Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 400 at Martinsville Speedway
(⏰ 7:30 p.m. ET | 📺 FS1 | 📻 MRN, SiriusXM)
Everything you need to know for NASCAR’s first short-track race under the lights of the season, the eighth regular-season Cup Series event of the 2022 campaign.
Race-day info 📝
Where: Martinsville, Virginia
Approximate start time: 7:30 p.m. ET | Weekend schedule
TV/Radio: FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio | Full TV schedule
Forecast: Partly cloudy, with a low around 35, according to NOAA.gov | Weather tracker
Race distance: 400 laps | 210.4 miles
Stages: 80 | 180 | 400
Pit-road speed: 30 mph
Caution car speed: 35 mph
The purse: $6,917,073
Martinsville 101: Get the full lowdown
Starting lineup: Full lineup
Pit stalls: Expert pit analysis | Pit-stall assignments
Key things to watch 🔑
Big story line: Martinsville – that’s it. That’s the big story line here. NASCAR heads north to the legendary Virginia venue for a Saturday night short-track showdown under the lights and if that doesn’t make the hair on the back of your neck stand up, pick a different sport to watch. “The Paperclip” always delivers on the racing end of things, with a healthy dose of drama typically sprinkled in. The meat in the schedule’s short-track-sandwich of Richmond-Martinsville-Bristol Dirt, Saturday’s race – now just 400 laps, perhaps increasing the pressure – is sure to be a thriller from the drop of the green flag in the Next Gen’s first crack at NASCAR’s oldest and arguably most historic track. We’ve already seen some bricks being laid for potential 2022 beef; it might just be a matter of when they fully spark. For what it’s worth, the most recent Martinsville winner and last week’s Richmond winner, both of whom are expected to be strong again this weekend, might have some unfinished business. | Hamlin: ‘Haven’t had the opportunity’ to retaliate yet
Who’s hot? Who’s not?: Pretty much across the board, it’s been Ryan Blaney’s season so far – he’s the series leader in top-10s, laps led, stage wins and poles and sits on top of the points standings. The one spot his stats are lacking, however, is in the wins department. At some point, the combination of driver talent and bringing the fastest car to the track each week will result in the No. 12 driver’s first 2022 win … but will it be at Martinsville? Well, perhaps. He was the runner-up in both 2020 races at the track and did lead 157 laps in this race last year, but it’s been all Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing on short tracks of late – and William Byron and Martin Truex Jr. are equally as hot as Blaney. His teammates, unfortunately, qualify for the “not” part of this, as Austin Cindric and Joey Logano have a combined three top-10s over the past five races. Team Penske doesn’t stay down for long, though, and Martinsville is certainly a track that has been good to it over the years even if not so much lately. | Will the clock strike ’12’ for Blaney?
Driving under the radar: Go ahead and name Stewart-Haas Racing and Joe Gibbs Racing’s top lap leaders for 2022 so far. I’ll wait, because you’re probably wrong. Both Chase Briscoe (128) and Christopher Bell (111) pace their respective teams in circuits out front, as well as both of their figures landing in the top five among series leaders. Will that be the case come November? Tough to say – but they’re certainly driving under the radar thus far, even though Briscoe already picked up a win. Notably, these drivers are both still succeeding among some early-season hiccups for both premier organizations. Kind of makes you wonder how much more untapped potential the former pair of Xfinity Series stalwarts (28 wins in 161 combined starts) could start to actualize once SHR and JGR have things dialed in with the Next Gen era. And if the changing of the guard in these two respective stables is already underway.
Race-day staples ✅
Our biggest pieces of the week – get covered for race day from all angles.
– Paint Scheme Preview: Colors are ready to roll at Martinsville | Choose a favorite
– Power Rankings: Ryan Blaney rides blazing speed to top rank | Where does he rank?
– Fantasy Fastlane: Will Joe Gibbs Racing keep up the momentum at Martinsville? | Top plays, sleepers
– Backseat Drivers: Why can’t Ryan Blaney close out a win? | Hear the debate
– NASCAR betting: Odds for Martinsville spring race | BetMGM odds
Catch the pack 💨
Read up on the top headlines from the week leading up to Sunday’s race.
– Clocking in: Chase Elliott dominates Friday’s sessions at Martinsville | Read more
– Dirt devil: Kyle Larson tops NASCAR stars at Millbridge | Read more
– Grille prep: NASCAR’s Moran discusses Busch’s grille tape inspection | Hear the explanation
– Four more: New names added to NASCAR Hall of Fame ballot for Class of 2023 | Read more | Meet the nominees
– Penalty report: Two Kaulig Racing teams fined for lug-nut violations at Richmond | Read more
– Next Gen analysis: Hamlin’s Richmond victory comes into focus by examining pit strategies | Read more
– Seven in seven: Seven races, seven different winners as Cup Series heads to ‘The Paperclip’ | Read more
– Boogie-woogie: First electric truck set to pace NASCAR race at Martinsville | Read more
Get in on the action 💰
Think you know NASCAR? Put your mettle to the test with gaming, fantasy.
– Play it LIVE: Full guide to 2022 NASCAR Fantasy Live game | Get the FAQ
– Backseat Bets: Will Hamlin beat Elliott in head-to-head? | Watch the video
– Round 2? BetMGM: Martin Truex Jr., William Byron have another battle looming at Martinsville | Read more
– The Action Network: How to bet Truex Jr. vs. Byron | Catch up with tips from the experts
– Weekly props: Does JGR keep the momentum rolling? | Make your picks
– Going all the way: NASCAR betting: 2022 Cup Series championship odds | See them here
Returning to Martinsville 📎
Martinsville Speedway has had its share of history, hosting 146 Cup races since 1949. Take a look at some important track information.
– Spring forward: All-time wins in Martinsville Speedway spring race | Who has the most?
– Remember when: Most historic moments at Martinsville Speedway | How many do you remember?
– Turn back the clock: NASCAR’s earliest days trace back to Martinsville | Read more
– Last spring: Martin Truex Jr. rallies past Hamlin for Martinsville victory | Race recap | Watch highlights from the race
Fast facts ⏩
Hard-hitting, race-relevant statistics, brought to you by the experts at Racing Insights.
– Five of the last eight Martinsville poles were won by Joey Logano, and the others were won by current JGR drivers.
– The 2021 Martinsville race winners led a combined 29 laps, with Martin Truex Jr. leading 20 in the spring and Alex Bowman leading nine in the fall.
– There were nine or more cautions in the final stage at Martinsville in both races in 2021.
– The last seven short track races were won by either Hendrick Motorsports or Joe Gibbs Racing.
– The eventual winner came from the top three in Stage 2 in nine of 10 Martinsville races with stages.
Say what? 🎙
Notable quotes from the stars of the sport heading into Sunday’s race.
– “I feel like we’ve been solid at times. Other than Vegas, I felt like there’s been signs of pace for us. We just haven’t put a whole day together yet. We’ll keep doing our thing and continue to move forward. That’s really all you can do. This deal pays in November. We’ve got a long ways to go, and I feel like we have a great team, and that’s the part of the year we want to be prepared for most. We want to win and we want to gain as many bonus points as we can, don’t get me wrong, but a lot of racing to be done.” – No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports driver Chase Elliott on 2022
– “To be honest with you, (missing the playoffs) has definitely crossed my mind, especially with how the season started. I think we were – we might have been last in points after the first three or so races, so that was not ideal at all. I was really nervous about it, and we looked like we were headed towards an upward trend at Atlanta and got a good finish, looked like we had a good points day and that was taken away, so the situation has not been good. We’ve been able to help ourselves out the last couple of weeks, but we know that we are definitely in a really big hole in points, and we are focused on performing every single stage, and every week, and getting a good finish. But we need to perform in every stage to capitalize on getting as many points back as we can. Making the Playoffs is a big deal, and we are certainly focused on that.” – No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing driver Christopher Bell
– “With the speed that we had at the LA Coliseum for The Clash in the beginning of the season, we are very intrigued and curious to see how the speed that we had at a short track that is very similar to Martinsville’s shape and banking translates to the bigger of the two racetracks. With this new car, we saw that, at Richmond in particular, that with a similar tire, it raced a lot more like last year’s car than we’ve seen at other races. I’m assuming that the tire isn’t much different, I haven’t heard anything about the tire yet. If that remains fairly close then I would think that the race will play out a lot like the races did with the last car, too. Richmond is always a long race filled with lots of opportunities to make a mistake that really changes the outcome of your day, that’s how it will be this weekend at Martinsville, too. Hopefully our setup is right for Saturday, and we can take the things we learned from Richmond and put them into our plans. Track position and staying up front all day long is going to be very important. Outside of that, we just need to keep executing clean races and make the most out of our days.” – No. 8 Richard Childress Racing driver Tyler Reddick