NASCAR: Five Drivers Most Likely To Win At Martinsville
Apr 2, 2016; Martinsville, VA, USA; NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Matt Kenseth (20), NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Jimmie Johnson (48), and NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Kevin Harvick (4) race during the Alpha Energy Solutions 250 at Martinsville Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Michael Shroyer-USA TODAY Sports
The Round of 8 is upon us as NASCAR travels to Martinsville for one of the final four races of the year. Take a look at a few drivers who could win on Sunday.
NASCAR’s Chase field has been cut down to just eight drivers now as Austin Dillon, Martin Truex Jr., Chase Elliott and Brad Keselowski were all eliminated at Talladega last weekend.
This Sunday, the focus shifts to the first race of the Round of 8 as the Cup Series transitions from restrictor plate racing to short track racing with Martinsville up next.
With narrow straightaways and turns banked at just 12 degrees, Martinsville truly defines short track racing. It has plenty of history as the first race at the track took place back in 1949.
This weekend, the race will feature two of the greatest drivers to race at Martinsville as Jimmie Johnson will serve as the last remaining Hendrick Motorsports driver in the Chase and Jeff Gordon will fill in for Dale Earnhardt Jr.
With points reset and a new round on the way, each Chase driver will be looking for an early win so they can clinch a spot in the Championship 4.
Check out five drivers who could win this Sunday.
All stats gathered from racing-reference.info.
Apr 8, 2016; Fort Worth, TX, USA; Sprint Cup Series driver Denny Hamlin (11) drives down the front stretch during qualifying for the Duck Commander 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. Hamlin will start in sixth position. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
The Favorite: Denny Hamlin
Stats at Martinsville:
Denny Hamlin has been in contention for a win at Martinsville just about every time he’s visited the track in the Cup Series.
Hamlin has finished in the top-10 in 16 of his 21 starts and has recorded five wins. From 2006-2011, he recorded nine top-5’s in 12 starts and four wins, including a three-peat from the 2009 Chase race to the 2010 Chase race.
He was dominant at the track in 2009 as he recorded first and second-place finishes while leading over 200 laps in both races. He won his fifth race at the track in last year’s spring race.
Hamlin is known as a good short track racer, but there’s something about Martinsville that makes him better. He’s led laps in all but six of his starts there and was in position to win earlier this season before falling out of the race due to an accident.
Hamlin has had a shot to win in two out of the last three races and barely made his way to the Round of 8. He’ll be looking to win fast and lock up his second trip to Homestead under the current Chase format.
Denny Hamlin is the favorite heading into the weekend.
Oct 23, 2016; Talladega, AL, USA; NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Jimmie Johnson (48) races through the trioval during the Alabama 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports
Contender No. 1: Jimmie Johnson
Stats at Martinsville:
Jimmie Johnson is by far one of the best to ever race at Martinsville. He will serve as the only driver on the track this weekend with stats anywhere near Jeff Gordon’s.
Johnson has won multiple Martinsville races in a row on three different occasions with the lone exception serving as his first win back in 2004. From the 2006 Chase race to the 2009 spring race, Johnson won five out of six races while leading 1,021 laps. That was a part of his nine-race top-5 streak from 2005 to 2009.
He went on to win back-to-back races in 2012 and 2013, which is the last time he has visited Victory Lane at Martinsville. He’s led over 100 laps in 13 of his 29 starts and has had two days featuring laps led totals over 300.
While Johnson hasn’t gotten out front at the track since the 2014 spring race, he’s still a threat to win this weekend. This will be his first Round of 8 race as he’s been eliminated prior to it in the past two seasons.
With a win in the Chase already under his belt and a few great tracks coming up, the six-time champ will be a major contender this weekend.
Sep 25, 2016; Loudon, NH, USA; NASCAR Sprint Cup driver Joey Logano during the New England 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Brian Fluharty-USA TODAY Sports
Contender No. 2: Joey Logano
Stats at Martinsville:
Joey Logano has had a solid 2016 Chase effort so far. Though he looked like one of the drivers that could’ve potentially been eliminated last weekend, he came through and earned a clutch win at Talladega.
This weekend we’ll all remember the big “what-if” for Logano last season. We all know what happened in last year’s Chase race. He was taken out by Matt Kenseth late in the race after starting from the pole and leading 207 laps. In what certainly looked like a winning effort, Logano ended up finishing 37th and being eliminated in the Round of 8.
But despite that incident, he’ll look to move on and compete at a track that he’s raced well at in the past few seasons. In fact, since 2014, Logano has registered all 435 of his career laps led at Martinsville and he’s finished in the top-5 in three out of the last five races.
He’s had a lot of success at short tracks in the past and will look to pick up where he left off at last weekend and make his way back to the Championship 4.
Oct 2, 2016; Dover, DE, USA; Sprint Cup Series driver Matt Kenseth (20) during the Citizen Soldier 400 at Dover International Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Contender No. 3: Matt Kenseth
Stats at Martinsville:
Matt Kenseth has quietly been one of the best drivers in the Chase so far. He had five top-10’s in a row–including two second-place finishes–before finishing 28th at Talladega due to strategy with two of his other Joe Gibbs Racing teammates.
Throughout 33 starts at Martinsville, Kenseth has never made it to Victory Lane. He’s come close a couple of times when he finished second in 2002 and 2013, but hasn’t won a race there despite leading double-digit laps in eight races and leading 202 laps in 2013.
The reason you can’t count Kenseth out this weekend is because of the Chase results he has had so far that I referenced earlier. He’s finished second twice, fifth, ninth twice and 28th at Talladega, serving as one of the best drivers in the Chase so far.
He had four finishes of sixth or better in his last six visits to Martinsville and will look to pick up his third win of the season this weekend.
Sep 10, 2016; Richmond, VA, USA; Sprint Cup Series driver Jeff Gordon (88) races during the Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond International Raceway. Mandatory Credit: Amber Searls-USA TODAY Sports
The Underdog: Jeff Gordon
Stats at Martinsville:
Who can forget what Jeff Gordon did last year at Martinsville? Everything fell into place for Gordon to win the final restart of the race and clinch his spot in the Championship 4. It was one of the best races all season and one of the coolest moments we had seen in quite some time.
Fast forward to this weekend. Gordon is set to enter the No. 88 car for the final time this season, which will likely be the final time he participates in a Cup Series race.
He has some history at Martinsville to back him up on Sunday. All of the stats mentioned above will be the best among drivers on the track. He has an average start of 7.2 and an average finish of 6.8, two of the best you’ll see from any driver at any track.
Then you take a look at his career and there’s really too much to talk about, but there are a few things that stand out. He’s led double-digit laps in 32 of his 46 starts with 14 days of leading over 100 laps. Plus, his best outing came back in 1997 when he led 431 of 500 laps. From 2005 to 2010, Gordon finished nine straight races in the top-5.
Martinsville is Gordon’s best track and he’ll be looking for his 10th win there on Sunday. How incredible would it be to see him win at the track in what is likely his final race? It could certainly happen.
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