Fantasy NASCAR Forum

[indiana_man07]

First 4 things are quotes from Ragan, Gilliland, Kvapil and Cassill


Comments from Front Row Motorsports team driver David Ragan heading to Martinsville:

“I love racing at Martinsville. It’s one of my favorite tracks. And I think our Front Row Motorsports team can do well there. Short tracks are one of the areas that we know we can be competitive, and we showed that in Bristol. We may not have started out with the car we wanted when we unloaded, but we got it handling pretty good by race day, and we just kept working on it and working on it and came out of there with a decent top-25 finish.

“We’re going to want to unload in pretty good shape at Martinsville so we can work on fine-tuning and getting as much speed out of our car as we can. Track position is really important there, so we want to qualify as well as we can. Once the race gets started and you have 43 cars trying to squeeze around that half-mile track, it gets pretty congested pretty quick and it’s just really tough to pass.

“Martinsville is the shortest track we go to and, because of that, it’s also the slowest. But in a lot of ways, it’s the hardest to drive. There’s no place to give yourself a breather for a couple seconds or no times when there’s no one right up on your bumper. Racing at Martinsville is like being in bumper-to-bumper traffic at 90 miles an hour. You’re tough on your brakes and you can be hard on the throttle, too. There’s not much in between.

“In these early weeks of the season, Jay Guy and I are still getting accustomed to each other, learning what works best and how to adjust based on what I like in the car. We’re doing really well, but it’s worth noting that we’re still going to all of these tracks together as a team for the first time. And it won’t be until later in the season where we get to apply things we’ve learned on our second trips to some of these tracks.”



Comments from Long John Silver’s team driver David Gilliland going to Martinsville:

“Martinsville is always a challenge. Probably next to Bristol, it’s one of the most physically demanding tracks. And if I said it was a favorite of mine, I’d be lying. But my crew chief, Pat Tryson, is pretty excited about going there, and he feels like he’s got some stuff that’s going to help us run well there. So, I am probably the most excited I’ve been for a Martinsville race because he has had so much success there in the past. And the set-up stuff that he wants to run is completely different from anything I’ve ever run there before.

“It’s a track that makes for an exciting race, though. It comes down to a lot of pit calls and track position. We’ve had some good runs going the past couple years and just had some bad-luck stuff happen to us. Hopefully this time, we won’t have anything like that happen and we’ll come out of there with a good weekend. The team has been working on our Martinsville car for a while, and it’s probably the most prepared we’ve been for that style of racetrack. So, I’m excited to try what Pat has in store for me.

“It’s such a tough track. You’re just up on the wheel the entire time, you’re hard on the brakes and you’re fighting like crazy for track position. And if your car’s not handling well, it’s going to be a long day because there’s nowhere to hide – you’re just in the way. So, it’s going to be really important to take full advantage of the practice time on Friday to get our race set-up the best it can be, but also make sure we can qualify well so we have a good starting position for Sunday.

“Hopefully we’ll have a rain-free weekend at Martinsville. Last weekend at Fontana was weird. We knew the rain was coming; it was just a matter of when. We wound up racing the rain just as much as we were racing each other on the track. But it was still a good weekend. It’s always good to go home to Southern California. It’s almost like a reunion every year because I get to see all the people who helped me in the early days of my racing career.”



Comments from BK Racing Driver Travis Kvapil heading into Martinsville:

“Martinsville is obviously a little, flat half-mile short track. For me, it takes me back to how I grew up racing on quarter-mile and half-mile race tracks in the Midwest. It’s all about getting your car to turn in the corner and getting good forward drive on exit, and keeping the fenders on it for a long race, too.

“Martinsville is a special place for me. It’s where I made my first (NASCAR Sprint) Cup start in the fall of ’04, so it’s always kind of cool to go back there and have those memories. I haven’t quite pulled into victory lane there, but have had some really good runs in the Truck Series, some good runs in the Cup car and it’s a place I’ve always had a really good feel for.

“Race fans love Martinsville. I think it’s because it’s short-track racing. It’s grassroots racing. I think, for the most part, all of the drivers in the Cup race started out somewhere on a little quarter-mile track or a little half-mile track and everybody’s good when it comes to short-track racing. I think the fans enjoy the really close racing. They like seeing guys use the bumpers and not afraid to beat and bang a little bit. You won’t see that style of racing at the majority of tracks we go to, but when you go to Martinsville, it seems like a necessity.

“We don’t go anywhere else that like it. It’s old. It’s unique. It’s the only half-mile with super, super, super tight corners and curbs on the inside lanes. There’s no other race track like it. Martinsville is a place where aerodynamics don’t play much of a role, very minimal. Horsepower isn’t as important. We have great horsepower in our Triad motors, but if you’re off a little bit, it’s not as critical. It’s all about getting your car to mechanically rotate through the middle of the corners and mechanically getting forward drive off the corners. That will be our focus on our Burger King/Dr. Pepper Toyota. Time in the wind tunnel doesn’t really factor into that. It comes down to good communication with the team and a good feel for what I need to find in my race car. I think that goes back to all of the races at quarter-mile race tracks I raced on Saturday nights.”



Comments from BK Racing driver Landon Cassill heading into Martinsville:

“It’s really nice to be back on the east coast. We have Martinsville, then we have a weekend off, so we’ll have a week and a half to be home and only three days of that will be at the race track. It will be nice to be able to catch up on a few things at home, but still focus on our race at Martinsville (Speedway) and then enjoy our weekend off for Easter. I plan on spending that time at home and I’m really excited about it.

“Our team’s top priority is to get back inside the top-35. Of course the best way to do that is to have a solid performance this weekend, and we are definitely capable of that. Martinsville is definitely a tough place. It’s 500 laps, which is a long time. I think it’s probably harder than Bristol (Motor Speedway). It definitely doesn’t go by as fast as Bristol does. It’s going to be tough. It’s a race of attrition and survival. That’s a good thing for us. We can go out there and survive and put on a competitive race for our team and probably have a top-20 finish.

“You always hear that shorter tracks level the playing field. I still think the really good teams build their cars lighter. They still test at short tracks to prepare for places like Martinsville. I really don’t look at our team as having an advantage or disadvantage there. Martinsville gives the driver a little better of a chance to make a difference, as opposed to a place like Daytona (International Speedway) or some of the big intermediates where the driver can’t do as much. It’s still a place where the team has to be put together well and well-prepared and go there and have the lightest car possible and see if you can get it to turn around those tight corners.

“I don’t know if Martinsville is comfortable for anyone right away. It’s a tough place. I’ve qualified well there in some of the lower-funded cars that I’ve driven. It’s definitely a short track like some of the ones that I grew up racing. It’s just a tricky, tricky, tricky race track that’s hard to get used to, no matter what. There were a few drivers out there that tried to help and give me a few tips, but for the most part, you just go out there and try to adapt as quickly as you can.”



Clint Bowyer, 2012 NSCS Goody’s Fast Relief 500 Race Preview


Chassis Notes: The No. 15 5-hour ENERGY team will race chassis No. 701 at Martinsville. Chassis No. 693 will serve as the backup. Both chassis are new in 2012.

ON MARTINSVILLE: “Martinsville is a great racetrack! I love that place as a driver and as a fan. It’s short track racing the way it should be. Track position is king at Martinsville. You talk about a place where qualifying is a big deal – Martinsville is it. You want to make sure you turn in a good lap on Saturday, because it’s hard to gain ground on race day!

“I’ve had some good races there – and some not so good. I know that (crew chief) Brian (Pattie) isn’t afraid to gamble for position if we need to, but I’m hoping that we put down a good lap on Saturday afternoon so we at least start with good track position. I know we’ve got good cars and MWR has a good short track program, so I’m ready to see what we’ve got for the weekend.”



Carl Edwards, 2012 NSCS Goody’s Fast Relief 500 Race Preview


Chassis: RK-791 This car debuted at Martinsville last fall where it finished ninth

Carl Edwards on racing at Martinsville Speedway:

“The Roush Fenway Fords were fast at Bristol and fast at California, and we’re going to Martinsville to put a Ford in victory lane. It will be a huge accomplishment for me as a race car driver to get my first victory at Martinsville. We got a top-10 finish the last time we were there and as an organization we’ve put a lot of focus on our short-track program. We’ve got the best cars we’ve ever had.”

Crew chief Bob Osborne on racing at Martinsville Speedway:

“Martinsville is a demanding track, both physically and mentally. It’s a difficult place to get the car handling just right and the driver has to be patient in traffic to save the brakes. It’s a very long race so you can’t wear out your brakes in the first half of the race. We gained a few points back with a solid finish at California last week, so that’s what we need to keep doing.”

[indiana_man07]

Paul Menard: Chassis Choice and Quotes from him:


This Week’s Libman/Menards Chevrolet at Martinsville Speedway … Paul Menard will pilot Chassis No. 349 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable. This No. 27 Chevrolet was last seen on track at Martinsville in October 2011 where Menard finished 24th after starting in the 21st position.

PAUL MENARD QUOTES:

If you look at every driver’s statistics, Martinsville Speedway is the toughest track to get a handle on, even if short-track racing was where they came from. Why do you think that race track is so tough to tackle?

“There’s just a lot of bumping and banging. You’re lucky to come out of there without spinning out at least one time. Of all the tracks we visit, track position is probably the most important there. Tires don’t fall off much and it’s extremely hard to pass. So you really try to position yourself to get up front and then once you’re there, not get run over from behind.”

How do you explain to the average race fan how hectic it is to race at Martinsville Speedway?

“If anyone has been on a bumper car track at a fair or amusement park, that’s how the restarts are at Martinsville. You go into turn one and everybody checks up. You hit the guy in front of you, and then you get hit from behind. It literally feels like a bumper car.”

Last year you didn’t have the best finishes at Martinsville Speedway, but do you feel like you still progressed as a team and as a driver?

“I don’t remember exactly what happened to us in the fall race, but in the spring race we had a pretty good car. A couple of guys got into it in front of me and one of the guys thought that I had instigated it. I was just riding around and he decided to brake-check me and a piece of his bumper went through our grill. The damage to the radiator caused us to overheat and ended our day. It was nothing of our doing and was unfortunate because we had a really good car.”



Kevin Harvick, 2012 NSCS Goody’s Fast Relief 500 Race Preview


This Week’s Budweiser is Back Chevrolet at Martinsville Speedway … Kevin Harvick will pilot Chassis No. 320 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable in this weekend’s Goody’s Fast Relief 500. This former No. 33 racer was transformed to a No. 29 entry during the off-season and will turn its first competitive laps as a Budweiser is Back Chevrolet during Friday’s opening practice session.

KEVIN HARVICK QUOTES:

Talk about coming to Martinsville Speedway this spring as the defending race winner.

“It feels good. Obviously, we’ve been fast at Martinsville a lot and to be able to put together a complete day like we did last time, at the end of the race we were able to capitalize on a fast car and win the race. We had a lot of things to overcome on that particular day and were able to pull out a win.”

You’ve won in Truck, Nationwide and Sprint Cup Series competition at Martinsville Speedway. What is it about Martinsville that suits your driving style?

“I just like the short tracks. I grew up, as a lot of us did, racing short tracks and Martinsville has always been a place I’ve enjoyed racing.”

Martinsville Speedway is a track that’s kept a foothold in our sport while NASCAR has expanded out across the country. Talk about why a track like Martinsville is important to our sport.

“I think you can look back at the history of Martinsville and watch a lot of races and see a lot of things that have happened there. To be able to still race on that particular track today in virtually the same setting is cool for the sport and cool for the competitors to be able to do that year after year.”

Looking to Martinsville, you have three straight top-four finishes at the track, including winning your first grandfather clock there last spring. Are you excited to get the monkey off your back of having good runs derailed by wrecks or mechanic failure and having solid runs and being able to finish?

“For us it was good to get the win out of our way and getting those solid finishes over the last couple of years has been good for us. We felt like we have always run fairly well there, we just never could put together a complete day.Really, the spring race last year, when we won, we had a tough go at it in the first half of the race, and actually wrecked and got a car tore up and were able to fix it and keep ourselves on the lead lap and make our car a lot better as we went through into the second half of the race. You know, it all worked out in the end.So it’s a race track we feel confident at. All of our cars have run well there in the past. It’s really keeping yourself out of trouble and getting to the end and hopefully by the end of the day you’re in position to do something in the top-five.”



Jeff Burton, 2012 NSCS Goody’s Fast Relief 500 Race Preview


This Week’s BB&T Chevrolet at Martinsville Speedway … Jeff Burton will race chassis No. 329 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable this weekend. This No. 31 Chevrolet, originally built in 2010, has seen significant track time over the last two seasons including Texas Motor Speedway in Nov. 2010 (started-16th, finished-36th), Bristol Motor Speedway in Aug. 2011 (started-21st, finished-15th) and New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Sept. 2011 (started-18th, finished-13th). Burton also tallied a top-five finish at Phoenix International Raceway last November, finishing fourth after starting 14th.

JEFF BURTON QUOTES:

Last October, it seemed like Martinsville Speedway was the beginning of the resurgence of the No. 31 team.

“We had to make a lot of changes. Obviously, things weren’t very good. We went to Phoenix International Raceway and Martinsville Speedway for tire tests and got our footing there late in the year. Then we went back and performed well. It was a small comeback for us. We were actually better than sixth. Towards the end of the race, we had some trouble on restarts and missed the opportunity to finish in the top five. We performed well all day, had a solid weekend and that felt good because Martinsville is a very difficult race track. In my opinion, it’s one of the hardest tracks we go to on the circuit. To perform well at one of those short tracks means something. It doesn’t mean that we fixed everything, but it did put us on the right track.”

What do you mean when you say that Martinsville Speedway is a tough track mentally?

“To go fast in these cars, you have to be aggressive. You hear people say, ‘you have to drive them easy.’ That means you have to drive them really aggressive to the point where it is too aggressive. Then you have to back off just a touch. The brakes and components are so good today that you don’t save your car anymore. It is 500 laps of hard racing. You have to be very precise. You never catch a break or get to say to yourself, ‘you get to chill out here for a little while.’ Someone is always on your bumper or right next to you. People tend to get road rage at Martinsville because of the pressure and there is so much stuff in your face all the time. Mentally, it is difficult to stay focused and not let everything that is going on around you let you make decisions that are wrong for you. You have to remember why you are there and who you are. You also have to stay focused on what you are doing on that lap that will get you there.”



JMac & montoya:


CHASSIS INFO

No.1 Belkin Chevrolet (NSCS): Chassis #1210. Crew Chief Kevin “Bono” Manion and the No.1 Belkin team will bring Chassis #1210 to Martinsville Speedway this weekend. This is a brand new chassis.

No.42 Target Chevrolet (NSCS): Chassis #1207. Crew Chief Chris Heroy and the No.42 Target team will bring Chassis #1207 to Martinsville Speedway this weekend. This is a brand new chassis.



Greg Biffle, 2012 NSCS Goody’s Fast Relief 500 Race Preview


Chassis: Primary: RK-807 Brand new chassis; Backup: RK-759 Last ran Phoenix as the No. 6 – finished 33rd

QUOTES:

Biffle on racing at Martinsville Speedway:

“Believe it or not, I’m actually looking forward to Martinsville. We have a brand new, super light, great car for this weekend. We’ve been working on brake packages and we feel like we have a great brake package. We’ve actually qualified well, for the most part, in the past at Martinsville. I’m really excited about Martinsville, but even more excited for the week off after.”

Crew chief Matt Puccia on racing at Martinsville Speedway:

“Martinsville is the smallest race track we race on all year, so taking care of you brakes, and taking care of your car are crucial. You need to save your brakes, but at the same time, try to maintain track position because it is hard to obtain. Martinsville will bite you in a heartbeat. Pit strategy and tire management make it important to have a good plan going into the race.”



Quotes from Truex about Martinsville:


ON MARTINSVILLE: “I have pretty high expectations for this weekend. Bristol has been a thorn in our side and it appears the NAPA team has finally conquered it with back-to-back top-five finishes. We’ve worked really hard on our NAPA Toyotas to try and understand how the track changes throughout the race weekend. I think with Martinsville, we are on the same track. I feel like we have been getting better there every year. We have had some good results. We had a pretty strong car back in the fall. We are taking some new stuff there and it has been working everywhere else we’ve raced so I expect to go to Martinsville and run up front again.”

ON MARTINSVILLE CHALLENGES: “At flat tracks like Martinsville, it is a lot more difficult to get our race cars to handle well. Our cars are big and heavy. They don’t like to go around the turns. If you take the banking away, it makes everything more difficult. For me, Martinsville has always been extremely tough. It’s hard on brakes and equipment. It’s tough to get a hold of these cars especially with the horsepower we pull on the Martinsville straightaways. It’s a tough little place and to win there would be an accomplishment.”



KYLE BUSCH, Driver of the No. 18 M&M’s Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing:


Is Martinsville similar to any other short tracks you’ve raced on?

“You say it’s similar probably just because the size of it being a half-mile, but Martinsville is not like any other racetrack that I’ve ever raced on. Not even close. Denny Hamlin would probably be able to assess that statement a little closer because he grew up at Southside (Speedway in Midlothian, Va.) and that is a lot closer to this place. Although it’s a quarter-mile, it’s flat and it’s like racing in a parking lot. For me, I’ve raced on three-eighths-mile, half-mile and three-quarter-mile racetracks all across the West and they were banked, they were flat, but nothing that was so conducive to heavy braking and all that kind of stuff. It’s certainly a challenge to figure out how to get around here and it makes it tough on you because the guys who are good here have run here for that many years. There’s always that transition period of younger guys coming in here and having to spend their time and cut their teeth and learn what it takes to run around this place. You’ve got the Harry Gants of the world or the (David) Pearsons of the world, and then you have the (Dale) Earnhardts, who come in and take a little while to get better at it and then they’re really good at the place. And you have the Jeff Gordons, who take a little time to get used to it. Then they are really good here. It just goes in cycles like that.”

Is Martinsville a racetrack where you have to show a lot of patience?

“For sure. It’s certainly a racetrack that you can be leading the race and think you’ve got a shot to win the thing in the last 30 laps and then getting beat on from behind and getting moved out of the way. We did that. It’s certainly a racetrack that’s indicative that, if you’re just a little bit off, then the guys are going to be right on your rear bumper and trying to get by you. For us, it’s been a challenge but we’re getting better at it and learning some more as we go along. We would like to be able to continue that here this weekend.”

Are you still trying to figure out Martinsville, and are you comfortable racing there, now?

“I didn’t used to like Martinsville but, ever since I started working with Dave (Rogers, crew chief), we feel like we get better every time we go there and we’re getting close to finally winning one. I’ve had some decent runs there, where I’ve felt like we’ve had a car to win and had a shot to win. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to get the track position toward the end of the race. Jeff (Gordon) is so good there, and Jimmie (Johnson) and Denny (Hamlin) are also good there. They’re probably the three most difficult guys to pass there because they know the place. They know how to get off the corner and how to roll the middle of the corner there. Everything is timing, and their stuff just works, whatever it is.”



Matt Kenseth, 2012 NSCS Goody’s Fast Relief 500 Race Preview


Chassis: Primary: RK-790 (Last ran at Martinsville, Oct. 2011)

Kenseth on racing at Martinsville Speedway:

“Martinsville is a challenging track because it’s easy to get caught up in things that are beyond your control and you need to make sure that you try and remain patient. I never like getting run into or running into others during the race but most times, things like that happen at short tracks like Martinsville, I think that’s the most challenging aspect of racing there. There’s not a lot of room to maneuver for position since we don’t really have an outside groove as an option. We have a special paint scheme this weekend honoring USMC Corporal Josh ‘JB’ Kerns and I really hope that we can earn a finish that would make him proud.”

Crew chief Jimmy Fennig on racing at Martinsville Speedway:

“Martinsville is a challenging short track for drivers because it’s a place where there is such limited room to pass since there aren’t long straightaways so qualifying and handling are two aspects that we’ll spend a lot of time on this weekend. The last time we raced here we got beat off the corners a bit so we will also work on making sure our No. 17 Ford has good drive off the corners. My plan is to work on race trim and then switch over to qualifying trim so that we can get a good session working with that set-up as well.”



Marcos Ambrose Chassis choice; quotes from he and his crew chief:


Chassis History: The No. 9 RPM team has prepared chassis No. 754 for the 500-lap race at Martinsville Speedway. This DEWALT Ford Fusion ran in both Martinsville races last season.

Ambrose’s Thoughts on Martinsville Speedway: “I like short-track racing and since I got knocked out early in Bristol a couple of weeks ago I didn’t get a chance to do much of it, so I’m really looking forward to going to Martinsville. The Virginia track is a tough little half-mile speedway and it’s a one-groove race track which makes it hard on the brakes. Todd (Parrott) and the crew will have to set the car up to be smooth off the corners so that it gets good forward bite this weekend. The DEWALT Ford has to be smooth enough through the middle of the corners without backing it into the fence. Things happen so fast at Martinsville and it’s hard to pass so track position is really important. Pit strategy will come into play on Sunday to get the DEWALT Ford as close to the front of the field as possible.”

Crew Chief Todd Parrott’s Keys to Getting around Martinsville: “One of the most challenging things about Martinsville is getting the driver to take care of the brakes. It’s a one-groove race track, so brakes are really important at Martinsville. The DEWALT Ford will have to brake well on entry into the turns to keep the car from getting loose. The No. 9 needs to roll through the center nicely and have good forward drive off of the corner.”



Almirola's chassis choice; quotes from him & Greg Erwin:


Chassis History: The No. 43 Smithfield Ford will be chassis number 736. The chassis was last used at Phoenix last November and the team finished sixth.

Aric Almirola on the Goody’s Fast Relief 500: “Martinsville has always been a good track for the name ‘Petty’. I think Richard has won there more than anyone else and this No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports car has a lot of history at the track. I’d love nothing more than to be the guy to bring it back to Victory Lane at Martinsville. I want to win all the races, but winning at Martinsville with the ‘43’ on the side would be pretty special.

“It’s great to have Smithfield back on the car this weekend, too. They are a Virginia-based company and it will be good to be close to them. We want to have a good showing and I think we’re prepared to have a good race. We missed it a bit at California, but Martinsville, it’s just night and day different. I think we’ll be a ton better and the guys will have a good car for us.

“We’d love to really crack the top-20 in points after this weekend. I think we’re very capable of doing that. I think we’re one point out of 20th and only 11 out of 19th. That’d be good for us to get inside that mark before the break.”

Greg Erwin Comments on Martinsville: “Of course we’ll worry about brakes and keeping them ‘cool’ as much as we can. That’s always going to be a big issue at Martinsville. But, we’d really like to have the car be able to drive off the turn and not lose any grip. That really helps the driver make a pass. It’s so hard to pass at Martinsville so that will be one of the most important things.”



Jimmie Johnson talks about Martinsville:


Are you looking forward to going to Martinsville?

¡°I do have a lot of success at Martinsville, but it took me a few tries to get it right. And since then, it¡¯s been a very good track for me. I certainly want to get back to my winning ways there. But, at a minimum, we always end up with a real strong finish. When I think of how close we were to victory last fall, it didn¡¯t happen but we led a lot of laps and our car was a factor in the end. I¡¯m looking forward to going back and trying to win there again. Martinsville is really rhythm-based. That¡¯s me as a driver, and really takes place at any track, but that is one of the tracks where the rhythm is so important and so specific. And I have a very good rhythm for the race in the long run and have always struggled a little bit with qualifying in the short-run rhythm there. I feel like I get better each year. I did get a pole there at one point and I hope to find that magic once again when we go back because qualifying is so important. But it really is a rhythm racetrack



JEFF GORDON ON MARTINSVILLE: "The one place on the schedule that has changed the least is Martinsville. I believe the track, the setups and the tires have changed the least here compared to other tracks over the course of 20 seasons. And that’s where experience can really pay off. At other tracks, sometimes you have to reinvent yourself – along with how we reinvent the setups and the aero package that we’re racing – and that’s tough to do. The longer you’re in the sport, the tougher that is to do. Somebody like me – who has a lot of experience and who has also had success at a place like Martinsville – can continue to have that success because it’s not all about aerodynamics. It’s not about a spring and shock and sway bar combination that all of the sudden makes your car fly. I feel like Martinsville is that one place that I can go to every time and give good information back to the team to keep us fast throughout the race.”



RYAN NEWMAN CHASSIS CHOICE: This will be the fifth start for Chassis No. 39-645, its first this season and its third start at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. The chassis made its first start last April at Martinsville, where Newman started second and finished 20th, two laps down. Newman led three laps and was in the top-10 for much of the first 300 laps of the 500-lap race, but a broken header pipe and a flat left-rear tire caused him to lose two laps. The next start for Chassis 39-645 was in July at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, where Newman started on the pole and led 119 of 301 laps en route to his 15th career Sprint Cup Series victory. The chassis returned to Loudon in September, when Newman again started on the pole and then led the first 62 laps before finishing a disappointing 25th. A cut tire with less than five laps remaining dropped Newman from 11th to 25th.

The last on-track action for this chassis came at Martinsville last fall. Newman led 41 laps and recovered from a late-race spin and made up 10 spots in the race’s final 25 laps to finish in the top-10. The car has been updated for the 2012 season and returns to action for the first time this weekend at Martinsville.

[indiana_man07]

Kurt Busch talks about Martinsville:


What are your thoughts on racing at Martinsville?

“It’s not my favorite track. I’ll admit I have struggled there in years past. Heck, I won there in 2002 but I think I must have been wearing a blindfold for the whole race, or something. It’s just real funny with that place because, if you hit it exactly right, your car drives nice and smooth and it’s as if you’ve never even run 500 laps. Then, on the other hand, if your car isn’t handling right, it will wear you out. You’re on the brakes hard, trying to feather the throttle and just trying to make it through. So I’m hoping this time around, with Finch’s car and Phoenix Racing having a little affiliation with Hendrick (Motorsports), that this will give me new optimism for the track. I mean, I just flat-out struggle there so, hopefully, we can go there with the best car we can, the Hendrick affiliation and, hopefully, find the right setup.”

How much more important is track position at a place like Martinsville?

“Track position is everything, everywhere but, at Martinsville, it is just so easy to lose it. It doesn’t take much to find yourself going backward, whether it’s a situation with someone bumping you out of the way or you get too high on the track and up in the marbles. Then, deal with what that does to the tires and, boom, next thing you know, you may have had a 10th-place car and now you are 18th. It’s a goal all day to work your way forward and then just to have smooth pit stops to carry you through those mid-points of the race. Then, at the end, when everything is on the line, you have to be aggressive and you can’t be afraid to use the fenders on people to get that solid finish.”

How much does pit strategy become a factor at Martinsville?

“That is definitely something that comes into play – you may gamble early to pick up some positions on the track, especially if you’ve had trouble in qualifying. It’s just one of those things, though, where you always hope you’re on the right one (strategy) and, if you get caught on the wrong one, then you’re kicking yourself the whole time.”

What is the toughest part about racing at Martinsville?

“To me, the toughest part of Martinsville is that you just never have a moment to breathe. You have to be on your game non-stop for 500 laps because somebody’s on you or you are on top of somebody the whole time and there is just no room for error.”



Jr. talks about martinsville:


“I look forward going to Martinsville," Earnhardt Jr. said earlier this week. "I always have a lot of fun there. I think everybody really enjoys running there. It’s a pretty fun track. We’ve had some good success there. I’m hoping to have a good race like we did last year and maybe have an opportunity to try to be in the battle for the win.”

Junior has finished seventh or better in seven of his last 10 Martinsville starts that includes two runner-up finishes, including this race last year. He’s never won at Martinsville, but he’s been running very well this season which should give the team some momentum coming in.

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Brian Vickers, 2012 NSCS Goody’s Fast Relief 500 Race Preview


CHASSIS NOTES: Vickers will drive chassis 703 and chassis 694 will serve as a backup car. Neither has raced in 2012.

BRIAN VICKERS: “Getting back at Bristol and having such a great run, leading all those laps was an awesome feeling. Everything felt perfect. I was so proud to be a part of getting all three cars in the top-five. It felt like I’ve been with this team for a long time. I was really pumped about how well we ran. It’s been a long two weeks since Bristol. I’m ready to go again. We have RK Motors on the car this week. It’s their first time as a full Sprint Cup sponsor so it’s cool they chose this race to join us. (No. 55 crew chief) Rodney Childers bolted together my first go-kart 20 years ago and then he handed it off to my father to finish it off. He also put together my car two weeks ago and did a heck of a job. I expect that again this weekend at Martinsville. It should be a lot of fun.”

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Regan Smith discusses Martinsville:


“Based on last year’s performances at Martinsville I feel we have a pretty good handle on the half-mile track,” said Smith. “The finishes of 31st and 13th might not support that, but had we not had a brake issue late in the spring race we were in position for a top-10. And finishing 13th in the fall was my best result at Martinsville. Right now I feel that our Furniture Row/CSX Play if Safe Chevrolet has the potential of doing something special this weekend.”

Smith added, “We’ve haven’t had any really bad days this season, but we also haven’t had any really good days. We need a jump start and Martinsville could be the race that we’ve been waiting for.”

Smith went on to say the historic Martinsville track has a tendency to produce all kinds of excitement.

“Though Martinsville is a purist racetrack, it can create havoc and bring out the best of tempers,” noted Smith. “I love going to Martinsville — most of us drivers grew up on short tracks.”

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Denny hamlin talks about Martinsville:


What are your chances for a fifth victory at Martinsville Speedway?

“I think we have a great chance to get back to victory lane at Martinsville. We have always been strong there and hopefully will be again this weekend. Darian (Grubb) and the FedEx guys have been giving me fast race cars each week and I think we’re close to another victory. I always enjoy going to Martinsville and being from Virginia, it’s good to get in front of the fans and run well.”



Tony Stewart talks about Martinsville:


You’ve had success at Martinsville and a period where you were always a threat to win. What’s that like?

“You can have it, for sure. It’s knowing that feel, it’s finding that combination that works, and the next time you come back to that track you know what that feel is like and you know what you’re looking for in practice for it to be good in the race. During the race, the track changes quite a bit, but you know when you kind of have that rhythm. You have the timing of what it was like, you just know what that feel is in the car that you’re looking for, not necessarily to be good in Happy Hour as much as to be good for the race. When you’ve had a good weekend, the next time you go back it’s just easier to try to go back and mimic that feel. That’s why when guys hit on something they’re normally good for a while until the package changes quite a bit, and then once that changes, you have to learn a different feel. Normally for a while you can have that, and different guys, if you look over the history, have kind of had runs at it. It seems like whether it’s a three- or four- or five-race period, guys get that feel of it and know what that tire likes, what the chassis combination likes at that time, and they kind of have that and they know how to adapt to it.”

What do you like about racing at Martinsville?

“It’s still that old short-track feel. That’s what I like. We run a lot of 1.5-mile tracks during the year and it’s the only place that races like this. We’ve got two half-mile tracks that we race on. This one’s quite a bit different than Bristol (Tenn.), and that’s what makes it fun. You can out-brake guys and you can run the outside if you get a shot. It’s racing the way we all grew up racing.”

Does short-track racing, particularly around Martinsville’s tight confines, bring out the worst in drivers because there’s more opportunity?

“I used to be as guilty of it and bad as anybody about taking a cheap shot at guys early. But you realize that it’s not about the two guys driving the cars out there as much as there’s a bunch of crew guys who spend a lot of hours and put a lot of heart and soul into what we have as a product each week with these racecars and there’s a car owner who spends a lot of money. I think at times we all forget about that. You let a guy get his butt kicked once or twice, he’ll quit doing stupid stuff like that.”


Stewart's bringing the same chassis that he won last fall's Martinsville race with.

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the 88 team is bringing the chassis the used in both races at Martinsville last year; finished 2nd and 7th with the chassis last year...

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#5-Kasey Kahne: For the April 1 race, crew chief Kenny Francis has selected Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 5-651. Built in 2011, Mark Martin drove this car in both Martinsville races last year, collecting a top-10 finish in April.


#10-David Reutimann: will pilot the No. 297 chassis, which he also drove at Phoenix International Raceway this season. TBR debuted chassis No. 297 with Blaney at Texas Motor Speedway in November 2011. Blaney also piloted the chassis at Homestead-Miami Speedway in the 2011 NSCS Season Finale where he finished 28th. TBR purchased the chassis from Richard Childress Racing during the 2011 season.


#22-A.J. Allmendinger: and his Todd Gordon-led Penske Racing No. 22 Team will be racing their new "PRS-819" Shell-Pennzoil Dodge Charger this weekend at Martinsville. The "PRS-807" is the backup Dodge Charger for the "Double-Deuce" team. It was in the transporter serving as the backup at Phoenix and at Bristol, but has never seen any track time.


#36-Dave Blaney: will pilot chassis No. 78 this weekend. In the 2011 season, he drove the chassis in the Martinsville fall event where he finished 23rd and at six other events. His best finish in the chassis was 19th at Richmond International Raceway last fall.