Tomorrow night, June 10th, NASCAR will compete under the lights for the first time ever in the Cup Series at Martinsville Speedway.
The mid-week race is another that NASCAR is holding to get a complete season total of races in for the 2020 season. Short track racing on a Wednesday night should be a great event for fans to watch on TV.
Martinsville Speedway is one of the hardest tracks to compete on in the NASCAR Cup Series. The straights are asphalt with concrete in the turns. That creates a unique challenge for teams to get a balance in the setup of the cars.
Martinsville Speedway Data
Track Size: 0.526-mile
Banking/Turn 1 & 2: 12 degrees
Banking/Turn 3 & 4: 12 degrees
Banking/Frontstretch: 0 degrees
Banking/Backstretch: 0 degrees
Frontstretch Length: 800 feet
Backstretch Length: 800 feet
Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500 Data
Season Race #: 11 of 36 (06-10-20)
Race Length: 500 laps / 263 miles
Stage 1 & 2: 130 Laps (each)
Final Stage: 240 Laps
Here is a look at which active drivers have performed the best during their Cup Series careers.
Top 10 Driver Ratings at Martinsville
Jimmie Johnson …………….………….. 109.8
Denny Hamlin ………………….……….. 107.2
Kyle Busch ………………………………. 104.1
Brad Keselowski. ……………….……….. 99.7
Joey Logano ………………….………….. 94.7
Ryan Blaney ……………………………… 94.2
Kevin Harvick ……………………………. 94.2
Clint Bowyer ..……………………………. 91.6
Matt Kenseth ……………………………. 87.9
Chase Elliott ……………………………… 87.4
Note: Driver Ratings compiled from 2005-2019 races (30 total) among active drivers at Martinsville Speedway.
Below is a look at which active drivers have been able to score a Cup Series win during their NASCAR careers.
Active Cup Series Drivers with Martinsville Win(s)
Jimmie Johnson – 9 Wins
Denny Hamlin – 5 Wins
Kurt Busch – 2 Wins
Kyle Busch – 2 Wins
Brad Keselowski – 2 Wins
Clint Bowyer – 1 Win
Joey Logano – 1 Win
Kevin Harvick – 1 Win
Ryan Newman – 1 Win
Martin Truex Jr. – 1 Win
Jimmie Johnson is obviously the “Master of Martinsville” among active drivers. This is Jimmie’s final year as a full-time NASCAR Cup Series driver. It has been 105 races since Jimmie went to Victory Lane. His last win at Martinsville was in 2016. It would be a neat racing story for Jimmie to break the winless streak and get his 10th grandfather clock trophy at the first ever Cup Series night race at the track. If he can it will break his tie with Jeff Gordon on the list of most all-time winners at Martinsville. Jimmie would move into sole possession of third place on the list behind legends Darrell Waltrip (11 wins) and Richard Petty (15 Wins).
We will have to watch Wednesday night, June 10th starting at 6 PM central time (7 PM eastern time) to find out in the Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway.
By: Buck Stevens
