Championship leaders talk about racing at Martinsville and each other
Martinsville and Jimmie Johnson go together like bread and butter. Even championship contender Matt Kenseth said, “…you can almost pencil the 48 in here.” Johnson has been extremely impressive, with eight wins in 23 starts. He comes into the weekend with a slim four point lead over Kenseth.
Kenseth, who started off the Chase with two wins and the points lead, was asked if he would prefer to be leading or in the underdog mode chasing the leader. Kenseth replied, “I can’t imagine for the life of me anybody that wouldn’t want to have the points lead or why you wouldn’t want to have it. Certainly, we started off strong. We still perform pretty well, we didn’t have the finish last week and that was really disappointing. A couple other ones we didn’t quite have the finish, but certainly I wish we were still leading and you would have want to have as big of a lead as you could and I think anybody would.”
Kenseth’s record at the flat half-mile is less than stellar, especially compared to Johnson. In 27 starts, Matt has only three top-5 and eight top-10’s. Johnson has eight wins in only 23 starts. This past spring, however, Kenseth seemed to have Martinsville figured out. Even though he only finished 14th, he led 96 laps and ran strong most of the day. 96 laps is more than he led in all of his Martinsville starts combined up to that point.
“I don’t know why it’s always been such a struggle, although I do feel like the last couple years on average has been much better.” Kenseth continued, “This spring at least the first half of the race we were really good and really competitive, and really, really helped me be better because we had the car good.”
Before this season, Kenseth had started all of his Martinsville races with Roush-Fenway Racing. He made the change to Joe Gibbs Racing after 2012 and has improved in several areas. The most noticeable of which is qualifying.
Johnson talked about how good Martinsville has been for him, “Without a doubt it’s been a good track for the No. 48 team. It doesn’t guarantee anything for this weekend’s race and we have to go out and get everything we can in this first practice session and then try to get our best two laps possible for qualifying. We all know how important that first pit stall is and it can make life so much easier come Sunday afternoon.”
Johnson seemed confident and very laid back on Friday. Those traits could spell trouble for the rest of the field. When this team is this confident, they are almost unbeatable, but more importantly, they rarely beat themselves. That is a crucial factor at this track. Drivers who get antsy, over aggressive and/or angry, will use up their equipment pre-maturely and find themselves hanging on for dear life.
Johnson was also asked about racing against Matt Kenseth now, compared to 2006 when the two went head-to-head. He replied, “We have had a good banter texting back and forth. For a guy that can come across dry, as we all know in here, he is awfully funny. He asked me to not pester him and ask him for too many tips this weekend and bunch of other things.” He continued, “I think his departure from Roush and then joining up with Gibbs it’s filled in some weak spots that you would normally think that Matt would have. This track is a perfect example.” Referring to the Roush-Fenway team’s historical poor performance at Martinsville.
Danica returning to site of her best performance of the season
Martinsville Speedway was not the site of Danica Patrick’s best finish of the season. That, of course, was the season opening Daytona 500. The spring race at Martinsville, however, was the site of her most impressive performance.
When Patrick sat on the pole at Daytona, her critics instantly began saying “Well anybody can qualify at Daytona”. After she stayed near the front for most of the day and finished a very respectable eighth, the critics continued, “Well, it’s Daytona, anyone can run well at restrictor plate tracks”.
The flat half-mile paperclip, has been referred to by many drivers all week as the toughest track on the schedule. In the STP Gas Booster 500 earlier this season, Patrick qualified a dismal 32nd. Qualifying has not been her strong suit. She followed that up with a very impressive run in the race, however.
Patrick fought her way through the field into the top-15. She then got involved in a spin and had to restart at the near the rear of the field. She started the process again, fighting her way back to the front and into the top-10, accomplishing the feat not only once, but twice.
She appeared well on her way to a top-10 finish until some late race beating and banging with Brian Vickers bumped her just outside the top-10 finishing 12th. Funny, we didn’t hear the critics praising her for her good performance.
Patrick’s run at Martinsville was very impressive, especially for a rookie. That is one thing we all seem to forget in regards to her – she is a rookie. Many of the top drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series had less than stellar years in their rookie season. Patrick’s is no different.
She has also torn up several racecars this season, but, so did four-time series champion, Jeff Gordon. Also, let’s not forget the rookie year for Tim Richmond, he hit everything but the pace car! Let’s at least give her the opportunity to learn before we rule her out as someone who will never make it in this series.
While Patrick may not contend for the win in Sunday’s Goody’s 500, she may very well find herself in the top-10. When all the drivers a person races against every week, point out how tough a track is, hopefully, they will respect the results a driver get at that track. If Patrick repeats her success this weekend, it will be interesting to see if the critics step-up and give her credit for a job well done.
Martinsville Tidbits
The Goody’s 500 is the seventh race of the 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Chase. A flat, tight half-mile oval nestled in Southern Virginia that most drivers either love or hate. One thing they almost all agree on, however, is that it is the toughest of all NASCAR tracks. One thing is for sure – the race will be exciting and the action non-stop. Here are a few tidbits and storylines to follow for this weekend’s event:
- Points leader, Jimmie Johnson, has an unprecedented record at Martinsville. In 23 starts, he has compiled an amazing eight wins and 16 top-5 finishes. Johnson is definitely the favorite for this weekend
- Jeff Gordon, Johnson’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate, has an exceptional record at Martinsville as well. Gordon has seven wins and 26 top-5 finishes in 41 starts at the paperclip. Don’t forget the Gordon-Johnson battle we had a few years ago. We could see another one Sunday!
- Dale Earnhardt Jr’s Chase hopes got off to a rocky start at Chicago with a blown engine. He has been clawing his way back and Martinsville has been a good track for Earnhardt. He has ten top-5’s in 27 starts. Look for him to have a good day on Sunday.
- Kyle Busch made his way back to third in the standings at Talladega. To gain any ground here at Martinsville, he has to on top of his game and maintain his composure at a track known to flare tempers.
- Tied with Busch in the standings, Kevin Harvick said yesterday his team has to win some races to have a chance to beat Johnson. Harvick’s record at Martinsville is mediocre. To make any ground up in the standings at Martinsville, his Richard Childress Racing team will have to find some strategy to get him out front late in the race and let Harvick hold off the challengers. Harvick runs well here in the truck series, so he knows how to get around this track.
- Danica Patrick has struggled a several track this season, ran extremely well here last spring. Patrick worked her way through the field to a solid 12th place finish in what many consider her best performance of the year. Can she repeat that success?
- Richard Petty Motorsports driver Aric Almirola will finish out the season with interim crew chief, Greg Ebert, after the team released veteran crew chief Todd Parrott for violating NASCAR’s substance abuse policy. Almirola has had a respectable season and looks as if his team is ready to take the next step, but will the shake-up atop the pitbox hinder their progress?
- Kyle Larson will make his second Sprint Cup Series start this weekend in the No. 51 Target Chevrolet. Larson was impressive in his debut at Talladega until he lost an engine. Now we will see what he can do on a short track.
- Elliott Sadler will begin his stint in the No. 55 entry for Michael Waltrip Racing this weekend. Sadler will be filling in for Brian Vickers, who is out for the season with blood clots in his leg, a similar condition that sidelined him in 2010.
Martinsville always provides an excellent race and will create its own story lines as the weekend progresses. Guaranteed we will not see a single file freight train in the last ten laps!
Carl Edwards: “There’s no guy I’d be more proud to finish in front of then Jimmie.”
Every series has it’s top dog, top team – someone that everyone wants to beat. When it comes to NASCAR, there’s only one simple answer in the view of many – Jimmie Johnson. Johnson won five straight championships, before losing the last two to Tony Stewart and Brad Keselowski. With that, he is the championship favourite to many and the one that many predict will win the championship this year.
In speaking during the test at Texas Motor Speedway, Carl Edwards says there’s something special about the No. 48 team.
“They’re able to turn it up when they need to,” he commented.”
Edwards says while everybody would say the battle of the Chase pasts would be him versus Stewart when they tied, the real battle in Edwards’ mind is Johnson versus the field.
“Those guys have a way of making things happen when they need to,” he added. “Brad proved last year that they can be beaten. They can make mistakes and be forced into errors, but man, they do a really good job and makes you just want to hate Jimmie and Chad. But they’re nice guys and really good competitors.”
Back in 2005 when Edwards won his first Sprint Cup Series race, he won it by beating Johnson to the line by inches.
“The first guy to victory lane dumping Gatorade on my head was Jimmie Johnson,” Edwards recalled. “I thought that was just how everybody is in the sport. But they’re not. He’s a unique competitor, a guy that likes to race and that’s why it’ll mean a lot more to beat him.”
The secret that the No. 48 team has is unknown but Edwards says it’s due to them working hard and striving on competition.
“Those are always the guys that you got to worry about – the guys that keep their heads down and work and love what they do,” Edwards said. “Those are the guys that do it the best.”
After leading the points after the first 26 races, it looked like Edwards would be one of the serious title contenders come Chase time this year and be up there with Johnson and Matt Kenseth. However, six races into the Chase, Edwards currently sits 10th in points.
“Right now, I feel a little bit like we’re behind and I don’t know what it is,” he commented. “I don’t think it’s a function of the car, but our rather a function of our set-ups. But we’re slowly gaining ground.”
Edwards feels one of the spots that Roush-Fenway Racing is lacking is on the mile and a halves, which is one of the reasons that he was glad to test at Texas Motor Speedway this past weekend.
“This is a great opportunity to learn some things that not only apply to this track but Homestead,” he said. “We tried last week….well, I didn’t come. My guys did and tried to get the test in. now we have perfect weather and we have a whole other day to test so hopefully it’s fruitful and hopefully it’ll translate to a win. I like winning here; its fun to win here.”
With being out of the Championship hunt, Edwards says his team has two simple goals for the rest of the year – win as many race as possible and prepare for next year.
“It starts over again very quickly and every bonus point that you can get through wins next season can help you towards winning the championship,” he said. “For us, we’re trying to win every race that we can because we’re not putting this season behind us yet.”
One of the things that is helping Edwards get things back on track is his experienced crew chief – Jimmy Fennig.
“We’ve not had problems between us,” Edwards said. “It’s been extremely positive. He’s an expert on every facet of our sport. He not only knows every bit of the set-up, but also strategy, how to work with people and get them motivated, get the most out of me. The only thing I wish was he was 15 years younger so we could do this a lot longer. I don’t know how much longer hell do this, but I’ll drag him along as long as he’ll have me.”
