2008 Tums QuikPak 500 at Martinsville Speedway

2008 Tums QuikPak 500 at Martinsville Speedway:

Martinsville Speedway's short track will host race number six of the 2008 Chase for the Cup. Cramming 43 Sprint Cup drivers into this tight half-mile track makes for close quarters racing. In the spring Denny Hamlin and Jeff Gordon used their front row starting spots to finish 1-2 but current point leaders Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Burton were right behind.

Tickets:

Speedway ticket office (877)RACE-TIX

Buy online from TicketsNow (direct link)

The Track:

Martinsville Speedway is a .526 mile true oval. Asphalt straightaways and concrete in the turns. Martinsville only has 12 degrees of banking in the turns so drivers will really use their brakes to get it slowed down for the corners. Racing at Martinsville has been described as driving down a drag strip, turning around and driving back up the other lane, 500 times.

Race Distance:

263 Miles = 500 Laps

The Big Picture:

Last week at Lowes Jimmie Johnson maintained the point lead but Jeff Burton launched himself up two spots to second place with the victory. The top three are locked in battle with two more drivers still reasonably within range.

1. Jimmie Johnson -0
2. Jeff Burton -69
3. Greg Biffle -86
4. Carl Edwards -168
5. Clint Bowyer -185
6. Kevin Harvick -207
7. Tony Stewart -228
8. Jeff Gordon -245
9. Kyle Busch -326
10. Dale Earnhardt Jr. -354
11. Matt Kenseth -360
12. Denny Hamlin -380

Storylines:

Last week Jeff Burton stepped out of the shadows of this 2008 Chase battle. Burton had been quietly hanging around near the top of the standings but no one was talking about him. His win last week at Lowes Motor Speedway has changed all that.

Jeff Burton has been in the top twelve in points throughout 2008 and even lead the points for a four race stretch in the spring. During the Chase he hasn't finished outside of the top ten and has an average finish of fifth. Jeff Burton can no longer hide as we head into the second half of the 2008 Chase.

Media Coverage:

TV: ABC Sunday, October 19th 1:00 PM Eastern Radio: MRN and SIRIUS Satellite Actual Race: 1:40PM

Recent Events:

2007 Winner: Jimmie Johnson

2007 Polesitter: Jeff Gordon

Last Year:

Last year the race never got into a flow as the 2007 Subway 500 set a new race record for cautions. There were 21 caution flags spanning 127 of the 500 lap race. Drivers that had their cars set up for short runs were able to stay up front while drivers like Dale Earnhardt Jr. had their cars set up for long runs and were not able to make progress during the race's many restarts.

At the end Jimmie Johnson held off Ryan Newman during a green-white-checkers overtime finish to claim the win.

Predictions:

I need to go with the obvious picks again this weekend. Flip a coin and pick your favorite Hendrick Motorsports star, one of the two top Hendrick drivers are all but guaranteed to win this Sunday.

Jeff Gordon swept both races here in 2003 and again in 2005. Gordon also finished a strong second here in the spring after starting on the pole. Jeff Gordon could break his 2008 winless streak this week with the Martinsville win.

This leaves me with Gordon's teammate Jimmie Johnson as my backup. Johnson won three Martinsville races in a row including the 2007 sweep. In fact, Jimmie Johnson has not finished outside of the top ten at Martinsville since 2002. Jimmie will be a factor again this Sunday.