• In 22 NASCAR Cup Series starts at Martinsville Speedway, Spire Motorsports has logged one top-20 and seven top-25 finishes with 10 different drivers. Carson Hocevar, driver of the team’s No. 77 Chevrolet, earned a team-best 17th-place result last April at Martinsville. Spire Motorsports fields the Nos. 7, 71 and 77 Chevrolet ZL1s in the Cup Series for Justin Haley, Michael McDowell and Hocevar, respectively.
• The Cook Out 400 will be televised live on FS1 Sunday, March 30, beginning at 3 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT). The seventh of 36 points-paying races on the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series schedule will be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. FOX’s NASCAR Raceday will take the green flag at 1:30 p.m. EDT.

Justin Haley – Driver, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet ZL1

• Justin Haley will pilot Spire Motorsports’ No. 7 Gainbridge Chevrolet ZL1 in Sunday’s 400-lap NASCAR Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway.
• Last Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Haley started 21st and raced his way to his first top-10 finish of the season.
• Haley has recorded eight previous Cup Series starts at Martinsville Speedway and calls a 27th-place finish (October 2022) a career-best at the famed half-mile oval. In Xfinity Series competition, Haley has logged three Martinsville starts and earned top-five finishes in each outing. In six NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series starts, Haley has earned a pair of top-10 finishes, including a series/venue-best sixth-place finish in October 2018.
• Founded in 2018, Gainbridge® is an insurtech subsidiary of Group 1001 that empowers consumers to take control of their financial future with solutions that are accessible to everyone, no matter their budget or financial knowledge. Its platform provides access to financial products that are simple, intuitive, and backed by smart technology with no complexity or hidden fees. Gainbridge® is headquartered in Zionsville, Ind. For more information, visit www.gainbridge.io or follow and connect with us on X and LinkedIn.
• Sunday will mark Haley’s 151st career NASCAR Cup Series start. Over the course of the last seven seasons, the 25-year-old racer has notched one win, five top fives, 17 top 10s and led 103 laps. He made his first start in NASCAR’s premier division for Spire Motorsports at Talladega Superspeedway on his 20th birthday.
• The veteran racer has collected four NASCAR Xfinity Series checkered flags and three NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series wins, making him one of just 41 drivers in history to have earned victories across all three of NASCAR’s National Touring Series.
• In total, Haley has made 48 Cup Series starts for Spire Motorsports, with the bulk of races coming during the 2021 season behind the wheel of the team’s No. 77 machine.

Justin Haley Quote
You’re coming off your first top-10 of the season, what are your thoughts heading into Martinsville?
“Martinsville has been a struggle for me in a Cup car, but I’m confident Rodney and the No. 7 team will bring a great car this weekend. We have some momentum from the past few weeks and should have a good qualifying draw and that makes a huge difference at Martinsville.”

Atop the No. 7 Box – Crew Chief Rodney Childers

• Crew chief Rodney Childers has called 35 races at Martinsville Speedway. Childers-prepared cars have led 331 laps and earned two top-five and 12 top-10 finishes.
• Childers has called 682 NASCAR Cup Series races where he’s earned 34 poles, 40 wins, 178 top-five and 298 top-10 finishes. He also earned 2014 championship honors with Harvick.
• Childers’ 40 wins at NASCAR’s premier level ties him for second-most amongst all active crew chiefs in the Cup Series garage.

Michael McDowell – Driver, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet ZL1

• Michael McDowell made his first career NASCAR Cup Series start at a snowy Martinsville Speedway over 6,000 days ago on March 30, 2008, with Michael Waltrip Racing.
• In support of NASCAR’s celebrated return to Rockingham Speedway, Spire Motorsports will showcase a “Race the Rock” paint scheme aboard McDowell’s No. 71 Chevrolet ZL1 in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series 400-lap contest at Martinsville Speedway. For the first time in over a decade, NASCAR will return to the south-central North Carolina Piedmont for the highly anticipated return of major league stock car racing to Rockingham Speedway.
• Located in Richmond County, N.C., Rockingham Speedway opened as a flat, one-mile oval on Oct. 31, 1965. It was reconfigured to a one-mile (1.017 miles) high-banked, D-shaped oval in 1969. In 2018, a new ownership group took over the facility and renamed it Rockingham Speedway & Entertainment Complex. Following extensive repairs that included resurfacing the speedway, Track Enterprises, the official promoter of the North Carolina Education Lottery 250 presented by Black’s Tire NASCAR Xfinity Series race and the Black’s Tire 200 NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race, announced an agreement last August to bring NASCAR back to the venerable oval Easter Weekend. Today, the facility hosts a wide variety of events including karting, road racing, endurance racing, concerts and more. In 2025, Rockingham Speedway will welcome the return of NASCAR for the first time since 2013.
• McDowell has claimed two Xfinity Fastest Lap awards, clocking the fastest lap in the Daytona 500 and earlier this month at Phoenix Raceway. Through six weeks, McDowell stands as the only driver across the three national series to have secured multiple bonus points through the newly-unveiled program.
• The Arizona native secured Spire Motorsports’ first Busch Light Pole Award two races ago at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. His 28.833 second lap marks the fastest lap in the Gen 7 era (2022-present) at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
• Not only did McDowell make his Cup Series debut at Martinsville Speedway, but he also made his CRAFTSMAN Truck Series debut at the Ridgeway, Va., oval in October of 2007.
• The father of five earned his best career finish of 14th at Martinsville in the Spring of 2020 after qualifying 29th for the 500-lap contest.

Michael McDowell Quotes

What are your thoughts about heading into the first short-track race of the season?

“I’m excited. There’s a lot of different styles that we race on racetrack wise, right? Phoenix is not really a short track, it’s pretty unique in the approach, set up, and things like that. So, I feel like Martinsville is that first true short track, but at the same time, it’s such a unique short track that is its own beast and approach. I look forward to it, we’ve had a lot of speed this year with our Spire cars. Martinsville’s been a love hate relationship for me. It’s been an up and down race in the old car. It was one of my better tracks. I felt like I could outperform my equipment at times but in the NextGen era, it just hasn’t been great for me, which is crazy because everywhere else has been really good in the NextGen car, so it’s a head scratcher for sure.

“Spire has had good speed there the last few years and I feel like they have a different approach to their Martinsville package, so I’m excited to try that and see if I can make the gains that I need to make. It’s one of those weekends where I feel like if you execute, you can win, and you can give yourself a legitimate shot, so I am looking forward to it. We’ve got Rockingham on the car, which is going to be fun, supporting the Rockingham race that’s coming up here April 18-19. It’s going to be a fun weekend. It is such a legendary racetrack.

What’s your perspective on Rockingham, from the driver’s seat?
“I’ve never raced there, but I’ve done a lot of testing there. When I came into the Cup Series in 2007/2008, if you were the rookie, you tested every week. I know rookies and young guys would love that right now, because we just don’t get to do it as much. I would go to Rockingham all the time and burn laps. It’s just a really fun racetrack. Rockingham is a historical place that’s been revived. You think of North Wilkesboro about that same feel, like new surface, new energy, but that old school feel, so I am looking forward to having ‘The Rock’ on the car and representing them. That said, Martinsville is a big weekend and hopefully we can just keep this momentum up. We’re on a positive trajectory, but you’re always one weekend away from that changing.”

Atop the No. 71 Box – Crew Chief Travis Peterson

• Crew chief Travis Peterson joined Spire Motorsports following the 2024 season after spending 2023-2024 alongside McDowell at Front Row Motorsports.
• The West Bend, Wis., native helped Dale Earnhardt, Jr. to a fourth-place finish in November 2015 as a race engineer at Hendrick Motorsports.

Carson Hocevar – Driver, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet ZL1

• Carson Hocevar, driver of the No. 77 Delaware Life Chevrolet ZL1 for Spire Motorsports, is set to make his fourth start at Martinsville Speedway in Sunday’s 400-lap NASCAR Cup Series race. The 22-year-old racer earned a 17th-place finish, his best Cup Series result at the famed half-mile track, last April.
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• In last Sunday’s race at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Hocevar qualified 15th and collected bonus points with a top-10 finish in the second stage. The 2024 Rookie of the Year was running sixth with 86 laps remaining when he reported a loss of power which left him 37th in the final rundown.
• As the No. 77 team prepares for the seventh points-paying race of the year, and the first true short track event, Hocevar looks to improve upon his average finish of 24.7. Despite completing 49-percent of his total laps this season in the top 15, the Portage, Mich., native looks to rally from a best finish of 30th in the last three events.
• Hocevar owns four NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series starts at the paperclip-shaped track in Ridgeway, Va., highlighted by a 12th-place result in October 2021.

Carson Hocevar Quotes
What makes Martinsville one of the toughest tracks on the circuit?
“I think the unpredictability of how the race will play out. You know there will be chaos, but you don’t know when or where. We’ve seen wrecks happen at the front of the field, at the back, on restarts and deep in a green flag run. As a driver you’re trying not to think about when something is going to happen. It’s inevitable that it will, but Martinsville is a track where you have to find your rhythm and stay in it. There are just so many things that have to go right to leave with a good finish, but that’s what we need. Whatever we can do to have a clean race and a good points day, that’s what we’re going to do.”

Atop the No. 77 Box – Crew Chief Luke Lambert

• Sunday’s event marks the 411th Cup Series event atop the pit box for Luke Lambert with 66 races being contested on short tracks. Over those events, he’s totaled four top fives and 18 top 10s.
• In 23 Cup events called at Martinsville, Lambert led his drivers to one top-five and six top-10 finishes.
• Lambert and Hocevar were paired for nine short-track events in 2024 with a best finish of eighth at the other Virginia short track, Richmond Raceway.
• In 10 NASCAR Xfinity Series races on short tracks, the Mount Airy, N.C., native called three wins, six top-five and seven top-10 finishes.

About Spire Motorsports …
Spire Motorsports earned its inaugural NASCAR Cup Series victory in its first full season of competition when Justin Haley took the checkered flag in the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway on July 7, 2019. Less than three years later, William Byron drove Spire Motorsports’ No. 7 Chevrolet Silverado to its inaugural NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series win on April 7, 2022, at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. The team’s most recent win came on March 21, 2025, when Kyle Larson took the checkered flag in the Baptist Health 200 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

In 2025, Spire Motorsports will campaign the Nos. 7, 71 and 77 Chevrolets in the NASCAR Cup Series. The team will also field the Nos. 07, 7, 71 and 77 Chevrolet Silverados in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series and the No. 77 Chevrolet in the ARCA Menards Series in select events.

CLUB MINUTES

TEST OF TIME: LEGACY MC co-owner Jimmie Johnson has nine victories at Martinsville Speedway, earning nine of the coveted grandfather clock trophies. His dominant performances place him third on the all-time wins list at the track, tied with Jeff Gordon and trailing only CLUB ambassador Richard Petty “The King” and Darrell Waltrip.

LEGACY AT MARTINSVILLE: In its early history, LEGACY MC has competed in four race weekends at Martinsville Speedway, fielding four different drivers—Erik Jones, Noah Gragson, Carson Hocevar, and John Hunter Nemechek. As the team continues to climb the leaderboard, its best finish to date at Martinsville is a 12th-place finish, achieved by Jones in the Spring of 2024.

PETTY HISTORY IN MARTINSVILLE: The Petty Family boasts a rich history at Martinsville Speedway, with Lee and Richard Petty combining for 18 victories at the iconic short track. Lee secured three wins in 24 starts (Spring 1953, Fall 1954, and Spring 1959). However, it was Richard who dominated Martinsville, earning 15 victories—a record that still stands today. His dominance was especially evident between 1967 and 1973 when he won 10 times in just 13 starts.

OVER-THE-WALL: The No. 42 over-the-wall pit crew for LEGACY MOTOR CLUB had an impressive weekend at Homestead, executing two pit stops in the eight-second range. Their back-to-back stops were the team’s fastest of the event, with a remarkable 8.68-second stop for four tires and fuel. Throughout the race, the crew helped Nemechek and the No. 42 team gain nine positions on pit road.

COMING HOME: Lexington, N.C. native Justin Reissmann, fueler for the No. 43, returns to his roots this week at his “home track.” Reissmann’s motorsports journey began after earning a B.S. in Engineering from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in 2012. He worked at Roush Fenway Racing (now RFK) from 2011 to 2014, gaining valuable experience in the engineering department before transitioning to Richard Petty Motorsports (RPM) from 2015 to 2021. During his time at both organizations, Reissmann played a key role in engineering programs while also serving as a fueler, demonstrating his versatility and expertise.

THE KINGS HAT: Last year, tracks across the industry honored the Petty family’s 75th anniversary in NASCAR by showcasing unique 6-foot-tall cowboy hat statues, a signature replica of Richard Petty’s iconic style. This weekend, “The King’s Hat” will be displayed for fans to enjoy at the Main Gate of the speedway.

CAMPE INTO HALL OF FAME: Technical Director Brian Campe will be inducted into the Alabama Athletic Hall of Fame on April 14. Ranging from the NFL to NASCAR and including three iconic basketball stars from Butler High School, the Huntsville-Madison County Athletic Hall of Fame will induct 12 members of the Class of 2025. The new Hall of Famers will be enshrined at a banquet presented by Huntsville Hospital Sports and The Orthopedic Center on Monday, April 14, at the Von Braun Center. Information on tickets and advertising opportunities may be found HERE. A full list of 2025 inductees can be found HERE.

NEVER SETTLE: This week on the Never Settle podcast, Johnson and Marty Smith sit down with Chase Utley, former is an American former professional baseball second baseman who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 16 seasons, primarily for the Philadelphia Phillies. In 2000, the Philadelphia Phillies selected Utley 15th overall in the MLB Draft. Throughout his prolific career, Utley was a fan favorite, he is a four-time National League All-Star and a four-time Silver Slugger Award winner. Never Settle airs at 2 p.m. ET on SIRUS XM Ch. 90 and can be downloaded on the SIRIUS XM app or wherever podcasts are available.

JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK
NO. 42 FAMILY DOLLAR TOYOTA CAMRY XSE
MARTINSVILLE NOTES AND QUOTES:
HOMESTEAD RECAP: Nemechek showed strong speed in practice and secured a solid seventh-place starting spot at Homestead-Miami Speedway. However, he struggled with handling issues on his No. 42 Pye-Barker Toyota Camry XSE during the race, causing him to fade through the field and finish 23rd by the end of the day.

POINT STANDINGS: Nemechek currently sits tied for 16th in the driver standings, right on the cut line for the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs. Through six races in his early Cup Series career, this marks the second time he has been this high in the standings, previously ranking 15th after six races in 2024.

JHN STATS AT THE PAPERCLIP: This weekend, Nemechek will be making his fourth NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) start at the track that they call “The Paperclip”. During those three starts, he has an average starting spot of 23rd and an average finishing spot of 29th. However, the North Carolina native has seen success at the half-mile speedway as he collected the grandfather clock with his 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series victory, that being is his second, as he also secured one in 2018 when he won the NASCAR Truck Series race.

T-MACK AT MARTINSVILLE: Crew chief Travis Mack has eight NCS starts under his belt at the Martinsville short track. Of those starts, he has two top-10 and one top-five start. The best finish came in in 2022 with driver Daniel Suarez when they recorded a 12th-place finish.

QUOTING JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK:

“I’m excited to head to Martinsville and feel confident in the package we’re bringing. We had a strong Toyota Camry XSE at Bowman Gray, and the lessons we’ve learned in the off-season should benefit us this weekend. Two solid qualifying laps will be key for a good starting position on Sunday. Hopefully, we can secure a great result for our No. 42 Family Dollar team.”

QUOTING TRAVIS MACK:

“The track position is huge at Martinsville. Practice speed, unload speed, and qualifying are really important. We’re building off Bowman Gray (Stadium); we felt we had a pretty car at Bowman Gray – there was an opportunity to advance to the main event, but we got wrecked. We thought the car was pretty good. We took something new to Bowman Gray and it worked pretty well and now we’re going to carry what we learned there to Martinsville.”

Regarding tire combination and strategy:

“We’ll watch the tire fall off and how it will play into the various pit strategies. If we do have the tire fall-off that we’ve seen, you may see more green-flag pit stops at Martinsville than you’ve seen in the past; that will be very different and exciting if that’s the case. You’ll have guys short pitting and making up a lot of track position and guys that run it long and try to catch that caution and make up a lot of track position. It will be pretty cool. With this tire combination, you’ll see more strategy.”

ERIK JONES
NO. 43 DOLLAR TREE TOYOTA CAMRY XSE
MARTINSVILLE NOTES AND QUOTES:
MIAMI IN THE REARVIEW: Jones and the No. 43 showed some muscle at Homestead-Miami Speedway last weekend. They were second on the practice sheet but suffered an unfortunate hole in the floorboard due to possibly running something over on track. The team rallied late in the last run charging from 23rd to 15th in the closing laps of the race. It left Jones and the No. 43 team energized heading into Martinsville.

POINT STANDINGS: After six races in the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season, Jones is currently 23rd in the driver point standings and just two points back from 22nd place.

EJ STATS AT THE PAPERCLIP: Jones has 16 Cup Series starts at Martinsville Speedway, with a best finish of eighth in the fall of 2021. He has recorded one top-10 and five top-15 finishes at the short track. In the NASCAR Truck Series (NTS), Jones has five starts at Martinsville, earning two top-fives, including a third-place finish in the spring of 2015, and four top-10 finishes overall.

BESHORE AT MARTINSVILLE: Crew chief Ben Beshore has five NCS starts at Martinsville Speedway, including three with Kyle Busch, who finished second in the fall of 2021. In the NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS), Beshore has three starts and two victories—winning at the Virginia short track with Harrison Burton in 2020 and John Hunter Nemechek in 2023.

QUOTING ERIK JONES:

On Martinsville and his recent runs in the Next-Gen Car:

“In general, the Next Gen car for us has been pretty good. We’ve run well there the last handful of times, and hopefully, we can have another good one.”

Regarding the soft tire for this weekend at Martinsville:
“Just knowing the fall off of [the soft tire] and how it trended – the way it would fall off and how hard you could run it early is valuable. Unfortunately, the whole field knows that as well, but having that info will help with the setup more than anything.”

About the importance of qualifying at Martinsville:
“Qualifying top-15 is really important, which we have done a good job there and in general this year we’ve qualified well so we hope to keep that rolling. It’s really hard to put two good laps together at Martinsville. It’s easy to lock the left front up and there’s not a lot of tire temperature in these early runs with how quick you need to get those two qualifying laps done. It’s not an easy qualifying session, but it’s kind of fun as a driver trying to hit it right.”

QUOTING BEN BESHORE:
“Even though we didn’t get a good qualifying lap at Bowman Gray, we had a strong car in the last chance qualifier before getting wrecked. I do feel good about our short-track program and the changes we made coming out of Bowman Gray. Martinsville is a little faster than Bowman Gray but still has the same type of shape to it. We weren’t too bad at the second Martinsville last year; we stayed in the lead lap until the very end of the race.”

CLUB APPEARANCES
TUNE IN: On Wednesday, both the driver and the crew chief of the No. 43 Dollar Tree team will join SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (channel 90). Jones will dial into SiriusXM On Track at 12:00 p.m. ET while Beshore will call in to SiriusXM Speedway at 3:30 p.m. On Sunday, Nemechek will check in with Pat Patterson at 10:15 a.m. to talk about the upcoming Martinsville race.

SIGNING FOR THE FANS: Nemechek will come out to the FanZone on race morning to visit the NASCAR Classics merchandise hauler and connect with the fans and sign autographs. The North Carolina native will start signing at 11:45 a.m. ET.

HOW TO WATCH
Next up for the NASCAR Cup Series is the Cook Out 400 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway on Sunday, March 30. Prior to Sunday’s race, the NCS will have practice and qualifying on Saturday, March 29 broadcast on Prime. The Cook Out 400 will be broadcast on Fox Sports 1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90).

ABOUT LEGACY MOTOR CLUB: (LEGACY MC) is a premier auto racing organization co-owned by seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion and 2024 NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee, Jimmie Johnson and Knighthead Capital Management, LLC. Drawing from a rich tradition of success, LEGACY MC is dedicated to pushing the boundaries of motorsport and setting new standards of excellence. The CLUB competes under the Toyota Gazoo Racing banner in the NASCAR Cup Series with the No. 43 Toyota Camry XSE piloted by Erik Jones and the No. 42 Toyota Camry XSE driven by John Hunter Nemechek. Johnson also races on a limited basis in the No. 84 Toyota Camry XSE. With NASCAR legend and Hall of Famer Richard Petty, “The King”, serving as CLUB Ambassador, LEGACY MC blends timeless racing traditions with a new forward-thinking vision. As an inclusive community for motorsport enthusiasts, LEGACY MC honors both its storied past and the promising future of its members, always striving for victory and championship glory at the pinnacle of NASCAR competition.

MARTINSVILLE 1

Friday, March 28 — NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, 7:30 p.m. ET (FS1)
Saturday, March 29 — NASCAR Xfinity Series, 5 p.m. ET (CW)
Sunday, March 30 — NASCAR Cup Series, 3 p.m. ET (FS1)

Ford teams in all three of NASCAR’s top series will be in action once again as another tripleheader is scheduled for this weekend at historic Martinsville Speedway. The half-mile paperclip-shaped short track will kick off the first of its two weekends with the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series on Friday night, followed by the NASCAR Xfinity Series Saturday and NASCAR Cup Series Sunday.

BLANEY RIGHT ON TIME

One of the most unique trophies in NASCAR is Martinsville’s grandfather clock, which goes to the winner of any major series race at the track. Ford’s Ryan Blaney has won two over the past two seasons after winning the playoff race in 2023 and ’24. When the series visited last November, Blaney was in need of a win in order to advance to the NASCAR Cup Series Championship 4. He passed Chase Elliott with 14 laps remaining after taking on tires under caution with 100 laps to go. Blaney worked his way up to fourth with 54 laps to go and then third 13 laps later before running down Elliott and passing him as they came to the start-finish line on lap 486. In addition to earning his third win of the year, Blaney’s triumph was the 100th all-time Cup win for Team Penske with Ford.

LOGANO LIKES MARTINSVILLE

Only one other track on the NASCAR Cup Series circuit has been better for Joey Logano when it comes to qualifying than Martinsville Speedway. Logano enters this weekend with an average starting position of 8.4 at the half-mile facility and is only bettered by his 7.7 average at Las Vegas. He has six poles, including three in a row in 2015-16, and had an active streak of 18 straight top-10 starts (including races where qualifying was rained out) at one point. In 32 career races at Martinsville, Logano has an average finishing position of 10.8 and has been running at the finish of every event. He comes into Sunday’s race with a streak of 11 straight top-10 finishes.

PREECE MOVING UP IN STANDINGS

Ford driver Ryan Preece is coming off his second straight top-10 finish after running ninth on Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway. That performance backed up a third-place effort at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and has helped him move up eight spots in the standings from 24th to 16th. As the series heads to Martinsville Speedway this weekend, Preece looks to continue that upward climb. He finished ninth in this event a year ago while driving for Stewart-Haas Racing, and captured the only pole of his Cup Series career at the track in 2023.

TEAM PENSKE LEADING THE WAY

The only thing Team Penske drivers Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney and Austin Cindric haven’t done this year is win, but when it comes to spending time at the front of the field, the three Ford drivers have had moments of domination. Through the first six Cup races of 2025, the trio has combined to lead 554 laps or 39 percent of all laps run so far (554-of-1408). Logano leads the way with 247 and has led at least 40 circuits four times while Cindric has done the same on three occasions. In addition, all three drivers have led the most laps in at least one race this season – Cindric (Daytona with 59), Logano (Atlanta with 83) and Blaney (Homestead with 124).

RYAN BLANEY: “Winning there is nice and getting your clock. I’ve been fortunate to win there a couple times. The softer tire has been good, and I think it’s helped. I think we can continue to be aggressive on it because that’s the place to be the most aggressive with tires. It’s the slowest racetrack and you don’t have to worry about massive blowouts at high speeds, so I think Goodyear has continued to work their way softer, which is a good thing. I think it’s important as we continue to work on short track racing that you have fall off, and I think they’ve just been getting better at it.”

RYAN PREECE: “When I think of Martinsville, we’ve gotten a pole there. We’ve had speed there. It’s just putting everything together. I’ve got a few tracks that I’m really comfortable at that we go to throughout the year, and then there are other ones that I need to continue to work on, but when I think of Martinsville, Darlington and Bristol, those are all places that I’m really comfortable at. I’m a huge fan of what we’ve been working on with the Cup Series and Goodyear and making the tire better and better to race. They’ve done a great job.”

KESELOWSKI WINS FIRST CLOCK

Brad Keselowski outdueled Kyle Busch down the stretch to win his first grandfather clock trophy after capturing the STP 500 on Apr. 2, 2017. The two drivers waged a memorable battle that saw them swap the lead five times in the last 160 laps, but Keselowski ended up making the decisive pass on lap 458 and led the final 43 circuits to become the first repeat winner in 2017. Prior to winning at Martinsville, Keselowski took the checkered flag at Atlanta in the second race of the season.

BOWYER NETS FIRST FORD WIN

Clint Bowyer snapped a 190-race winless stretch by leading the final 114 laps to win the weather-delayed STP 500 in 2018. The win was Bowyer’s first with Ford and ninth of his career. He passed Ryan Blaney on lap 285 to gain the lead for the first time, and when Jamie McMurray brought out the caution 100 laps later after hitting the wall, Bowyer’s pit crew got him back out with the lead and that proved to be the difference. That capped a big day for Ford, which had five drivers finish in the Top 10 and saw Blaney win Stage 2.

HAAS FACTORY TEAM ROLLING

Through six races in the NASCAR Xfinity Series season, the Haas Factory Team has already served notice that they’re going to be contenders for Ford on a weekly basis. The newly-branded organization has had new drivers Sam Mayer and Sheldon Creed both finish in the top five of the same race twice (Daytona and Homestead). Mayer finished second in both of those events and that’s where he currently sits in the point standings while Creed, whose best finish is a third at Daytona, is fifth overall.

FRONT ROW FINDING ITS GROOVE

The Front Row Motorsports tandem of Layne Riggs and Chandler Smith have both been solid for Ford through the first four races of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season. Smith, who is currently third in the point standings, is one of only two drivers to post a top-10 finish in every race while Riggs has registered back-to-back top-5 runs, including a runner-up effort last weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

FORD NASCAR CUP SERIES WINNERS

AT MARTINSVILLE

1961 – Fred Lorenzen (1)

1962 – Nelson Stacy (2)

1963 – Fred Lorenzen (2)

1964 – Fred Lorenzen (Sweep)

1965 – Fred Lorenzen and Junior Johnson

1966 – Fred Lorenzen (2)

1969 – Richard Petty (Sweep)

1986 – Ricky Rudd (1)

1990 – Geoffrey Bodine (Sweep)

1992 – Mark Martin and Geoffrey Bodine

1993 – Ernie Irvan (2)

1994 – Rusty Wallace (Sweep)

1995 – Rusty Wallace (1)

1996 – Rusty Wallace (1)

1997 – Jeff Burton (1)

1998 – Ricky Rudd (2)

2000 – Mark Martin (1)

2001 – Dale Jarrett and Ricky Craven

2002 – Kurt Busch (2)

2017 – Brad Keselowski (1)

2018 – Clint Bowyer and Joey Logano

2019 – Brad Keselowski (1)

2023 – Ryan Blaney (2)

2024 – Ryan Blaney (2)

FORD NASCAR XFINITY SERIES WINNERS

AT MARTINSVILLE

1994 – Kenny Wallace

FORD NASCAR CRAFTSMAN TRUCK SERIES WINNERS AT MARTINSVILLE

1995 – Joe Ruttman

2003 – Jon Wood (2)

2004 – Rick Crawford (1)

2005 – Ricky Craven (2)

2015 – Joey Logano (1)

2020 – Grant Enfinger