Richard Childress Racing at Martinsville Speedway … In 180 NASCAR Cup Series starts at Martinsville Speedway, RCR has seven victories, five by Dale Earnhardt (1985-fall, 1987-spring, 1988-spring, 1991-spring, and 1995-fall). Ricky Rudd won the 1983 fall race at Martinsville, which was RCR’s first Cup Series win on an oval. Kevin Harvick won the 2011 spring race at Martinsville, his first victory at the .526-mile paved speedway. The team owns 30 top-five and 64 top-10 finishes entering Saturday night’s race. Team owner Richard Childress made his first start at Martinsville Speedway on April 10, 1972 and reeled off four top-10 finishes sprinkled across the 1976-1978 seasons.
Xfinity Series Stats at Richmond … RCR has one NASCAR Xfinity Series victory at Martinsville Speedway. Kevin Harvick captured the 2006 event followed closely by teammate Clint Bowyer. Harvick and Bowyer combined to lead 207 of the event’s 250 laps enroute to a 1-2 finish. Bowyer also captured his first career Xfinity Series short-track pole position.
Catch Friday’s Action … The Call 811 Before You Dig 250 at Martinsville Speedway will be televised live on Friday, April 8 at 7:30 p.m. ET on FS1 and will be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
Follow Saturday’s Action in Martinsville … The Blu-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 400 will be televised live on Saturday, April 9 beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET on FS1 and will be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
This Week’s Get Bioethanol Camaro ZL1 at Martinsville Speedway … In 16 NASCAR Cup Series starts at Martinsville Speedway, Dillon earned his best finish in April 2016 at the half-mile short track. He scored a fourth-place finish, rallying back from a 29th-place starting position. Dillon also owns a fifth-place finish at the .526-mile speedway (April 2017). He has made four NASCAR Truck Series starts at Martinsville, earning his best finish of third in October 2011.
Delivering Performance On the Track and For the Planet … Austin Dillon will race the Get Bioethanol Chevy in Martinsville, showcasing the performance benefits of racing with earth kind and engine smart bioethanol blended fuel, Sunoco Green E15. Whether it’s delivering cleaner and cooler high octane on the racetrack or a more affordable option for spring break road trips, plant-based bioethanol makes a positive impact on our planet. Learn more about bioethanol at getbioethanol.com.
AUSTIN DILLON QUOTE:
How do you feel about short tracks like Martinsville Speedway?
“I’m really excited for Martinsville Speedway. Martinsville is a place where you can really race hard. It’s a short track. It’s one of those places where you go through so many emotions during the course of the race. Someone might bump you and that give-and-take can get frustrating. It’s a short little paperclip, with hard-braking corners. We’ve had some solid runs there, and I think that we can go back and do it again. We have Get Bioethanol on the car, and everyone on our team will be pumped up when we get there. Martinsville is a race we circle on the schedule every year because we know we have a shot to win. We raced at a similar short track at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum earlier this year and Tyler and I both ran well. It was a good start to the season for us with this Next Gen Chevy. We finished third and based on that, I think we’ll be able to back that up with a strong run this weekend at Martinsville.”
This Week’s 3CHI Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 at Martinsville Speedway … Tyler Reddick will take on Martinsville Speedway, also known as ‘The Paperclip,’ for the fifth time of his NASCAR Cup Series career on Saturday under the lights. Reddick made his first Cup Series start at the Virginia track in 2020 starting 14th and finished 16th. At the spring race last season, Reddick grabbed his career-best track finish of eighth in the No. 8 Chevrolet. During his time competing in the NASCAR Truck Series, Reddick made six starts at Martinsville. He had two top-five finishes and three top 10s to his name. His best finish of fifth (twice) came at both races in 2015.
3CHI Stands with Ukraine, Donates Proceeds in Support … This weekend at Martinsville Speedway, Tyler Reddick will pilot the No. 8 3CHI Chevrolet with a special decklid in support of the ongoing crisis in Ukraine. The decklid features the colors of the Ukrainian flag with the words “Stand with Ukraine.” 3CHI is making this donation because they want to do their part to help, as an organization and in association with Richard Childress Racing, and to inspire others to step forward. 3CHI will donate 10 percent of online sales this weekend on 3CHI.com toward Ukraine relief efforts to the Ukrainian Red Cross.
3CHI Blazed the Trail for Another Industry First … 3CHI and Richard Childress Racing created another first with their partnership for the 2022 NASCAR season. 3CHI began with roots as a CBD producer and quickly became a pioneer in science-based hemp and cannabis innovation. The company was the first to commercially develop and market Delta 8 THC, and today, 3CHI is an industry leader with unsurpassed product quality and purity as verified by top independent labs and benchmark organizations. 3CHI products are sold in a majority of the United States, and the company produces and markets a variety of gummies, tinctures, lotions, edibles and vape products. All 3CHI products meet federal requirements for full legal compliance, with a commitment to promoting responsible adult use. See 3CHI.com for more information.
TYLER REDDICK QUOTES:
What’s the mindset heading to Martinsville Speedway this Saturday?
“With the speed that we had at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum for The Clash in the beginning of the season, we are very intrigued and curious to see how the speed that we had at a short track that is very similar to Martinsville’s shape and banking translates to the bigger of the two racetracks. With this new car, we saw that, at Richmond in particular, that with a similar tire, it raced a lot more like last year’s car than we’ve seen at other races. I’m assuming that the tire isn’t much different, I haven’t heard anything about the tire yet. If that remains fairly close then I would think that the race will play out a lot like the races did with the last car, too. Richmond is always a long race filled with lots of opportunities to make a mistake that really changes the outcome of your day, that’s how it will be this weekend at Martinsville, too. Hopefully our setup is right for Saturday, and we can take the things we learned from Richmond and put them into our plans. Track position and staying up front all day long is going to be very important. Outside of that, we just need to keep executing clean races and make the most out of our days.”
How do you feel your season is going so far?
“There have certainly been a lot of highs and lows this season. Being so close to that first win has been tough but also has just added more motivation. My team and everyone at ECR have been working around the clock on these new cars to bring us fast Chevys every single week and they have. Everyone has been working so hard on the ins and outs of the car as well as strategy, setup, everything. We have consistently brought strong and fast cars to every racetrack. Sometimes luck hasn’t been on our side, but I know that if we continue to execute the right way and work on improving certain elements, our time is coming. Looking back, we’ve been able to run up front for most of the races and we’ve also been able to fight back from a lot of deficits. Richmond last week showed that. None of us were necessarily happy with how the car was running but we were able to salvage a 12th-place finish and stay in it the best we could. I’ve learned a lot as a driver about this new car and I know everyone at RCR has, too. This season is long, and we’ve got so much racing left to do. I’m proud of our results this far and know we will achieve even better ones.”
This Week’s Whelen Engineering Chevrolet Camaro SS at Martinsville Speedway … Sheldon Creed will be making his first Martinsville Speedway start in the NASCAR Xfinity Series on Friday night. He has two top-10 finishes in five Truck Series starts at Martinsville with a best finish of eighth in 2020. He is 12th in the NASCAR Xfinity Series drivers standings, 27 points outside of the top 10.
About Whelen Engineering … Whelen Engineering is a family-owned company with a pioneering spirit and a passion to protect the lives of those who protect and serve others. The company mission is to provide industry-defining safety solutions around the world, while creating a community of problem-solvers who are inspired to push boundaries and continue our legacy of delivering ground-breaking innovation. As a global leader in the emergency warning industry, Whelen has been trusted to perform since 1952, when George Whelen III invented the first rotating aviation beacon. Whelen now encompasses two state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities in Connecticut and New Hampshire with over 750,000 square feet of engineering and manufacturing space and the largest design staff in the industry. Every part of every Whelen product is proudly designed and manufactured in America. We embrace quality as our foundation, we celebrate innovative engineering in every product we produce.
SHELDON CREED QUOTES:
The race at Martinsville is relatively short (250 laps) and track position is very important. That is a challenge with a limited amount of practice before qualifying.
“You’ve got to be up front at the beginning and you’ve got stay relatively close to the front pretty much the whole race because the race is so short and it is so hard to pass there. That will be our goal. Hopefully we have the speed to do it and can run up front all day. I’ve had good races there in the past and felt like I should have won there in the Trucks in 2020. I’ve had speed, led laps and been in the top five a lot there, I just feel like the finish never goes our way. I’m looking forward to getting back there and being able to click off a top-five.”
How challenging is pit road at Martinsville?
“Martinsville’s pit road is tough but I wouldn’t say it’s the hardest that we go to on the circuit. Phoenix is tough just because the boxes are different and then you have the long corners. Pit road at Martinsville is tough but not quite that challenging.”
Is it easy to lose your temper at Martinsville?
“It is easy to lose your cool at Martinsville, not so much if you’re running inside the top 10 though. If you get outside the top 10 and start getting bumped around, it can get pretty frustrating.”
This Week’s Bennett Transportation and Logistics Chevrolet Camaro SS at Martinsville Speedway … Hill will be making his first Martinsville Speedway start in NASCAR Xfinity Series competition on Friday evening. He scored a second-place in the 2021 Truck Series race at Martinsville and owns three top-10 finishes in 11 starts at the paperclip-shaped oval. Hill enters the Martinsville event ninth in the series drivers standings. With his victory in the season-opening event at Daytona, Hill has clinched a spot in the 2022 NASCAR Playoffs.
About Bennett Family of Companies … McDonough, Ga.-based Bennett Family of Companies is a woman-owned, Women’s Enterprise Business Council (WBENC) certified, diversified transportation and logistics company. Through its 12 affiliated operating companies, the Bennett Family of Companies delivers integrated transportation and supply chain management solutions worldwide. The company will use race experiences to recruit and retain hundreds of truck drivers for their organization in 2022. For more information, visit www.Drive4Bennett.com.
AUSTIN HILL QUOTES:
How big of a factor is taking care of your brakes at Martinsville?
“There’s a balance to taking care of your brakes at Martinsville Speedway. The first few times I went to Martinsville it seemed like the brake pedal would get a little soft, but we were also running in a little bit warmer weather. I’m planning to use the brake pedal a lot. Even though it is a short race you can still burn the brakes off it if you’re not careful so we have to be mindful of that. You definitely want to have brakes to use when you need them.”
Is track position more critical at Martinsville than at any other track?
“I think track position is very critical. Last year in the Truck race we lost some track position but I was able to work my way back up. If you have a car that’s good enough, you can do it, but it makes life a lot easier when you run inside the top five all day. Hopefully we have a fast Bennett Transportation and Logistics Chevrolet and we can stay out of harm’s way. It can get wild at the end of these races at Martinsville so we just want to stay out of all the mess and melee that’s going on and have a solid top five day.”
