WHO HAS THE HOT HAND FOR MARTINSVILLE RACE?
Hamlin, Johnson have success at track; Logano has extra motivation
It’s easy to remember who won the last time NASCAR visited Martinsville Speedway.
Jeff Gordon leaped from his car, thrust his fists skyward and yelled into a TV microphone: “We’re going to Homesteaaaaad!”
It was Gordon’s 93rd and final Sprint Cup Series career victory, and his ninth at Martinsville. He was a Martinsville Master during his career, scoring the most wins of anyone in his era.
But now that he’ll be watching the STP 500 from the Fox Sports booth instead of from behind the wheel, who are the favorites to win Sunday’s race?
“I personally thought Denny Hamlin was the strongest car there the last time,” Gordon said last week. “We saw the dominance that Joey Logano had and how fast he was. I think Kurt Busch is really strong there as well.
“But you can’t count out ol’ eight-time (Jimmie Johnson, who has won eight Martinsville races). I don’t think they’ve run as good at Martinsville the last two or three races they’ve been there, but I think their car and their team have improved over the last year or two.”
Here’s a closer look at the top contenders for the STP 500:
DENNY HAMLIN
Five-time Martinsville winner Hamlin likely did have the strongest car last November, but he hurt himself with two speeding penalties and had to come through the field twice.
He stayed out on older tires and still managed to finish third — an impressive feat at a track where tires have shown to make a big difference.
Hamlin says his biggest competition is obvious.
“Myself,” he said. “I don’t know why I choose to push it on pit road knowing that I have the speed on the racetrack that we’ve shown. … I think it’s me just being a little more cautious on pit road and making sure that I’ve got a car that can finish the race with all four fenders.”
JOEY LOGANO
Logano was leading the Martinsville race last fall when Matt Kenseth, a lap down, intentionally crashed him.
Logano remembers (he watched the race again Thursday night to fire himself up) and is out to get his first grandfather clock trophy in Sprint Cup.
He’s off to a good start, winning his third consecutive Martinsville pole position Friday, and hopes to parlay his No. 1 pit stall into excellent track position.
“Qualifying here is more important than any other race track we go to,” he said. “Having a good pit stall pays a lot here because you’re coming down pit road so many times. And also starting up front allows you to save your car.”
That might just result in Logano finishing off what he started in the November race.
JIMMIE JOHNSON
Despite qualifying a disappointing 24th, Johnson should still be considered a threat at Martinsville.
That’s a nod to his history — the aforementioned eight career wins — more than his recent results. The last three Martinsville finishes for Johnson: 32nd, 35th, 12th.
“I haven’t seen the front like I’m used to in awhile there,” Johnson said.
The six-time Cup champion said cars evolve and the No. 48 team had perhaps taken its setups in a direction “that hasn’t been too good for us” over the years.
But this weekend, he added, “we’re going to be back to our old ways.”
BEST OF THE REST
Kenseth is much improved at Martinsville since joining Joe Gibbs Racing — he had four consecutive top-six finishes until the incident in November.
Logano teammate Brad Keselowski was running up front until the wreck last year that involved Kenseth and Kurt Busch, who also is perfectly capable of winning at the half-mile track (he won the spring race two years ago).
And Dale Earnhardt Jr. is a major threat to win at Martinsville — in fact, it’s one of his best tracks statistically. He has 13 top-five finishes there, tied for the most he has at any track (Daytona International Speedway being the other).