NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Next Race: STP 500
The Place: Martinsville Speedway
The Date: Sunday, March 29
The Time: 1 p.m. (ET)
TV: FOX Sports 1, 11:30 a.m. (ET)
Radio: MRN, Sirius XM Ch. 90
Distance: 263 miles (500 laps)
NASCAR XFINITY Series
Next Race: O’Reilly Auto Parts 300
The Place: Texas Motor Speedway
The Date: Friday, April 10
The Time: 8:30 p.m. (ET)
TV: FOX Sports 1, 8 p.m. (ET)
Radio: PRN, Sirius XM Ch. 90
Distance: 300 miles (200 laps)
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
Next Race: Kroger 250
The Place: Martinsville Speedway
The Date: Saturday, March 28
The Time: 2:30 p.m. (ET)
TV: FOX Sports 1, 2:30 p.m. (ET)
Radio: MRN, Sirius XM Ch. 90
Distance: 131.5 miles (250 laps)
NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
Ho-Hum: Another Top-Two For Harvick
Does the lead for NASCAR’s News & Notes ever change?
Kevin Harvick has been THE story for weeks now, posting his eighth consecutive top-two finish with a runner-up showing at Auto Club.
The No. 4 Chevrolet driver now has two wins and three second-place performances this season and leads Joey Logano by 27 points in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series standings.
This Sunday, Harvick returns to the venue at which he last finished outside the top two – Martinsville Speedway – for the STP 500 (1 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1). (Kevin, if you’re reading, don’t watch this.) Harvick finished 33rd at “The Paperclip” in last year’s opener of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup’s Eliminator 8 Round. His lone top-two finish at Martinsville was a victory in spring of 2011.
“Happy” continues to chase Richard Petty’s record of 11 consecutive top-two finishes set in 1975.
“Bradical” Dude: Late Race Gamble Leads Keselowski To Victory
Running fifth with two laps left in the Auto Club 400 on Sunday, Brad Keselowski’s No. 2 Ford team made the gutsy decision to take four fresh tires, moving Keselowski all the way back to 14th on the Lap 202 restart.
The decision paid off with a ticket to the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.
Keselowski engulfed the field like a wave, moving up to fifth for the next restart on Lap 207 and tracking down Kurt Busch on the 209th and final lap of the race – the only go-around Keselowski led all day – to take the victory.
Keselowski, who paced the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with six wins last season, will attempt to continue his momentum by taking the checkered flag at Martinsville Speedway for the first time in his career. The 31-year-old claims one top five and five top-10 finishes in 10 starts at the .526-mile track.
Last weekend’s Auto Club race marked the second of Keselowski’s 17 career victories where he led just one lap. Ironically, the first came on Keselowski’s first career win, at Talladega Superspeedway (4/26/09). (Keselowski’s Talladega triumph entered NASCAR.com’s March Madness tribute in the “Biggest NASCAR Upset” bracket as the sixth seed. Fans can vote on NASCAR’s biggest upset here.)
The points leader entering the 2014 Chase, Keselowski ranks fifth in the standings, trailing Kevin Harvick by 62 points.
Might As Well Call Martinsville “Hendrickville”
Hendrick Motorsports’ 22 wins at Martinsville Speedway not only rank first in track history, they mark the most victories by an owner at a specific track in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series annals.
The organization goes for its 23rd triumph of “The Paperclip” this weekend with five race entries: Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kasey Kahne and Chase Elliott.
Martinsville mavens Johnson and Gordon will lead the way. Both rank first among active drivers with eight wins at the storied short track. The pair also claims the most runner-ups at Martinsville among active drivers – Gordon with five and Johnson with four.
Unsurprisingly, Johnson boasts the top driver rating in the series at Martinsville (122.5), while Gordon’s is second-best (119.8).
There’s No Place Like Home For Hamlin
Chesterfield, Virginia native Denny Hamlin heads to his home track at Martinsville, which may be just what the doctor ordered after his tough-luck outing at Auto Club.
The No. 11 FedEx Toyota driver owns four wins at Martinsville, his most at any track (he also has four at Pocono). In addition, he boasts nine top fives and 14 top 10s at the southern Virginia track. His driver rating (110.1), fastest laps run (612) and average running position (8.8) at Martinsville are all the third-best among active drivers.
Hamlin finished 28th at Auto Club, a showing not indicative of his performance that showed off serious speed. The Joe Gibbs Racing wheelman led a season-high 56 laps, looking like he could contend for the win before he was sent to the back after Lap 185 when his team drew a pit road penalty for an uncontrolled tire.
If Hamlin can park his car in Victory Lane, he will tie NASCAR Hall of Famer Joe Weatherly for the most wins by a driver from Virginia with 25.
High Ratings: Dale Jr. Excels At NASCAR’s Oldest Track
Four drivers average a driver rating of more than 100 at Martinsville. The top three aren’t that big a surprise, considering they also reside atop the active Martinsville wins list – Jimmie Johnson (122.5), Jeff Gordon (119.8) and Denny Hamlin (110.1). The other highly rated driver: Dale Earnhardt Jr., who won his first Martinsville race last October in the series’ most recent visit to the Virginia short track. Earnhardt’s driver rating of 101.2 makes Martinsville his best track in terms of the loop data statistic, and the only track at which he eclipses the 100 driver rating barrier. For the record: No. 2 on his list is Michigan at 98.0. Last on his list is Sonoma, at 72.1.
Tough Task: Chase Elliott Hopes To Buck “Debut Downer” Trend
Reigning NASCAR XFINITY Series champion Chase Elliott starts his ‘Jeff Gordon Replacement’ march this Sunday at Martinsville, driving the No. 25 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. It’ll be the first of five races in 2015 before hopping in the No. 24 Chevrolet fulltime in 2016 (his other races this season are Richmond, Charlotte, Indianapolis and Darlington). And, if history is any indication, it’ll be a tough task. The last driver to score a top-10 finish in his first career start was Carl Edwards’ 10th-place finish at Michigan in 2004. Only three drivers have scored a top 10 in their debut since 1990: Edwards, Matt Kenseth (6th at Dover in 1998) and Kenny Irwin Jr. (8th at Richmond in 1997). The last driver to score a top five in his premier series debut: NASCAR Hall of Famer Rusty Wallace, who finished second at Atlanta in 1980. And one last note…to best his father – NASCAR Hall of Famer Bill Elliott – Chase will have to finish 32nd or better. Bill Elliott finished 33rd in his NASCAR Sprint Cup debut, at Rockingham in 1976.
Who’s The Boss: Jersey Native Martin Truex Jr. Looks To Continue Glory Days At Martinsville
Second generation NASCAR driver Martin Truex Jr. is proving he was born to run in 2015.
The South Jersey native who began his racing career not far from the streets of Philadelphia, is on fire after notching five straight top-10 finishes to start the season – tying his career-best streak set in 2012. He keeps on rising in the standings where he ranks third, five points behind Joey Logano and 33 behind defending NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Kevin Harvick.
Despite starting outside the top 10 in three of the first five races, Truex has shown no surrender. At Auto Club Sunday, he proved if he should fall behind that he can make up his position by finishing eighth after descending to the back of the field multiple times.
Truex has high hopes for Martinsville where he can prove he’s tougher than the rest. He will attempt to pilot his No. 78 Furniture Row Chevrolet to the promised land at the .526-mile track where he claims two top-five and four top-10 finishes.
Kurt Busch Attempts Martinsville Repeat
After being suspended for the first three races of the season, Kurt Busch has collected a fifth and a third-place finish in his first two starts, respectively.
Busch looked like he was going to pull off the ‘perfect weekend’, leading qualifying, all practices and the race at Auto Club on Sunday, but was tracked down by Brad Keselowski on the final lap and finished third.
This weekend, Busch will attempt to defend his win in last year’s Martinsville spring race in the STP 500. Busch claims two victories at Martinsville and his victory from the 36th position there in 2002 is the deepest in the field a race winner has ever started.
Busch’s recent success coincides with his crew chief switch to Tony Gibson for the November race at Texas Motor Speedway last season. In five races with Gibson, Busch claims two top fives, four top 10s, a 6.5 average finish and an average driver rating of 111.5. His driver rating ranks second over that span, and his average running position of 6.8 ranks third.
Super Subs: Buescher, Moffitt Making Most Of Fill-In Role
Unfortunately, Brian Vickers cannot race for the foreseeable future as he recovers from health issues related to blood clots.
Brett Moffitt, who piloted Vickers’ No. 55 Toyota to an eighth-place showing at Atlanta, subbed for him at Auto Club and placed 22nd. Since Moffitt moved into the No. 55 for Michael Waltrip Racing, Chris Buescher took over for him in the No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford at Auto Club, finishing 20th in his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series debut.
Moffitt and Buescher, both 22 years old, will pilot the same cars again in this weekend’s STP 500 at Martinsville Speedway. Neither driver has ever competed at Martinsville in any of NASCAR’s national series.
No. 11 Boasts Storied History at Martinsville
Denny Hamlin is a perennial contender at Martinsville, having earned four grandfather clocks in his young career. However, he is not the first driver to experience success in the No. 11 car at the 0.526-mile track.
NASCAR Hall of Famer Cale Yarborough set the tone in the No. 11 at Martinsville, with four wins in 16 starts from 1973-80. He finished in the top five an astounding 11 times during that eight-year stretch, including three runner-up finishes. And when fellow Hall of Famer Darrell Waltrip took over the Junior Johnson owned ride in 1980, the success continued. Waltrip won four Martinsville races for Johnson, including a stretch of seven consecutive top-five finishes from 1981-84.
It’s not hard to imagine Johnson’s success as a driver helped contribute to his ownership triumphs. Johnson won twice at the paperclip-shaped track and had eight finishes of third or better in 19 attempts.
Overall, the No. 11 has 15 Martinsville wins, including a sweep by Geoff Bodine in 1990. Only the No. 43 car has visited Martinsville Victory Lane more. Richard Petty, the all-time Martinsville wins leader, had 15 victories at the track. John Andretti earned a Martinsville win for Petty Enterprises in 1999.
NASCAR XFINITY SERIES
New Crop Of Impressive Youth Has NASCAR XFINITY Series Popping
The new crop of youth in NASCAR continues to blossom and this week’s average age of the top five in the NASCAR XFINITY Series point standings is a fresh 21.2. The young contingent’s success continues to emphasize that the NASCAR XFINITY Series is the place that ‘names are made.’
These young gentlemen are the new wave of drivers raising the level of competition in one of NASCAR’s national series. Points leader Ty Dillon, who just turned 23 years old on Feb. 27th, is the eldest of the youth movement; second in the standings belongs to Roush Fenway Racing’s Chris Buescher (22 years old), followed by the youngster and 2014 series champion Chase Elliott at the age of 19. Fourth in points belongs to Ryan Reed (21 years old), and rounding out the top five is Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate Darrell Wallace Jr. at the age of 21.
Ty Dillon Faces First Slip Of The Season, Still Holds Points Lead
After starting the first four races with four consecutive top-10 finishes, Ty Dillon’s season got loose at Auto Club Speedway last weekend when he posted a 14th-place finish ending his streak of top 10s. Dillon’s slip, while costly to his standings lead, didn’t knock the North Carolina native from the top spot; he still holds a five-point lead over second-place Chris Buescher.
Dillon is having a career season and he has made it clear he is on a mission to win the championship this year. In the first five races he has posted two top fives, four top 10s and an average finish of 6.8.
In 2015, Dillon has posted an average running position of 8.8 (fourth-best in the series), a driver rating of 98.9 (fifth-best) and has spent 92.3 percent of his laps completed in the top 15 (third-best).
Following this weekend off, Dillon will be hard to catch. At the next four races on the schedule (Texas, Bristol, Richmond and Talladega), he posted an average finish of 11.0 last season.
Chris Buescher Closes Points Gap On Standings Leader Ty Dillon
Roush Fenway Racing’s Chris Buescher is continuing to put the pressure on standings leader Ty Dillon after the first five races of the season. Buescher’s third top five of 2015 last weekend at Auto Club Speedway has him second in the standings, just five points back from Dillon.
Buescher has been a busy man lately. Not only is he chasing a championship in the NASCAR XFINITY Series, but he has also been tapped to drive the Front Row Motorsports No. 34 Ford in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in David Ragan’s stead.
The extra seat time seems to be paying off. In five NXS starts this season, he has posted three top fives and an average finish of 7.8. His season-to-date Loop Data has him ranked fifth in average running position (8.9), fourth in driver rating (100.5) and second in laps in the top 15 (94.4%).
Next week, Buescher returns to his home state of Texas where he has made three starts at his home track (Texas Motor Speedway), posting a best finish of 13th last fall.
He’s… Back: 2014 Champ Chase Elliott Moves Into Contention
Chase Elliott has climbed the standings leaderboard from 20th to third in the last four races – a gain of 17 positions. As a result the 2014 series champion is right back in the mix for this year’s title just 15 points back from standings leader Ty Dillon and 10 points behind second-place Chris Buescher.
Elliott turned red hot last season from the second to the eighth race on the schedule when he strung together seven consecutive top-10 finishes including his two wins at Texas and Darlington. This season he is looking to do the same and his last four consecutive top 10s have him on track to do just that.
This season Elliott has posted three top fives, four top 10s and an average finish of 9.8. Elliott’s ascension up the standings is due to stellar performance on the track. He has the third best average running position (8.6), fifth best driver rating (100.0), and has the second-highest percentage of laps run on the lead lap this season (97%).
There will be no rest for young Elliott this off weekend, the 19 year old will be making his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series debut for Hendrick Motorsports at Martinsville Speedway.
Sunoco Rookie Standout: Darrell Wallace Jr.
Watch out for Darrell Wallace Jr. this season. Right out of the gate, Wallace has been the man to beat in the Sunoco Rookie of the Year standings and five races into the season he still holds the lead.
Eight points separate Wallace (57 rookie points) and second-place Daniel Suarez (49) following last weekend at Auto Club Speedway where the top two rookies finished 12th and 13th respectively.
Wallace is also doing well in the overall NASCAR XFINITY Series driver standings. He is currently fifth, three points behind fourth–place Ryan Reed and 22 points back from the standings leader Ty Dillon.
In the first five races of the season, Wallace has posted one top 10 and an average finish of 11.4. He is the head of his rookie class in every season-to-date Loop Data category and rivals the rest of the series quite nicely. He is ranked sixth in the series in average running position (10.2), eighth in driver rating (92.0), and sixth in percentage of laps completed in the top 15 with 87.2%. He is also averaging a +7.8 place differential through the first five races of the season.
Next week in Texas, Wallace will be making his series track debut. Wallace is familiar with the 1.5-mile speedway though; he has made four NASCAR Camping World Truck Series starts at TMS posting three top 10s.
Sunoco Rookie Standings following Auto Club Speedway: Darrell Wallace Jr. (57), Daniel Suarez (49), Ross Chastain (46), Cale Conley (41), Harrison Rhodes (31) and Josh Reaume (16).
Owner Standings Tight After First Five Events
Following the first five races of the season, Team Penske’s No. 22 Ford Mustang team leads the JR Motorsport’s No. 88 Chevrolet Camaro team by eight points in the NASCAR XFINITY Series owner points standings.
Kevin Harvick’s win last weekend at Auto Club Speedway jumped the No. 88 team to second in the owner standings, leapfrogging the two Richard Childress Racing (Nos. 3 and 33) teams.
Penske’s No. 22 Ford team led by crew chief Greg Irwin with drivers Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano took the owner standings lead following Logano’s win at Phoenix, and have held on to it thanks to Keselowski’s top 10 last weekend at Fontana.
Both the No. 22 Ford team (3.6) and the No. 88 Chevrolet team (5.4) have posted notable average finishes this season.
Roger Penske is looking to capture his third consecutive NASCAR XFINITY Series owner title this season. If he can accomplish the feat he will become the third owner in series history to win three in a row joining Joe Gibbs (2008-10) and William Baumgardner (1995-97).
XFINITY Series FOX Sports Booth Driver Guests Continue To Delight
Nobody can bring you precise, insightful and relevant commentary during a NASCAR XFINITY Series race broadcast like the actual drivers themselves and this season the stellar NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver lineup in the TV Booth at FOX Sports has been knocking it out of the park. Alongside FOX Sports hosts Adam Alexander and Michael Waltrip, a rotation of drivers have been stepping into the limelight and offering their captivating views; the result – pure magic.
The 2015 NASCAR XFINITY Series season kicked off with 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Kevin Harvick covering the Daytona event followed by 2012 NSCS champ Brad Keselowski at Las Vegas. The two traded off the next two races and then we had 2008 NASCAR XFINITY Series champion Clint Bowyer take the reins in Fontana. All three personalities have brought creative analytical commentary that has been resonating with the fans.
While the red hot FOX Sports booth will get the chance to cool down this off weekend, expect all eyes to be locked on next weekend’s broadcast from Texas because four-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon will make his FOX Sports TV booth debut. Gordon is one of the most revered drivers in the garage today. Along with his four NSCS titles he brings a lifetime of motorsports knowledge and insight that is almost unmatched. If the audience can expect to see even the tiniest drop of class and eloquent detailed understanding of the sport we have come to know from Gordon, than the fans are in for a treat when he steps in front of the camera on April 10.
Below is a list of 12 NASCAR XFINITY SERIES races on FOX and FOX Sports 1 for which NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers are scheduled to serve as guest analysts:
Race Date/Airtime Network Driver/guest analyst
Texas April 10 (8:30 PM ET) FOX Sports 1 Jeff Gordon
Bristol April 18 (1:30 PM ET) FOX Sports 1 Jeff Gordon
Richmond April 24 (7:30 PM ET) FOX Sports 1 Brad Keselowski
Talladega May 2 (1:30 PM ET) FOX Jeff Gordon
Charlotte May 23 (2:30 PM ET) FOX Clint Bowyer
Dover May 30 (2:30 PM ET) FOX Kevin Harvick
Michigan June 13 (1:30 PM ET) FOX Sports 1 Danica Patrick
*subject to change
This season, FOX Sports adds coverage of the NASCAR XFINITY SERIES for the first 14 races of the year. FOX Sports 1 telecasts 10 of the events while FOX broadcasts the races from Phoenix, Talladega, Charlotte and Dover.
NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES
Custer To Pilot JR Motorsports’ No. 00 Chevrolet Silverado In Team’s Trucks Debut
Fresh off its first NASCAR XFINITY Series driver championship – powered by the efforts of then-18-year-old wunderkind Chase Elliott (the youngest title-winner in NASCAR national series history) – JR Motorsports makes its first foray into the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, debuting at Martinsville Speedway with another teenage prodigy – Cole Custer (the youngest NASCAR national series race and pole winner).
Custer, 17, will pilot the No. 00 Haas Automation Chevrolet Silverado in Saturday’s Kroger 250 (2:30 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1), the first of 10 scheduled races he will run for JRM this season. Last year in his first NCWTS campaign, he amassed one victory, two poles, two top fives, six top 10s and 150 laps led in nine starts.
JR Motorsports, owned by Dale Earnhardt Jr., has fielded race teams since 2002 and launched its XFINITY Series program in 2006. The team boasts 23 XFINITY Series wins and 42 late model victories, including track championships in 2012 and 2014. Elliott’s XFINITY Series championship paired with Regan Smith’s runner-up showing in points marked the first time in JRM’s history it secured a one-two finish atop the standings.
Kyle Busch Motorsports Looks To Continue Martinsville Streak
For the last four years, Kyle Busch Motorsports has been a fixture in Victory Lane at Martinsville Speedway. The Mooresville-based racing team has won one race each season at “The Paperclip” from 2011-14 (Denny Hamlin, 2011-12; Darrell Wallace Jr., 2013-14). Each of those races was in the fall though; none were won in the spring. KBM rival ThorSport has taken the last two checkered flags in the spring Martinsville showdowns (Johnny Sauter, 2013; Matt Crafton, 2014). Furthermore, Hamlin is not entered in Saturday’s Kroger 250 and Darrell Wallace Jr. has moved on to the XFINITY Series with Roush Fenway Racing, so a fresh face will have to continue KBM’s streak.
Three drivers will attempt to pilot their KBM Toyota Tundra’s past the finish line first: Erik Jones (No. 4), Daniel Suarez (No. 51) and Justin Boston (No. 54). Only Jones has competed at Martinsville. He claims finishes of ninth, 18th and fourth at the .526-mile track. Jones made his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series debut at Martinsville in April 2013.
Moto Family: John Hunter Nemechek Takes Father “Front Row” Joe’s Place For 2015 Debut
The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series got a taste of “Modern Family” at Auto Club Speedway last weekend when actor Eric Stonestreet served as the race’s Official Pace Car driver.
This Saturday, the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will witness the third episode of its “Moto Family” when John Hunter Nemechek makes his 2015 debut in relief of his father “Front Row” Joe Nemechek.
As a driver under the age of 18, Nemechek is limited to racing on tracks that are road courses of 1.25 miles or less in length. Last season, he ran a split schedule with his father, logging six top-10 finishes in 10 starts, with a best showing of fourth. Expectations are high for the younger Nemechek this season after his win at the Snowball Derby – one of the most prestigious events in short-track racing – in December.
Following this weekend’s race, Joe will compete in three of the next four events, lending the seat to John Hunter again at Dover. John Hunter turns 18 on June 11 and will take over the No. 8 NEMCO Motorsports Chevrolet full-time at Gateway on June 13.
Standings Snapshot
After a month-long layoff, the high-octane NASCAR Camping World Truck Series is back in action at Martinsville Speedway on Saturday.
Tyler Reddick is its current standings leader. The 19-year-old Brad Keselowski Racing driver is followed by Matt Crafton (-2), Erik Jones (-7), Johnny Sauter (-15) and James Buescher (-24).
Crafton is the two-time defending series champion. Jones leads all Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidates in the standings. Buescher took the Truck Series title in 2012.
Rounding out the top 10 are Bryan Silas (-27), Ben Kennedy (-29), Ray Black Jr. (-29), Joe Nemechek (-29) and Korbin Forrister (-31).
Can Kennedy Build On Strong Atlanta Finish?
“Ken” he do it?
This weekend at Martinsville, Ben Kennedy will attempt to build off his strong Atlanta showing, where he won his first career Keystone Light Pole Award and tied his personal-best with a third-place finish.
History shows he “Ken.”
The No. 11 Red Horse Racing driver will try to top that career-high third-place finish he originally set at Martinsville last spring when he heads back to “The Paper Clip” for Saturday’s Kroger 250. In two other starts at the .526-mile track, Kennedy owns finishes of fourth (fall of 2013) and 16th (fall of 2014).
Rookies Readied For Martinsville At Test
At times, the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series can be unkind to rookies. The inexperienced drivers often struggle having to keep up with grizzled veterans like Matt Crafton, Jonny Sauter and Timothy Peters.
Fortunately, the NCWTS rookie testing rule allows first-year drivers to test on tracks they have yet to race on.
Justin Boston, Daniel Suarez and Daniel Hemric put the extra work in, gaining valuable seat time last Tuesday at Martinsville Speedway – a track that can be unforgiving if a driver is not technically sound.
NASCAR fans will see if practice made perfect in Saturday’s Kroger 250 at “The Paperclip.” Boston and Hemric hope to land in the top 10 for the first time this season, while Suarez attempts to improve on his fourth-place Atlanta showing.
NCWTS Youth Movement
One cool aspect of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series is that it acts as a proving ground for young drivers to test their skills.
Saturday’s Kroger 250 at Martinsville Speedway marks the first race of the season that drivers between the ages of 16 and 18 can compete. Wheelmen from that age group can only race on road courses or tracks 1.25 miles or less in length. Seventeen year olds Cole Custer, Gray Gaulding and John Hunter Nemechek will all make their 2015 NCWTS debuts this weekend. Although the youngest, they are not the only youthful drivers in the series. Erik Jones, Cameron Hayley, Brandon Jones and Matt Tifft, all 18 years old, are also entered at Martinsville. Series points lead Tyler Reddick turned 19 in January.
