Martin Truex, Jr. celebrates in Victory Lane with the famed Grandfather Clock trophy after winning the NASCAR Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway on June 10, 2020. Photo: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images
When will it end?
The first seven races of the NASCAR Cup Series season have produced seven different winners, and there’s a good chance that streak will survive Saturday night’s Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway.
Only twice before in NASCAR’s Modern Era (1972-Present) has a streak of different winners to start a season reached as many as eight — in 2000 and 2003. In the latter year, the string reached nine before Kurt Busch ended it with his second victory of the season at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California.
The 2000 season produced a record 10 different winners before Dale Earnhardt, Jr. broke the streak by winning for the second time that year at Richmond.
On the surface, the numbers would seem to favor an eighth different winner in the 145th Cup event at the .526 mile track, whose races in NASCAR’s top division date to 1949, when Georgia Racing Hall of Famer Red Byron triumphed in the inaugural event there.
After all, seven of the 10 active short-track winners in the Cup series have yet to take a checkered flag this season, a group that includes Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Kurt Busch, Brad Keselowski, Kevin Harvick, Ryan Newman and Chase Elliott.
The first five drivers on that list also are the top five active drivers in career short-track wins, led by Kyle Busch with 16. Denny Hamlin, a seven-time winner last year, has five victories at Martinsville, but he hasn’t claimed a grandfather clock trophy since 2015.
Elliott, the reigning series champion, has only one short-track win on his resume, but he’s the most recent victor at Martinsville, where he won last fall to advance to the Championship 4 race at Phoenix.
Keselowski won the spring races at Martinsville in 2017 and 2019, and he’s optimistic as the schedule turns to back-to-back races at two of his favorite tracks — Martinsville and Richmond.
“I’m pumped,” Keselowski said. “When we got out of Bristol, I left with a smile on my face, knowing that we had Martinsville, we had Richmond — those are two of my best race tracks. At Martinsville, we’ve been just so solid the last few times, and then Richmond was kind of a dominant race for us last fall.”
When it comes to snapping the streak of different winners, the most likely candidate is Martin Truex, Jr., who triumphed in the fifth race of the season at Phoenix. In the fall of 2019, Truex got a breakthrough victory at Martinsville and backed that up with a win in last year’s June race.
“Martinsville has become one of our better tracks,” Truex said. “I just feel like, working with the same group for so long, we’ve hit on something the past few years and been able to keep fine-tuning that and put ourselves in position to run up front.
“We have a lot of confidence going into this weekend that we can put ourselves in contention again, if we can avoid mistakes and stay out of trouble.”
NXS: NASCAR Xfinity Series Race At Martinsville Is All About The Burtons
The NASCAR Xfinity Series returned to Martinsville last season after a 14-year hiatus, with Harrison Burton taking the victory.
Given the gap between races, it’s not surprising that Burton is the only former Martinsville winner in the field for Friday night’s Cook Out 250 (8 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Burton’s father, South Boston, Virginia native Jeff Burton, won an Xfinity Series race at Martinsville in 1990 and a NASCAR Cup Series event there seven years later. Ward Burton, Harrison’s uncle, triumphed in the Xfinity Series at the .526-mile track in 1993.
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That leaves Jeb Burton, Ward’s son, seeking his first victory at the legendary short track. Driving full-time for Kaulig Racing, Jeb started the 2021 season with five straight top-10 finishes (three of them top fives) before running 25th at Atlanta.
“I’m really excited about going to Martinsville,” Jeb Burton said. “I’ve always run really well there, and the last time I was there in the Xfinity Series, I finished fourth. It’s a hometown track for me… I think we will have a really good run this weekend.”
But it’s Harrison Burton who will start on the pole on Friday night, with Jeb taking the green flag from the 13th spot on the grid in the first Xfinity Dash 4 Cash event of the season. Harrison Burton, Justin Allgaier, Noah Gragson and AJ Allmendinger are the four drivers eligible for the $100,000 Dash 4 Cash bonus that goes to the top finisher among them.
“Martinsville is a special place for me and my family,” Harrison Burton said. “It’s one of my home race tracks, I would say, so it’s always a great place to go and race. My family is from the area and the fans there are great, so it’s always a special weekend for me.
“We have a little extra incentive on Friday night with the Dash 4 Cash event going on. I know my Joe Gibbs Racing team is ready, and I’m looking forward to going out there, putting on a good show for the fans and hopefully coming back home with some cash and another grandfather clock.”
NASCAR Weekend Preview
NASCAR Cup Series
Next Race: Blu-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500
The Place: Martinsville Speedway – Martinsville, VA
The Date: Saturday, April 10
The Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
TV: FS1, 7 p.m. ET
Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 263 miles (500 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 130), Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 260), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 500)
What To Watch For: Martinsville Speedway is the longest continuously running track on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule, and the only currently active track that was a part of the inaugural NASCAR Cup Series season in 1949. … Martinsville Speedway was originally a dirt track and the facility hosted 12 NASCAR Cup Series races on the then dirt surface before paving the track in the late summer months of 1955, between the track’s two Cup races of that season. … In total, there have been 144 NASCAR Cup Series races at Martinsville Speedway, one in the inaugural year (1949) and two races per year since 1950. … The first 500-lap event at Martinsville Speedway was in 1956 and the concrete corners were added atop asphalt in 1976. … The 144 NASCAR Cup Series races at Martinsville Speedway are the second-most series events run at a facility behind Daytona International Speedway’s 148 races. … Martinsville’s 144 races have produced 61 different pole winners and 54 different race winners. … Nine of the Cup Series Martinsville Speedway winners are entered this weekend – Denny Hamlin (five wins), Brad Keselowski (two), Kurt Busch (two), Kyle Busch (two), Martin Truex Jr. (two), Chase Elliott (one), Joey Logano (one), Kevin Harvick (one) and Ryan Newman (one). … The first NASCAR Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway was on Sept. 25, 1949 and won by NASCAR Hall of Famer Red Byron driving an Oldsmobile for car owner Raymond Parks. … NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty leads the NASCAR Cup Series in wins at Martinsville Speedway with 15 victories (1960, 1962, 1963, 1967 sweep, 1968, 1969 sweep, 1970, 1971, 1972 sweep, 1973, 1975, 1979) – the most any driver in the series has won at a single track; he also won 15 races at North Wilkesboro. … Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin leads the NASCAR Cup Series among active drivers in wins at Martinsville Speedway with five victories (2008, 2009, 2010 sweep, 2015).
NASCAR Xfinity Series
Next Race: Cook Out 250
The Place: Martinsville Speedway – Martinsville, VA
The Date: Friday, April 9
The Time: 8 p.m. ET
TV: FS1, 7 p.m. ET
Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 131.5 miles (250 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 60), Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 120), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 250)
What To Watch For: In total Martinsville Speedway has hosted 35 NASCAR Xfinity Series races. … the first NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Martinsville was held on March 28, 1982 and was won by Sam Ard driving an Oldsmobile for car owner Howard Thomas. … The first two seasons the NASCAR Xfinity Series competed at Martinsville Speedway the series visited the track three times each season (1982, 1983). … The 35 Xfinity races at Martinsville have produced 18 different pole winners and 21 different race winners. Sam Ard leads the series in wins at Martinsville with five victories (March 1982, Sept. 1982, March 1983, Sept. 1983, Oct. 1983). … Last season’s winner, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Harrison Burton is the only active Martinsville winner entered this weekend.
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