History

·         Opened in September 1947 by H. Clay Earles, Martinsville, originally a dirt track, is one of the oldest continuously-operating race tracks in the United States.

·         The first NASCAR-sanctioned race at Martinsville was on July 4, 1948.

·         The first NASCAR Sprint Cup race was Sept. 25, 1949.

·         The track was paved in 1955.

·         The first 500-lap event at Martinsville was in 1956.

·         Concrete corners were added atop asphalt in 1976.

Notebook

·         There have been 128 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Martinsville Speedway, one in the inaugural year and two races per year since 1950.

·         589 drivers have competed in at least one NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Martinsville; 372 in more than one.

·         NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty has the all-time most NASCAR Sprint Cup starts at Martinsville with 67 starts; Terry Labonte has the most among active drivers with 53.

·         Curtis Turner won the inaugural Coors Light pole at Martinsville Speedway in 1949.

·         57 drivers have Coors Light poles at Martinsville, led by NASCAR Hall of Famer Darrell Waltrip with eight; Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with seven.

·         11 drivers have won two or more consecutive Coors Light poles at Martinsville Speedway. Four of the 11 have won 3 consecutive poles at Martinsville: Glen Wood (Fall of 1959 and 1960 sweep); Darrell Waltrip (1979 sweep and spring 1980); Mark Martin (fall of 1990 and 1991 sweep); Jeff Gordon (2003 sweep and spring 2004).

·         Youngest Martinsville pole winner: Ricky Rudd (4/26/1981 – 24 years, 7 months, 14 days).

·         Oldest Martinsville pole winner: Morgan Shepherd (4/26/1987 – 45 years, 6 months, 14 days).

·         47 different drivers have won at Martinsville Speedway, led by Richard Petty (15); Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson lead the series among active drivers with seven wins each.

·         23 drivers have multiple wins at Martinsville Speedway only five active drivers have multiple wins:  Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson (seven); Denny Hamlin (four); Tony Stewart (three) and Mark Martin (two).

·         Hendrick Motorsports and Petty Enterprises are tied for the lead in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series for the most wins at Martinsville Speedway with 19 each.

·         20 of 128 races at Martinsville Speedway have been won from the Coors Light pole; six of those 20 wins came from active drivers: Tony Stewart (2000), Jeff Gordon (2003 twice), Jimmie Johnson (2008, 2012) and Denny Hamlin (2010).

·         The Coors Light pole is the most proficient starting spot in the field at Martinsville producing more wins than any other starting position in the field.

·         35 NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Martinsville Speedway have been won from the front row: 20 from the pole and 15 from second-place.

·         93 of the 128 NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Martinsville Speedway have been won from a top-10 starting position.

·         Five of the 128 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Martinsville Speedway have been won from a starting position outside the top 20.

·         The deepest in the field that a race winner has started was 36th, by Kurt Busch in the fall of 2002.

·         Youngest Martinsville winner: Richard Petty (04/10/1960 – 22 years, 9 months, 8 days).

·         Oldest Martinsville winner: Harry Gant (09/22/1991 – 51 years, 8 months, 12 days).

·         NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt leads the series in runner-up finishes at Martinsville Speedway with seven; Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with four, followed by his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson with three.

·         Richard Petty leads the series in top-five finishes at Martinsville Speedway with 30; Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with 25, followed by Jimmie Johnson with 15.

·         Richard Petty leads the series in top-10 finishes at Martinsville Speedway with 37; Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with 32, followed by Terry Labonte (27) and Mark Martin (25).

·         Jeff Gordon leads active drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in average starting position at Martinsville Speedway with a 7.225. Ryan Newman is the only other active driver with an average starting position at Martinsville in the top 10 (9.045).

·         Three active drivers have a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series average finish in the top at Martinsville: Jimmie Johnson (5.545), Jeff Gordon (7.075) and Denny Hamlin (8.200).

·         There have been five NSCS green-white-checkered finishes at Martinsville Speedway: fall 2007 (500/506), fall 2008 (500/504), fall 2009 (500/501), spring 2010 (500/508), and spring 2012 (500/515).

·         Qualifying has been cancelled due to weather conditions eight times in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Martinsville Speedway; the most recent was the fall race of 2011.

·         Jeff Gordon has participated in the most NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Martinsville Speedway without a DNF (40).

·         Tony Stewart (4/18/1999) and Scott Riggs (4/10/2005) won their first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coors Light poles at Martinsville Speedway.

·         Mike Bliss (09/27/1998), Travis Kvapil (10/24/2004), Michael McDowell (3/30/2008) and Scott Speed (10/19/2008) made their first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career starts at Martinsville Speedway.

·         11 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers have posted consecutive wins at Martinsville Speedway. Fred Lorenzen won four NSCS races straight (the most) from the fall of 1963 through the spring of 1965.

·         All 10 active NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers who have won at Martinsville Speedway participated in at least two or more races before visiting Victory Lane. Tony Stewart won at Martinsville with the fewest previous appearances (three).

·         Ryan Newman competed at Martinsville Speedway 20 times before winning in the spring of 2012; the longest span of any the 10 active NASCAR Sprint Cup Series winners.

·         Four drivers have made 10 or more attempts before their first win at Martinsville Speedway: Mark Martin (12); Bobby Labonte (18), Kevin Harvick (19) and Ryan Newman (20).

·         Terry Labonte leads the series with the most NASCAR Sprint Cup starts at Martinsville Speedway without visiting Victory Lane at 53.

·         Since the advent of electronic scoring the closest margin of victory at Martinsville Speedway was the April 1, 2007 race won by Jimmie Johnson with a MOV of 0.065 second.

·         This weekend will be Danica Patrick’s first attempt at Martinsville Speedway. If she makes the event, she will become the first female driver to compete at Martinsville in the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

·         Seven car numbers have produced five or more Martinsville Speedway NSCS wins:

Car Number – Drivers – (Years)

o    No. 43  – Richard Petty (1960, ’62, ’63, ’67 sweep, ’68, ’69 sweep, ’70, ’71, ’72 sweep, ’73, ’75 and ’79); John Andretti (1999)

o    No. 11 – Cale Yarborough (1974, ’76, ’77 sweep, ‘78); Darrell Waltrip (1981, ’82, ’83, ’84); Geoff Bodine (1990 sweep); Denny Hamlin (2008, ’09, ’10 sweep)

o    No. 28 – Fred Lorenzen (1961, ’63, ’64 sweep, ‘65 and ‘66); Buddy Baker (1979); Ernie Irvan (1993).

o    No. 2 – Dale Earnhardt (1980); Rusty Wallace (1993, ‘94 sweep, ’95, ’96 and ‘04)

o    No. 24 – Jeff Gordon (1996, ’97, ’99, ’03 sweep and ’05 sweep)

o    No. 48 – Jimmie Johnson (2004, ’06, ’07 sweep, ’08, ’09, ’12)

o    No. 3 – Ricky Rudd (1983); Dale Earnhardt (1985, ’87, ’88, ’91, ’95)

 

Martinsville Speedway Data

Season Race #: 6 of 36 (4-07-13)

Track Size: 0.526-mile

Banking/Turns 1 & 2: 12 degrees

Banking/Turns 3 & 4: 12 degrees

Banking/Frontstretch: 0 degrees

Banking/Backstretch: 0 degrees

Frontstretch Length:  800 feet

Backstretch Length:  800 feet

Race Length: 500 laps / 263 miles

 

Top 12 Driver Rating at Martinsville

Jimmie Johnson........................ 122.3

Jeff Gordon.............................. 120.9

Denny Hamlin............................ 111.6

Dale Earnhardt Jr........................ 99.8

Tony Stewart............................... 99.7

Kyle Busch................................. 95.3

Kevin Harvick.............................. 92.3

Clint Bowyer............................... 90.8

Ryan Newman............................. 89.5

Jeff Burton................................. 87.5

Mark Martin................................. 87.0

Brad Keselowski......................... 84.5

Note: Driver Ratings compiled from 2005-2012 races (16 total) among active drivers at Martinsville Speedway

 

Qualifying/Race Data

2012 pole winner: Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, 97.128 mph, 19.496 secs. 3-30-12

 

2012 race winner: Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 78.823 mph, (3:26:12), 4-01-12

 

Track qualifying record: Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 98.083 mph, 19.306 secs. 10-21-05

 

Track race record: Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 82.223 mph, (3:11:55), 9-22-96

NASCAR in Virginia

·         There have been 278 NASCAR Sprint Cup races in Virginia.

Track Name	City	NSCS
Martinsville Speedway	Martinsville	128
Richmond International Raceway	Richmond	113
South Boston Speedway	South Boston	10
Langley Field Speedway	Hampton	9
Old Dominion Speedway	Manassas	7
Southside Speedway	Richmond	4
Starkey Speedway	Roanoke	4
Norfolk Speedway	Norfolk	2
Princess Anne Speedway	Norfolk	1

·         167 drivers in NASCAR national series history have their home state recorded as Virginia.

·         18 drivers from Virginia have won at least one race in NASCAR’s three national series. 11 of the 18 Virginia native NASCAR winners have won in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

Driver	NSCS	NNS	NCWTS
Joe Weatherly	25	0	0
Ricky Rudd	23	1	0
Denny Hamlin	22	11	2
Jeff Burton	21	27	0
Curtis Turner	17	0	0
Ward Burton	5	4	0
Glen Wood	4	0	0
Elliott Sadler	3	9	1
Emanuel Zervakis	2	0	0
Lennie Pond	1	0	0
Wendell Scott	1	0	0
Tommy Ellis	0	22	0
Jimmy Hensley	0	9	2
Rick Mast	0	9	0
Hermie Sadler	0	2	0
Elton Sawyer	0	2	0
Stacy Compton	0	0	2
Jon Wood	0	0	2

 

 

MARTINSVILLE-SPECIFIC STATISTICS

 

Clint Bowyer (No. 15 RK Motors Toyota)

·         Two top fives, eight top 10s

·         Average finish of 14.0

·         Average Running Position of 13.3, sixth-best

·         Driver Rating of 90.8, eighth-best

·         Average Green Flag Speed of 90.989 mph, seventh-fastest

·         4,889 Laps in the Top 15 (69.5%), eighth-most

·         421 Quality Passes (passes of cars in the top 15 under green), eighth-most

 

Jeff Burton (No. 31 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet)

·         One win, 10 top fives, 16 top 10s

·         Average finish of 15.0

·         Average Running Position of 15.2, 12th-best

·         Driver Rating of 87.5, 10th-best

·         284 Fastest Laps Run, seventh-most

·         803 Green Flag Passes, eighth-most

·         Average Green Flag Speed of 90.907 mph, 10th-fastest

 

Kyle Busch (No. 18 M&M’s Toyota)

·         Seven top fives, eight top 10s

·         Average finish of 16.8

·         Average Running Position of 14.1, seventh-best

·         Driver Rating of 95.3, sixth-best

·         350 Fastest Laps Run, sixth-most

·         5,345 Laps in the Top 15 (66.5%), sixth-most

·         483 Quality Passes, fifth-most

 

Dale Earnhardt Jr. (No. 88 Diet Mountain Dew Chevrolet)

·         10 top fives, 14 top 10s

·         Average finish of 13.0

·         Average Running Position of 10.9, fifth-best

·         Driver Rating of 99.8, fourth-best

·         445 Fastest Laps Run, fourth-most

·         Series-high 917 Green Flag Passes

·         Average Green Flag Speed of 91.180 mph, fourth-fastest

·         6,179 Laps in the Top 15 (76.9%), third-most

·         524 Quality Passes, third-most

 

Jeff Gordon (No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet)

·         Seven wins, 25 top fives, 32 top 10s; seven poles

·         Average finish of 7.1

·         Average Running Position of 6.2, second-best

·         Driver Rating of 120.9, second-best

·         Series-high 925 Fastest Laps Run

·         Average Green Flag Speed of 91.500 mph, second-fastest

·         7,243 Laps in the Top 15 (90.2%), second-most

·         549 Quality Passes, second-most

 

Kevin Harvick (No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet)

·         One win, three top fives, 10 top 10s

·         Average finish of 16.7

·         Average Running Position of 14.3, eighth-best

·         Driver Rating of 92.3, seventh-best

·         194 Fastest Laps Run, eighth-most

·         Average Green Flag Speed of 90.919 mph, ninth-fastest

·         5,023 Laps in the Top 15 (62.5%), seventh-most

·         397 Quality Passes, ninth-most

 

Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet)

·         Seven wins, 15 top fives, 19 top 10s; two poles

·         Average finish of 5.5

·         Series-best Average Running Position of 6.2

·         Series-best Driver Rating of 122.3

·         802 Fastest Laps Run, second-most

·         747 Green Flag Passes, 12th-most

·         Series-best Average Green Flag Speed of 91.503 mph

·         Series-high 7,349 Laps in the Top 15 (91.5%)

·         Series-high 583 Quality Passes

 

Brad Keselowski (No. 2 Miller Lite Ford)

·         Three top 10s

·         Average finish of 12.2

·         Average Running Position of 15.0, 11th-best

·         Driver Rating of 84.5, 12th-best

·         Average Green Flag Speed of 90.858 mph, 11th-fastest

 

Mark Martin (No. 11 FedEx Freight Toyota)

·         Two wins, 12 top fives, 25 top 10s; three poles

·         Average finish of 13.3

·         Average Running Position of 14.7, 10th-best

·         Driver Rating of 87.0, 11th-best

·         Average Green Flag Speed of 90.954 mph, eighth-fastest

 

Jamie McMurray (No. 1 Novo Nordisk Chevrolet)

·         One top five, 10 top 10s; one pole

·         Average finish of 17.0

·         Driver Rating of 82.8, 13th-best

·         4,075 Laps in the Top 15 (50.7%), 12th-most

 

Ryan Newman (No. 39 Quicken Loans Chevrolet)

·         One win, seven top fives, 11 top 10s; three poles

·         Average finish of 13.6

·         Average Running Position of 14.5, ninth-best

·         Driver Rating of 89.5, ninth-best

·         133 Fastest Laps Run, 12th-most

·         840 Green Flag Passes, fifth-most

·         Average Green Flag Speed of 90.834 mph, 12th-fastest

·         4,688 Laps in the Top 15 (58.4%), ninth-most

·         430 Quality Passes, seventh-most

 

Tony Stewart (No. 14 Rush Truck Centers/Mobil 1 Chevrolet)

·         Three wins, nine top fives, 15 top 10s; three poles

·         Average finish of 13.7

·         Average Running Position of 10.8, fourth-best

·         Driver Rating of 99.7, fifth-best

·         375 Fastest Laps Run, fifth-most

·         Average Green Flag Speed of 91.099 mph, sixth-fastest

·         5,856 Laps in the Top 15 (72.9%), fifth-most

·         383 Quality Passes, 11th-most

 

Chase Contenders

The Top 12

Following Race 5 of 36

                                                            Rank       Season

                                                                                Last          Driver

Driver                             Points   Wins      Poles        Week        Rating

1. Dale Earnhardt Jr.     199       0           0              2           102.2

2. Brad Keselowski        187       0           0              1           103.5

3. Jimmie Johnson       183       1           0              3           110.2

4. Carl Edwards             164       1           0               8             89.8

5. Greg Biffle                  164       0           0               5             90.8

6. Kyle Busch                 163       1           1             10           105.7

7. Kasey Kahne              159       1           0               7           103.6

8. Paul Menard               154       0           0              9             82.5

9. Joey Logano             146       0           0             12             93.0

10. Denny Hamlin            145       0           1               6             99.5

11. Matt Kenseth              141       1           0             13           109.6

12. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.  139       0           0             11             74.7

    ___________________________________________________________

 

ADDITIONAL DRIVERS

13. Kurt Busch                     137         30. Juan Pablo Montoya     83

14. Clint Bowyer                   137         31. Bobby Labonte             82

15. Kevin Harvick                 130         32. David Reutimann         74

16. Jamie McMurray             125         33. David Ragan               74

17. Aric Almirola                   125         34. David Gilliland              64

18. Jeff Gordon                    123         35. David Stremme            63

19. Martin Truex Jr.               122         36. Travis Kvapil                57

20. Ryan Newman                121         37. Landon Cassill             39

21. Casey Mears                  118         38. Terry Labonte              37

22. Tony Stewart                  108         39. Scott Speed                32

23. Marcos Ambrose             107         40. Michael Waltrip            23

24. Jeff Burton                     105         41. Ken Schrader               17

25. Mark Martin                    102         42. Timmy Hill                    5

26. JJ Yeley                         92           43. Scott Riggs                   4

27. AJ Allmendinger              92           44. Michael McDowell          2

28. Dave Blaney                   89          

29. Danica Patrick                87

Note: The first 26 races of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season determine which 12 drivers qualify for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, contested over the final 10 races of the season. After race No. 26, the top 10 earn a berth in the Chase. Spots 11 and 12 – the Wild Cards – will go to those drivers outside the top 10 with the most wins, provided they are in the top 20.

 

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series 2012 Top 12 at Martinsville Speedway

	Driver	Races	Poles	Wins	Top Fives	Top 10s	DNFs	Average Finish	Driver Rating
1	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	26	0	0	10	14	2	13.0	99.8
2	Brad Keselowski	6	0	0	0	3	0	12.2	84.5
3	Jimmie Johnson	22	2	7	15	19	1	5.5	122.3
4	Carl Edwards	17	0	0	1	5	0	16.1	80.9
5	Greg Biffle	20	0	0	0	3	0	21.4	68.3
6	Kyle Busch	16	0	0	7	8	1	16.8	95.3
7	Kasey Kahne	18	1	0	2	3	4	20.7	76.0
8	Paul Menard	11	0	0	0	0	1	22.0	59.5
9	Joey Logano	8	0	0	1	2	0	15.3	77.1
10	Denny Hamlin	15	2	4	9	12	1	8.2	111.6
11	Matt Kenseth	26	0	0	3	8	2	15.9	78.4
12	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	0	0	0	0	0	0	-	-

* – Based on last 16 races at Martinsville Speedway.