Snapshot: Martinsville

By Kenny Bruce

The Paperclip. Martinsville Speedway, site of Sunday's STP 500 (1 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), is short on distance -- the .526-mile layout is shortest for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series -- and even shorter on tempers. What once was a battle of attrition is now a battle of wills.

'The cars are so much better as far as being able to run a whole race,' Richard Petty, winner of a record 15 Martinsville races, said. 'It used to be survival, but now they race each other. Even though we raced each other then, a lot of us didn't survive.'

The STP 500 is the first short-track stop of the season, and one of three to be contested in the next four weeks. Gentlemen, check your tempers at the door.

At a glance

Where: Martinsville Speedway, a .526-mile layout located in Martinsville, Virginia
Green flag: 1:13:30 p.m. ET
TV/Radio: FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR
Forecast: Sunny, high of 62 degrees. Wind WNW at 13 mph according to weather.com
National anthem: US Air Force Heritage Brass Band Quintet
Grand marshal: Actor AJ Cook ('Criminal Minds,' CBS)
Honorary starter: Keith Lutz, STP VIP Customer
Race distance: 500 laps, 263 miles
Pit road speed: 30 mph
Caution car speed: 35 mph

Flashback

Sunday's race will be the first at Martinsville since a couple of notable occurrences took place at the long-time venue. The fall race here was the final Sprint Cup Series victory for four-time series champion Jeff Gordon. It was also the site where Matt Kenseth (Joe Gibbs Racing) took out leader Joey Logano, effectively ending the Team Penske driver's Chase hopes.

'It's hard to erase it from your mind,' Logano said. 'It happened. It's in the past though, but it is something that drives you.'

Practice makes perfect ...

Brian Vickers, making his fourth start as interim driver of the Stewart-Haas Racing No. 14 Chevrolet, was fifth or faster in the three practice sessions at Martinsville. Ryan Newman (Richard Childress Racing) and Kyle Larson (Chip Ganassi Racing) were also among those consistently quick around the Virginia track.

... But consistency is king

Larson had the best 10 consecutive lap average in the opening practice, and was in the top three in the final two sessions. Not too shabby for a youngster still looking for his first trip to Victory Lane in the Sprint Cup Series. Larson, 23, will be making his 81st career start in the No. 42 Chevrolet.

He's a Pole Cat

Team Penske driver Joey Logano won his third consecutive Martinsville pole on Friday, tying the mark held by Glen Wood, Darrell Waltrip, Mark Martin and Jeff Gordon.

'Anytime you can tie Jeff Gordon with a record that he's got here at Martinsville makes me feel good,' Logano said. 'I didn't know that was up for grabs … but it's nice to be able to at least get close to something he’s done here.'

Defend this

Native Virginian Denny Hamlin (Joe Gibbs Racing) is the defending winner of the STP 500 and has five career wins here. His chief competition? 'Myself,' he said. 'I don't know how many pit road penalties I've had here … or why I choose to push it on pit road knowing that I have the speed on the race track that we've shown.'