NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Martinsville
Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.
1. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth led 202 laps at Martinsville and finished second, unable to keep eventual winner Jeff Gordon at bay over the closing laps. Kenseth’s runner-up finish forged a tie in the points standings with Jimmie Johnson.
“While I’m thrilled to be knotted atop the points standings with Johnson,” Kenseth said, “Johnson isn’t. In other words, Jimmie’s fit to be tied.”
2. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson finished fifth at Martinsville, three spots behind Matt Kenseth, as Hendrick teammate Jeff Gordon took the win. Kenseth and Johnson sit tied atop the points standings, 27 ahead of Gordon.
“While Greg Biffle confronted me,” Johnson said, “Kenseth in-fronted me. If only Kenseth were as easy to handle as Greg Biffle, you could hand me the Cup right now.”
3. Jeff Gordon: Gordon won for the first time this season, capturing the Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500 at Martinsville and vaulting from fifth to third in the Sprint Cup points standings. He trails Jimmie Johnson and Matt Kenseth by 27.
“I put myself back in the Cup picture,” Gordon said. “Unfortunately, when I try to imagine myself as 2013 Sprint Cup champion, I just can’t ‘picture’ it.”
4. Kevin Harvick: Harvick finished sixth in the Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500 at Martisville. He is fourth in the points standings. 28 out of first.
“If you saw the Trucks race,” Harvick said, “you know I have a problem with drivers who have been ‘grandfathered in.’ Now you know why I’m leaving Richard Childress Racing. Those kids don’t know what they’re ‘Dillon’ with.”
5. Clint Bowyer: Bowyer took third at Martinsville, posting his ninth top-5 result of the year. He is sixth in the Sprint Cup points standings, 55 out of the lead.
“The 5-Hour Energy car finished third in the Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500,” Bowyer said. “It seems that Goody’s has taken 5-Hour Energy’s concept and used it to their advantage. You could say they’ve put a ‘new spin’ on shots.”
6. Dale Earnhardt, Jr.: Earnhardt came home eighth at Martinsville as Hendrick Motorsports placed three drivers in the top 10, led by Jeff Gordon’s first win of the year. Earnhardt is seventh in the points standings, 56 out of first.
“Army National Guard renewed their sponsorship of the No. 88 car,” Earnhardt said. “As you know, the fans of Junior Nation love the ‘armed services,’ especially if that arm is handing them a beverage.”
7. Kyle Busch: After two fifth-place finishes in his last two races, Busch finished a disappointing 15th at Martinsville. He is fifth in the points standings, 36 out of first.
“How about Darrell Wallace becoming only the second black driver to win a NASCAR-sanctioned race?” said Busch. “Now, NASCAR’s Drive For Diversity has a new slogan celebrating black heritage in NASCAR. It’s called ‘What A Race!’”
8. Greg Biffle: Biffle started 33rd and finished ninth at Martinsville. He is eighth in the points standings, 58 out of first.
“I made like my rear bumper,” Biffle said, “and got all up in Jimmie Johnson’s grill.
9. Brad Keselowski: After struggling at Talladega, Keselowski finished fourth at Martinsville, one of only two Fords in the top 10.
“All this controversy at Martinsville,” Keselowski said, “and none of it involves me. Once again, I’ve been ‘left out.’”
10. Carl Edwards: Edwards finished 12th at Martinsville and is now tenth in the Sprint Cup points standings, 76 out of first.
“Greg Biffle obviously needs a course in confrontation etiquette,” Edwards said. “And I’m the man to do it. Of all people, I’m the one that knows how to teach a teammate a lesson.”
Almirola Pumped For Richard Petty Motorsports 500th Start In Texas
Aric Almirola is fired up to return to Texas Motor Speedway, not necessarily because of the 1.5 mile track, but because he’s hoping to deliver a good finish for Richard Petty Motorsports (RPM) in their 500th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) start. Almriola is expecting better than his spring finish at Texas, which was 7th.
“I’m really proud to be a part of Richard Petty Motorsports’ 500th start. This team has gone through a lot in the past few years.” Almriola said. “We’ve really come a long way and have made strides this season to get to where we know we can be. Hopefully, we can hit the 500 mark and celebrate in Victory Lane this weekend.”
Almirola will be alongside teammate Marcos Ambrose in assisting the team (RPM) in their 500th start. Richard Petty Motorsports was formed by 7-time NSCS champion in 2009 season. The team rapidly expanded to a single-car NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) operation and a two-car NSCS operation.
“It is really exciting to reach the 500 start mark with RPM. This team has come a long way since it started and even in the three years I have been here.” said Marcos Ambrose. “I came here and we quickly had to get over some adversity, but we developed a strong base with Richard Petty, Andrew Murstein, Doug Bergeron and our other investors and partners. We developed a base and were able to capitalize by winning at Watkins Glen for consecutive two years. We also put ourselves into a position to make the Chase for the past two years. This year wasn’t what we hoped for on the track, but off the track, we’re stronger than ever.”
Almirola though is also trying to hit other milestones this weekend in Texas. Almirola drove the No. 41 this past weekend in Martinsville to honor Maurice Petty, but this weekend he’s back in the No. 43 looking to take the machine to victory lane. If you didn’t know, the No. 43 hasn’t seen victory lane since the 1999 NSCS season.
“Texas is completely different. The shape is very similar to Atlanta and Charlotte but completely different in its own right. The way the banking falls away off Turn Two and the entry to Turn Three is really flat, so both of those corners are tricky.” Almriola explained about Texas Motor Speedway. “The asphalt is old and wore out, which is fun to race on a track like that. I’m really looking forward to going to Texas. We had a really good car there in the spring. We ran really well there and were really fast. We have learned a lot over these last several months since we were there in April. I feel like we will be really good this week.”
The No. 43 squad with Greg Ebert at the helm, as the crew chief, won’t be changing the chassis from the spring after the seventh-place run.
“With the new Gen-6 car, we have shown a lot of improvement over the season at 1.5-mile tracks. Texas is a really fast track, so we’ll work hard to make sure the car handles well. We’ll really focus on turning well in the corners, so we can pick up speed on the straightaways. We finished really well at Texas this spring, and I think we can follow that up with another good finish this week.”
Almirola is trying to finish what Lee Petty, Richard Petty and John Andretti have done and that’s reach 200 wins in the famed No.43. The number currently has 198 wins to its name and Almirola’s looking to make that 199 this weekend in Texas.
