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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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SM Staff
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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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SM Staff
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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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Sauter’s Hot Start Continues With Kroger 250 Win At Martinsville Speedway

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Two-for-Two: Johnny Sauter wins Kroger 200 at Martinsville Speedway

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SM Staff
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Photo Credit: Barry Albert

After suffering through some bad luck last year, Johnny Sauter is off to a strong start in 2013, having now won the first two races of the season. Sauter becomes the second driver in Truck Series to open up the season with back-t0-back victories; Mark Martin was the first to do so in 2006. It marks the eighth victory of Sauter’s truck series career.

Sauter would take the lead from young Jeb Burton on a late race restart with 17 laps to go and never look back to take the victory.

I just tried to time it just right – that’s the key,” Sauter said in victory lane. “So proud of everybody on this Toyota. All of our sponsors, all of the guys at ThorSport. They’ve been working hard in the shop. It was a long day. Tire wear was the main deal

“Two for two, starting out is just unbelievable.”

Sauter’s teammate Matt Crafton would get by Burton with five to go for second to make it a one-two finish for ThorSport Racing for his second straight top 10 finish of 2013 and 12th top 10 finish at Martinsville.

“We’re going to be a championship contending team,” he said. “Our truck was terrible the first run, but it just shows how good these guys are as we were good at the end.”

20-year-old Jeb Burton would hold on to third after starting on the pole and running inside the top five most of the day.

“We just lost forward bite coming off the corner,” he said. “Just couldn’t stay with them at the end. But it was a good truck all day. It was just awesome from the beginning.”

Timothy Peters would finish fourth, followed by outside pole-sitter Darrell Wallace Jr. in fifth.

Chase Elliott, son of Bill Elliott, would finish sixth in his first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series start. Dakota Armstrong finished seventh, followed by Ryan Seig, Erik Jones and Ron Hornaday. Hornaday made his way back up to 10th after being spun by Burton while battling for the lead on lap 104.

“I’m a rookie, live and learn,” Burton said. “I didn’t mean to wreck him (Hornaday)…sorry about that”

Todd Bodine would finish 11th after being spun by Kevin Harvick with 23 laps to go. Harvick was running up front late in the race when he had a flat tire, causing him to fall back through the field.

The 200 lap race at Martinsville resulted in 10 different cautions with the first coming on lap 58 for Grant Galloway going for a spin. He would also bring out the third caution on lap 86 after another spin, followed by a third spin for the sixth caution with 107 laps to go. Galloway would finish 27th.

The second caution came out on lap 70 for German Quiroga putting down fluid through turns one and two with a gear problem while running inside the top seven. Quiroga would finish 29th.

The fifth caution came out with 120 laps to go when Robert Bruce would go around. He would finish the race 28th.

The seventh caution came out on lap 158 when Hornaday, Tim George Jr. and Galloway went around all together in turn two. George Jr. finished 22nd.

Max Gresham went around in turn two for the eighth caution with 55 laps to go. Gresham would finish 30th.

With 44 laps to go, Crafton got into John Wes Townley, causing Townley to make heavy contact with the outside turn four wall for the ninth caution. Townley would finish 32nd.

Sauter continues to lead the points, 12 points ahead of Jeb Burton.

The next race for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series is at Rockingham Speedway next weekend.

Lap by Lap: Kroger 200 won by Johnny Sauter

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SM Staff
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Photo Credit: Barry Albert

Johnny Sauter would grab the lead with 17 laps to go from Jeb Burton and not look back as he would pick up his second straight victory of 2013.

 

Lap 1 Jeb Burton takes the early lead from the pole, Darrell Wallace Jr. slips in behind Burton

Lap 3 Burton leads Wallace Peters Sauter Quiroga

Lap 12 Ron Hornaday pushes Crafton up to grab a spot within the top 10. Crafton keeps it going.

Lap 24 Peters is up to second after passing Wallace, looking for a way around Burton

Lap 28 Burton leads Peters Wallace Sauter Quiroga Dillon Hornaday Gaughan Elliott Coulter

Lap 30 Coulter and Paludo pass Elliott for ninth and 10th

Lap 34 Burton leads Peters Wallace Sauter Quiroga Dillon Hornaday Gaughan Coulter Paludo

Lap 51 Burton leads Peters Sauter Quiroga Dillon Wallace Hornaday Gaughan Paludo Coulter

Lap 52 Dillon and Hornaday pass Quiroga for fourth while Wallace falls back to seventh

Lap 55 Harvick passes Paludo and Coulter to move up to eighth while Gaughan falls back to 11th; Hornaday passes Dillon for fourth

Lap 56 Burton leads Peters Sauter Hornaday Dillon Quiroga Wallace Harvick Paludo Coulter

Caution Lap 58 Galloway spins. Leaders head down pit road. Burton leads Peters Dillon Hornaday Harvick Quiroga off pit road. Coulter has a bad pit stop, suffering a pit road penalty which brings him back down pit road and puts him a lap down

Restart Lap 66 Burton holds the lead as Hornaday jumps from the outside down in front of Dillon out of turn two, and then underneath Peters for second through turns three and four

Lap 68 Burton leads Hornaday Peters Dillon Harvick Wallace Quiroga Sauter Paludo Piquet

Caution lap 70 fluid down in turn two. Quiroga hits pit road just before the caution came out.

Restart lap 77 Burton and Hornaday side-by-side through turns one and two…..Hornaday pulls the crossover into turn three and dives underneath Burton to grab the lead. Burton now hung out on the outside.

Lap 79 Hornaday leads Peters Harvick Sauter Burton Paludo Wallace Dillon Piquet Buescher

Lap 81 Paludo Wallace pass Burton; Buescher and Piquet pass Dillon

Lap 82 Hornaday leads Peters Harvick Sauter Paludo Wallace Burton Buescher Piquet Dillon

Lap 85 Burton, Buescher and Piquet pass Wallace for position

Caution lap 86 Galloway goes around in turns one and two.

Restart lap 91 Hornaday and Peters side-by-side through turns one and two….Hornaday grabs the lead as Harvick passes Peters for second

Lap 93 Hornaday leads Harvick Peters Paludo Sauter Piquet Buescher…..Burton passes Paludo for fourth

Lap 95 Harvick has caught Hornaday for the lead.

Lap 96 Hornaday leads Harvick Peters Burton Paludo Buescher Piquet Sauter Elliott Dillon…..Hornaday gives Harvick just enough room to get underneath him. The pair are side-by-side off of turn four for the lead. Hornaday gets the run into corner of three, slides down in front of Harvick. Hornaday then slides up and allows Harvick to pass.

Lap 100 Harvick leads Hornaday Peters Burton Paludo Buescher Piquet Sauter Elliott Dillon

Lap 103 Harvick pulls down and allows Hornaday to pass him back for the lead……Burton passes Harvick for second place on the outside through turns three and four.

Caution lap 104 Burton turns Hornaday for the lead, causing Hornaday to hit the wall with the back of the truck. Joey Coulter gets the lucky dog. “He shouldn’t have blocked me going down the back straigh-away.” Jeb Burton said, saying he didn’t mean to wreck Hornaday. Kevin Harvick, Hornaday’s NTS Motorsports teammate, pulled up alongside Jeb Burton to express his displeasure with the youngster’s move

Restart lap 110 Burton grabs the lead on the restart from Harvick.

Caution lap 112 for debris on the backstretch at about the entrance to pit road.

126 to go Restart Burton and Harvick side-by-side through turns one and two. Harvick tucks in behind Burton going into turn three

124 to go Burton leads Harvick Paludo Buescher Peters……Chastain slides sideways through the corner after going down across Sauter’s bumper, gets it straight and manages to keep it going.

Caution 120 to go Robert Bruce goes for a spin coming off of turn two.

Restart 114 to go. Burton holds the lead. Harvick tries the crossover but doesn’t make it work.

112 to go Burton leads Harvick Paludo Buescher Peters Sauter Piquet Dillon Elliott Chastain…..Piquet passes Sauter for sixth.

111 to go Dillon and Elliott also make their way past Sauter

110 to go Burton leads Harvick Paludo Buescher Peters Piquet

107 to go Caution. Galloway goes around in turns three and four. Some of the leaders pit, while others stay out. Harvick is the first to stay out so he will take the lead. Peters and Buescher have minimal contact coming off of pit road.

Restart 100 to go as Harvick holds the lead while Piquet and Wallace battle for second.

99 to go Piquet holds Wallace off and gets by Harvick through turns one and two. Wallace grabs second from Harvick through turns three and four.

97 to go Burton leads Piquet Wallace Bodine Jones Sieg Blaney Helman Paludo Buescher Peters

Lap 158 Hornaday, George Jr and Galloway all go around off of turn two to bring out the caution. Dillon makes his way down pit road – no tires, just making a wedge adjustment.

Restart 88 to go as Piquet leads Wallace at the front of the field

86 to go Darrell Wallace Jr. passes Nelson Piquet Jr. for the lead in turns one and two

84 to go Devin Jones goes for a spin in turn four, no caution. Quiroga bounced off the curb into Jones to cut Jones’ tire.

83 to go Wallace leads Piquet, Bodine, Eric Jones, Sieg, Blaney, Peters, Buescher, Burton, Paludo

77 to go Blaney, Peters, Buescher, Burton and Paludo pass Sieg for position

75 to go Blaney and Peters pass Jones for position

74 to go Buesher and Burton pass Jones for position

73 to go Wallace leads Piquet, Bodine, Blaney , Peters, Buescher, Burton, Jones, Paludo, Sieg

62 to go Wallace leads Piquet Peters Burton Blaney Paludo

61 to go Paludo passes Blaney for fifth

60 to go Wallace leads Piquet Peters Burton Paludo Blaney Buescher Sauter Gaughan Jones

56 to go Burton passes Peters for third; Crafton passes Jones for 10th

55 to go Caution Gresham goes around in turn two. Leaders head down pit road while some others stay out. Nelson Piquet Jr. stalls on pit road and can’t get it restarted.

Restart 49 to go Jeb Burton slides up through the corner, but keeps the leads.

47 to go Quiroga goes around, but gets it going so no caution.

Caution 44 to go Crafton gets into Townley, sending him around and into the outside wall.

Restart 33 to go Burton and Peters side-by-side for the lead through turns one and two…..Peters takes the lead through turns three and four.

32 to go Burton gets to the inside of Peters through turns one and two to get back side-by-side. Burton grabs the lead back off of turn four.

28 to go Burton leads Peters Buescher Sauter Wallace Paludo Crafton Bodine Harvick

27 to go Sauter passes Buescher for third

26 to go Wallace passes Buescher for fourth; Sauter passes Peters for second

23 to go Sauter has caught Burton and is looking for a way by for the lead. Bodine goes around off of Harvick’s bumper. Caution.

Restart 17 to go Burton and Sauter side-by-side for the lead. Sauter grabs the lead off of turn two.

14 to go Sauter leads Burton Wallace Crafton Harvick Peters……Crafton passes Wallace for third

12 to go Harvick passes Wallace for position

11 to go Coulter goes around virtue of contact from Hornaday but keeps it going so no caution

6 to go Wallace passes Harvick back for position. Harvick has a flat tire. Sieg, Jones and Elliott also by Harvick; Seig passes Wallace

5 to go Sauter Burton Crafton Peters Sieg Wallace Jones…..Wallace and Jones pass Sieg while Crafton passes Burton

2 to go Elliott and Armstrong pass Sieg

Johnny Sauter wins for back-to-back victories. Crafton. Burton. Peters. Wallace. Elliott. Amrstrong. Seig. Jones. Hornaday. Bodine. Gaughan. Starr. Buescher. Coulter. Blaney. Paludo. Dillon. Piquet. Chastain.

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