The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series heads to Martinsville Speedway this weekend for the first race in the Round of 8. The track has been a part of the Playoffs since its inception in 2004. Five times the driver who won this race has gone on to claim the championship trophy.
Thirty-six races. A few are great venues that produce very entertaining television events. A lot more are not. Some tracks have two events, and you wonder why. Some have two and you wonder...why not three?
Sundays First Data 5oo at Martinsville Speedway will kick off the Round of 8 this weekend. Most of the eight drivers remaining in the Playoffs have had wins in the past or good finishes. Sunday's race will be crucial because if any of the eight Playoff drivers win the event, they will automatically punch a ticket to the championship-deciding race at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Imagine a race that featured the excitement of Daytona or Bristol. Imagine a race with a broadcast crew that featured the talent of a Chris Economaki, Vin Scully, Danny Gallivan, or a Keith Jackson. Imagine that Yoko Ono co-wrote that song with her husband. That should snap us all back to reality, though that last one is apparently true.
1. Martin Truex, Jr.: Truex started on the pole and won at Kansas, posting his series-best seventh victory of the season. "The phrase heard most often in NASCAR this year is 'Truex wins,'" Truex said. "I'm just hoping to add 'it all' to the end of it."
This Sunday, NASCAR action takes us to Kansas. We just can not get enough of Kansas, which is why we find ourselves watching the action from there for a second time this season. If not Kansas, I guess there is always Kentucky, Chicago, Dover, Fontana, or Pocono , but allow me to calm down my beating heart.
At the start of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Playoffs, three drivers stood out as the top title contenders come the finale at Homestead-Miami: Martin Truex Jr., Kyle Larson, and Kyle Busch, who had been turning his season around at the right time.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. started on the pole at Talladega. Most years, that is just par for the course. In this, his final season, it was a return down memory lane. Talladega is where anything can happen, where any lead lap car has a shot to win it, and a where one’s dreams can go up in flames, smoke, and mangled metal without notice.
1. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex crashed out at Talladega with 17 laps to go when he made contact with David Ragan, setting a chain reaction crash that victimized Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick, and Kyle Busch.
TALLADEGA, Ala. -- Brad Keselowski outlasted three straight red flag-inducing wrecks, passed Ryan Newman on the final lap and held off teammate Joey Logano to win the Alabama 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.
