Posted on by Pat DeCola

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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Getty Images

Race-day staples ✅

Our biggest pieces of the week — get covered for race day from all angles.Blaneycom Powerrankings Hero

• 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 💰

NASCAR Fantasy Live
NASCAR Creative Design

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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Getty Images

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

Posted on by Reid Spencer

MARTINSVILLE, Va. – Chase Elliott was the only NASCAR Cup Series driver to break 19.7 seconds in Friday’s knockout qualifying session, earning the pole position for Saturday night’s Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 400 at Martinsville Speedway (7:30 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

RELATED: Starting lineup for Saturday | Race information, TV times | Allmendinger fails inspection

Driving the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, Elliott toured the 0.526-mile short track in 17.694 seconds at 96.151 mph in the second round of time trials, edging Aric Almirola for the top starting spot in the eighth event of the 2022 season. Almirola covered the distance in 19.799 seconds at 95.641 mph.

“It honestly surprised me that it was that fast,” said Elliott, who won the 10th pole of his career, his first at Martinsville and his first since the fourth race of 2020 at Phoenix Raceway. “I didn’t expect it to be in the 60s. I thought I had a good lap but not a great lap. Nice to grab a pole — it’s been a while.

“It’s always good to have a good starting spot. Obviously, Lap 400 (on Saturday) is what pays. The bigger thing, I think, than the starting spot itself is the pit selection. Having that first pit stall is a really big deal and can lend you a lot of opportunity to gain spots on pit road. Hopefully, we can get this thing dialed in to be driving like we want the second half of the race and be around and have a shot at it.”

Almirola’s Stewart-Haas Racing teammate, Cole Custer, qualified third, followed by Chris Buescher and William Byron. Kevin Harvick was sixth fastest, giving SHR three of the top six positions on the grid.

Christopher Bell, Kyle Larson, Brad Keselowski and Todd Gilliland will start seventh through 10th, respectively. Larson was the only driver to run one lap versus two in the first round, a strategy that had worked for pole winner Ryan Blaney last weekend at Richmond.

But Larson locked up his tires in Turn 3 to ruin his money lap and had to settle for eighth fastest.

PRACTICE: Session results

Elliott also topped the practice leaderboard, which was finalized prior to qualifying. Elliott clocked a 19.995-second lap, the only one below the 20-second mark. Kyle Busch, in his No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, posted the second-best time at 20.032 seconds. Fellow Toyota pilot Bubba Wallace in 23XI Racing’s No. 23 entry came in third with a 20.038-second best time.

Alex Bowman (20.040 seconds) and Christopher Bell (20.055 seconds) completed the top-five leaders. Kyle Larson, Byron, Tyler Reddick, Austin Cindric and Kurt Busch rounded out the top 10 in order.

Contributing: Staff reports. 

Posted on by Zack Albert

MARTINSVILLE, Va. – The No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet for driver AJ Allmendinger will serve a pass-through penalty after the start of Saturday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway.

RELATED: Weekend schedule | At-track photos

The No. 16 Kaulig entry failed pre-qualifying inspection three times Friday before Busch Light Pole Qualifying for Saturday’s Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 400 (7:30 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM). No other entry in the 36-car field failed more than once.

Allmendinger was not permitted to post a qualifying lap, and he will make a trip through the 0.526-mile track’s pit road shortly after the green flag. NASCAR officials also ejected engineer Michael Brookes for the rest of the race weekend.

Allmendinger, a regular for the Matt Kaulig-owned team in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, is scheduled to make his fourth Cup Series start of the season in Saturday’s 400-lapper.

Posted on by Tadd Haislop

Some tracks that are staples on the ARCA Menards Series West schedule are all but guaranteed to produce entertaining races with exciting finishes.

All American Speedway in Roseville, California, is one of those venues.

Located about 20 miles Northeast of downtown Sacramento, All American Speedway is a 0.333-mile bullring of a paved oval. It may be small, but with Turns 1-2 banked differently than Turns 3-4, it’s tricky.

Below is everything to know about All American Speedway, a NASCAR Home Track.

All American Speedway

Track Profile

2020allamericanspeedwaylogo

All American Speedway

Track All American Speedway
Location Roseville, California
Opened 1955
Layout Paved oval
Surface Asphalt
Length 0.333 miles
Banking Eight degrees in Turns 1-2; Progressive banking (10-14 degrees) in Turns 3-4

Then known as the NASCAR Winston West Series, what’s now the ARCA Menards Series West competed at All American Speedway for five seasons from 1977-82. Those races produced five different winners.

When the series finally returned in 2008, it arrived at a totally different track.

All American Speedway was constructed in the 1950s as a quarter-mile oval. A renovation ahead of its racing season in 2008 stretched that length to the third-mile configuration we recognize today.

The corners in the new configuration are intentionally challenging. Turns 1-2 feature eight-degree banking, but Turns 3-4 feature progressive banking, 10-14 degrees.

The West Series has competed at All American at least once a year every year since its return to the track in 2008. Entering the 2022 event, the annual race had produced 12 different winners over the previous 12 years.

Eric Holmes won the West Series’ return to Roseville in March of 2008. He also is the driver with the most West Series wins at the track with four (2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011).

All American Speedway is the home track of West Series powerhouse Bill McAnally Racing; the team’s race shop is located just a few miles away.

Part of the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series, in addition to its annual West Series event, All American Speedway hosts weekly racing from March through October.

The venue also hosted six NASCAR Southwest Series races from 1986-90.

Below are the results from those races and all of the West Series action at All American over the years.

FOLLOW ALL AMERICAN: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

West Series races at All American Speedway

Year-Race No. Date Winner
1977-14 7/17/77 Sumner McKnight
1978-02 4/2/78 Jimmy Insolo
1979-07 7/20/79 Tim Williamson
1981-03 5/24/81 Jim Robinson
1982-03 5/29/82 Jim Bown
2008-01 3/29/08 Eric Holmes
2008-13 10/25/08 Jason Bowles
2009-02 4/4/09 Eric Holmes
2009-13 9/26/09 Paulie Harraka
2010-01 3/27/10 Paulie Harraka
2010-11 10/16/10 Eric Holmes
2011-02 4/16/11 Jason Fensler
2011-13 10/15/11 Eric Holmes
2012-14 10/13/12 Dylan Kwasniewski
2013-13 10/12/13 Cameron Hayley
2014-13 10/11/14 Christian PaHud
2015-12 10/17/15 Gracin Raz
2016-14 10/15/16 Ryan Partridge
2017-13 10/14/17 Michael Self
2018-13 10/13/18 Cole Rouse
2019-12 10/12/19 Jagger Jones
2020-09 10/23/20 Gio Scelzi
2021-08 10/9/21 P.J. Pedroncelli

NASCAR Southwest Series races at All American Speedway

Year-Race No. Date Winner
1986-07 7/19/86 Mike Chase
1987-08 7/18/87 Roman Calczynski
1988-09 7/23/88 Roman Calczynski
1989-10 7/22/89 Ray Hooper, Jr.
1989-17 9/23/89 Dan Press
1990-09 7/21/90 Doug George
Posted on by Zack Albert

MARTINSVILLE, Va. – Thursday night’s Camping World Truck Series race had a familiar ring for Johnny Sauter. The 43-year-old veteran — somewhat suddenly — was back in a ThorSport Racing No. 13, competing near the front of the field at a track where he had won four times before.

Any signs of rust were nearly non-existent for Sauter, who turned in a runner-up return in just his second Truck Series start of the season. The reunion with ThorSport, his longtime home, was announced just two days before the Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 200. Sauter made the most of it, picking his way from last in the 36-truck field and driving with confidence to finish second behind race winner William Byron.

RELATED: Official results | At-track photos

“There’s a couple of times in the race tonight I thought I was getting wrecked, and a couple of times I made some mistakes in traffic, too,” Sauter said. “So I just knew it was gonna be a good truck. I knew on Lap 2 that the truck had good speed. I could just feel it. I’ve been doing this long enough to know, so nah, I’m not surprised that we started at the tail of the field and got where we needed to be. I just wish we had one more pit stop, and we could make one more adjustment.”

Sauter, the 2016 series champion, had been idle since a one-off start with G2G Racing in the season opener at Daytona International Speedway. He landed the opportunity to return in a fifth ThorSport entry at Martinsville, with veteran crew chief Carl “Junior” Joiner making his first appearance of the year atop the No. 13 pit box.

Joiner’s successful 10-year run with driver Matt Crafton, who claimed three series championships during their partnership, had ended last year with ThorSport’s No. 88 team. Thursday night, the veteran crew chief’s return was every bit as solid as the driver’s.

“I had fun. We did good,” Joiner told NASCAR.com. “You know, for a crew that never races together and an old, retired crew chief and an old, retired driver, we did all right.”

MORE: Martinsville race recap

As far as the notion of retirement goes, Sauter ended Thursday night’s race on an upbeat note, hoping more races at his former full-time home might materialize.

“I mean, the whole plan was to run anywhere upwards of eight races or maybe less. It’s kind of up in the air,” Sauter said. “So we kind of just cherry-pick the race tracks that I like, and maybe one or two that (the crew) like. So hopefully it’s more than less, but I don’t know. It’s just fun to be with guys that really want to get it done.”

Though he didn’t lead any laps, Sauter found himself in position – avoiding the pitfalls from some of the race’s 11 caution periods and restarting on the front row down the stretch. His most recent Truck Series victory came nearly three years ago at Dover Motor Speedway.

“You know, there’s no question the last couple years haven’t been up to standard, shall we say,” Sauter said. “So it’s cool to take a step back and get reinvigorated and to have fun. You know, that’s what this is all about.”

Posted on by Reid Spencer

William Byron proved emphatically Thursday night he hadn’t forgotten how to drive a truck.

Making only his second start in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series since 2016 — after a blown engine knocked him out of last year’s Nashville Superspeedway race — Byron parlayed perfect pit strategy into a decisive victory in the Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 200 at Martinsville Speedway.

RELATED: Official results | At-track photos

In his last full season in the series in 2016, Byron won seven races before moving on to the Xfinity Series and finally to the Cup Series.

With Kevin “Bono” Manion on his pit box, and with input from Cup crew chief Rudy Fugle, Byron brought his No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet to pit road for the final time on Lap 83 of 200 and took over the lead when the trucks ahead of him pitted at the end of Stage 2 on Lap 104.

The 24-year-old from Charlotte, North Carolina, led all but two of the final 96 laps and beat runner-up Johnny Sauter to the finish line by 1.138 seconds. Kyle Busch ran third, followed by John Hunter Nemechek and defending series champion Ben Rhodes.

“It was a lot of fun,” said Byron, who already has a Cup victory at Atlanta Motor Speedway in hand this season. “Great crowd here at Martinsville. I’ve never won a race at Martinsville and struggled here when I was in late models.

“Yeah, just awesome to get the win tonight — a great truck tonight, the HendrickCars.com Chevrolet. Thanks to Spire, all the guys back at their shop. They don’t have a lot of guys, and they do it right, obviously. It was fun to work with Bono, have a little help from Rudy. Obviously, he knows the trucks pretty well.”

RELATED: Byron reacts to winning | Sauter savors second place

The race was a homecoming for Sauter, too. Making his second start of the season, the 2016 series champion was driving a ThorSport Racing Toyota for the first time since last year, his last full-time season with the organization.

Carl “Junior” Joiner, longtime crew chief for Matt Crafton, returned to call the race for Sauter after retiring from full-time competition at the end of the 2021 season.

“I told Joiner today, I said don’t listen to me when I give you feedback on the first run,” Sauter said. “I called for an adjustment, and I shouldn’t have. I thought we fired off tremendous and just got a little too tight there at the two-thirds mark of the corner…

“It was the first in-house chassis, in-house body for ThorSport. To come home second was pretty solid.”

Sauter chased Byron after the final restart with 36 laps left but couldn’t match the speed of Byron’s Silverado.

The race featured 11 cautions for 71 laps. Zane Smith won the first stage wire-to-wire, and Rhodes claimed the second stage win.

Chandler Smith, Crafton, Grant Enfinger, Zane Smith and Tyler Ankrum finished sixth through 10th, respectively. Rhodes leads the Truck Series standings by four points over second-place Chandler Smith.

The Truck Series returns to action for the Pinty’s Truck Race on Dirt next Saturday at Bristol Motor Speedway (8 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Note: Post-race inspection in the Truck Series garage is complete with no issues, confirming William Byron as the winner.

Contributing staff reports.

Posted on by Zack Albert

MARTINSVILLE, Va. – Five days after their intra-team clash last weekend at Richmond Raceway, sometimes Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Ty Gibbs and John Hunter Nemechek indicated they had followed up with each other, but crossed signals kept them from hashing out any differences in a team debrief.

Gibbs came out victorious after a full-contact final lap in last Saturday’s Xfinity Series race, leaving Nemechek to lament a runner-up finish in his first start in JGR equipment this season. Thursday, the two were back at Martinsville Speedway but competing in different NASCAR series – Nemechek in Thursday night’s Camping World Truck Series race and Gibbs prepping for Friday’s Xfinity Series go, where he’ll start from the pole position.

RELATED:  Gibbs earns Martinsville pole | Weekend schedule |  At-track photos

Coach Joe Gibbs had said last weekend he had encouraged his grandson to address the conflict head-on, to attempt to sort out any lingering bitterness among themselves. Thursday at Martinsville, the younger Gibbs said post-qualifying their talk didn’t take place in the organization’s debrief.

“Well, Coach doesn’t come to our Xfinity debriefs, and John Hunter didn’t show up,” Ty Gibbs said after Thursday’s Xfinity Series qualifying session. “So I got to call John Hunter, but he never showed up to the drivers’ meeting, which I was surprised about. But you know, it is what it is.”

Nemechek, a Truck Series regular for Kyle Busch Motorsports, confirmed before Thursday’s Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 200 the two had spoken since Richmond.

“I had a phone call with him. I was not in the team debrief when we had it on Tuesday. I guess it was my mistake for saying it was Monday,” Nemechek said. “That’s normally when our Truck debrief is, so just figured it was Monday. But I had Trucks then, trying to get ready for here, so I wasn’t able to be there for the team debrief. But him and I have had a call and exchanged some words and different things of that sort, so that’s pretty much it.”

Was a resolution reached?

“I mean, he pretty much told me the same thing that he said in his post-race interview and all that stuff,” Nemechek said. “We’ll just see where it goes. It’s hard racing, I guess.”

Gibbs, 19, has won three times already in his first full season of Xfinity Series competition, and Thursday’s pole was his third consecutive. His rise has been meteoric – seven total wins in just 25 Xfinity starts – but he has also become known for his tendency toward aggressive racing.

Asked if he felt additional pressure with those tactics becoming his calling card, Gibbs sidestepped: “Not really. You know, we’re all out here doing the same thing. I mean, last year, I got wrecked from the lead, so it’s not like it’s different, you know. So I’m gonna do the best I can.”

Nemechek, 24, is in his second full season with Kyle Busch’s Truck Series operation, and he was tapped just last month to drive in three Xfinity Series events in JGR’s No. 18 Toyota. The first of those was a doozy at Richmond.

Asked if he looked back on the last-lap proceedings any differently, given some time by Thursday to cool off and reflect with a fresh perspective, Nemechek maintained he expected a more sporting battle among teammates.

“I mean, I’m mad I didn’t win the race, right?” Nemechek said. “And I guess you can look at it from different ways, right, and you can think of it from you must win no matter what, but at the same time as a teammate, you I guess expect a little more respect than that, but it is what it is. We just move on and keep racing.”

Posted on by Zack Albert

The National Motorsports Appeals Panel ruled Thursday that penalties against RFK Racing’s No. 6 Ford team and driver-owner Brad Keselowski will stand.

A three-member panel heard the appeal Thursday, confirming that RFK Racing violated Sections 14.1 and 14.5 of the NASCAR Rule Book. Those sections both relate to modification of a single-source supplied part on the Next Gen stock car that debuted in the Cup Series this year.

RELATED: Brad Keselowski driver page | RFK Racing team page

NASCAR competition officials handed down an L2-grade penalty March 24 after an inspection of RFK’s No. 6 Ford at its Research & Development Center after the previous weekend’s race at Atlanta Motor Speedway. That punishment included 100-point penalties in both the driver and owner standings, the loss of 10 playoff points, a four-race suspension to crew chief Matt McCall and a $100,000 fine.

After Thursday’s ruling, those penalties have been upheld. The decision keeps Keselowski in 31st place in the Cup Series standings.

RFK Racing had indicated its intent to appeal the penalties a day after they were first issued, but instead of deferring the crew chief’s suspension, McCall has sat out the last two races. Engineer Josh Sell has served as interim crew chief, helping the No. 6 team register finishes of 14th (Circuit of The Americas) and 13th (Richmond) the last two weekends.

The organization had the option to appeal the decision to the National Motorsports Final Appeals Officer, but the team released a statement saying it would not.

NASCAR officials announced Jan. 24 that a tougher deterrence system would be in place for 2022, with a three-tiered structure that marked its most strict penalties for alterations to or unapproved fabrication of Next Gen-specific parts. RFK Racing was the first organization to draw a penalty at the L2 level under the new system.

The three members of the National Motorsports Appeals Panel who served in Thursday’s hearing were: Mr. Dixon Johnston, Mr. Bill Mullis and Mr. Dale Pinilis.

Posted on by Staff Report

Although Idaho is primarily known for its mountains and potatoes, the Gem State also boasts a thriving asphalt bullring in the form of Meridian Speedway.

Since the 1950s, Meridian has provided Idaho short track fans an ideal opportunity to see their local heroes battle for victories in the weekly edition while also occasionally hosting NASCAR-sanctioned events featuring the next generation of stars.

Over a half-dozen divisions currently encompass a stacked weekly program for Meridian that now includes the facility’s own crown jewel event, the NAPA Auto Parts Idaho 208, which is set to take place on Aug. 20.

RELATED: Watch the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour all season on FloRacing

Meridian’s new season formally gets underway April 9 with the ATS Inland Season Opener. The on-track action starts at 6 p.m. MT and will include races for Meridian’s Modified, Sprint Car, Street Stock, Pro 4 and Hornets divisions.

Below is everything to know about Meridian Speedway.

Meridian Speedway

Track Profile

Meridian Speedway
NASCAR K&N Pro Series West racing at Meridian Speedway on September 30, 2017. (Otto Kitsinger/Getty Images for NASCAR)
Track Meridian Speedway
Location Meridian, Idaho
Opened 1951
Length 0.25 miles
Surface Asphalt

A proud racing heritage has been built at Meridian over its seven decades of operation, with plenty of drivers permanently etching themselves into the track’s record books.

Sean Miller currently holds the most championships in Meridian’s Late Model division following a dominant stretch during the mid-1990s that saw him claim five consecutive titles. Other multi-time champions in that division include Jerry Bowers, Jim Dillon and John Nesmith.

Meridian has also seen women drivers break barriers on numerous occasions.

Along with Melissa Weaver claiming six Street Stock titles and Hannah Newhouse becoming the only female Late Model champion in 2016, Hailie Deegan notably captured her first of three NASCAR K&N Pro Series West (now ARCA Menards Series West) wins at Meridian in 2018 following a last lap pass on Cole Rouse.

FOLLOW MERIDIAN: Facebook | Twitter

In the six K&N West races at Meridian, none of them featured a repeat winner.

Ray Elder, who won six K&N West titles between 1969-75, was victorious during a one-off appearance for the series at Meridian back in 1972. When K&N West returned to Meridian during the late 2010s, Deegan, current NASCAR Cup Series competitor Todd Gilliland and six-time NASCAR Xfinity Series winner Noah Gragson all earned victories at the facility.

During its existence, the NASCAR Northwest Series also infrequently visited Meridian. Former track champion John Dillon picked up a popular victory in front of the home crowd back in 1989 while Ron Eaton accumulated the most wins with two in 1986 and 1990.

Below are the complete list of NASCAR winners and track champions during Meridian’s long and storied history.

Meridian Speedway
NASCAR K&N Pro Series West racing at Meridian Speedway on September 24, 2016. (Otto Kitsinger/NASCAR via Getty Images)

NASCAR K&N Pro Series West (now ARCA Menards Series West) races at Meridian

Year-Race No. Date Winner
1972-13 6/30/72 Ray Elder
2015-11 9/5/15 Noah Gragson
2016-13 9/24/16 Todd Gilliland
2017-12 9/30/17 Michael Self
2018-12 9/29/18 Hailie Deegan
2019-11 9/28/19 Derek Kraus

NASCAR Northwest Series races at Meridian

Year-Race No. Date Winner
1985-05 6/15/85 Bob Fox
1986-04 5/17/86 Ron Eaton
1989-08 7/24/89 John Dillon
1990-07 6/23/90 Ron Eaton
1991-08 6/22/91 Tobey Butler
2006-01 4/30/06 Brandon Riehl

Meridian Speedway track champions

Year: Track champion
1966: Gary Brown
1967: Rick Poulton
1968: Bob Mitich
1969: Bob Mitich
1970: No champion
1971: Jim Dillon
1972: Bob Mitich
1973: Jim Dillon
1974: Steve Mason
1975: Steve Mason
1976: Jerry Bowers
1977: Jim Dillon
1978: Jerry Bowers
1979: Jerry Bowers
1980: LeeRoy Nelson
1981: Marv Whiteman III
1982: Larry Bowers
1983: Kenny Bowers
1984: Marv Whiteman III
1985: Steve Mason
1986: Pat Minegar
1987: John Dillon
1988: Keith Postlewait
1989: Steve Nesmith
1990: Kim Bradford
1991: Willie Ransom
1992: Willie Ranson
1993: Matt Klaas
1994: Sean Miller
1995: Sean Miller
1996: Sean Miller
1997: Sean Miller
1998: Sean Miller
1999: Mike Marston
2000: Dennis Wurtz II
2001: Jim Tremuan
2002: Dennis Wurtz II
2003: John Nesmith
2004: No champion
2005: Scott Durbin
2006: Craig Bell
2007: John Nesmith
2008: Chris Ratterree
2009: John Nesmith
2010: Dan Buckley
2011: Chris Fenton
2012: Dylan Caldwell
2013: Travis Anderson
2014: Lee Hackney
2015: Dennis Wurtz II
2016: Hannah Newhouse
2017: Chris Fenton
2018: Kyle Tellstrom
2019: Kyle Tellstrom
2020: John Newhouse
2021: Daytona Wurtz (Pro Late Model)
Posted on by Zach Sturniolo

Martinsville Speedway hosts the first scheduled night race of the NASCAR Cup Series season this weekend.

The Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 400 gets underway on Saturday night (7:30 ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) from the shortest track on the points-paying schedule. For the first time since October 1956, the race is scheduled for 400 laps around the 0.526-mile oval instead of 500.

Find everything you need to know for this weekend’s racing here:

PRACTICE AND QUALIFYING

Cup Series drivers will hit the track for practice on Friday at 4:30 p.m. ET (FS1), with all 36 teams separated into Group A and Group B, determined by a metric that factors results and fastest laps from last week’s race at Richmond Raceway, in addition to points position. Each group will get 15 minutes of practice.

After practice, each group will go out for single-car qualifying for two laps. The fastest five cars from each group will advance to the second round, in which the 10 remaining drivers will fight for the Busch Light Pole Award.

RELATED: Martinsville schedule | Cup Series standings | Qualifying groups

MARTINSVILLE HISTORY

— Built in 1947, Martinsville Speedway hosted its first race on Sept. 7, 1947, a modified stock car race that preceded NASCAR’s inception. Bill France Sr. convinced track founder Henry Clay Earles that stock cars were the future of racing and promoted the event for a percentage.

— Martinsville appeared on the first Cup Series schedule in 1949 and is the only track on today’s circuit that remains from that year.

— The first 12 Cup races at Martinsville were run on dirt. 

— Earles partnered with Ridgeway Clock Company in 1964 to begin awarding race winners with a grandfather clock. Fred Lorenzen took the first one home on Sept. 27, 1964. Richard Petty won the most at 12 (not including his three prior victories), Darrell Waltrip won 11, and Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson each won nine.

— The track’s turns were resurfaced with concrete in 1976, and the track wasn’t resurfaced again until 2004, after Gordon struck a loose chunk of concrete during that year’s spring race.

– LED lighting surrounded the 0.526-mile track starting in 2017.

Source: Racing Insights

GOODYEAR TIRES

Because the track’s surface consists of both asphalt and concrete, Goodyear faces a unique challenge at Martinsville.

The tire provider will supply the same left-side tire compound utilized at the Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum, February’s exhibition race on the 0.25-mile track built inside the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

“For our setup at Martinsville, we have a challenge to address with both the construction of the tires and the tread compounds,” said Greg Stucker, Goodyear’s director of racing. “As far as the construction, it has to be robust enough to handle the hard braking and acceleration on and off the corners, which have no banking to speak of to help. What we try to do with the compounds is bring something that will wear and rubber-in the concrete corners in sometimes cool conditions. Rubbering-in the lower groove creates a second lane on the track and gives drivers more opportunity to pass. This Cup setup is very similar to what teams ran in The Clash, including the same left-side tire.”

MARTINSVILLE STORY LINES 

— Martin Truex Jr. has been king at Martinsville lately, winning three of the last five races at the paperclip-shaped oval. Truex has also won each of the last two spring races and led 80 laps a week ago at Richmond.

— Kyle Busch leads all active drivers with 16 short-track victories, but his last such win came in the spring of 2019 at Bristol. The two-time champion has two Martinsville wins.

— Joe Gibbs Racing and Hendrick Motorsports have won each of the last six Martinsville races, with each organization winning three races in that span.

— Hendrick Motorsports is just 18 laps away from 10,000 laps led at Martinsville becoming the first team to reach 10,000 laps led at a track.

— Expect more cautions in the final stage at Martinsville. Ten yellows flew in Stage 3 there in November and nine last spring.

— Denny Hamlin and Kyle Larson have won four of the last six night races, each claiming two.

— Denny Hamlin’s win last week at Richmond ended a 12-race winless streak for himself and a 12-race winning streak for drivers younger than 30 years old. Hamlin is 41.

Source: Racing Insights

MONEY AT MARTINSVILLE

The statistics don’t lie — Martin Truex Jr. is the man to beat.

A 5-1 favorite, according to BetMGM, Truex has notched each of his last seven wins on tracks 1.366 miles in length or shorter. The 2017 series champion has won in each of the past three seasons at Martinsville and should be in contention Saturday night.

Behind him are Chase Elliott (7-1), Kyle Busch (8-1), Denny Hamlin (8-1) and Ryan Blaney (8-1). Elliott, Busch and Hamlin have all gone to Victory Lane at Martinsville, but Blaney is still seeking that first career win.

At 14-1 odds, keep eyes peeled for both Alex Bowman and Christopher Bell. Bowman won the fall race last year after contact with Hamlin, and Bell enters with top 10s in each of his last two starts in 2022.

RELATED: Odds for Martinsville 

FANTASY LIVE

Want to manage a team and race your way to the top of the leaderboards? Check out NASCAR Fantasy Live, which is open now. The free-to-play game lets you choose your drivers each week and show off your crew-chief instincts by garaging a driver by the end of Stage 2, and there is a $25,000 prize for the winner.

The 2022 Fantasy Live points leaders are Chase Elliott (235), Ryan Blaney (233) and William Byron (218).

How to play: Fantasy Live | Set up a team today!

ALSO ON NASCAR.COM

Get additional camera views by logging on to NASCAR Drive, where each week a select number of in-car cameras will be available — as well as a battle cam and an overhead look.

NASCAR has partnered with LiveLike to add fan engagement in the NASCAR Mobile App. Log in to the mobile app during the race for polls, quizzes, the cheer meter and more — and see instant results from NASCAR fans like you.