2003 total?
To do so, we’d need another new face in Victory Lane this weekend at Martinsville and then again next week at Richmond. After that, the series heads to Talladega, where, of course, nothing weird ever happens.
So, is it possible? Shoot, I’d say it’s closer to probable!
When guys like Elliott, Harvick, Hamlin, Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski haven’t won yet, don’t be surprised if the madness extends well past March.
Fourth gear
While most drivers had the entire week off, Larson and Chris Buescher spent last Thursday testing a ... rain tire ... at Martinsville. Yep, you read that right.
NASCAR last week said it wanted to do a “feasibility test” for wet-weather tires in a short-track setting. So, during a chilly Martinsville morning on Thursday, Buescher’s Roush Fenway Racing No. 17 and Larson’s No. 5 Hendrick Chevy tried out a number of different tire setups on damp pavement.
NASCAR’s Senior Vice President of Racing Innovation John Probst said it was a “promising” morning.
“Today could have ended it, but it certainly didn’t do that,” he added. “I feel like everyone involved felt like it was a very positive test, but it’s still fresh and certainly a very, very good first step.”
Hey, if it gets us out of further rain delays, count this guy in.