Nemechek, Sauter glad to be locked in for Martinsville

Welcome to NASCAR in Wonderland, where nothing is ever quite as it seems. One week, you're out. The next week, you're in.

Joe Nemechek and Johnny Sauter failed to qualify last weekend for Bristol but because of NASCAR's quirky owner points rules, they're both guaranteed a spot in the starting lineup for Sunday's Goody's Cool Orange 500 at Martinsville Speedway.

Nemechek hadn't missed a race in five years until the numbers game caught up with the No. 13 team at Bristol.

2007 Owner Points

Heading to Martinsville

Pos.	No.	Owner	Points
26.	13	B. Ginn	442
33.	88	R. Yates	374
34.	9	R. Evernham	365
35.	70	G. Haas	365
36.	4	J. Finch	331
37.	22	B. Davis	325

• Complete Standings click here

"I could hardly watch the race on television, and when I did, it hurt not to be there," Nemechek said.

Without the safety net of 2006 owner points, Nemechek was able to make the first four races on speed. Three top-20 runs, including a ninth-place finish in the Daytona 500, allowed Nemechek to build a big enough cushion to remain solidly in the top 35 despite missing Bristol.

"It's going to be nice going to Martinsville without the heavy baggage of pressure that I felt since the beginning of the season," Nemechek said. "Now, we can spend more time working on our race-trim setup when we get to the track.

"The qualifying issue hanging over our heads and the time it consumed in practice put us behind each week."

It was the same for Sauter, who teeters precariously in 35th place, 34 points ahead of Ward Burton's No. 4. He put together back-to-back top-20 finishes to open the season before running into trouble at Las Vegas and Atlanta.

At least for one week, he can finally focus on something other than being fast on Fridays.

"In first five weeks, we had to put all of our energy into qualifying setup," Sauter said. "This week we're looking forward to being able to use our practice sessions to work on race setups and then implementing a strategy to bring home a strong finish."

That could be easier said than done for both drivers. In 25 career starts at Martinsville, Nemechek has one top-10 finish -- a 10th in 2005.

"Only one top-10 at Martinsville might not look good on paper, but what I do know is that I had a number of strong runs there," Nemechek said. "Either a mechanical failure or being taken out on the track were reasons for ruining a lot of quality performances."

Sauter? Finishes of 31st and 41st darken his two tries at the flat half-mile, but he ran fifth in last year's Busch Series race -- and expects his experience at similar tracks near his Wisconsin home to pay off on Sunday.

"I'm most comfortable on short, flat tracks and it makes for fun and exciting racing," he said. "I like the variety of tracks on the circuit, but it doesn't get any better than short-track racing for me."