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.
When Dale Earnhardt Jr. made his first trip to Martinsville Speedway, it didn't go well as he hit everything, even the pacecar. In his eyes, "it looked like that it was going to be quite a challenge to sort it out and understand what I needed to do." However, a test in the early 2000s paid dividends as Earnhardt was able to hit on something during that time and has since done well at Martinsville, scoring the victory last year.
Following only a pair of top-fives to start the season, Denny Hamlin feels that Joe Gibbs Racing's program could be improved to match the likes of Stewart-Haas Racing, Hendrick Motorsports and Penske Racing. He also feels last week "showed signs of progress" as he ran inside the top-10 all day, before a pit road penalty for an "uncontrolled tire" took him out of contention, resulting in a 28th place finish.
I don’t doubt for a second that some of the debris calls are a little exaggerated. The caution that made me angry was the caution that set up the initial green-white-checkered, where apparently 43 of the world’s greatest drivers couldn’t avoid something that looked to be a soda can or something similar to it for two laps.
Earlier this month, Chip Ganassi Racing made a groundbreaking announcement, stating that they would be fielding two entries in the Global Rallycross Series in 2015.
The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and the Camping World Truck Series head to Martinsville Speedway this weekend. The XFINITY Series is off and will return April 10 at Texas Motor Speedway.
Kurt Busch. Much has been said about the 2004 champion in this early season but after being back from his suspension Busch has been all business. His first week back in his car Busch finished fifth at Phoenix. Although behind teammate Kevin Harvick, who won the race, Busch was pretty happy.
With bad boy Kurt Busch apparently heading to victory, how fortuitous that a caution was called to open up an opportunity to alter the outcome of the race at Fontana. That should be easily enough addressed, one would think. Show us the debris, and it better be something more substantial than a hot dog wrapper.
Harvick finished second in the Auto Club 400, extending his amazing streak with his eighth consecutive top-2 finish. He continues to lead the Sprint Cup points standings, and holds a 28-point cushion over Joey Logano.
In 28 NASCAR Cup Series starts at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway, Spire Motorsports has logged four top-20 finishes. Michael McDowell owns the team's best finish, a 12th-place effort earned in March 2025.
Entering Rounds Three and Four of the 2026 INDY NXT by Firestone season, HMD Motorsports heads to Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama, on March 27–29 focused on contending at the front.
