By Mark Spoor, Turner Sports Interactive
April 15, 2004
3:49 PM EDT (1949 GMT)
Jeff Gordon owned Martinsville Speedway last year.
Well, not really, but ...
Gordon swept both races there in 2003, and coming off a third-place finish two weeks ago at Texas that moved him from 12th to ninth in the Nextel Cup Series standings, the four-time series champ is a big story again.
So big that FOX will feature Gordon in Sunday's pre-race show.
"We know that [after] Richmond (the 26th race) comes, we've got to be in the top 10 and when we are, we'd better be set on 'kill' to go out there and lead laps and win races," Gordon said.
"You're going to have to have top fives every single weekend and have a lot of luck in order to win that championship. So you're definitely looking at [the points] differently.
Gordon has reason to be optimistic -- in all, Gordon has five Martnisville victories.
"I love Martinsville because I run well there," Gordon said. "I grew up on the short tracks. I love the short tracks.
"We've seen what happens at Bristol, how exciting it is, how many people we pack into that place. And even though Martinsville isn't the same kind of short track, I think it still offers that short-track excitement that the fans love to see."
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Hot spots: Ever wonder what goes through a driver's head minutes before racing against the world's best stock car racers? Darrell Waltrip will take you behind the scenes of driver introductions.
Ask The Producer: This week's question comes from a fan named Kim Cabral:
"Why doesn't FOX come back from a commercial immediately when a caution comes out, and why are they in commercial almost half of the time when a restart happens? This is getting to be something that happens numerous times during every race. It is very frustrating."
NASCAR on FOX producer Neil Goldberg explains:
"Thanks for the support, Kim. If you look back at our history you will find that we do make it back for most re-starts but you are correct that at times they are missed.
"When we get to a short track like Bristol it becomes far more tricky. We have to start working on some trade offs and luck with timing. A caution lap at Bristol takes about :30 seconds and our commercials run approx 2:50.
"When a caution comes out we try to show at least on replay of the reason before the break before going to commercial with the intent of making it back for the pit stops. At times we stay right through for the caution round of stops and then go to break. The key is how long it takes to clean up the caution.
"It is a roll of the dice at times at the short track. and even at track like Texas. But the issue here is to stay ahead on the breaks to put the viewer in a position to get a long commercial-free run at the end of the race. We do not want to miss the action like we saw down the stretch run at Bristol and Texas.
"We do at times come back from break early to catch the re-start or the round of pit stops. But what you must realize, when we do that, that commercial must be moved to the next spot making that break longer. The longer the break the greater the chance something will happen while we are in it.
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"As far as busting out of breaks for cautions, we save that for the event of a major incident on the track. Again, if we came out of break every time there was a caution, that break would have to be added on later.
"You also need to realize that we can not bust out of local or affiliate breaks. These are commercials that are run by the local affiliate from the station in you area. They actually have total control of that commercial window. They join back up with us once their designated commercial window is up. Like I said, it is give and take.
"We have to make the best decision for commercials as the race develops in order to put the viewer in position to see the most crucial parts of the race.
"I hope this clears it up for you. Thanks for watching and being a great fan."
Let your voice be heard: Each week, we'll pick one question to ask the producer of the FOX telecast. Why did they do things this way? Why did they talk to that driver? Any question that eats at you could be answered right here in the Viewer's Guide.
Send your questions to the e-mail box in this piece.
The Rant: This week, Frank Adamson from Fort Scott, Kan. takes exception to a comment made during Sunday's Nextel Cup race from Texas:
"Last Sunday in Texas, DW made a comment about favoritism of the 'Elite' in sports. I feel that his comment about Dale Jr. receiving favoritism over other Drivers was out of line.
"He should know better than to make assumptions about NASCAR and how they deal with rule infractions. In my opinion he opened a can of worms that will inevitably effect any driver who becomes popular.
"Comments such as this will make it difficult for NASCAR not to be stricter on the more popular drivers or teams than maybe they should be. It would make NASCAR look incompetent if they don't."
Thanks for writing in, Frank. While I agree with you in principle, the simple fact is that there is favoritism of elite athletes -- not only in NASCAR -- not even in just professional or college sports -- but in all of athletics.
Michael Jordan, Barry Bonds, the quarterback for your own high school football team, heck, even the star pitcher of a pee-wee baseball team in your town -- they all get special treatment, not only on the field or the track or the court, but in life.
Is it right? Certainly not. Was DW doing the right thing? Likely not. Still, the point is that DW didn't unearth something that isn't common knowledge to all of us who do this for a living, and most of us who don't.
Get in on the action: In "The Rant," we'll pick e-mails each week to argue about a TV coverage issue, be it a commentator's comment, a driver's comment, a pre-race feature -- basically anything you want to spout off about.
Come with an intelligent, passionate argument and you may see your take on NASCAR.COM.
On to this weekend's schedule:
Nextel Cup Series: Advance Auto Parts 500
Site: Martinsville, Va.
Track: Martinsville Speedway (.526-mile oval, 12-degree banking in turns. Frontstretch: 800 feet. Backstretch: 800 feet)
Race distance: 263 miles, 500 laps
 | VIDEO CLIPS - LAST YEAR |  | Jeff Gordon enjoys his first win of the 2003 season
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|  | Gordon and Labonte go door-to-door in the closing laps
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|  | Gordon, Wallace, and Earnhardt Jr. battle for the lead
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TV: Bud Pole Qualifying: SPEED 3 p.m. ET Friday. Happy Hour: FX. 11 a.m.ET Saturday. Race: FOX, 1 p.m. ET Sunday.
Last year: Jeff Gordon won the Virginia 500 in a brilliant battle with Bobby Labonte and Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Last race: Elliott Sadler held off a hard-charging Kasey Kahne for victory in the Samsung/RadioShack 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. Kahne led 148 laps but couldn't get back to the front after a series of caution flags.
Potential storyline: A victory at Bristol followed by a sixth-place finish at Texas, and suddenly Kurt Busch found himself atop the series standings heading into Martinsville. Reigning series champion Matt Kenseth, the points leader for three consecutive race weeks, is second, 19 points behind.
Point to ponder: Kevin Harvick has been running at the finish for 46 consecutive races -- the longest active Nextel Cup streak without a DNF. He has replaced Terry Labonte as the category's active leader; Labonte ended a streak of 48 consecutive races without a DNF when he failed to finish at Texas.
Craftsman Truck Series: Kroger 250
Site: Martinsville, Va.
Track: Martinsville Speedway (.526-mile oval, 12-degree banking in turns. Frontstretch: 800 feet. Backstretch: 800 feet)
Race distance: 131.5 miles, 250 laps
TV: Race: SPEED, 1 p.m. ET Saturday.
| VIDEO CLIPS - LAST YEAR |  | Dennis Setzer captures his second win of the season
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|  | Darrell Waltrip has trouble on the track with Jon Woods
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Last year: Dennis Setzer passed Chad Chaffin on the 199th of 250 laps and held on through four caution periods to beat Bud Pole winner Ted Musgrave by 0.947 second.
Last race: Bobby Hamilton and Mike Skinner were side-by-side out of the final turn of the EasyCare Vehicle Service Contracts 200 on March 13 at Atlanta. When it was over, Hamilton was the winner and Skinner was sliding through the infield grass.
Potential storyline: Before last year's Martnisville truck race, no one had won two NCTS races at the Virginia short track. Setzer ended that streak with a second consecutive victory.
He won from 33rd in 2002 -- the deepest in the field by any series competitor -- and repeated a year ago. Ted Musgrave remains the only series driver to win the same event three straight times. His continuing California Speedway streak began in 2001.
Point to ponder: Two of 10 series winners at Martinsville Speedway have hailed from the Commonwealth of Virginia, a state that's hosted the most races -- 22 -- in NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series history. They are Jimmy Hensley of Ridgeway (1999) and Jon Wood of Stuart (fall race of 2003).
Mark Spoor is an interactive producer of NASCAR.COM. The Domino's Viewers Guide appears each Thursday during race weeks.
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