The NASCAR Cup Series is going shortin’ trackin’ Saturday night under the lights at Martinsville Speedway this week!

The Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 400 will put NASCAR’s top division drivers bumper-to-bumper and door-to-door. The race will likely have beatin’, bangin’ and as the saying goes “trading paint”. That also means fenders and tempers have the likelihood of getting bent out of shape before the end of the race.

Here’s a look at the data points for the track and race.

Martinsville Speedway Track Data
Track Size: 0.526-mile
Banking/Turn 1 & 2: 12 degrees
Banking/Turn 3 & 4: 12 degrees
Banking/Frontstretch & Backstretch: 0 degrees
Frontstretch & Backstretch Length: 800 feet

Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 400 Race Data
Season Race #: 8 of 36 (04-09-22)
Race Length: 400 laps / 210.4 miles
Stage 1 & 2 Length: 130 laps (each)
Final Stage Length: 240 laps

This season has seen its share of young drivers already winning. In fact, six out of the seven winners in the first seven races so far have been under the age of 30. Still, here is a look at the 10 active drivers that have the best overall driver rating at Martinsville Speedway.

Denny Hamlin – 105.7
Kyle Busch – 102.5
Chase Elliott – 99.4
Brad Keselowski – 99.2
Ryan Blaney – 98.3
Joey Logano – 96.8
Kevin Harvick – 93.0
Martin Truex Jr. – 86.8
William Byron – 83.8
Kurt Busch – 81.7
*Based on last 34 races at Martinsville Speedway (2005 – Present).

These active drivers have won in the NASCAR Cup Series at Martinsville Speedway.

Denny Hamlin – 5 Wins (2015, 2010 sweep, 2009, 2008)
Martin Truex Jr – 3 Wins (2021, 2020, 2019)
Brad Keselowski – 2 Wins (2019, 2017)
Kyle Busch – 2 Wins (2017, 2016)
Kurt Busch – 2 Wins (2014, 2002)
Alex Bowman – 1 Win (2021)
Chase Elliott – 1 Win (2020)
Joey Logano – 1 Win (2018)
Kevin Harvick – 1 Win (2011)

When NASCAR races on a short track, you can never be completely certain of what will happen. A car that looks to be dominant can be taken out of the race by no fault of the driver in it. A car that doesn’t look to have a shot to win can unexpectedly be in position to win the race at the end because of things that happen to other cars.

One thing does happen more than not when NASCAR races on short tracks. Fans get a very exciting race to watch.

We will see what happens in the Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 400 Saturday night, April 9th starting at 6:30 pm central time (7:30 pm eastern time) at Martinsville Speedway.

By: Buck Stevens