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[/media-credit]MARTINSVILLE, Va. (February 28, 2012) – Matt Kenseth probably hasn’t had time to think about Martinsville Speedway and the Goody’s Fast Relief 500 since he capped off a wild night of racing with his second Daytona 500 victory in the wee hours of Tuesday morning.
But when the tight half-mile oval does come to mind, Kenseth will probably have better thoughts than in the past. For much of his NASCAR Sprint Cup career, the Wisconsin native has struggled at Martinsville, but the chilly relationship has warmed a bit the last couple of seasons.
“Actually I like Martinsville and if I were a fan, it would be one of the top five or six race tracks I would want to go to see a race,” Kenseth said last spring. “It has been one of those places that has been mentally tough on me. But I will say it has been better for me the last few times.”
He finished sixth in the Goody’s Fast Relief 500 last spring and was looking at a top-10 finish in the TUMS Fast Relief 500 in the fall when a late-race dust-up with Kyle Busch relegated him to 31st on the day.
In the spring of 2010 it looked like Kenseth was on the verge of breaking his long Martinsville winless streak when he gave leader Jeff Gordon a nudge late in the race. Gordon pushed back harder a lap later. Denny Hamlin wound up winning and Kenseth was 18th in the final rundown.
In 24 career Sprint Cup starts at Martinsville Speedway, Kenseth has seven top-10 finishes and has started on the outside pole twice.
Asked last spring what it took to be competitive at Martinsville, Kenseth said: “I don’t know. This is probably one of my worst places. I’m probably the wrong guy to ask about that, but I think you’ve got to have a car that turns good and still drives off the corner without spinning the tires, and then you have to be patient and smart and be there at the end.”
He was “patient and smart” on the way to the sixth-place run last April. He is hoping for a repeat performance this time around.
Martinsville Speedway will be kicking off its 65thth season of racing with the Goody’s Fast Relief 500 weekend on March 30-April 1.
Great ticket packages and seats are on sale for the entire weekend and may be purchased by calling 877.RACE.TIX or online at www.martinsvillespeedway.com.
