Race 8 out of 36
at Martinsville Speedway - .526 mile flat oval - 500 laps for 263 miles
Schedule: (All times Eastern)
Friday, April 12th
11:20 - 1:20PM Practice
3:05 - NWC Qualifying (two laps, all positions)
Saturday, April 13th
10:30AM - 11:15AM First Practice - 45 Minutes
12:15PM - 1:00PM Happy Hour Practice - 45 Minutes
Sunday, April 14th
1:00PM Start of The Virginia 500
Back to another short track this week race fans, where speeds are even lower than at Bristol. Martinsville is shaped like a paper clip, so a great handling car and taking care of those tires and brakes are imperative for a good finish here.
The early drivers to watch:
2 R. Wallace - The proverbial "King" of the short tracks. Hasn't had much recent success here however.
6 M. Martin - The 6 car is just running much better this year, and w/ that, we can't leave out the 2000 winner of this event.
8 D. Earnhardt, Jr. - Wouldn't normally include Junior at a short track, but his impressive run at Bristol leads me to believe that he will really want to atone for last week's misery.
17 M. Kenseth - He proved again that he and his team are on a mission this year. Have to include him every week until he proves otherwise.
18 B. Labonte - Another miserable run for this team. Tough to figure out. He's always been good enough to contend for a Top 10 here, so we'll include him.
20 T. Stewart - That silly decision to take 4 tires on the last stop cost him his shot at fighting w/ Kenseth and Gordon. He will be heard from this week as well.
24 J. Gordon - Now that the "No Top 5's" since Kansas last year is out of the way, the 24 team comes to a track where they have always run well. Going to be tough to beat him this week.
28 R. Rudd - 2 great races back to back, and he contended for the win w/ his teammate at this race last year.
32 R. Craven - The surprise winner of this race in the fall last year. He's qualifying well and running well this year, so he has to be one to watch.
40 S. Marlin - No indication that he won't contend for a win at every race.
55 B. Hamilton - Some tracks just suit some drivers. This is one that suits Hamilton just fine. Led the most laps in this race last year until the dreaded 4 tire stop left him too far behind to do any better than 4th.
88 D. Jarrett - Another bad break for this team. Looked to have the winning car, but a horrible miscalculation cost them the race when he ran out of gas. 1st and 2nd last year here. Should be up contending for the win if his luck holds up. Huge IF at this point.
97 K. Busch - Can he pull off another huge surprise? Why not. Gambling in the pits may just do it. And he is from Las Vegas after all.
99 J. Burton - Very disappointing day for this team, however they come to a track they have just owned over the years. 4 straight Top 5 finishes here.
Going to cut this list down between 4-6 guys depending on the odds.
Any input and opinions?
GLTA
at Martinsville Speedway - .526 mile flat oval - 500 laps for 263 miles
Schedule: (All times Eastern)
Friday, April 12th
11:20 - 1:20PM Practice
3:05 - NWC Qualifying (two laps, all positions)
Saturday, April 13th
10:30AM - 11:15AM First Practice - 45 Minutes
12:15PM - 1:00PM Happy Hour Practice - 45 Minutes
Sunday, April 14th
1:00PM Start of The Virginia 500
Back to another short track this week race fans, where speeds are even lower than at Bristol. Martinsville is shaped like a paper clip, so a great handling car and taking care of those tires and brakes are imperative for a good finish here.
The early drivers to watch:
2 R. Wallace - The proverbial "King" of the short tracks. Hasn't had much recent success here however.
6 M. Martin - The 6 car is just running much better this year, and w/ that, we can't leave out the 2000 winner of this event.
8 D. Earnhardt, Jr. - Wouldn't normally include Junior at a short track, but his impressive run at Bristol leads me to believe that he will really want to atone for last week's misery.
17 M. Kenseth - He proved again that he and his team are on a mission this year. Have to include him every week until he proves otherwise.
18 B. Labonte - Another miserable run for this team. Tough to figure out. He's always been good enough to contend for a Top 10 here, so we'll include him.
20 T. Stewart - That silly decision to take 4 tires on the last stop cost him his shot at fighting w/ Kenseth and Gordon. He will be heard from this week as well.
24 J. Gordon - Now that the "No Top 5's" since Kansas last year is out of the way, the 24 team comes to a track where they have always run well. Going to be tough to beat him this week.
28 R. Rudd - 2 great races back to back, and he contended for the win w/ his teammate at this race last year.
32 R. Craven - The surprise winner of this race in the fall last year. He's qualifying well and running well this year, so he has to be one to watch.
40 S. Marlin - No indication that he won't contend for a win at every race.
55 B. Hamilton - Some tracks just suit some drivers. This is one that suits Hamilton just fine. Led the most laps in this race last year until the dreaded 4 tire stop left him too far behind to do any better than 4th.
88 D. Jarrett - Another bad break for this team. Looked to have the winning car, but a horrible miscalculation cost them the race when he ran out of gas. 1st and 2nd last year here. Should be up contending for the win if his luck holds up. Huge IF at this point.
97 K. Busch - Can he pull off another huge surprise? Why not. Gambling in the pits may just do it. And he is from Las Vegas after all.
99 J. Burton - Very disappointing day for this team, however they come to a track they have just owned over the years. 4 straight Top 5 finishes here.
Going to cut this list down between 4-6 guys depending on the odds.
Any input and opinions?
GLTA
