Friday’s NASCAR Cup Series practice session gave bettors plenty of information to work with in trying to handicap tonight’s Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 400 (7:30 p.m. ET, FS1).
Drivers were, in some cases, able to make practice runs north of 50 laps. This abundance of data allows us to find places where books did not move quite enough from their midweek odds.
As a result, there are three bets in particular I like for tonight’s NASCAR race at Martinsville.
NASCAR Picks & Predictions for Martinsville
*Odds as of Saturday morning
Bubba Wallace Top Toyota (+3300)
BetMGM is offering an incredibly generous number on Bubba Wallace to outpace only five other Toyotas.
Wallace looked very comfortable in the No. 23 car in practice. His 10-lap average was sixth best among all drivers. More importantly, it placed him second among the six Toyotas.
Martinsville has also been a very strong track for Wallace.
He has four finishes inside the top 17 at the track known as “the Paperclip,” despite never driving in top-tier cars.
Wallace has a driver rating 17.2% higher at Martinsville than the average of all other tracks if we discount his rookie season.
With the switch to the Next Gen car, some drivers are still trying to figure out how to best get around Martinsville. Others, like Bubba, found their groove quickly.
Three drivers that struggled in practice were the Joe Gibbs Racing Toyotas of Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell and Martin Truex Jr.
The gap appears to have closed among the Toyotas this week, and my model reflects that — it gives Wallace a 5.9% chance of finishing as the top Toyota driver.
That outpaces the 2.9% implied odds at 33-1 by quite a solid margin.
The Bet: Bubba Wallace to finish as top Toyota (+3300) | Bet to: +2200
Bubba Wallace (-130) over Daniel Suarez
If long odds aren’t your cup of tea, you can get a solid position on Wallace at much shorter odds in this matchup against Daniel Suarez.
Caesars Sportsbook has these two paired against each other in a near coin-flip when removing the juice.
That simply shouldn’t be the case.
For starters, Wallace’s 15-lap average in practice was faster than Suarez’s five-lap average.
While Martinsville is one of Wallace’s better tracks, it’s a below-average track for Suarez. In Suarez’s case, his driver rating is 3.3% worse at Martinsville than his average at all other tracks.
My model has Wallace as a hefty 68.7% favorite in this matchup.
The Bet: Bubba Wallace (-130) over Daniel Suarez | Bet to: -160
Austin Cindric Top-5 Finish (+800)
Here’s a table of lap-average practice times for two drivers:
# of Laps
Driver A
Driver B
5
20.187
20.178
10
20.208
20.207
15
20.223
20.232
20
20.246
20.251
25
20.282
20.274
30
20.289
20.288
The lap averages look incredibly similar between these two drivers. Driver A is Austin Cindric and Driver B is his teammate Joey Logano.
BetMGM has Logano priced at +150 for a top-five finish. Meanwhile, they have Cindric at +800.
I’m not saying Cindric should be at the same odds as his teammate Logano, but the gap should not be this wide.
There’s additional reason to believe in Cindric this weekend. The Next Gen car has changed how drivers have to attack Martinsville.
Drivers are now shifting at Martinsville and they are lighter on the brakes. Subjectively, that could benefit someone coming from a sports car background like Cindric.
Other books have Cindric at +550 for a top-five finish, thus +800 is a screaming difference.
My model has Cindric finishing in the top five 16.7% of the time, which beats the 11.1% implied odds quite comfortably.
The Bet: Austin Cindric top-5 finish +800 | Bet to: +650
Just when you thought you had a grip on who was running well, Friday at Martinsville Speedway happens and changes your outlook. Joe Gibbs Racing entered the weekend with confidence, having a strong showing in the series’ first short-track race of the season at Richmond Raceway. This weekend, three of its four drivers will start the 400-lap event outside the top 10.
RISING: In 14 career races at Martinsville, Kyle Larson has just three top-10 finishes. However, joining Hendrick Motorsports last season elevated Larson’s performance at the half-mile track. Though the reigning champion doesn’t make my starting lineup, he had a strong practice and qualifying showing and will start eighth.
Ever since Chase Elliott’s run-in with Denny Hamlin in the fall 2017 race at Martinsville, Elliott has been a factor at the track. In 2020, he dominated the penultimate race of the year, leading 236 laps. Last fall, the No. 9 Chevrolet got dumped late in the race, relegating him to a 16th-place result. Before that, he paced the field for 289 laps. Elliott was first in practice and qualifying, so he should be a fantasy lock this weekend.
For the first time this season, Chris Buescher made the final round of qualifying. In fact, both RFK Racing Fords were among the fast 10. And though it’s not Buescher’s best starting position of his Cup career, it’s the best when there has been qualifying. RFK could use a real shot in the arm, and he has Brad Keselowski as a teammate, who has 12 top-10 finishes in the last 14 Martinsville races.
FALLING: As you can see, Martin Truex Jr. has dropped from my lineup. Listening to him speak about his car after his qualifying run is worrisome. But based off recent success at Martinsville, the No. 19 Toyota will probably be battling for the win come Lap 400, having seven top-five results in the past nine Martinsville races. It’s a tossup, but totally understandable if you use him.
Bubba Wallace was third in practice on Friday but ran just the 21st-best time in qualifying. Martinsville is among Wallace’s best tracks on the circuit, and the No. 23 team desperately needs a good finish this weekend, having four finishes below 20th in the past five races. I just think there’s more methodical picks this weekend, such as Aric Almirola, who has been steady at the half-mile venue since joining Stewart-Haas Racing in 2018.
FEATURED MATCHUPS:
Chase Elliott vs. Denny Hamlin:
Prior to Friday, Hamlin would get the slight advantage, despite both drivers being exceptional at Martinsville. With Elliott winning the pole and Hamlin having to come from 25th, the pick here is Elliott. Plus, Elliott was P1 in practice.
Ryan Blaney vs. Ross Chastain:
Historically, Martinsville is one of Blaney’s best tracks on the circuit. Don’t expect that to change this weekend, as the No. 12 Ford has been among the quickest cars in every race this season. Plus, Chastain will have to come from 27th. Take Blaney’s average finish of 10.8 across 12 starts to the bank, though all Team Penske cars missed the final round of qualifying.
William Byron vs. Martin Truex Jr.:
This one is tough. Entering the weekend, Truex has turned Martinsville into his own personal playground, winning three of the past five races on “The Paperclip.” But after qualifying 20th and turning the 21st quickest lap in practice, Truex said he doesn’t have the feel he’d hoped for entering the weekend. With Byron getting additional laps and winning Thursday’s Truck Series race, the edge goes to the No. 24 Chevrolet.
Kyle Busch vs. Kyle Larson:
These JGR-HMS matchups are fun, aren’t they? Over the past 19 trips to southern Virginia, one of these two organizations have won 14 times. While Larson had a strong Friday, Busch’s race craft suits him better on the half-mile layout. Indecisively, Busch should finish better than the No. 5 car, though Larson has gotten better at Martinsville of late.
MARTINSVILLE, Va. – Two organizations entered the NASCAR Cup Series as single-car operations last year, expanding to two-car fleets this season.
One is Trackhouse Racing, which has taken flight in 2022 with drivers Ross Chastain and Daniel Suárez. The other is 23XI Racing, the Michael Jordan-Denny Hamlin ownership supergroup which has found significant growing pains in expansion.
Hamlin washed away his own early struggles last weekend at Richmond Raceway, scoring his first Cup Series victory of the season with a late-race surge in his Joe Gibbs Racing No. 11. But then he checked the status of 23XI’s two drivers: Bubba Wallace in 26th; Kurt Busch in 35th. Their spot in the standings, not a ton better: Busch 18th, Wallace 22nd.
“I mean, again, just trying to stop the bleeding there,” said Hamlin during Friday’s activity at Martinsville Speedway. “… I said earlier this week, you know, it’s just, the win was really exciting until you get out of the car, and you look down the pylon and say, ‘what the (expletive), like, what’s going on?’ But it’s just, it’s agitating because it’s different things on different teams. But it’s just a two-week slump that we’ve got to get out of.”
Those two weeks have been full of hardships, starting at Circuit of The Americas. Busch crashed in the No. 45 Toyota and Wallace’s No. 23 Camry lost a wheel, sending both spiraling out of the top 30 in the finishing order. Busch’s hopes for a rebound were thwarted at Richmond, where a mechanical issue sent the No. 45 behind the wall for extended repairs. He finished 109 laps off the pace.
Wallace earned 13 points in the last two races; Busch just seven. Friday at Martinsville, Hamlin examined the trouble – team by team.
“We’re trying to address all the issues that there is,” Hamlin said. “The 23 car is, the pit crew’s not doing well. You know, I’m in a meeting with Joe Gibbs Racing, and I thank them for everything they do for me, and then we walk out of that meeting into another and I’m cussing them out, because we’re just not doing a good enough job over there. So it’s just a very interesting thing that goes on, but that’s part of it.
“And then, the freak thing that happens with the 45. We’ve got a new sponsor over there, and the car’s sitting in the garage for 100 laps. So it’s just, it’s agitating but it’s … hopefully we look back on this two months from now and say, it’s just a little bump in the road, because certainly it’s not acceptable by any means.”
Busch joined 23XI this year as the team moved to add a veteran presence with a former champion’s pedigree. He’d actually registered consecutive top-five results – fifth at Phoenix, third at Atlanta – in the two races preceding his cold streak.
Monday after Richmond, he posted a self-deprecating video clip with an Animal House rallying cry. Friday at Martinsville, he struck a hopeful tone that the worst of the team’s misfortune might be behind it.
“I look at it as, all right, the driver’s allowed to mess up once, the pit crew can mess up once, I can have a mechanical gremlin. We’re done with all those now,” Busch said. “So we’ve definitely got to put together nice, consistent runs in practice, stages, and race finishes. We’ve been through a lot already as a new team with top fives, laps led, mechanical problems, so we’re checking off all the boxes.”
Wallace, who brought 23XI its first Cup Series victory last year at Talladega, has had his results go downhill this season since a runner-up finish in the Daytona 500. He led 12 laps that opening day, and has led just three since. But like Busch, he strived to remain upbeat even during his slide in the standings.
“It’s just mistakes that happen that we’ve got to clean up,” Wallace said. “Race teams have mistakes. We seem to have a little bit more than others right now, but it’s still early in the season. We’ll be fine.”
Prior to his once-a-year race Friday night in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, Dale Earnhardt Jr. said he’d raise a glass — or a can — on pit road with any driver who wanted to join him. So long as he finished the race.
Well, Junior finished the race Saturday at Martinsville Speedway, steering his No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet through the late-race madness to an 11th-place finish.
Dale Jr. had his car closing in on the top five late after starting at the rear of the field, but a late-race spate of cautions — one of which involved his car — took away any shot at the win.
Still, the NASCAR Hall of Famer was beaming on pit road after racing at one of his self-professed favorite tracks … with no doubt one of his self-professed favorite beverages.
MARTINSVILLE, Va. – On older tires, Brandon Jones stole an Xfinity Series win from the scion of the owner of his race team on Saturday night at Martinsville Speedway.
Jones dived to the inside of Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Ty Gibbs as the Call 811 Before You Dig 250 presented by Call811.com went to a second overtime. Jones cleared Gibbs on the second circuit (Lap 261) and got to the finish line 0.677 seconds ahead of Landon Cassill, as Sam Mayer bumped Gibbs’s Toyota and squeezed it into the outside wall off the final corner.
While Mayer and Gibbs tangled, AJ Allmendinger took third and the $100,000 Xfinity Dash 4 Cash bonus that goes to the highest finisher among four eligible drivers, a group that also included Mayer and Gibbs.
Gibbs led 198 of the 261 laps in a race that was scheduled for 250. Jones led 28. But Gibbs was too busy fighting Mayer on pit road after the race to worry about the lap count.
While Jones was performing a celebratory burnout on the frontstretch, Gibbs strode to Mayer’s car, and heated words soon led to punches — Mayer with helmet off, Gibbs with his helmet still on.
“I tried to talk to him, and he got in my face, and that’s when I had to start fighting,” Gibbs said.
“The only thing I’m mad about is that he (Mayer) wasn’t going to get by the 16 (Allmendinger), and I got hit in the left rear. It’s just frustrating, but I was on the other side of it last week (moving John Hunter Nemechek for a win at Richmond), so that’s just part of it.”
The dust-up on pit road did nothing to dampen the elation of Jones, who picked up his first Xfinity Series win since 2020 and the fifth of his career.
“It’s fun to beat him (Gibbs),” Jones said. “He’s hot right now.”
NASCAR Digital Media
If Gibbs was hot, in another figurative sense, Mayer was unapologetic after the incident, which left him with a swollen left eye.
“With a hundred grand on the line, I put the bumper to him — that’s what short-track racing’s all about,” Mayer told FOX Sports’ Bob Pockrass. “He got upset… he threw a couple of punches that were weak… But I just put the bumper to him for a hundred grand, and he got upset, but he’s been doing that to everyone else every week so far.”
Long before the chaotic ending, the race got off to a rocky start. Rain began falling right after the command was given to start engines and the green flag was delayed until a small storm cell left the area.
And before the field could complete a lap, the engine in Brennan Poole’s No. 47 Chevrolet exploded, sending a plume of smoke into the cool night air and dropping a trail of oil on the track.
The smoke was an appropriate metaphor. For the rest of Stage 1, Gibbs smoked the rest of the field, leading 59 of the 60 laps.
By pitting early under caution on Lap 42, Noah Gragson inherited the lead when Gibbs brought his No. 54 Toyota to pit road at the Stage 1 conclusion, but it didn’t take Gibbs long to prevail on new tires. (Gragson’s winning chances would evaporate in a wild multicar wreck that stopped the first attempt at overtime almost before it started.)
On Lap 88, the 19-year-old Gibbs passed Gragson for the top spot and began to pull away until Stefan Parsons’ spin in Turn 2 on Lap 101 caused the fifth caution.
Undeterred, Gibbs maintained his advantage, but the restart on Lap 108 allowed Jones to slip past Gragson for second. Gibbs elected to pit under caution on Lap 117 after contact from Anthony Alfredo’s Chevrolet turned the Toyota of Derek Griffith in Turn 1, causing the sixth caution.
That handed the stage win to Jones, who surrendered the lead to Parsons — with Gibbs running fourth — by pitting during the stage break, along with other drivers who had stayed out to collect stage points.
It took Gibbs fewer than two circuits to regain the lead after a restart on Lap 129. But at that point, barely past halfway, there were still nine cautions, two overtimes and a fistfight to go.
Making his annual one-and-done, Dale Earnhardt Jr. ran his No. 88 Chevrolet Camaro around the top 10 all evening until contact with Josh Berry on Lap 243 sent him spinning down the leaderboard. Berry and Earnhardt also tangled earlier in the race, with Berry suffering a flat tire after contact with his JR Motorsports team owner. Earnhardt rebounded to finish 11th, and Berry crossed the line in 19th.
The series takes two weeks off before returning on April 23 for the Ag-Pro 300 (4 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at Talladega Superspeedway.
Note: Inspection in the Xfinity Series garage is complete, confirming Brandon Jones as the winner. The No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota of Ty Gibbs had one lug nut not safe and secure, resulting in a monetary fine.
MARTINSVILLE, Va. – Sam Mayer said Ty Gibbs had snapped. Gibbs admitted as much.
On a fevered Friday night at Martinsville Speedway, the two Xfinity Series rivals clanged fenders and exchanged words and hands on pit road after a heated second overtime. Instead of pocketing the $100,000 Dash 4 Cash prize both drivers were eligible for, Mayer and Gibbs earned two trips – one to the pit-road concrete after their altercation became physical and another to the Xfinity Series hauler for a talking-to from NASCAR’s brass.
Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Brandon Jones sailed through for the win in the Call 811 Before You Dig 250, and AJ Allmendinger – with help from Kaulig Racing teammate Landon Cassill bowling through for second – crept by for the Dash 4 Cash bonus in third. Mayer bruised his way to fifth, with Gibbs wilting to an eighth-place finish.
Gibbs had been dominant again from the pole position, leading 197 of the 261 laps in a strong bid for his fourth victory of the season. But the fateful two-lap sprint to the end opened the door for fireworks on the track and off.
“That restart, the 19 (Jones) pushed us both up the race track,” Mayer told NASCAR.com. “So at that point, the race win was out of my hands. So I had the $100,000 in my sights and I was gonna do what I had to do to try to get back, and yeah, I put the bumper to him. That was like, in my opinion, we talked in the trailer and it was just a clean bump and run, and the 10 (Cassill) kind of stuck it in there, kind of got us both crossed up, and that’s kind of what, where it kind of went to crap.”
Gibbs planted his No. 54 Toyota on the bumper of Mayer’s No. 1 JR Motorsports Chevrolet during and after the cool-down lap, as Gibbs’ JGR crew implored him to remain calm over the radio. That lasted until the two drivers dismounted on pit road, and punches were thrown.
“What led up to that moment was, I talked to Sam, I was frustrated,” Gibbs told NBC Sports‘ Dustin Long, adding it wasn’t his intention to fight when he approached Mayer. “I was like, ‘What are you doing when we got drove into the fence?’ And you know, we kind of shoved a little bit and I turned away. And when I got grabbed and kind of pulled, that just led up to that moment. I think just build-up, build-up, build-up and I snapped, and that’s just part of it. You know, hopefully I’ll learn from it. I made some other mistakes. But you know, just once I got off the bottom (lane), it was just game over for me when Brandon got inside of me.”
Mayer went to the infield care center after the race, and his face bore some scrapes from the grappling. As far as what escalated their confrontation, Mayer said the post-race emotions were running hot.
“Heat of the moment type stuff,” Mayer said. “I mean, I think it’s more I was just trying to get his attention, and he took it the wrong way, and it just … he just snapped. I mean, that’s what I say just happened. Nothing anything horrible, but it’s just part of the sport.”
The two were separated, and Gibbs conducted a brief TV interview before disappearing inside the officials’ hauler. All along the way, the healthy crowd sent boos in his direction – a cacophony Gibbs didn’t seem to mind.
“It’s just part of it, you know. At least they’re making noise, so that’s a good thing,” Gibbs said. “And I got to talk with all the NASCAR guys in here, and Wayne (Auton), and Steve (O’Donnell) and all of them, and I got to talk to Sam. So no, we’re all good. We’re on the same page. It’s just, boys are playing hard out there and it led up to that moment.”
The two weren’t exactly singing kumbaya after their 10-minute consultation in the Xfinity Series hauler, but it seemed a temporary cooling-off had at least been achieved.
“I just talked to him, he came back over, he was upset and just decided to throw a couple punches, but it’s fine by me. We talked about it,” Mayer said. “We’ll be good going forward, especially at Talladega. That’s a place where you don’t want to be enemies, so we’re gonna move on and be A-OK, keep our head down and go out try to get a win next week or next time.”
In the history of Martinsville Speedway, no driver had better results at the iconic short track than seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Richard Petty.
In total, “The King” won a record 15 races at the 0.526-mile venue. He took to the venue from his earliest days in NASCAR’s premier division, winning the second of his record 200 races — and his first on asphalt — at Martinsville.
Both Petty and NASCAR Hall of Fame crew chief Dale Inman quickly developed a knack for racing at the Southern Virginia facility.
“It was just a Richard Petty track, I guess,” Petty told the NASCAR Wire Service. “It fit my style of driving, and it fit Dale’s style of setting the car up. It was just a good combination.
“You go to other tracks, and you run good, but you only win two or three races. Fate was just a little better for us up there.”
Fate wasn’t the only determining factor. Unlike most other competitors, Petty was a right-foot braker and was never on the gas and brakes at the same time. That helped him develop the rhythm necessary for success at Martinsville.
“I could use my brakes different from what other people did,” Petty said. “Sunday morning of the race, we’d put on a brand new set.”
Petty estimated that the superiority of his brake package helped him notch at least half his Martinsville wins.
Brakes have always been an issue at Martinsville, but the larger and more durable brake package on NASCAR’s new Next Gen Cup Series race car has the potential to change the dynamic of Saturday night’s race.
Drivers should be able to charge harder into the tight corners at the short track. And the brakes should be able to withstand more abuse, says Ryan Blaney, driver of the No. 12 Team Penske Ford.
But will that make a difference as to which drivers excel and Martinsville and which drivers can’t figure out the tricky-rhythm track?
“You never know,” Blaney said. “Everyone’s kind of adapted to this car differently. So it’s hard to tell. Martinsville is a unique place. Sometimes it kind of clicks for you, so I can see some guys who have run good there for a while still be really good, and I can see some guys who maybe haven’t run the best there be really good.
“Denny (Hamlin) has always been great at Richmond, and he’s still great at Richmond. But then you have some other guys who weren’t great at Richmond that ran pretty good (in last week’s race, won by Hamlin).
“I think you’ll have that at all these tracks. You’ll have guys that always know what to do around those places and are still going to be good, but then this new car might suit other drivers who maybe haven’t been as good at these certain tracks, and they’re going to run well. So we’ll have a mixed bag, I think.”
MARTINSVILLE, Va. – Owner-driver Brad Keselowski opened up Friday about the nature of the penalties against RFK Racing, his path through the appeals process this week and the path moving forward for his No. 6 Ford team.
Keselowski held court after Friday’s NASCAR Cup Series practice and qualifying at Martinsville Speedway, where he earned the ninth starting spot for Saturday’s Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 400 (7:30 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM). He’s won here twice before, and it’s where he’ll continue to try to claw out of a sizable points deficit from 31st in Cup Series standings.
Keselowski revealed that the penalty stemmed from a tail panel on his RFK Racing No. 6 Ford that had been repaired. He said that his team had run the body panel in three races, but that NASCAR competition officials determined that a key feature of the panel “was not repaired adequately enough.” Keselowski also explained that his team did not have a new tail panel that would work as a suitable replacement.
RFK Racing filed an appeal March 25, the day NASCAR officials announced the L2-grade penalties against the team.
Meagan Thompson | NASCAR Digital Media
“Well, our intent to appeal the penalty was to show everybody that we didn’t want to run that tail panel, and if we had a new one, we would have ran it to begin with,” Keselowski said. “So, you know, it’s a difficult position. Ultimately it’s NASCAR’s position that the parts and pieces have to be right. I think it was …. we made our repairs in good faith, but probably didn’t do a great job. Do I think there was a competitive advantage? Probably not, but we put NASCAR in a tough position of having to make a judgment call, and that’s not fair to them.
“So it’s one of those situations where I don’t think anybody’s really wrong. I mean, nobody’s really right. And it’s probably one of those situations that if we could repeat, we would have begged, borrowed and stolen a new tail and put it on the car. And that’s not the world we’re living in. Glad that’s being fixed, but this is the world we’re in now and we’ll go make the most of it.”
The L2-level penalties were issued March 24 after RFK’s No. 6 Ford was found in violation of Sections 14.1 and 14.5 of the NASCAR Rule Book – both headings that relate to the modification of a single-source supplied part for the Next Gen stock car. The punishment meant a loss of 100 points in the driver and owner standings, a 10-point deduction in playoff points, a four-race suspension for crew chief Matt McCall and a $100,000 fine.
RFK Racing’s appeal was heard Thursday, the day before NASCAR Cup Series teams loaded in at the .526-mile track. A three-member group from the National Motorsports Appeals Panel upheld the original penalties.
RFK Racing officials indicated that the organization would not file a final appeal, a decision Keselowski said he supported. The 38-year-old driver also said Friday that he sat in on the appeal, which was his first experience with the process.
“Probably the biggest surprise was just how professionally it was ran,” Keselowski said. “You know, I didn’t know what to expect, and not that I had low expectations but I try not to set high expectations. And it was done a lot better than probably some of the rumors I heard in the garage, and I’ll give NASCAR credit for that.”
NASCAR officials had introduced a stricter deterrence system in the offseason, with the toughest penalties set for any manipulation or counterfeiting of parts specific to the Next Gen car that debuted in Cup Series competition this year. Keselowski said he understood the new penalty structure and the reasons why it was in place.
“I feel like NASCAR is in a difficult position. We have a brand-new car, which comes with a brand-new deterrence model. I think if you look historically, no, it would not have been justified that level of penalty, but that doesn’t matter,” Keselowski said. “We’re in a new model and a new world and NASCAR is doing the things that teams like us requested they do and heavily enforcing the rules. So you know, I think the ultimate test will be not us getting a penalty, it’s if somebody else gets a penalty of similar nature for doing similar things.”
Keselowski, in his first season as a part-owner of the former Roush Fenway Racing operation, sits 31st in the Cup Series standings after the points deduction. He can qualify for one of the 16 postseason berths by winning an event and placing among the top 30 in the 26-race regular season, or by forging his way in on the basis of points.
With seven winners in seven races so far, and the prospects for more to come, Keselowski said his situation isn’t “go for broke,” but that scratching the win column would be crucial. With the matter closed, Keselowski says his focus is on moving forward.
“Ultimately, our success is not dictated by this or anything else other than our ability to get this team and these cars to where they can compete at a high level and run for race wins,” Keselowski said, “and everything outside of that, to me is just noise.”
See where your favorite driver will pit for Friday’s NASCAR Cup Series Blu-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 400 at Martinsville Speedway (7:30 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
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.
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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 💰
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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? 🎙
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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
