Martinsville Drivers Win in Many Brands

October 18, 2008

Nine of the last eleven races at the paperclip shaped track in Martinsville, Virginia have been won by drivers sporting the Chevrolet brand.

Chevy hasn’t always been the dominate nameplate. Martinsville started holding NASCAR Cup level races in 1949. In the 119 Cup races held there have been eleven different brands seeing victory circle. Even the Fabulous Hudson Hornet tasted victory there twice in 1952. Mercury also got a pair of wins; one in 1968 with Cale Yarborough and the other in 1973 with David Pearson.

Toyota picked up its lone win with Kyle Busch at the Spring race this year. Chrysler and Buick own three wins each. Chrysler’s came early on in the Fifties while the Eighties were kind to the Buicks. The General Motors brands of Pontiac and Oldsmobile were the cars to beat four and eight times respectively,

Dodge and Plymouth have combined for 26 wins over the years with twelve of those at the hands of Richard Petty. Petty had two wins in a Ford in 1969 while feuding with Chrysler. The Blue Oval boys have 24 other victories as well. The first coming with Fast Freddy Lorenzen behind the wheel in 1961 and the most recent by Kurt Busch in 2002.

Once again Chevrolet drivers have had the upper hand at a race track. Thirty-eight percent of all wins at the half miler have been with Chevy sheet metal. A total of forty-five wins greatly out numbers its nearest rival. Buck Baker was the first to taste victory and started a string of four consecutive wins beginning in 1957. Jimmy Johnson is the most recent winner, capping off seven straight Chevy wins that he began in the Fall of 2004.

So once again the numbers favor a win coming from Jimmy Johnson. This race and the championship seem to be his to lose. He has wins at the paperclip and he drives the right car.

photo credit: Jason Smith/Getty Images

Written by Steve Wronkowicz · Filed Under Chevrolet Racing, Dodge Motorsports, Ford Racing, Hendrick Motorsports, Martinsville Speedway, NASCAR, Nascar Chase 2008 | Leave a Comment

The Chase Returns Home to Lowe’s Motor Speedway

October 5, 2008

Lowe’s Motor Speedway was the first of NASCAR’s venues to sell naming rights and change its name from Charlotte Motor Speedway.

The one and half mile long quad-oval track seats 167,000 people, with room for 50,000 more race fans in the infield. Completed in 1959, it was the first speedway to host nighttime superspeedway racing beginning in 1992, and to offer year-round residences with 52 condominiums available over turn one. Owned by Speedway Motorsports; which has its corporate headquarters on the same property, the speedway is considered to be the home track for the far majority of NASCAR teams who are based within fifty miles.

Along with the main oval, the speedway also has a 2.25 mile road course in the infield, a 0 .6 mile kart track in the infield, a quarter-mile oval using part of the front stretch and pit road, and an 0.2 mile oval outside turn three. Also, across the street from the speedway, is a 0.4 mile dirt track that opened in May 2000.

Amazingly most of the records held at Lowe’s are held by many of the past heros of the sport. Bobby Allison and Darrell Waltrip shore the lead with six wins each. Allison also shares the most top fives with Richard Petty; while The King also has the most top tens, with thirty-one and most starts with sixty-four. Allison has led the most laps, while David Pearson holds the record for most poles with fourteen.

In 2005, the surface of the circuit had started to wear from its last paving in mid-1994, resulting in the track’s treatment in a diamond-grinding process to smooth out bumps. This process of levigation, caused major tire problems during both Sprint Cup Series events with a record 22 cautions at the Coca-Cola 600. It was the first Sprint Cup Series race to go more than five hours in 25 years. Speed increases, as a result of the levigation caused the tire problems that resulted in the speedway being repaved in 2006.

In the past seventeen races dating back through 2000, Jimmy Johnson is the biggest winner among Chase drivers with five. The only other multiple winner over that time period is non-chaser, Kasey Kahne. The remaining wins have been spread among nine different drivers including Chase participants Jeff Gordon, Matt Kenseth, Jeff Burton and Tony Stewart.

This could be the race where non-chase drivers have the best chance at a win. Kasey Kahne especially has proven he can win on the prototype for the cookie cutter tracks. Kahne proved his mettle as recently as the All-Star event this year. Once again though Jimmy Johnson would be the best bet of the Chase contenders to bring home a win.

photo credit: Icon Sports Media

Written by Steve Wronkowicz · Filed Under Hendrick Motorsports, Lowe's Motor Speedway, NASCAR, Nascar Chase 2008 | Leave a Comment