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Stewart-Haas Racing Shows Support for Fellow Racer

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Photo Credit: Roger Holtsclaw

Amidst rivalries, paybacks, and fierce competition that NASCAR teams know and love, one organization this week has taken efforts to shift the focus from the recent controversy on the track to highlighting the camaraderie and support provided by the relationship of a close-knit NASCAR family.

The Stewart-Haas Racing Teams of Tony Stewart, Ryan Newman, and Danica Patrick all displayed a racing decal in the STP Gas Booster 500 saying “Get Well Soon Denny.”  The decal was in response to the back injuries sustained by Denny Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 FedEx Express Toyota, at Auto Club Motor Speedway on March 24th.  Racing Joey Logano for the win, Hamlin crashed hard into the inside wall.  He was taken to the infield care center where he complained of back pain, and was later taken to the hospital.

Hamlin will be out for five races, and is expected to return to the track for the Bojangles’ Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway on Saturday May 11th.   When asked to comment on the decal, Danica Patrick’s crew chief, Tony Gibson, said, “Denny is a good friend or ours, and Stewart and him are big buddies.  We want to shout out to him.  We hope he feels better soon.”

Denny acknowledges that he has received outpouring support from “pretty much all my peers.”  One thing that sets NASCAR apart from other major sports is that in a time of need controversies and rivalries are all forgotten, and all that matters is helping your fellow racer.

Top-Five Run Ends in 17th Place Finish for Paludo at Martinsville

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Johnson Looking for his 8th Martinsville Win

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Photo Credit: Brad Keppel

Driver of the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet, Jimmie Johnson, won the Coors Light Pole Award for the 64th Annual STP Gas Booster 500 in Martinsville, VA with a record lap of 19.244 seconds.  This is Johnson’s 30th career pole, and his first pole this season.

Success is no stranger to Johnson at Martinsville.  Johnson has a remarkable record at Martinsville Speedway including 7 wins, 3 poles, and 15 top 5 finishes out of 22 starts.

Capturing the pole at Martinsville adds to Johnson’s already impressive record this season in the Sprint Cup series.  He is ranked 3rd in the points following a win at Daytona International Speedway, a 2nd place finish at Phoenix International Raceway, a 6th place finish at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, a 22nd place finish at Bristol Motor Speedway, and a 12th place finish at Auto Club Speedway.

Johnson will lead the way to green on Sunday looking for his 8th track win at Martinsville Speedway in the STP Gas Booster 500 in Martinsville, Virginia.

Martinsville Challenge Gets Tougher for Patrick

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SM Staff
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Photo Credit: Roger Holtsclaw

GoDaddy.com driver, Danica Patrick, qualified 32nd for the STP Gas Booster 500 at Martinsville Speedway in Martinsville, Virginia. Due to an engine swap, Danica will be starting at the rear of the field.

When asked how the strategy has changed today for the No. 10 GoDaddy Chevrolet, crew chief, Tony Gibson said,

“Well it kind of sucks, because anybody you can put between you and the leader is huge in this race. It was a bad deal yesterday, but we had to do it. Our strategy is to do the opposite of the leaders. If they pit we will stay out and vice versa. If they stay out, we will pit and get our tires and let them run 30-40 laps and we will stay out…whatever we have to do to get track position at some time. Hopefully we can stay ahead of the leader long enough to catch some cautions so we can get some people between us and the leader.”

The Sprint Cup Series Rookie of the Year contender has struggled since her impressive season debut winning the pole and finishing 8th at Daytona International Speedway. Patrick’s other Sprint Cup Series finishes this season include 39th at Phoenix International Raceway, 33rd at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, 28th at Bristol Motor Speedway, and 26th at Auto Club Speedway.

Martinsville is always a huge hurdle for rookies. A solid finish with the race car in one piece will be a victory for Patrick today.

RCR Post Race Report — NCWTS Daytona International Speedway

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James Buescher No. 31 NCWTS Post-Race Report: Martinsville Speedway

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Marcos Ambrose Confident in Chances For First Oval Win at Martinsville

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Photo Credit: Getty Images

There is no doubt that Marcos Ambrose is one of the best road course racers in the world but as he enters his 5th full time year in the NSCS, he is still searching for that illusive oval track win. Marcos has been fast at the ovals throughout his career but in a sport where everything needs to go your way in order to win, luck has not been in the Aussie’s favor. His best result at an oval was 3rd at Bristol, 2009 and Dover, 2011. With a 15x Martinsville winner as his car owner and a front row starting position, the odds seem to be swaying in a more friendly direction for Marcos this weekend.

The Australian born racer won the V8 Supercar title twice in just four years before he made the tough decision to leave his home in search of the NASCAR dream. He started his NASCAR career in the CWTS winning a pole and posting four top 10’s. In 2007, he moved to Nationwide  and finished a solid 8th in points posting one top 5 and six top 10’s. The following year, he won his first NASCAR sanctioned race at Watkins Glen which is an event he went on to win three years in a row.

In 2009, he found himself with a full time Cup ride driving for JTG-Daugherty Racing and had a decent rookie season finishing 18th in the standings with four top 5’s and seven top 10’s. In 2010 at Sonoma, he was just a few laps away from his first ever NSCS victory before he made a blunder that instantly silenced the cheers of all his fans. In a shocking and heartbreaking turn of events, he stalled the car under caution costing him many positions and ultimately, the victory as he scrambled to get the car refired.

Marcos finally won his first race at the Cup level at Watkins Glen in 2011 and again in 2012 where he was part of one of the most spectacular last laps in NASCAR history. Ambrose can certainty wheel a race car and he strongly believes that he can parlay this 2nd place qualifying effort into a victory this weekend. He was quoted saying in the media center, “I feel good about our race on Sunday, the car has been on a rail since we got here.” Winning at an oval would be such a monumental moment for him and seeing that he is all but guaranteed to win at least one of the road courses on the schedule unless something unforeseen happens, those two victories could easily secure him a WC catapulting him into the chase.

Winning a bunch of road course races is nice but that’s not why Ambrose traveled around 10,000 miles leaving everything he’s ever known behind. He came to America to battle for wins every week and to one day be a legitimate championship threat in NASCAR. He has the car, he has the talent and just needs the right set of circumstances thrown his way and he can finally finish what he set out to accomplish so many years ago.

Jeb Burton Turning Heads at Martinsville

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SM Staff
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Photo Credit: Barry Albert

Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender, Jeb Burton, captured his first career pole Friday at Martinsville Speedway.  Burton set a track qualifying record after turning a lap of 19.589 seconds. Leading the way to green in the Kroger 250 Camping World Truck Series race, Burton had an impressive start, leading the first 76 laps of the race.

On lap 105 in an attempt to regain the lead, Burton got into the back of leader Ron Hornaday Jr. in the middle of turns 3 and 4. The crash caused severe damage to the No. 9 No Fear Energy Chevrolet. When asked about the crash, Burton responded, “I ran a little too hard, and got into him. There’s not much more to say.”

Burton led 154 laps in the No. 4 Arrowhead Chevrolet resulting in a career best third place finish. After the race, when asked about his son’s performance, Ward Burton commented, “It was a great weekend-7th race in the Truck Series with Turner Motor Sports and Arrowhead coming on board. We’ve got a 5th place at Daytona and a 3rd at Martinsville. You can’t be happier with that. We are thrilled to death, and looking forward to going to Rockingham.”

Burton leaves Martinsville second in the points, only 12 points behind leader Johnny Sauter, and has emerged as the leader in the Sunoco Rookie of the Year standings.

Burton’s next race will be in the North Carolina Education Lottery 200 at the Rock presented by Cheerwine at Rockingham Speedway.

Matty’s Picks 2013 – Vol. 4 Martinsville Speedway – STP Gas Booster 500 – April 7, 2013

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Photo Credit: Barry Albert

It has been a couple weeks since you have heard from me, and I am excited for my opportunity to spout off my thoughts before tomorrow’s STP Gas Booster 500. Martinsville Speedway is one of my favorite stops on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series each year due to its storied history and true short-track persona. It is the only track left on the NASCAR circuit which was part of the original schedule back in 1948, and the .526 mi paper-clip needs no further introduction.

If you’ve been following SpeedwayMedia or myself on Twitter, you may have noticed I’ve taken my thoughts and picks to the online radio/podcast arena, joining Greg Dipalma of the Prime Sports Network each Wednesday evening to preview the upcoming week’s race. This past week, Greg and I had the privilege of speaking with Mike Smith, PR Director for Martinsville Speedway, who offered his insight on what it takes to put on a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event at the storied short track in Southern Virginia. Somewhere around 80,000 Martinsville hot dogs will be consumed this weekend, and I thank Mike Smith for taking a break from his cooking duties to speak with us this week.

No recap this week so we’ll move right into my picks for tomorrow’s STP Gas Booster 500.

Winner Pick
A few important factors have made paring down the list of potential winners tomorrow at Martinsville Speedway. The first important statistic that has helped to set my fantasy roster and make some bold statements as to who will win the race tomorrow afternoon is, 93 of the 128 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Martinsville Speedway have been won from a top-10 starting position. Furthermore, just 5 of the 128 races have been won from a starting spot outside the top-20. Add the two together, and 123 of the 128 races have been won from inside the top-20.

Now, it’s the track’s recent history that I am betting against this week. The past 20 races at Martinsville Speedway have been dominated by three drivers, Jimmie Johnson (7 total wins in past 20 races), Jeff Gordon (4 wins in past 20 races), and Denny Hamlin (4 wins in past 20 races). Also, Chevrolet has won all but 5 of the past 20 races (4 being won by Hamlin in his Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota and one by Rusty Wallace in 2004 for Dodge). The manufacturer missing in these talks is Ford, who has not visited Gatorade Victory Lane since Kurt Busch won from the 36th starting position, the deepest in the field that a race winner has started at Martinsville Speedway.

The driver I am going with this week finished 3rd at the other short-track race this year, and besides Watkins Glen and Sonoma, has been strongest on the short-tracks over his career. In six starts at Martinsville Speedway, Brad Kesolowski has just three top-10’s and has lead just ten laps at the paper-clip, but has yet to finish outside the top-20. He ranks fourth among active drivers – behind Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, and Denny Hamlin, and will start seventh tomorrow at Martinsville Speedway. Kesolowski is a short-track guy and will look to snap Ford’s 20-race winless streak in Southern Virginia tomorrow.

Dark Horse Pick
Ryan Newman is a driver who struggled earlier this season in finishing the race, but who has rebounded nicely since his 38th place finish at Las Vegas with solid finishes at both Bristol and Auto Club Speedway. He stole the win at Martinsville Speedway last season, and over the course of his career, has finished the best at short tracks over intermediate tracks, road courses, and restrictor plate tracks. In 22 races at the paper-clip, Newman has tallied a win, seven top fives, eleven top tens, and has started on the pole three times. Newman will roll off the grid in the tenth starting position tomorrow and looks for a solid finish tomorrow to improve his chances of making The Chase for the Sprint Cup this season.

That’s all for this week, be sure to tune into www.PrimeSportsNetwork.com on Wednesday as Greg and I preview next week’s race from Texas Motor Speedway!

Until next time, you stay classy NASCAR NATION!

Toyota NCWTS Martinsville Post-Race Notes & Quotes

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