In his return to IndyCar racing last year, Juan Pablo Montoya didn’t have as much success on the street courses as he would’ve hoped for. However, he’s starting this year off on the right note, scoring the victory in the season opener.
While Team Penske dominated the weekend at St. Petersburg, it was Tony Kanaan that came in to split up the party, finishing third in the middle of a 1-2-4-5 Penske finish.
Entering the weekend at Martinsville Speedway, Denny Hamlin's main focus in his preseason media session was on the struggles that Joe Gibbs Racing has fought through to start the season. In the first five races of the season, Hamlin had only two top-10s. Despite those struggles, Hamlin still believed his team had a shot at the victory as the driver can make up a lot at Martinsville, simply by requiring a certain style and rhythm behind the wheel.
Called upon at 3:30 a.m. EST, Regan Smith agreed to drive the No. 42 Target Chevrolet SS and sub for Kyle Larson, who was sat out of the race due to fainting during an autograph session on Saturday.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. entered Martinsville Speedway with high hopes after scoring his first Grandfather Clock last fall. However, he wouldn't have anything close to the day that he wanted, finishing 36th.
From the first short track of the season with the grandfather clock as the trophy, here is what was surprising and not surprising from Martinsville Speedway’s STP 500.
Will Power dominated the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, but Juan Pablo Montoya would get the advantage following the final set of pit stops. He then held off his Team Penske teammate throughout the final laps, scoring the victory.
Team Penske has dominated so far this weekend in St. Petersburg, and that continued during qualifying as the organization would sweep the top four spots.
The box score shows that Cole Custer finished 16th, but that doesn't represent the speed that the 17-year-old showed at Martinsville Speedway on Saturday.
It will be the 133rd time the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series visits the .526 mile paper clip in southern Virginia, and the winner of the STP 500 will go home with one of the most unique and coveted pieces of hardware in the sport - a grandfather clock from the Ridgeway Clock Company.
Recently crowned and seven-time ASCS (American Sprint Car Series) champion, Sam Hafertepe Jr broke the news on Wednesday afternoon that he will be joining a new team for the 2027 Sprint Car season.
