Autostock
Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson have won nine of the last 12 Martinsville races.By the Numbers: M'ville
The Hendrick shutout could come to an end in Virginia
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It's been a while since we've seen Rick Hendrick in Victory Lane -- Nov. 9 in Phoenix to be exact -- but that will probably change Sunday in the Goody's Fast Pain Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway (1:30 p.m. ET, FOX).
The owner has been on top of Martinsville's mountain 17 times, second to Richard Petty among owners. Of those 17 victories, nine have come in the last 12 races courtesy of his headlining drivers -- Jeff Gordon (four) and Jimmie Johnson (five).
Both drivers are in a league of their own at Martinsville.
Johnson has finished in the top five at the track in 10 of the last 11 races with five wins. His worst finish at the track is a 35th in his Martinsville debut. Since then, he's never finished lower than ninth in 13 starts.
Gordon has finished in the top five at the Paperclip in the last eight races there with two wins. Since 2003, Gordon hasn't finished worse than ninth and has four wins in that stretch.
But it's not just Gordon and Johnson that could lead Hendrick to Victory Lane. Three of his four drivers count Martinsville as one of their top-five tracks -- so expect the owner to inch one spot closer to catching the King.
Inside the Data
HMS drivers' average finish at Martinsville
5.6Average finish of Jimmie Johnson at Martinsville, second best among drivers with at least 10 starts (Lee Petty, 5.5). Martinsville is Johnson's second-best track for average finish -- he averages a 5.5 at Phoenix. His five wins match a career-high with Lowe's Motor Speedway and his 10 top-fives and 13 top-10s lead all tracks in his career.
6.9Average finish of Jeff Gordon at Martinsville -- Gordon's best track. Gordon's seven wins at Martinsville is third-best all time (Richard Petty, 15; Darrell Waltrip, 11). Gordon has seven wins at Martinsville and Darlington and his 20 top-fives and 26 top-10s are all track highs for Gordon.
13.4Average finish of Mark Martin at Martinsville -- Martin's 14th-best track. Martin has two wins at Martinsville, one of 10 tracks he has multiple wins. Martin has 11 top-five and 21 top-10 finishes in 42 races at the track.
13.6Average finish of Dale Earnhardt Jr. at Martinsville -- Junior's fifth-best track behind Richmond, Atlanta, Bristol and Texas. Junior has yet to win at Martinsville but his eight top-fives ties with Richmond and Atlanta and his 10 top-10s at Martinsville is second behind Daytona for his career.
Necessitous Numbers
0Number of wins for Chevrolet so far this season, the longest the manufacturer has gone without a win to start the season since 2002 when its first win came at Talladega in April, the ninth race of the season.
3Three of the first five races this season have seen David Reutimann post a career-high finish. His 12th at Daytona, fourth at Las Vegas and 12th at Bristol are all career-highs at those tracks. His best finish at Martinsville -- 17th in 2007.
14.3Average starting position of the last 10 winners at Martinsville. Of those 10 races, five were won from a starting position inside the top 10 and five were won from a starting position of 15th or worse.
25The '09 season marks Hendrick Motorsports' 25th anniversary in Cup Series racing and this week he returns to the spot of his first victory. On April 29, 1984, Geoffrey Bodine won the 1984 Sovran Bank giving Mr. Hendrick his first Cup win.
740Number of points Jimmie Johnson has earned in the last four races at Martinsville, tops among all drivers. In that stretch he has three wins and a fourth. The most points a driver can accrue in a four-race stretch is 780. The driver with the second-most points in that stretch is Jeff Gordon with 690.
758Number of laps Dale Earnhardt Jr. has led at Martinsville, tops among active drivers without a win. In 18 races he has eight top-fives but also has six finishes of 20th or worse with one DNF.
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Martinsville Speedway
Drivers with multiple wins at track
| Driver | Starts | Wins | Top-fives | Top-10s |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Richard Petty | 67 | 15 | 30 | 37 |
| Darrell Waltrip | 52 | 11 | 27 | 31 |
| Rusty Wallace | 44 | 7 | 17 | 25 |
| Jeff Gordon | 32 | 7 | 20 | 26 |
| Fred Lorenzen | 17 | 6 | 8 | 8 |
| Dale Earnhardt | 44 | 6 | 18 | 24 |
| Cale Yarborough | 31 | 6 | 16 | 19 |
| Jimmie Johnson | 14 | 5 | 10 | 13 |
| Geoffrey Bodine | 38 | 4 | 11 | 13 |
| Harry Gant | 32 | 3 | 13 | 17 |
| Lee Petty | 24 | 3 | 16 | 21 |
| Jim Paschal | 27 | 3 | 7 | 14 |
| Ricky Rudd | 55 | 3 | 13 | 20 |
| Curtis Turner | 14 | 2 | 4 | 6 |
| Mark Martin | 42 | 2 | 11 | 21 |
| Rex White | 16 | 2 | 9 | 11 |
| Buck Baker | 32 | 2 | 7 | 14 |
| Tony Stewart | 20 | 2 | 7 | 11 |
| Junior Johnson | 19 | 2 | 8 | 10 |
| Bobby Isaac | 15 | 2 | 6 | 8 |
| Bob Welborn | 15 | 2 | 5 | 10 |
| Herb Thomas | 12 | 2 | 5 | 7 |
• Bold: Active drivers
Cup Series News
- Hendrick indicates deal in the works to secure Knaus
- Wingo named crew chief for Ragan, No. 6 team
- Hendrick turning attention to getting Junior on track
- NASCAR files motion to keep France docs private
- Victory has Hamlin ready to fight for Cup title in 2010
- Martin can't mount charge needed to push Johnson
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