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RELATED: Pre-Martinsville standings | Stage lengths
The first short-track swing of the 2017 schedule begins this week at the venerable Martinsville Speedway and even before leaving California’s two-miler last weekend, NASCAR’s best conceded they were eagerly awaiting this portion of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season.
Gone are the days of NASCAR road course aces, superspeedway specialists or short track experts. Not only has the sport demanded high expectations at every stop, drivers have to perform everywhere at an even greater level with the current points system.
April’s short track swing features Martinsville’s .526-mile oval on Sunday (2 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), Bristol’s .53-miler in three weeks followed by Richmond’s three-quarter mile oval to close out the month. And while this portion of the schedule brings a smile to most drivers faces and a sentimental nod to their early careers, it also means a big competitive kick in their anticipation.
“I love the short tracks and short-track racing,” said Dale Earnhardt Jr., who has wins at all three upcoming short tracks.
“We don’t get to do a lot of it, so that makes you love it more. Being able to come to these tracks and knowing you are only going to get to run here a few times, it makes you really appreciate it and work hard. You have to really try to take care of the car to run all the laps and get everything out of it you can.”
RELATED: Full results for every Martinsville race | Driver stats at Martinsville
Earnhardt’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate and reigning seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson may be the happiest guy on the grid when he takes Sunday’s green flag. He’s at an unfamiliar 17th place in the Monster Energy Series standings with only one top 10 in five races this season so far. However, Martinsville has been his playground, his mecca, his “I got this.”
Johnson’s nine wins there are most among active drivers and he has 24 top-10 finishes in 30 starts. He’s led 2,838 laps there — an amazing 1,475 laps more than any other driver on Sunday’s grid. And he’s won at Bristol (once) and Richmond (three times) too.
“We certainly are not where we want to be right now,” Johnson said. “Last weekend at California was so frustrating. Nothing went our way. As a competitor you have to put that stuff behind you and focus forward, so I’m looking forward to getting to Martinsville.
“The last race at Martinsville was an amazing finish, a very emotional one for me — so meaningful — and it obviously paved the way to our seventh championship. It’s a special place for us, it suits my driving style and I wish we raced at Martinsville more than twice a year.”
Toyota driver Denny Hamlin is another who has shown a real knack for the series’ short-track portion of the schedule. He has a career best five victories at Martinsville — including a remarkable three consecutive from 2009-2010 — with 17 top-10 finishes in 22 Martinsville starts in all. He also has wins at Bristol (one) and his home track of Richmond (three).
RELATED: Hamlin explains why ‘feel’ is more important than lap times
His Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch is the defending winner of the spring Martinsville race and has 10 wins total at the three upcoming venues including five at Bristol.
And while drivers such as Johnson, Hamlin and Busch seem to have had immediate and bountiful success on the high action short tracks, Martin Truex Jr. could say his good feelings have been an acquired taste there.
In his first 18 starts at Martinsville, for example, he had an average start of 18.1 and an average finish of 23.1. In his last four races — with Furniture Row Racing — he’s had an average start of 5.5 and an average finish of 9.3.
“From my standpoint Martinsville has gone from a puzzle to a place where I continue to feel more comfortable,” said Truex. “We’ve had some good runs there recently and this weekend will be a good test to see where we stand with our short-track program.
“We know we can get it done at the intermediate and superspeedway tracks.”
It’s been a familiar refrain in the garage. In the past, a driver might show a real flair for a certain type of competitive surface. But in modern NASCAR every week, ever track is an opportunity that can’t be overlooked.
There’s no denying the “back home” good feeling of this upcoming short track portion of the schedule, however. It’s the ultimate in challenge and gratification, a showcase for short tempers and a source of deep pride.
“To me, the toughest part of Martinsville is you just never have a moment to breathe,” said Richard Childress Racing driver Austin Dillon.
“You have to be on your game nonstop for 500 laps because somebody’s on you, or you are on top of somebody the whole time, and there’s just no room for error.”
And that’s exactly what fans are counting on.