This Weekend in NASCAR – Storylines – Martinsville

• Next Race: Blu-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500
• The Place: Martinsville Speedway
• The Date: Saturday, April 10
• The Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
• TV: FS1, 7 p.m. ET
• Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
• Distance: 263 miles (500 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 130), Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 260), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 500)

Short & Sweet: Martinsville Speedway welcomes the NASCAR Cup Series

The NASCAR Cup Series finds itself amid a short track swing on the 2021 season schedule, tasking the teams to find the best setups for the cars on three similar tracks in length (less than a mile) but for three vastly different competitive arenas. From last week’s history-making half-mile Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt track, to this weekend’s historic Martinsville Speedway that stretches 0.526-mile in length with asphalt paved straights and concrete corners, to next weekend’s 0.75-mile asphalt paved Richmond Raceway.

Martinsville Speedway is the longest continuously running track on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule, and the only currently active track that was a part of the inaugural NASCAR Cup Series season in 1949. Martinsville Speedway was originally a dirt track and the facility hosted 12 NASCAR Cup Series races on the then dirt surface before paving the track in the late summer months of 1955, between the track’s two Cup races of that season. In total, there have been 144 NASCAR Cup Series races at Martinsville Speedway, one in the inaugural year (1949) and two races per year since 1950. The first 500-lap event at Martinsville Speedway was in 1956 and the concrete corners were added atop asphalt in 1976.

The 144 NASCAR Cup Series races at Martinsville Speedway are the second-most series events run at a facility behind Daytona International Speedway’s 148 races. Martinsville’s 144 races have produced 61 different pole winners and 54 different race winners; nine of the Cup Series Martinsville Speedway winners are entered this weekend – Denny Hamlin (five wins), Brad Keselowski (two), Kurt Busch (two), Kyle Busch (two), Martin Truex Jr. (two), Chase Elliott (one), Joey Logano (one), Kevin Harvick (one) and Ryan Newman (one).

The first NASCAR Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway was on Sept. 25, 1949 and won by NASCAR Hall of Famer Red Byron driving an Oldsmobile for car owner Raymond Parks. NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty leads the NASCAR Cup Series in wins at Martinsville Speedway with 15 victories (1960, 1962, 1963, 1967 sweep, 1968, 1969 sweep, 1970, 1971, 1972 sweep, 1973, 1975, 1979) – the most any driver in the series has won at a single track; he also won 15 races at North Wilkesboro. Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin leads the NASCAR Cup Series among active drivers in wins at Martinsville Speedway with five victories (2008, 2009, 2010 sweep, 2015).

This weekend’s Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500 on Sunday, April 10, at 7:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90) will be 500 laps (263 miles) and broken up into the three stages. The first two stages are 130 laps each (68.38 miles each) and the final stage is 240 laps (126.24 miles). This weekend’s starting lineup was determined by Metric Qualifying. Last week’s winner Joey Logano will start on the pole at Martinsville and Logano will be joined by series standings leader Denny Hamlin on the front row.

Short Track Showmen

Since the first NASCAR Cup Series season in 1949, short tracks – a track less than a mile in length – have graced the competitive schedule and been part of the fabric that makes up the sport.

NASCAR Hall of Famer, aptly nicknamed ‘The King,’ Richard Petty scored 138 of his record 200 NASCAR Cup Series victories on short tracks – the series-most short-track wins all-time. He also holds the record for the most wins at a single NASCAR Cup Series track posting 15 victories at this weekend’s venue – Martinsville Speedway.

Among the active drivers this weekend, 10 have posted wins on short tracks in the NASCAR Cup Series, led by Joe Gibbs Racing’s Kyle Busch with 16 short-track Cup victories. Team Penske’s Joey Logano is the only driver to win at all four of the currently active short tracks on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule with his victory last weekend at Bristol Dirt.

Seven of the 10 active NASCAR Cup Series short track winners entered this weekend are looking for their first victory of 2021, and all seven are former winners at Martinsville – Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Kurt Busch, Brad Keselowski, Kevin Harvick, Ryan Newman, and 2020 series champion (and most recent winner at Martinsville Speedway) Chase Elliott.

Additionally, Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick is the only NASCAR Cup Series driver to win in all three NASCAR national series at Martinsville Speedway (NCS: 2011, NXS: 2006, NCWTS: 2009, 2010, 2012) and the only active driver with an Xfinity win at the track. Five other drivers entered this weekend have won in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series at Martinsville Speedway – 23XI Racing’s Bubba Wallace has two wins (2013, 2014), Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin (2011, 2012) and Kyle Busch (2016, 2019) each have two wins, Hendrick Motorsport’s Chase Elliott has one Truck win (2017) and Team Penske’s Joey Logano also has one win (2015).

Joe Gibbs Racing’s Martin Truex Jr. is the defending winner of this event last season at Martinsville Speedway; his fourth career short track win. In total, Truex has made 30 series starts at Martinsville posting one pole, two wins, seven top fives and 13 top 10s. He has also led 987 laps at the Paperclip shaped track just 13 shy of 1,000. Truex won the Martinsville spring race last season but finished 22^nd in the Playoff race later in the year.

Virginia native Denny Hamlin returns to one of his favorite tracks – Martinsville 

Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin returns to Martinsville Speedway, one of his most successful tracks, as the NASCAR Cup Series driver standings leader looking for his first win of the 2021 season. The Chesterfield, Virginia, native also leads the NASCAR Cup Series in victories at the historic Martinsville Speedway with five (2008, 2009, 2010 sweep, 2015) and has all the intentions of making it six in Saturday night’s Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500 (April 10 at 7:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Hamlin’s consistency has been the key to his early success in the NASCAR Cup Series driver standings this season. In seven starts this year, he has collected six top-five finishes (series-most) and now sits 58 points ahead of second place Joey Logano.

Among active drivers, Hamlin is one of the most prolific short track competitors in the series. He is tied with Kurt Busch for the second-most short track Cup wins among the drivers entered this weekend with 10 victories each.

At Martinsville, Hamlin has made 30 series starts posting four poles, five wins, 15 top fives and 21 top 10s. But his Martinsville Speedway accolades don’t stop there. The NASCAR Cup Series pre-race Loop Data has him leading just about every category among active drivers heading into Saturday night – Average Finish of 9.933 (series-best), Average Running Position of 9.622 (series-best), Driver Rating of 105.0 (series-best), 984 Fastest Laps Run (series-best), 12,039 Laps in the Top 15 (80.1%) (second-most), 1,024 Quality Passes (series-most).

Hamlin finished 11th in last season’s Playoff race at Martinsville. He will start on the front row Saturday night.

Logano’s win on the Bristol Dirt adds his name to the 2021 list of Playoff & All-Star Race drivers

Team Penske’s Joey Logano became the seventh different winner this season and, in the process, added his name to the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs and the NASCAR All-Star Race at Texas Motor Speedway (June13).

The historic Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt victory marks the 10th consecutive season (2012-2021) Logano has won in the NASCAR Cup Series. Logano is now tied with his Team Penske teammate Brad Keselowski for the third longest active streak of years with victories; behind Kyle Busch (16 years with victories, 2005-2020); Kevin Harvick (11 years with victories, 2010-2020) and Brad Keselowski (2011-2020).

Looking ahead to this weekend at Martinsville, Logano is preparing to keep the winning spoils flowing. He is the only active driver to win at all four of the current active short tracks on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule with his victory last weekend at Bristol Dirt. He also has wins at Martinsville (2018), Richmond (2014, 2017) and Bristol (2014, 2015).

In total, Logano has made 24 series starts at Martinsville posting five poles, one win, eight top fives and 12 top 10s. He finished fourth in the Martinsville spring race and third in Playoff race last season.

Brief history of the unique NASCAR trophy at Martinsville Speedway

 There is nothing else out there like it and that’s what makes it so unique, the Martinsville Speedway trophy that is. The seven-foot-tall trophy is known as the ‘Grandfather Clock’ or the Ridgeway Clock. It was presented for the first time in 1964 to NASCAR Hall of Famer Fred Lorenzen. Back then, and for many years, the trophy was manufactured just down the road from the iconic short track. Clockmakers Howard Miller then bought Ridgeway, who were the manufacturers of the clock, and started making them in their unit in Zeeland, Michigan.

• Next Race: Cook Out 250
• The Place: Martinsville Speedway
• The Date: Friday, April 9 POSTPONED TO APRIL 11
• The Time: 8 p.m. ET
• TV: FS1, 7 p.m. ET
• Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
• Distance: 131.5 miles (250 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 60), Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 120), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 250)

NASCAR Xfinity Series takes on ‘The Paperclip’ under the lights

After a two-week break, the NASCAR Xfinity Series is back in action at Martinsville Speedway for the Cook Out 250 at 8 p.m. ET on Friday, April 9 on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

The 2020 season marked the first year the Xfinity Series raced at the .526-mile paved track since 2006. Kevin Harvick won the race in 2006 and prior to that, the Xfinity Series last raced at Martinsville in 1994. In total, there have been 35 races at the Virginia short track and Sam Ard won the inaugural race in 1982.

Joe Gibbs Racing’s Harrison Burton took home the victory last season at Martinsville after starting in the 10^th position in his rookie year.

The race at Martinsville last season was the final Playoff race to secure the Championship 4. Burton won the race but was not in the Playoffs after being eliminated in the first round. Justin Allgaier was the highest-finishing Playoff driver, finishing second and Noah Gragson finished behind him in third.

The race was two hours, seven minutes and 56 seconds with an average speed of 61.673 mph. There were 10 cautions for 63 laps and 11 lead changes. There were 1,276 green flag passes (6.8 per green flag lap).

Allgaier’s 2021 NASCAR Xfinity Series season didn’t start out the way he had hoped. In five races, the driver of the No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet had only one top-10 finish. Allgaier had been involved in various on-track incidents and started the season at Daytona International Speedway by starting second and finishing 28th. But he turned that all around at Atlanta Motor Speedway two weeks ago by winning the race and taking home his first victory of the season all while punching his ticket to the Playoffs. The win marked the 15th victory of Allgaier’s career.

Friday night’s race will be 131.5 miles and 250 laps with Stage 1 ending on Lap 60 and Stage 2 ending on Lap 120. Harrison Burton will start on the pole for the Cook Out 250 and Allgaier will join him on the front row.

Burton Family fun at Martinsville

Joe Gibbs Racing’s Harrison Burton is the only driver entered into the NASCAR Xfinity Series race this weekend with a previous win at Martinsville, making him an obvious favorite. But if his cousin Jeb Burton were to win this weekend, he and his father Ward Burton would join Jeff and Harrison as the second Burton family father/son duo to win at the historic Martinsville Speedway.

Jeff Burton has two wins at Martinsville Speedway, one in the NASCAR Cup Series (1997) and one in the NASCAR Xfinity Series (1990). Harrison joined him in visiting Victory Lane at Martinsville last season in the Xfinity Playoff race a triumph that helped him secure the 2020 NASCAR Xfinity Series Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors.

Ward Burton has also won at Martinsville, much like his brother Jeff, in the NASCAR Xfinity Series at Martinsville back in 1993.

Jeb Burton is having a great start to the 2021 season driving for Kaulig Racing, in six starts he has collected three top fives and five top 10s. He is ranked sixth in the series driver standings. Last season, he made series track debut at Martinsville driving for JR Motorsports; he started eighth and raced his way up to fourth. Jeb also has experience in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series at Martinsville, making eight starts on .526-mile track putting up a pole, two top fives and three top 10s.

Show Me The Money: Dash 4 Cash is back
The NASCAR Xfinity Series Dash 4 Cash program was designed to add elements of unpredictability and drama leading up to and during four designated races, increase on-track competition, engage fans and reward and recognize NASCAR Xfinity Series regular competitors. This weekend program makes its official start of 2021 with four drivers – Justin Allgaier, Harrison Burton, Noah Gragson and AJ Allmendinger – vying for the big $100,000 bonus payout.

The NASCAR Xfinity Series Dash 4 Cash will take place at four tracks in 2021 – Martinsville Speedway (April 9), Talladega Superspeedway (April 24), Darlington Raceway (May 8) and Dover International Speedway (May 15).

The March 20 race at Atlanta Motor Speedway was the initial qualifier for 2021 Dash 4 Cash program. The top four full-time finishers in the Atlanta race qualified for the first round of the Dash 4 Cash at Martinsville Speedway this weekend.

The first of the four Dash 4 Cash competitors to finish at Martinsville Speedway will win the $100,000 bonus.

The Dash 4 Cash winner and next three highest finishing full-time NASCAR Xfinity Series drivers will then qualify for the next round of the Dash 4 Cash program at Talladega. That format will continue to Darlington and Dover.

• Next Race: ToyotaCare 250
• The Place: Richmond Raceway
• The Date: Saturday, April 17
• The Time: 1:30 p.m. ET
• TV: FS1, 12:30 p.m. ET
• Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
• Distance: 187.5 miles (250 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 70), Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 140), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 250)

source – NASCAR communications