2009 Goody’s Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway

More Short Track Excitement:

In recent years Martinsville Speedway has been the personal playground of Hendrick Motorsports teammates Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon. Together they have won nine of the last twelve NASCAR Sprint Cup races held on the tight Virginia short track. Will Gordon or Johnson extend the streak in this weekend's 2009 Goodys Fast Relief 500?

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 Jeff Gordon laid down another top five and increased his point lead. Clint Bowyer lost a spot to third while Kurt Busch moved up to second. At the bottom of the top twelve Jimmie Johnson and Denny Hamlin moved into the Chase positions replacing Brian Vickers and Greg Biffle.

The top twelve:

1. Jeff Gordon
2. Kurt Busch -76
3. Clint Bowyer -79
4. Kyle Busch -85
5. Carl Edwards -129
6. Kasey Kahne -155
7. Tony Stewart -161
8. Denny Hamlin -163
9. Jimmie Johnson -167
10. Matt Kenseth -184
11. David Reutimann -187
12. Kevin Harvick -210

Storylines:

There are two stories guaranteed to come up during Sunday's race.

1. Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson have combined to win nine of the last twelve Martinsville Cup races. This is an impressive dominant streak for the Hendrick Motorsports teammates.
2. Martinsville apparently has very good hot dogs. Although I have been to the track I must confess that I have never tried one. The TV crew raves about the hot dogs every visit. We are sure to hear more about them again this weekend.

Media Coverage:

TV: FOX Sunday, March 29th, 1:30 PM Eastern

Radio: MRN and SIRIUS Satellite

Actual Race: 2:00PM

Recent Events:

2008 Polesitter: Jeff Gordon

2008 Winner: Denny Hamlin

Last Year:

In 2008 Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jimmie Johnson were all fast during the race. With 50 laps to go Denny Hamlin was leading a pack of wolves that included Jeff Burton, Carl Edwards, Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jimmie Johnson. Burton was closing the gap in traffic but Hamlin was holding them off as the laps were winding down.

Jeff Gordon was making his way to the front but needed a caution to get the victory. His luck didn't hold and Denny Hamlin was able to pick up another win for Toyota.

Predictions:

The Hendrick Motorsports drivers have dominated the races at Martinsville Speedway. You can't make a Martinsville prediction without choosing a Hendrick driver.

Jimmie Johnson has won four of the last five Martinsville races. Clearly he has a great setup for this track and he knows what it takes to get to Victory Lane. Johnson makes an obvious favorite this Sunday.

For my backup pick I am sticking with the Hendrick stable. Mark Martin has two Martinsville wins to his credit. The first came in 1992 while the second was in 2000. Mark has been running well with his new Hendrick team and I think he will be a factor this Sunday. Mark makes a great backup pick in Martinsville.