Martinsville paperclip has Roush short on success

When it comes to tracks on the Nextel Cup circuit, there aren't many that prove as difficult for Roush Fenway Racing as Martinsville Speedway.

Roush drivers have been to Victory Lane just four times in 124 collective starts at Martinsville, and none since Kurt Busch in 2002. None of Roush's current stable of drivers have had much success at NASCAR's smallest venue.

"Martinsville has never been too kind to us," said Matt Kenseth, who has just one top-five in 14 career starts at the .526-mile paperclip. "It's not that we've run terrible there we've just never been able to compete on a regular basis."

A crash in this race a year ago resulted in Kenseth's only DNF of the season.

"I'm not a big fan of the track. To me, it's just too narrow and too slow," Kenseth said. "It's like racing around two light poles in the middle of a parking lot. There's very little room to race and the turns are so tight and so flat that you have to go so slow through the turns, and try your best not to move out of the bottom groove.

"Now, imagine doing that 1,000 times in one afternoon."

Neither Greg Biffle or Carl Edwards have had a top-10 finish at Martinsville. Biffle finished 31st and 32, respectively, in the two races at Martinsville in 2006.

"Martinsville has not historically been a good track for me," said Biffle, who has never led a lap there in eight career starts. "We did have a decent run going there last year in the spring. I think we probably would have had a top-10 finish but I got into Jeff Burton early in the race and we had to go to the garage for repairs.

"We're taking the same car that we finished fifth with at Bristol last week. Obviously it was a good car for us and I feel confident in taking it to Martinsville this weekend."

Edwards finished 12th his last time out at Martinsville, marking a personal best in five career starts.

"It's probably one of the toughest tracks for me in the Cup car, but I'm still really looking forward to the race," Edwards said. "If we can have a decent qualifying run I think we can race well there. A lot can happen in 500 laps and at Martinsville things like pit strategy and tire management can make or break you."

Edwards' crew chief, Bob Osborne, knows all too well the pitfalls of Martinsville.

"Martinsville is a difficult track. I would say it's one of the tracks we've struggled the most with," Osborne said. "We need to qualify well so we don't go a lap down early in the race."

Jamie McMurray has had the most personal success at Martinsville with one top-five and five top-10s in eight starts, and accounted for Roush's only top-10 there among his drivers last year, his first with the organization.

Martinsville was one of two starts for David Ragan last year. After crashing out in his Nextel Cup debut at Dover, Ragan completed all 500 laps at Martinsville this past October and finished 25th.

"The one benefit we have going to Martinsville that we did not have heading to Bristol is that David has raced a Cup car at Martinsville before so that little bit of experience there will help out," crew chief Jimmy Fennig said of Ragan, who finished 26th at Bistol.

"David did a good job last week at Bristol. He got spun around quite a few times and he managed to keep it out of the wall. That being said we still have to be on our toes in Martinsville. The racing that goes on at these short tracks can get really wild so it is important to keep your head and be smart."

This Sunday's Goody's Cool Orange 500 (1:30 p.m. ET, FOX) marks the second Car of Tomorrow race. How that will factor into the equation is still an unknown.

"I'm not sure how the COT will be there. Obviously, when we get on the track on Friday it will be the first time all of us have been there with that car, so it will be a learning experience for all of us," Kenseth said.

"At Bristol, the car stayed pretty tight through the center of the turn, which is something you definitely don't want at Martinsville. If you come off the bottom of the track, you'll find yourself moving backwards in a hurry. It's going to be a learning experience all weekend, but hopefully we're up to the challenge."