MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAY (0.526-MILE SHORT TRACK)
LOCATION: RIDGEWAY, VIRGINIA
EVENT: NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES (RACE 6 OF 36)
TUNE IN: 1 P.M. ET, SUNDAY, MARCH 29 (FS1/MRN/SIRIUSXM)
No. 5 Farmers Insurance Chevrolet SS / Kasey Kahne
Driver Kasey Kahne Hometown Enumclaw, Washington
Age 34 Resides Mooresville, North Carolina
2015 Season
8th in standings
5 starts
0 wins
0 pole positions
1 top-five finish
2 top-10 finishes
0 laps led
Career
401 starts
17 wins
26 pole positions
84 top-five finishes
148 top-10 finishes
4,541 laps led
Martinsville Career
22 starts
0 wins
1 pole position
3 top-five finishes
4 top-10 finishes
31 laps led
SEASON-TO-DATE: After the first five Sprint Cup Series races this season, Kasey Kahne currently ranks first in quality passes (545), fourth in average running position (9.438), fifth in fastest drivers early in a run (8.400 average rank), fifth in green-flag speed (7.400 average rank), fifth in laps in top 15 (1,124), tied for sixth in fastest speed in traffic (8.800 average rank), sixth in fastest drivers on restarts (9.800 average rank), seventh in fastest laps run (40), seventh in driver rating (97.6) and eighth in fastest drivers late in a run (8.600 average rank).
KAHNE AT MARTINSVILLE: Kahne scored his best result at the short track in April 2005, when he rallied from a 35th-place starting spot to finish second. Kahne scored the pole position at the 0.526-mile oval in April 2012 and has qualified sixth or better seven times at the Virginia short track.
MARTINSVILLE LOOP DATA: According to NASCAR loop data during the last 20 Sprint Cup Series races at Martinsville, Kahne ranks fourth in the closers category with 25 positions improved in the last 10 percent of laps in each race. He also ranks seventh in fastest drivers late in a run (90.208 mph) and eighth in fastest laps run (260).
SHORT TRACK STATS: Kahne has collected two of his 17 career Cup wins and three of his 26 pole positions on short tracks. His most recent short-track win was at Bristol Motor Speedway in March 2013. He has 12 top-five finishes and 21 top-10s in 66 starts on tracks less than one mile in length.
MARTINSVILLE CHASSIS CHOICE: Crew chief Keith Rodden has selected Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 5-925 for Sunday’s race at Martinsville. This is a brand new car.
FARMERS INSURANCE: This weekend at Martinsville, Kahne will drive the No. 5 Farmers Insurance Chevrolet SS. This year, Farmers has partnered with Paseo Academy High School in Kansas City, Missouri, to create a series of racing-related hero cards and posters that will be designed by the school’s art students. Farmers is making a donation to the school’s art program. Through ThankAmericasTeachers.com, Farmers has been committed to recognizing teachers and providing resources for educational initiatives throughout the country. For more information, please visit www.facebook.com/FarmersRacing.
No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet SS / Jeff Gordon
Driver Jeff Gordon Hometown Pittsboro, Indiana
Age 43 Resides Charlotte, North Carolina
2015 Season
22nd in standings
5 starts
0 wins
2 pole positions
0 top-five finishes
2 top-10 finishes
90 laps led
Career
766 starts
92 wins
79 pole positions
320 top-five finishes
456 top-10 finishes
24,754 laps led
Martinsville Career
44 starts
8 wins
7 pole positions
28 top-five finishes
35 top-10 finishes
3,723 laps led
Jeff Gordon, driver of the No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet SS, is scheduled to visit the Martinsville Speedway media center at 2:30 p.m. local time Friday.
Alan Gustafson, crew chief of the No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet SS, is scheduled to visit the Martinsville Speedway media center at 10:30 a.m. local time Friday.
TOPS AT MARTINSVILLE AMONG ACTIVE DRIVERS: The four-time NASCAR Cup Series champion leads active drivers in several statistical categories at the paper-clip track. Jeff Gordon has the most pole positions (seven – four more than any active competitor), top-five finishes (28; 10 more than second), top-10s (35; 13 more than second), laps led (3,723) and best average start (7.3). The driver of the No. 24 Chevy SS is tied for most wins (eight) with Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson.
FIVE OUTSIDE TOP DOZEN AT MARTINSVILLE: Gordon has finished outside of the top 12 only five times in 44 Cup starts at the 0.526-mile track – once in 1994, twice in 2002, once in 2010 and once in 2012.
MARTINSVILLE CHASSIS: No. 24 crew chief Alan Gustafson has selected Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 24-902 for this Sunday’s race. Gordon raced this chassis to a runner-up finish at Martinsville in October of last year.
ANOTHER TITLE FOR GORDON: Axalta Coating Systems (NYSE: AXTA), a leading global manufacturer of liquid and powder coatings, and Gordon announced a new multi-year partnership in February. Gordon was named Axalta’s Global Business Advisor and will serve as special advisor to Charlie Shaver, Axalta Chairman and CEO, bringing his winning skills and innovative thinking to Axalta, its leadership team and its customers worldwide.
No. 25 NAPA AUTO PARTS Chevrolet SS / Chase Elliott
Driver Chase Elliott Hometown Dawsonville, Georgia
Age 19 Resides Dawsonville, Georgia
Chase Elliott will be available to members of the media following Friday’s qualifying session at Martinsville Speedway. The exact location is to be announced.
DEBUTING IN THE NO. 25 HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS CHEVROLET: Chase Elliott will make his Sprint Cup Series debut in the No. 25 NAPA AUTO PARTS Chevrolet SS for Hendrick Motorsports this Sunday, March 29, at Martinsville Speedway. Team owner Rick Hendrick also made his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver debut in the No. 25 Chevrolet at Riverside International Raceway in 1987. Also, in 2008 at Texas Motor Speedway, Brad Keselowski debuted for Hendrick Motorsports in the No. 25 Chevrolet.
19 YEARS YOUNG: Elliott, at the age of 19 years, four months and one day, will become the 12th youngest NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver to debut in the sport this Sunday, March 29. He will be the youngest Cup driver to debut since Joey Logano at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on September 14, 2008, when he was 18 years, three months and 20 days young.
FAMILIAR TERRITORY: Although Elliott is making an attempt at his first Cup Series start Sunday, in two previous NASCAR Camping World Truck Series starts at Martinsville, Elliott completed 100 percent of his total laps run (450) with an average finish of 13th at the oldest and shortest (0.526-mile oval) in-use NASCAR facility. His Martinsville debut came April 6, 2013, in the Hendrick Motorsports-owned No. 94 Chevrolet, finishing sixth. His second attempt at the “paperclip” was Saturday, October 26, when he finished 20th.
NAPA KNOW HOW ON BOARD: NAPA AUTO PARTS will serve as Elliott’s primary sponsor on the No. 25 Chevrolet SS this Sunday. Coming off a championship season at JR Motorsports in which NAPA sponsored Elliott’s Chevrolet for all 33 races, it will continue to be the principal sponsor for Elliott for his four remaining Cup races at Hendrick Motorsports in 2015 (Saturday, April 25, at Richmond International Raceway; Sunday, May 24, at Charlotte Motor Speedway; Sunday, July 26, at Indianapolis Motor Speedway; and Sunday, September 6, at Darlington Raceway).
No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet SS / Jimmie Johnson
Driver Jimmie Johnson Hometown El Cajon, California
Age 39 Resides Charlotte, North Carolina
2015 Season
7th in standings
5 starts
1 win
0 pole positions
2 top-five finishes
3 top-10 finishes
176 laps led
Career
476 starts
71 wins
33 pole positions
195 top-five finishes
295 top-10 finishes
17,327 laps led
Martinsville Career
26 starts
8 wins
3 pole positions
18 top-five finishes
22 top-10 finishes
2,746 laps led
Chad Knaus, crew chief of the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet SS, is scheduled to visit the Martinsville Speedway media center at 10:30 a.m. local time Friday.
EIGHT CLOCKS AND COUNTING: In 26 starts at the paper clip-shaped half-mile at Martinsville, Jimmie Johnson has won eight of the prestigious grandfather clock trophies. His first win came on October 24, 2004. In addition to an average finish of 6.2, Johnson has managed to complete 99.3 percent of all laps attempted and has led 2,746 circuits.
TUNE IN: REPEAT AFTER ME: On a recent trip to Los Angeles, Johnson made a stop at Warner Brothers Studio to film a new show on ABC called “Repeat After Me” with host Wendi McLendon-Covey (The Goldbergs). The episode in which Johnson took part is currently scheduled to air on Tuesday, March 31, at 8:30 p.m. ET on ABC. Ellen DeGeneres is an executive producer on the show and Johnson joins the ranks of celebrities Harry Connick Jr. (American Idol), Ellen Pompeo (Grey’s Anatomy), Kristen Bell (Frozen) and Scott Foley (Scandal).
MARTINSVILLE CHASSIS: For this weekend’s event, crew chief Chad Knaus has selected chassis No. 48-913, which Johnson raced last October at Martinsville. The backup car is No. 48-749, which Johnson raced at Martinsville in March 2014.
HELMET OF HOPE NOMINATIONS: In its eighth year, the Blue Bunny Helmet of Hope program gives fans and consumers across the country the opportunity to nominate their favorite charity to be featured on Johnson’s helmet for the June 7 race at Pocono Raceway. In addition to being featured on the helmet, each charity selected also receives a grant of $25,000 and an ice cream party. To date, the program has contributed more than $685,000 to 76 different charities. Round-one voting for the Helmet of Hope is open until April 1. Visit JimmieJohnsonFoundation.org to nominate a charity that supports K-12 public education in the United States. A total of five charities will be selected.
TEAM JJF WELLNESS CHALLENGE: Registration is open for the 2015 Jimmie Johnson Foundation Wellness Challenge. Register now for early-bird pricing and register for all three events and get a reduced rate. The first event is April 26, the Jimmie Johnson Foundation 5K in Huntersville, North Carolina. Log on to www.jjfwellnesschallenge.org for more details.
No. 88 Diet Mountain Dew Chevrolet SS / Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hometown Kannapolis, North Carolina
Age 40 Resides Mooresville, North Carolina
2015 Season
4th in standings
5 starts
0 wins
0 pole positions
3 top-five finishes
4 top-10 finishes
37 laps led
Career
546 starts
23 wins
13 pole positions
130 top-five finishes
228 top-10 finishes
7,884 laps led
Martinsville Career
30 starts
1 win
0 pole positions
12 top-five finishes
17 top-10 finishes
972 laps led
Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the No. 88 Diet Mountain Dew Chevrolet SS, is scheduled to visit the Martinsville Speedway media center at 11:20 a.m. local time Friday.
DIET MOUNTAIN DEW: Diet Mountain Dew returns as the primary sponsor for the No. 88 Chevrolet SS this weekend at Martinsville Speedway. Dale Earnhardt Jr. will drive the traditional green, silver and red paint scheme. PepsiCo is the official soft drink of Martinsville Speedway and has been for over 60 years.
PERSONAL BEST: Earnhardt’s 972 laps led at Martinsville are his personal best at a track. He has tallied 360 of those laps driving the No. 88 Chevrolet SS for Hendrick Motorsports.
SHORT TRACK STATS: In 91 Cup starts on short tracks, Earnhardt has recorded five wins, one pole position, 28 top-five finishes and 44 top-10s. He has an average starting spot of 17.3 and an average finish of 12.9 on these racetracks.
DRIVER RATING: According to NASCAR’s loop data statistics, Earnhardt is ranked fourth in the driver rating category at Martinsville with a score of 101.2. The driver rating is a formula that combines wins, top-15 finishes, average running position while on the lead lap, average speed under green, fastest lap, most laps led and lead-lap finishes. The maximum a driver can earn in each race is 150 points. The driver rating number is used pre-race as a prediction tool and post-race as a performance evaluator.
CHASSIS CHOICE: Crew chief Greg Ives will unload Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 88-789 for this weekend’s race at Martinsville Speedway. Earnhardt most recently won with the chassis at Martinsville last October.
Hendrick Motorsports
HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS AT MARTINSVILLE: Hendrick Motorsports has recorded its most wins, top-five finishes and top-10s at Martinsville. The organization has 22 victories there, with Earnhardt most recently reaching Victory Lane for the first time at the short track last season, with Gordon just behind him in second. The organization now has 114 career top-10s at Martinsville, a figure that is a team-best for Hendrick Motorsports and ranks as more than any other team has acquired at any Cup track in NASCAR history.
ORGANIZATION STATS: To date, Hendrick Motorsports has totals of 232 victories, 202 pole positions, 948 top-five finishes and 1,573 top-10 finishes in Sprint Cup competition. Its teams have led 64,144 laps since 1984.
QUOTABLE /
“This is my favorite racetrack, and I’ve been trying to win a clock for years. We will be keeping an eye on our brake package this year. Not only is there less horsepower, but the new rules package has a lower target RPM for the engine. That, in turn, creates less engine braking. When the driver lifts off the throttle, the deceleration of the engine also aids in slowing the car down — less maximum RPM and less assist from the engine on deceleration. So we will be looking to make long runs in practice to ensure all our equipment is ready for 500 laps in the race.”
No. 5 team crew chief Keith Rodden on Martinsville
“I love the challenge of Martinsville. There’s one line there, and everybody is in it. You have to attack the corners at Martinsville, but you have to do it in a very smooth way – in a very patient way.
“When I first started racing at the Cup level, Martinsville was one of the toughest tracks for me. I think a lot of rookies will tell you that. It’s very difficult to find the balance of patience versus aggressiveness.
“We tested there in ’94 or ’95, and I remember making lap after lap after lap after lap with (former crew chief) Ray (Evenrnham) making adjustment after adjustment and nothing changing. Every change we did would not make the car go faster. I was frustrated. The team was frustrated. I finally said I’m just going to run a bunch of laps and try some things. During that run I found some things that started to work and I found a rhythm, and the lap times started dropping.
“The team asked me what I did, and I just told them I had been driving this place ‘wrong.’”
Jeff Gordon on the challenge of racing at Martinsville
“As far as expectations go, I don’t really know what to expect. I just want to go out and give it all I’ve got. It really hinges on me giving all the guys everything I possibly can to put us in position. If it wasn’t for NAPA AUTO PARTS, we wouldn’t be here with this incredible opportunity. So it means a lot they are committed and giving me the opportunity to go do something I love.”
Chase Elliott on his expectations
“If we could go run all the laps, stay on the lead lap and be inside the top 15 at the end of Sunday’s race, I’d say that would be a day well done, across the board. This is something I’ve wanted to do ever since I can remember — it has been a dream of mine. And to have an opportunity to race in the Cup Series, and to represent Hendrick Motorsports at Martinsville in the process, words cannot describe the feeling I have at the moment. I’m just ready to get there and get the job done.”
Chase Elliott on his goals for the weekend
“I joke about NASCAR needing to adjust the schedule and have at least six stops to Martinsville and six stops to Dover to make up the calendar year. I love that track. I think it’s so entertaining — the history there is amazing. The feel that you have when you come Martinsville, it’s unlike any other racetrack that we go to.”
Jimmie Johnson on Martinsville
“Getting the clock at Martinsville was something that I always wanted to do. Short‑track racing is something I love. It’s not a lost art but it’s definitely something we don’t get a lot of and don’t get to do very often. Martinsville is a great ticket and it’s a great racetrack. It’s a great place to go see a race.”
Dale Earnhardt Jr. on winning at Martinsville in 2014
TRENDING /
The haulers have returned from #NASCARGoesWest! Now we pack them up for @MartinsvilleSwy. (Sunday on @FOXSports1.)
@TeamHendrick via Twitter
3/24/15, 10:30 a.m.
