First Data 500 at Martinsville Speedway
No. 95 WRL General Contractors Chevrolet Notes:
· SMITH BY THE NUMBERS: In 12 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series career starts at Martinsville, Regan Smith has an average start of 22.8 and an average finish of 25.6. He’s completed 5,827 of 6,027 (96.7 percent) career laps and has led for a total of two laps at the half-mile track.
· RACE INFO: The First Data 500 at Martinsville Speedway (0.526-mile) begins at 2:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, October 28th. The race will be broadcast live on NBCSN, Sirius XM Channel 90 and MRN Radio.
Smith’s Career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Stats at Martinsville:
Date Event: S F Laps Status
04/01/07 Goody’s Cool Orange 500 36 26 498/500 Running
03/30/08 Goody’s Cool Orange 500 33 14 500/500 Running
10/19/08 Tums QuickPak 500 30 42 417/504 Running
03/29/10 Goody’s Fast Paint Relief 500 28 32 496/508 Running
10/24/10 Tums Fast Relief 500 13 31 442/500 Running
04/03/11 Goody’s Fast Relief 500 10 31 476/500 Running
10/30/11 Tums Fast Relief 500 26 13 500/500 Running
04/01/12 Goody’s Fast Relief 500 17 16 513/515 Running
04/07/13 STP Gas Booster 500 18 22 500/500 Running
03/29/15 STP 500 7 16 500/500 Running
04/03/16 STP 500 34 34 491/500 Running
10/30/16 Goody’s Fast Relief 500 21 30 494/500 Running
Smith’s Career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Stats at Martinsville:
Races Wins Top 5s Top 10s Poles
Cumulative 12 0 0 0 0
Smith’s 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Season Stats:
Starts Wins Top-5’s Top-10’s Poles Laps Led Avg. Start Avg. Finish
7 0 0 1 0 10 28.4 19.6
Smith’s Career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Stats:
Starts Wins Top-5’s Top-10’s Poles Laps Led Avg. Start Avg. Finish
220 1 4 14 0 64 23.9 24.8
From the Driver’s Seat:
Regan Smith: “Martinsville is definitely one of the more challenging places that we go to on the circuit in terms of getting your car to turn. Getting your car to be able to get up off of the corner, having the drive that you need and the grip with the rear tires so that you’re not spinning the rear tires are all really important factors for there. It’s typically a one-lane racetrack and the transitions from concrete to asphalt really present quite a challenge in terms of getting the car to grip the same over those two varied surfaces, as well as getting the car to transition across them where they have bumps into the corner. There are a lot of things that you have to think about and worry about when it comes to Martinsville. There’s a curb along the bottom lane, so it’s not like other tracks where you can maybe cheat the apron just a little bit to help yourself out. Brakes are always a severe issue there. You really need to work on having your car rolling well so that you aren’t using too much brake as you get into the corner, which can cause bigger problems like blown tires and bead failures. There are a lot of things to keep in mind as we head into the weekend, but Martinsville is one of those places where if you get your car right, it can be a very fun race track. If you can find a balance that lets you be happy with your car, it can even open up some opportunities to pass, especially on old tires. If you manage your tires well it can really pay dividends at the end of the race.”
From the Pit Box:
Jon Leonard: “It is always exciting getting back to Martinsville. Obviously, it’s a short track, which is what so many of us all grew up on. Martinsville is as much about survival as it is having speed in your car. You have to manage both aspects though in order to have a good day. It has also been very cold at Martinsville the last few races, so track position has meant more than tires recently. Long runs of around 100 laps have become common at Martinsville, and everybody wants to focus on pure rear tire grip. More rear grip usually makes the middle of the turn worse, so finding a good compromise, and getting thru the corner without getting uprooted will be the priority. We’ll focus on both and take what we’ve learned from the other short tracks this year and then apply them for this weekend. Small teams like us also see this weekend at Martinsville as an equalizer. It is somewhere we can go and compete at to try and get a top-5 or top-10 finish without focusing so heavily on the aero(dynamic) side of the car. When we focus on mechanical grip and keeping the fenders on it, chances are you’ll come out with a good points day. Anything can happen at Martinsville, we just have to be prepared and ready.”
No. 95 WRL General Contractors Chevrolet Team:
Driver: Regan Smith Crew Chief: Jonathon Leonard
Car Chief: Matt Kimball Spotter: Doug Campbell
Engineer: J.R. Houston Mechanic: Bill Mares
Shock Specialist: Tim Lambert Mechanic: Ryan Dextraze
Tire Specialist: Tony Ramirez Jackman: Jonathan Willard
Fueler: Ryan Dextraze Rear Changer: Cory Baldwin
Front Changer: Chris Winchell Front Carrier: Justin Kirby
Hauler Driver: Damon Lopez
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