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The NASCAR Cup Series returns to my favorite track, Martinsville Speedway, for Sunday’s Cook Out 400 (3 p.m. ET, FS1).
Martinsville is a tight, half-mile circuit that inspires plenty of beating and banging, making it a very entertaining event.
Unfortunately, the latest NASCAR weather forecast is showing a chance of rain Sunday afternoon, and just like other sports it’s important to consider the impact of weather before making any wagers that could be influenced by the conditions.
As a result, I’m going to keep my bets light for now and potentially jump in live during the race once I have a better idea of the conditions.
However, there’s still one NASCAR pick I’m locking in right now for Sunday’s Cook Out 400 at Martinsville.
NASCAR Prediction for Martinsville
With the chances of rain increasing throughout the afternoon, we have to consider that the race could finish with drivers running wet-weather tires.
However, if the rain holds off, which is also a possibility, we have to think about drivers who can win in the dry, too.
As I mentioned above, I don’t want to get in too deep before this race gets underway, though I am willing to go ahead and take a position on Josh Berry to win at 35-1 odds (BetMGM).
Berry already has a win this season and has shown more-than-expected speed in the Wood Brothers No. 21 Ford. Now he gets a crack at a track he loves: Martinsville Speedway.
Back in 2019, Berry won the prestigious ValleyStar Credit Union 300 late model race at Martinsville in dominant fashion — he won the pole, led every lap and won the race. Berry’s success at Martinsville continued when he won there in the NASCAR Xfinity Series in 2021.
Berry is fully capable of competing for a win here in dry conditions, but was also impressive in wet conditions at New Hampshire last season, giving us a driver who can be in the mix no matter how the weather breaks Sunday afternoon.
Again, I’m not going crazy for Sunday’s race, but there’s reason to warrant a wager on Berry to win at Martinsville.
Projections updated after Saturday’s practice and qualifying.
It was only a matter of time until Kyle Larson earned his first win of the season and a playoff bid with his triumph at Homestead-Miami. Now, the NASCAR Cup Series treks up to Martinsville Speedway for the Cook Out 400 (3 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), marking its first short-track bout of the year.
Three teams come into focus ahead of Sunday’s race, and it’s the three powerhouses in the Cup Series. Hendrick Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing and Team Penske have won the last 13 races at Martinsville — with Hendrick leading the way at five, while JGR and Penske own four apiece. Each of those organizations has more than one driver capable of winning at the 0.526-mile track, and a win for one of those drivers who have yet to earn one would be critical.
Starting with Hendrick, of course, the organization has 29 wins and 11,103 laps led at the Virginia short track, which are the most ever for one team at a facility. William Byron or Kyle Larson may win again this week, as the duo went 1-2 in this race a year ago and currently sit 1-2 in the driver standings, but the driver in focus here is Chase Elliott. Martinsville is one of Elliott’s strongest tracks, with 1,233 laps led and 12 top 10s, being his most ever at a single circuit. While he’s finished in the top 20 every race this season, he’s currently fourth in average finish (12.8) out of the Hendrick quartet — seventh overall among full-time drivers — which shows he’s quietly been consistent. Silent success isn’t a bad thing, but coming off 129 laps led and a runner-up performance last time at Martinsville signals that the No. 9 driver should be anything but quiet this weekend.
Moving over to JGR, the team may have three wins this season, however, each of those came from Christopher Bell. Hamlin had a chance to score one of those victories at Phoenix but was just edged out by Bell. The bright side, though, is that Hamlin is most likely JGR’s best short-track ace. He notched three wins on short tracks last season and has finished top five in nine of the last 11 short-track races. Hamlin even has five career wins at Martinsville, four top fives over the last five races there and seven stage wins at the venue — tied with Elliott for the most. The only concern? Hamlin hasn’t won at Martinsville since 2015.
Finally, there’s Ryan Blaney of Team Penske. Despite all three Penske drivers leading the series in laps led, the organization is still searching for results that match its speed. Luckily for Blaney — if you want to call it luck — the last two times he’s gone to Martinsville after suffering Homestead heartbreak, he’s won. Of course, those two wins also came in playoff-pressure scenarios with his back against the wall, but in this case, Blaney is coming off three weeks of DNFs with arguably the fastest car, so it’s likely there is some pressure on him to turn in a solid result.
JOEY LOGANO: Six weeks and still no top-10 finish for Logano. That should change as he currently owns an 11-race streak of top 10s at Martinsville. Logano needs a boost, his 18.8 average finish is the third-worst of a defending champ through six races.
CHASE BRISCOE: Briscoe has some momentum to build off of after a fourth-place finish at Miami. Martinsville is a great track for him, he has five top 10s there in his career and two top 10s over the last five short-track races.
ALEX BOWMAN: Sticking with the powerhouse theme here, Bowman is the only driver to finish top 10 in five of the six races this year. He’s a bit hit or miss at Martinsville, though. He does have a win there from 2021, but only one top-10 finish in the last five Martinsville races.
RACING INSIGHTS’ PROJECTIONS FOR THE COOK OUT 400
Racing Insights’ advanced statistical formula includes current track, current track type, recent performance, team data and pit-crew data to arrive at a projected winner and full race results. Updated on race day with practice and qualifying factored in.
MARTINSVILLE, Va. – That makes two. Two consecutive visits to Martinsville Speedway for Taylor Gray and two straight purposeful post-race walks on pit road for the 20-year-old driver to confront a rival.
A percolating tempest of a NASCAR Xfinity Series race Saturday evening turned into a battle of wills between Gray and Sammy Smith, both in the final two-lap dash to the end and after the checkered flag had flown. Smith rammed his No. 8 JR Motorsports Chevrolet into the rear of Gray’s No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota entering the final set of corners to conclude overtime, repaying a slight bump-and-run for the lead a lap earlier.
The final dust-up allowed Austin Hill to scoot by the fray from fifth to first on the final lap, notching his second win of the season and collecting a $100,000 Dash 4 Cash payday in the process. It also denied Gray a bid for his first Xfinity Series victory after a strong second half to Saturday’s US Marines Corps 250 and sparked a lively discussion between the two outside of the infield care center.
The two were separated before the altercation escalated into a physical fracas, but Gray remained heated before leaving the track.
“So like the whole interaction in Turn 1, where initially he moved me up the race track and he got the lead from me, and then I did the same thing to him. Think that’s fair, right?” said Gray, who led a career-best 87 laps. “We know we’re coming down to the end of the race. I was a little upset when he first hit me, just because I felt like I haven’t put a scratch on him all year. He could have raced me a little bit better. But then again, it’s Martinsville. I have to understand that that’s going to happen. But what he did getting into (turn) three, I mean, it completely takes no talent. All you’ve got to do is just let off the brake pedal and just clearly destroy me. So I don’t know. It ruins his race, too.”
Gray – in his first full Xfinity Series season — was credited with a 29th-place result after his looping spin into Turns 3 and 4. Smith, who collected JR Motorsports teammate Justin Allgaier and a host of other cars in the home stretch, placed 10th after pinballing across the stripe.
Smith’s view of the on-track confrontation was stoked by a handful of agitating events that led up to it, including a series of hand gestures he said Gray delivered during a Lap 232 stoppage. His decision to plow into the No. 54’s back bumper was also fueled by an almost pre-emptive application of Hammurabi’s Code, saying that Gray would have acted in kind, had the scenario been reversed.
“I mean, it’s unfortunate. You know, I’m not very proud of that, what I did,” Smith said. “It’s just, he just has no respect for me, and he was flipping me off under the red flag, swerving at my door. I moved him into (turn) one, then he still had the lead those two restarts, and going on the back straightaway, I thought to myself, what would he do in this situation, and he would have done the exact same thing. So he’s flipping me off, and that right there was the line for me to ultimately make the decision I made.”
Smith indicated that his issues with Gray are long-running grievances, dating back through years of racing together. He indicated that their brief conversation was not constructive.
“He said he wants to go at it,” said Smith. “I mean, we can go at it if he wants, but I think, yeah, at the end of the day, it’s probably gonna be a lot more going forward, and that’s OK with me.”
Gray was on the short end of a late-race bump-up here last November, taking the brunt of a contest for the lead with Christian Eckes in the next-to-last race of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season. Gray marched down Martinsville’s pit road to wag his finger at Eckes to express his post-race disapproval.
Saturday night in the Xfinity Series, the scene was reprised.
“Man, I don’t know what I’ve done to this place,” Gray said. “I’ve had fast cars. I mean, this is the most dominant car I’ve ever had here, able to lead as many laps as I did tonight here. But yeah, this place doesn’t seem to like me.”
Track: Martinsville Speedway Location: Martinsville, Virginia Track length: 0.526 miles When: Sunday, 3 p.m. ET Where to tune in: FS1, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Race purse: $11,055,250 Race distance: 400 laps | 210.4 miles Stages: 80 | 180 | 400 Defending winner:William Byron, April 2024 Starting lineup:Christopher Bell captures Busch Light Pole
Hendrick a heavyweight, but who has a puncher’s chance at Martinsville mastery?
Martinsville Speedway drips with tradition. It’s easy to find anywhere around the half-mile oval, which was cut into the Virginia foothills shortly after track founder Clay Earles first bought the original 30-acre cornfield plot just south of downtown in the mid-1940s.
It’s in the long straights and maddeningly tight corners that have tripped up drivers from the pioneer years all the way to today’s modern era. It’s on the menu, which serves up hot dogs with all the fixings as it has done for generations, all at the relative bargain price of two bucks. It’s also on the list of NASCAR Cup Series winners, which for decades has largely fancied one team that’s gathered up multiples of another Martinsville tradition — a grandfather clock that’s stood as the track’s trophy since Fred Lorenzen captured the first in 1964.
Hendrick Motorsports — rightfully — carries a favorite’s role into Sunday’s Cook Out 400 (3 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at Martinsville. A rinse-and-repeat type of performance would mean Hendrick’s 30th Cup Series victory here, which would add to its all-time record of most wins by one team at any track. All four of the organization’s drivers — Alex Bowman, William Byron, Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson — have unlocked Martinsville wins, and all four are poised to secure at least top-10 finishes in Racing Insights’ full-field projection and analysis.
While Hendrick Motorsports has taken five of the last nine races at Martinsville, there’s enough laurels to go around for select Cup Series outfits eager to break up the top Chevrolet team’s stronghold. In no rough order, here are three other teams with degrees of opportunity to get their own Martinsville timepiece in Victory Lane.
Team Penske: No team has spent more time up front this season, and Joey Logano (247), Austin Cindric (159) and Ryan Blaney (148) rank 1-2-3 in the Cup Series standings in laps led. Through the first six races, there’s just one top-five finish among those three. Blaney is Martinsville’s most recent winner, with a peerless playoff performance that marked his second victory in the last three races. He’s seeking a turnaround after a dismal streak of three straight DNFs, and an average finish of 3.4 in the last five Martinsville races signals some positives. Logano also has plusses on his side here, with 11 consecutive top-10 Martinsville finishes — the longest active streak by a driver at any track.
“It’s always nice to come back to places where you’ve run well,” Blaney said. “It gives you a little bit more of a sense of confidence, like, ‘OK, I know what I need to be to be fairly decent here or contend for a top five or the win.’ It wasn’t always that way. I was terrible here my first two or three years at it and we worked really hard at figuring it out and it just kind of clicked one day and then it’s funny how those things stick with you. It’s like, ‘OK, this is the mindset I have to have coming into here,’ and it’s just kind of stuck.”
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
Joe Gibbs Racing: The second-in-line team to Hendrick Motorsports here has 14 Martinsville wins and will field two prime candidates to make it a slightly more even number. Denny Hamlin has home-state motivation for winning here, and his five Martinsville victories are the most among active drivers. Hamlin hasn’t won here since 2015 but has led 461 Martinsville laps in the Next Gen era — second only to Elliott. Teammate Christopher Bell — already a three-time winner this year — has given JGR its most recent Martinsville triumph, a playoff dagger in the fall of 2022, and he starts from the pole position Sunday for the first time this season.
“I didn’t know how the day was going to go, but after qualifying first, I think it really helps our chances for tomorrow,” Bell said. “You know, I’ve always said that if you have a great car and you are great on any given day, it doesn’t matter where you qualify, but it’s the days where you’re not great and you’re just kind of another guy out there, it does really matter where you qualify. So having the track position, starting up front, it will certainly help our race at the beginning.”
Wood Brothers Racing: Hendrick Motorsports hosted a victorious celebration of its 40th anniversary here last spring, and the odds of a re-up for milestone memories are ripe for the Wood Brothers and their famed No. 21 Ford. New driver Josh Berry has helped to put the team back at the forefront of Cup Series contenders, and he’s at one of the venues that served as a launching pad to his NASCAR national-series career. Berry converted a stunning Xfinity Series breakthrough victory at Martinsville in 2021, less than two years after he won the track’s prestigious Late Model prize. More Martinsville magic could be in the cards.
“I think that the 21 car has been pretty solid here,” Berry said, noting the team’s steady fourth-place finish at Phoenix Raceway three weeks ago. “The Team Penske cars are always good here, and I feel like we can carry that momentum. I love coming here. I feel like it should be a good opportunity for us. If we can just keep on doing what we’ve been doing, qualifying well on Saturday, and stay up front in the race.”
What do crew chiefs have in focus to win Sunday’s race?
There’s continuity and carryover in the Goodyear tires that will be on track at Martinsville, but that race-ready rubber will remain a key factor in how teams approach Sunday’s Cup Series showdown.
Goodyear officials are providing the same tire setup that Cup Series teams competed on for the first time last fall at Martinsville. The same combination was also given to teams in the season-opening Cook Out Clash exhibition at Bowman Gray Stadium. The trend toward a competitive tire with more progressive wear has fueled the use of this compound, which was well-received by drivers and crew chiefs, even with the postseason’s ultimate goals on the line last November.
“The tire was really good last year and was obviously a step out there for the race before the championship race,” said Rudy Fugle, crew chief for William Byron’s No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. “For everybody, there was a lot of worry and whatnot, with a lack of testing really on the tire, but it turned out to be really good, I thought during the race, and at Bowman Gray, it was pretty good as well. So Goodyear’s doing a good job. Yeah, you can really hurt them, you can manage them, and no matter what, they’re going to fall off some.”
Teams learned about the tires’ effectiveness over the course of a 500-lap grinder last fall, discovering the limits and shaping the strategy around them to match. Weather so far this weekend has been far warmer than last November, with temperatures soaring into the 70s, but there’s also a better than slight chance for rain in Sunday’s forecast. Wet-weather tires will be available should the skies create damp conditions, giving crew chiefs another variable to manage.
The softer compound tires — even in ideal conditions — are a strategy component in themselves.
“I think it’s a great step in the right direction,” said Drew Blickensderfer, crew chief for Noah Gragson’s No. 4 Front Row Motorsports Ford. “I think what we saw last fall is the tire falls off to a certain point, you start running the same speed, and then it kind of tanks off a cliff. And the way the stages play out here, that comes into effect probably the most in the final stage, either in the spring or in the fall, because of the length. You don’t want to come to pit road to Martinsville under green, but when it looks like you might make a green-flag stop, you got to really watch your times to see when it starts tanking, and that’s what we see a lot of Next Gen tires, it just got accelerated here with this softer compound, I think maybe one step softer, if we can get those to be consistent, would be a great, great version for us.
“But both here in the fall and what I expect this spring is probably in the middle of the run, it won’t be much different from the harder tire, but then toward the end of the runs, at the end of the stages, at the end of that third stage, when people pit, things like that, it creates more of a comer-and-goer (situation) and a strategy race that adds some excitement.”
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
Hendrick Motorsports has made an organization-wide sweep of the last three springtime trips to Martinsville, with Fugle’s No. 24 crew prevailing in two of those (2022, 2024). The last three fall races have been a different story, with Christopher Bell claiming the next-to-last race of the year in 2022 and Ryan Blaney sweeping it in the last two seasons.
There’s not a single common denominator, Fugle says, for why Hendrick’s spring-season domination perhaps hasn’t brought the same victorious results in the fall. It’s a combination of contributing factors.
“So most of the time, you run a different tire or different setup,” Fugle said. “Like, every single time we’ve come here, the package has changed or the tires changed. For one, there’s never been racing on the same scenario, and when you have a good setup that wins the race, and you have something new, it’s still really hard to completely overhaul what works. So I think that’s put us at a little bit of a disadvantage as having such good cars. But last fall, I think Hendrick led the majority of the laps and had three in the top five toward the end of the race. So it’s not like we’re bad, we’re just … some of the other guys get a little bit better, and I attribute a lot of that just to something new. It’s not like we’re taking the same car, the same tire, the same even aero package back, so part of it’s that.”
History tells us …
Count on a Kyle Larson top five. The former Cup Series champion didn’t click with Martinsville’s tricky layout right away, with just two top fives in his first 15 races here, but he’s been dynamite in his more recent runs. His average Martinsville finish is a series-best 2.8 over his last five Martinsville races, including two poles and a 2023 springtime triumph.
He may not be the favorite to win, but watch out for …
CHASE BRISCOE. He’s Joe Gibbs Racing’s newest driver and might still be getting used to how the longtime Toyota program works, but he’s carrying Martinsville momentum from his Stewart-Haas Racing days into Sunday’s 400-lapper. In five of the last six Martinsville races, Briscoe has been a top-10 finisher, and he’s spent time in the lead in three of the last five. Fresh from a strong fourth-place run at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Briscoe has a chance for his short-track shrewdness to come through this weekend.
Fantasy update
NASCAR Fantasy Live expert Dustin Albino provides insight for your Sunday lineup.
With how tight the field is at Martinsville, practice and qualifying can steer you down the wrong path quickly for fantasy. However, Bubba Wallace had another strong showing in practice, ranking as the quickest car on five- and 10-lap averages. Ryan Blaney had good pace on long runs but will start 32nd on Sunday and could miss out on key stage points. I’ve added the No. 23 car to my lineup in place of Josh Berry and dropped Blaney — praying this doesn’t come back to haunt me — for pole-sitter Christopher Bell.
Lineup: Christopher Bell, Chase Elliott, Joey Logano, William Byron, Bubba Wallace.
Our biggest pieces of the week — get covered for race day from all angles. • Wood Brothers revival: NASCAR’s most venerable team savors 75th anniversary | Read more
• Racing Insights: Full finishing order projections for Sunday’s Cook Out 400 | Read more
• Turning Point to Martinsville: Hendrick heads to the top of the Martinsville heap | Read more
• Scenes and snapshots: Best photos from Martinsville Speedway’s spring weekend | Read more
• NASCAR Classics: Head to the video vault for full-race replays from Martinsville | Watch races
• Paint Scheme Preview: See who’s sporting fresh looks in the Virginia foothills | View gallery
MARTINSVILLE, Va. — The speedway that robbed Austin Hill of a spot in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship 4 two years ago gave him a gift on Saturday.
Diving underneath a trio of wrecking cars in the final corner of overtime at Martinsville Speedway, Hill beat perennial bridesmaid Sheldon Creed to the start/finish line by 0.190 seconds to win Saturday’s US Marine Corps 250, giving Richard Childress his 100th Xfinity Series victory and earning a $100,000 Dash 4 Cash bonus for the unlikely winner.
The ending of the race couldn’t have been more appropriate, given the rash of cautions that peppered green-flag action in the final stage. The ending also left 29th-place finisher Taylor Gray with thoughts of vengeance and 10th-place finisher Sammy Smith with an ostensible target on his back.
After the 14th caution for Matt DiBenedetto’s spin in Turn 2 sent the race to overtime, Gray lined up behind Smith, the leader, and used his bumper to wrest the top spot from Smith, returning the favor from the previous restart on Lap 249 of 256.
Gray, seeking his first Xfinity Series win, held the lead until Turn 3 of the final lap, when Smith charged into the corner, spun Gray’s No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota and knocked it into the outside wall.
Hill hit the No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet of Justin Allgaier from behind, sending him crashing into Smith. Hill sneaked through on the bottom, bringing Creed with him, as Allgaier held on for third. In the surprising victory, Hill led less than a quarter of a mile before taking the checkered flag.
“I chose the bottom because of how rough everybody was on restarts,” Hill said of the overtime. “I had to do what I had to do on the last lap. On that restart, it just got wild. We were definitely leaning on each other, and getting into (Turn) 3, I knew we were all going to get beating and banging, and I just drove it in as deep as I could.
“They all hit each other, and I hit the 7 (Allgaier) a little bit and dumped him off and got on the apron there and came home with the win … Man, I’m in disbelief that we’re in Victory Lane right now. It’s unbelievable. I actually said at the end of the race that I hated this place because of all the beating and banging that was going on — and to top it off, we won a hundred grand.”
After 14 cautions for 104 laps, pole winner Connor Zilisch’s sweep of the first two stages seemed a distant memory. Zilisch, however, didn’t figure in the outcome after a series of spins and contact with the outside wall eliminated him from contention.
Gray took the lead for the second time on Lap 183 and held it for 66 circuits and a series of six restarts. But Smith lined up behind the No. 54 Toyota for the restart on Lap 249 and moved Gray for the lead.
Smith’s charge into Gray’s Toyota on the final lap was more egregious.
“I feel like we had the best car all day,” said Gray, who suffered a similar fate in a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series loss to Christian Eckes last year. “I can’t thank everyone at Joe Gibbs Racing enough. We brought a really fast Operation 300 Toyota GR Supra.
“Just unfortunate — it’s the same story. I’ve lived here for the past two Martinsville races in a row. It sucks, but it is what it is. Long year.”
Smith acknowledged that the last lap maneuver was over the top. He and Gray had a testy exchange after the race.
“I’m not proud of that, but if the roles were reversed, he would have done the same thing,” Smith said. “He’s got no respect for me … He was flipping me off on the red flag (for a multicar wreck that caused the 12th caution), swore at me. It was definitely uncalled for.
“I’m not proud of it, but he would have done the exact same thing. That’s what I told him.”
Brennan Poole finished fourth after the melee, joining Hill, Creed and Allgaier as eligible contenders for the next Dash 4 Cash bonus, to be contested April 12 at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Sam Mayer was fifth, followed by Dean Thompson, Daniel Dye, Ryan Sieg, Kris Wright and Smith.
Zilisch, who finished 28th, led a race-high 100 laps to 87 for Gray. Creed, still seeking his first Xfinity victory, finished second for the 14th time, extending his record number of runner-up results for a non-winner.
Coincidentally, it was contact from Creed that denied Hill a spot in the Championship 4 in the fall race of 2023, when both drivers raced for RCR.
In a cosmic sense, the ledger was balanced with Hill’s win on Saturday.
The Xfinity Series returns to action next Saturday at Darlington Raceway for the Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help a Hero 200 at 3:30 p.m. ET (The CW, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
NOTE: Post-race inspection was completed without issue in the Xfinity Series garage, confirming Austin Hill as the race winner. The No. 00 had one lug nut not safe and secure, which will result in a monetary fine.
MARTINSVILLE, Va. — On Sunday, it will have been 882 days since Joe Gibbs Racing last won at Martinsville Speedway — a triumph that marked its 200th in the NASCAR Cup Series.
All three powerhouse teams of JGR, Hendrick Motorsports and Team Penske have taken turns dominating the Virginia short track, and while JGR has had performances capable of winning, it’s been Hendrick and Penske who have emerged victorious in the last four Martinsville races.
“It’s one of the most physically tough tracks that we go to,” said Denny Hamlin, who has five grandfather clocks. “Not because of the G-loads or anything like that, just how much concentration it takes. You’re shifting multiple times per lap. You got to hit a mark on the race track that’s only about six inches wide. So it just takes a tremendous amount of focus and certainly some stamina.”
While Martinsville may not have the high banks or speed at a place like Talladega or the trickiness in turns like Pocono, it has its challenges that Christopher Bell, a three-time winner this season and Sunday’s polesitter, has struggled with throughout his career.
“We’ve came here with many, many different setups,” Bell said after qualifying. “I’ll never forget that 2022 season, which was the first Next Gen season, Martinsville [spring], was a struggle for majority of JGR. I was actually one of the best JGR cars, but the rest of the team really struggled. Then, there was a test in the middle of summer, and we kind of brought the same package because we had a decent race. Denny was here; he was on a different setup, and he was super fast and I was really slow at that test.
“Then, coming back in the fall, we put in [Hamlin’s] setup and won the race. So we were like, OK, box checked. And then from that moment on, the box became unchecked, and it’s been a big struggle for us to have good performances here. I wish that I could tell you that it’s been one thing, but it, you know, I’ve struggled with everything.”
Luckily for the Gibbs stable, they will be able to lean on newcomer and short-track ace Chase Briscoe, who’s been consistent at Martinsville with five top 10s driving the No. 14 Ford for the now-defunct Stewart-Haas Racing.
“I always thought the 14 car was really strong here, but we always just lacked that little bit,” Briscoe said before practice. “The only two teams that were better than I was JGR, Hendrick and the 12 car [Ryan Blaney]. This is one that I definitely feel like we can go be in the mix kind of all day long. I feel like that every week, but certainly at this place, where I feel like I’ve always had a pretty good understanding, and from a car standpoint, I know it should be good.”
A win or even a solid showing from all four JGR cars would be vital, given it’s a track where a team’s speed can set up a rhythm over the next few weeks, and of course, be a crucial measuring stick for the penultimate race of the season that sets the Championship 4.
“If you run good, it’s a momentum builder. If you run like crap, it’s momentum killer,” Hamlin added. “The sport has always been so week to week. But, you know, I guess I’m probably a little more in the mindset when I come here, just win and everything will work out.”
With Bell on the pole, Hamlin not too far behind starting fifth, Briscoe just outside the top 10 and Ty Gibbs starting 13th, what could stand in JGR’s way of heading to Victory Lane? Rain.
However, wet-weather tires are on hand in case of a Sunday downpour, and Bell is “hoping for rain,” given he won last year at New Hampshire on wets. Perhaps his dirt-racing background comes in handy in being one of the best at handling slippery conditions.
“I think it’s the guys who can control the slide the best and maximize the grip level of the tires and find the grip in the race track; those are the successful guys,” Bell said. “I think my dirt background helped give me the skill set of looking around for grip and improvising and specifically on the damp conditions … the track is ever-changing because as it dries out, the lines change and you have to find different stuff. Just being able to look around and find those different lines is what dirt-track racing is a skill set that it gives you.”
Briscoe also has a deep history of racing on dirt, also finishing behind Bell in second last year at New Hampshire in the wet. Briscoe even texted his longtime friend earlier in the week about the possibility of weather being a major factor on Sunday.
“I told him [Bell] I was like, I feel like this is the one week I’ve maybe not wanted rain just because I feel like I can win legitimately,” Briscoe said. “Where other weeks, like New Hampshire last year, I was 26th all day long and until the rain came, I had no shot. I’m torn on the rain, truthfully, rain would not hurt my feelings just because I feel like I typically run better in the rain than the average person. I would be OK either way.”
Four hundred laps around the 0.536-mile paperclip will determine if JGR can make gains as an organization and find some momentum to carry into April.
See where your favorite NASCAR Cup Series driver will pit for the Cook Out 400 at Martinsville Speedway on Sunday (3 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
MARTINSVILLE, Va. — Christopher Bell put forth an early challenge at Martinsville Speedway on Saturday with a lap that stood up against all comers in qualifying for Sunday’s Cook Out 400 (3 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
The 17th driver to make a run during time trials, Bell navigated the venerable 0.526-mile track in 19.718 seconds (96.034 mph) and waited as the 21 drivers who followed took their respective shots at the standard he set.
No one was up to the task, and Bell had his first Busch Light pole award of the 2025 season in the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, his first at Martinsville and the 14th of his Cup Series career.
Chase Elliott came closest to matching Bell’s lap. The driver of the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet covered the distance in 19.735 seconds (95.951 mph), just 0.003 seconds faster than teammate and third-place qualifier Alex Bowman (95.937 mph).
Despite turning the second fastest lap in Saturday afternoon’s practice, Bell wasn’t optimistic about his chances for the pole.
“I was kind of down in the dumps after practice (because of the position in the qualifying order),” Bell said. “But that was definitely the best qualifying session I’ve ever felt out of my car at Martinsville. It was just easy…
“I went out there and the car just had so much grip. I’m really proud of this 20 team. They’ve been working hard on this Martinsville package. We’ll see what happens [Sunday], but obviously, starting up front will be a big help.”
Kyle Larson, last Sunday’s winner at Homestead-Miami Speedway, qualified fourth at 95.854 mph. Bell’s teammate, five-time Martinsville winner Denny Hamlin, was fifth at 95.840 mph.
Chris Buescher, Joey Logano, Bubba Wallace, Tyler Reddick and defending race winner William Byron filled out the rest of the top 10 on the grid.
Casey Mears, whose No. 66 Garage 66 Ford failed inspection twice before qualifying, will start 37th in his first Cup Series race since the 2019 Daytona 500.
Wallace fastest in practice
Toyota swept the top three spots in practice as 23XI Racing’s Bubba Wallace topped the leaderboard at 94.139 mph, followed by Joe Gibbs Racing drivers Christopher Bell (93.873 mph) and Denny Hamlin (93.826 mph).
Carson Hocevar (93.757 mph) and Cole Custer (93.743 mph) rounded out the top five.
Kyle Larson (93.724 mph), William Byron (93.719 mph), Ryan Preece (93.604 mph), Shane van Gisbergen (93.576 mph) and Chase Elliott (93.543 mph) completed the top 10.
Only one incident stopped practice in Group 2 when Justin Haley saw the hood on his No. 7 Chevrolet pop up, covering the windshield and forcing the Spire Motorsports driver to come down pit road for his crew to fasten the hood.
MARTINSVILLE, Va. — From the afternoon to nightfall, Corey Heim had the fastest machine in the Craftsman Truck Series field at Martinsville Speedway. Unfortunately, for a second straight week, Heim will have to wait for his third victory of the season.
Starting from pole, the 22-year-old phenom dominated most of Friday’s night bout at the 0.526-mile circuit in Virginia, leading 149 of the 200 laps but walked away with a sixth-place finish.
“Pretty disappointing,” Heim said post-race. “Thought we had a really good Tundra tonight. We were pretty much just puttering around there in the lead, trying to keep the tires on it, and felt like we were really good. To struggle so bad at this place last year and be as fast as we were and not win is pretty frustrating. But guess it’s just part of coming to this race track.”
It’s not uncommon for tempers to flare at a track like Martinsville, where the ultimate prize of a grandfather clock ratchets up the pressure amongst drivers. That was the case for most of the evening, where eight cautions were flown for incidents.
One of those incidents came after a Lap 166 restart where Heim was defending series rookie Kaden Honeycutt, who had spent most of the race as a top-three truck. Heim got bumped going into Turn 1 as the race went back green, allowing the No. 45 of Honeycutt to move into the inside lane and challenge for the top spot — something no one had the opportunity to do all night.
The next time around, Honeycutt squeezed Heim against the wall on the frontstretch, leading to the No. 11 Toyota of Heim having a tire go down and spinning in Turn 1.
“He used me up a little bit [Turn] 1 and 2 and then just kind of doored me out of [Turn] 4 and cut down my left rear,” Heim said. “I don’t think it was anything super malicious on his end. I don’t think he intended to do it, but intention’s one thing and result is another. Collaterally, he wrecked us there with the damage. So not super pleased about it.”
It may not have been an intentional move from Honeycutt, but it takes away what could’ve been another win for Heim, who has gone the last two seasons winning three or more races.
“I’ve seen worse. I’ve seen guys just flat-out get dumped here. I’d be a little more angry about that,” Heim said. “I don’t think he intended to wreck me by any means, but I would have liked to been cut a little bit of room, especially with like 35 to go, like it, if it’s overtime or something. But, yeah, we got 35 laps to go which is just a while around this place, so just unfortunate.”
Honeycutt was very apologetic in the moment after Heim came down pit road and restarted 25th as the second-to-last car on the lead lap. Post-race, Honeycutt adamantly wanted to right the wrong he caused Heim and put the whole situation behind them.
“I wanna say we ran out of room, but I really don’t want to say that, it’s really a dumb excuse to use so I’m going to look at it,” Honeycutt said. “I’m going to talk to him about it. I really don’t want to have that happen again. I want to earn his respect because he is a veteran in this series and he’s one to race for a championship at the end of the year.”
Honeycutt, the 2024 Snowball Derby champion, now has 39 Truck Series starts under his belt and leaves Martinsville with a 26th-place finish. More experience running toward the front and dueling with some of the series’ best can help the 21-year-old, who doesn’t want to make any enemies during his rookie campaign, going forward.
“I definitely don’t want to create bad blood early and try to make up for it the next time we race each other,” Honeycutt said. “So I’ll discuss it with him and hopefully we’ll get by it. We were both really fast, just hate that we have the results that we have tonight.”
Both Heim and Honeycutt will get their chance to battle again as the Truck Series returns to action Friday, April 11 at Bristol Motor Speedway (7:30 p.m. ET, FS1, NASCAR Radio Network Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
