This week’s race: STP 500
Traditional Name: Virginia 500
Other Notable Names: Goody’s Fast Relief 500, Goody’s Cool Orange 500, Advance Auto Parts 500, Goody’s Body Pain 500, Hanes 500, Pannill Sweatshirts 500, Sovran Bank 500
Martinsville Speedway is the oldest venue on NASCAR’s circuit. As a dirt track it hosted its first race in NASCAR’s inaugural 1949 season—a 200-lap affair won by Red Byron. It was paved over in 1955 and Speedy Thompson won another 200-laper spring, but it did not take long to turn the short track into a place for marathons. The first 500-lap race was the 1956 Virginia 500 won by Buck Baker.
The track has been essentially unchanged since. It was re-measured somewhere along the way to establish the length at 0.526-miles and concrete pads were added in 1976 to the corners to keep the drivers from ripping the asphalt away under acceleration.
This track is difficult to navigate and learn. Once a racer finds the groove, however, he can generate some great streaks. Drivers often talk about a switch that has been flipped when they suddenly become comfortable braking on entry and accelerating at the apex. That is a big part of the reason why five of the top six drivers in this week’s list have started 20 or more races at Martinsville.
Last week all 43 drivers were running at the end of the Auto Club 400; fantasy owners should not expect a repeat this week as crash damage and mechanical failure are prevalent on the paperclip-shaped bullring. For years, simply surviving this race was an accomplishment worth noting, but NASCAR has improved the durability of the race cars. Last spring 25 drivers finished on the lead lap; 22 cars made the full distance in the fall, so drivers need to stay out of trouble all afternoon in order to get a good finish.
10 best drivers at Martinsville
Over the past six races, these drivers have the best average finish on this track.1. Clint Bowyer
Last six races average finish at Martinsville: 6.00
Career avg. finish: 12.1 in 18 attempts
Bowyer has not cracked the top 10 on an unrestricted oval yet this year and he is well under the radar of most fantasy owners. That could make him one of this week’s best options with six consecutive Martinsville top-10s to his credit. Three of those results were also top-fives, including a second in spring 2013.
2. Jeff Gordon
Last six races average finish at Martinsville: 6.50
Career avg. finish: 6.8 in 44 attempts
A little luck will give a driver an average finish of better than seventh over a six-race period, but to sustain that for 44 races is an accomplishment worth mentioning. Gordon has eight wins on the track and he will need to be perfect in 2015 if he wants to leave the series with double-digits and become only the third driver in history to do so at Martinsville. Richard Petty has 15 wins, while Darrell Waltrip has 11.
3. Matt Kenseth
Last six races average finish at Martinsville: 7.67
Career avg. finish: 14.7 in 30 attempts
Most of Kenseth’s victories came on unrestricted, intermediate speedways and that can cause some players to overlook him on short tracks. A second-place finish in fall 2013 and two sixths in last year’s events show that this pony has more than one trick.
4. Jimmie Johnson
Last six races average finish at Martinsville: 8.83
Career avg. finish: 6.2 in 26 attempts
Gordon probably regretted showing Johnson where the light switch was located at Martinsville when the No. 48 driver rattled off five victories in a six-race span from 2006 through 2009. Johnson claimed three other Grandfather clocks along the way and joins Gordon for the most wins among active drivers. He has more than one season to get to double-digits, but that does not mean he will be any less hungry this week.
5. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Last six races average finish at Martinsville: 10.00
Career avg. finish: 12.4 in 30 attempts
Earnhardt lacks some of the long streaks of his teammates, but that could change with time. He currently rides a three-race top-10 streak and is the most recent winner from last fall. Martinsville is prone to giving racers back-to-back victories and Earnhardt could easily join those ranks.
6. Greg Biffle
Last six races average finish at Martinsville: 12.00
Career avg. finish: 19.8 in 24 attempts
Biffle’s 18th-place finish in last year’s STP 500 is the only time since fall 2011 that he has finished outside the top 15. This week will be a good gauge of whether this team can finally get headed in the right direction or if their “slow death” will continue.
7. AJ Allmendinger
Last six races average finish at Martinsville: 12.50 (4 starts)
Career avg. finish: 19.7 in 13 attempts
Allmendinger is among the top 10 this week because of a little strength and a lot of consistency. He finished second in a Penske car in 2012, faded to 28th that fall, missed all of 2013, and scored an 11th and ninth in last year’s pair of Martinsville races. If he keeps his top-15 streak alive, he should be on this list this fall as well.
8. Aric Almirola
Last six races average finish at Martinsville: 13.50
Career avg. finish: 23.8 in 12 attempts
Almirola has been hit or miss on this track in the past three years. Half of his attempts ended in top-10 finishes including a fourth in the fall 2012 Tums Fast Relief 500; his other three results were 20th or 21st. Last year he had one strong and one mediocre run, and that leaves fantasy owners wondering which driver will show up for the 2015 STP 500.
9. Joey Logano
Last six races average finish at Martinsville: 14.17
Career avg. finish: 14.0 in 12 attempts
With the strength of Joe Gibbs Racing on short, flat tracks, Logano should have been stronger on this course during his first four years. He swept the top 10 as a sophomore, but those were his only strong runs in the No. 22. So far it is too soon to tell if last year’s sweep of the top-five is anything more than a bounce, but there is no reason to believe he will struggle. Logano has been running on lead lap in the past 22 consecutive races this season.
10. Tony Stewart
Last six races average finish at Martinsville: 14.40 (5 starts)
Career avg. finish: 13.6 in 31 attempts
With three victories, Stewart is one of the masters of Martinsville but he has difficulty sustaining momentum. His longest top-10 streak there was a four-race period from 2005 through 2007. He has backed up one top-10 with another only once in the past five seasons, so his fourth last fall is not predictive of another strong run.
Others of Note
13. Brad KeselowskiLast six races average finish at Martinsville: 15.67
Career avg. finish: 15.2 in 10 attempts
If not for crash damage in both of last year’s Martinsville races, Keselowski would be well established in the top 10. He entered last spring’s STP 500 with four consecutive top-10s, but ran into trouble in the pits and sustained crash damage. He was involved in two accidents in the fall and scored consecutive 30-something results.
15. Ryan Newman
Last six races average finish at Martinsville: 17.33
Career avg. finish: 15.0 in 25 attempts
Newman’s last six races are bracketed by great finishes. He won the 2012 Goody’s Fast Relief 500 and was third in the 2014 Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500. The four results in between all fell outside the top 10 with a worst of 38th in fall 2013. Newman’s handicap could go either way this weekend, depending on how well he performs in practice and qualification.
16. Kevin Harvick
Last six races average finish at Martinsville: 18.33
Career avg. finish: 16.4 in 27 attempts
A failed engine in 2012 and an accident last fall are part of the reason why Harvick is not among the top 10 this week. There is also the little matter of this being his third worst track in regard to average finishes, but no one has more momentum entering this week than the man with eight consecutive to-two results.
18. Kasey Kahne
Last six races average finish at Martinsville: 22.33
Career avg. finish: 21.1 in 22 attempts
Kahne does not have the averages of his Hendrick Motorsports teammates, but nearly all of his poor results can be ascribed to crash damage and one blown engine. In the past six races, he finished in the top five in the only two races that were not marred by trouble.
21. Martin Truex Jr.
Last six races average finish at Martinsville: 23.83
Career avg. finish: 23.1 in 18 attempts
The STP 500 will be an excellent test of current season momentum versus track record. Truex has not finished in the top 15 in his last five Martinsville starts, but he enters the weekend with a perfect sweep of the top 10 in 2015. All hope is not lost in regard to his Martinsville record, however, because he posted back-to-back top-10s in fall 2011/spring 2012.
Rank | Driver | 3-Year Avg. Finish | Attempts |
1. | 6.00 | 6 | |
2. | 6.50 | 6 | |
3. | 7.67 | 6 | |
4. | 8.83 | 6 | |
5. | 10.00 | 6 | |
6. | 12.00 | 6 | |
7. | 12.50 | 4 | |
8. | 13.50 | 6 | |
9. | 14.17 | 6 | |
10. | 14.40 | 5 | |
| |||
11. | 14.60 | 5 | |
12. | 14.83 | 6 | |
13. | 15.67 | 6 | |
14. | 17.17 | 6 | |
15. | 17.33 | 6 | |
16. | 18.33 | 6 | |
17. | 18.67 | 6 | |
18. | 22.33 | 6 | |
19. | 23.33 | 6 | |
20. | 23.75 | 4 | |
21. | 23.83 | 6 | |
22. | 24.67 | 6 | |
23. | 25.67 | 6 | |
24. | 26.17 | 6 | |
25. | 26.83 | 6 | |
26. | 27.33 | 3 | |
27. | 27.75 | 4 | |
28. | 32.50 | 6 | |
29. | 33.00 | 3 | |
30. | 34.67 | 6 | |
31. | JJ Yeley | 35.40 | 5 |
32. | 39.00 | 5 | |
33. | 44.33 | 3 | |
Exercise Caution
Most caution flags: 21, 2007 Subway 500Fewest caution flags: 1 (2 times), 1971 Virginia 500, 1966 Virginia 500
Average number of caution flags per race: 9.1
Final Caution, last five races:
October 2014: 490 of 500: 2-car accident in turn three (Marcos Ambrose and Kyle Larson) including a 9:19 minute red flag.
March 2014: 460 of 500: 1-car spin in turn 2 (Carl Edwards)
October 2013: 417 of 500: debris
April 2013: 487 of 500 (red flag): 1-car accident in turn 1 (Kurt Busch)
October 2012: 492 of 500: 2-car accident in turn 2 (Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Carl Edwards)
Most caution laps: 127, 2007 Subway 500
Fewest caution laps: 0, 1959 Virginia 500
Average number of caution laps per race: 62.1
Leading the way
Most leaders: 14, 2001 Old Dominion 500
Fewest leaders: 2 (5 times), 1976 Old Dominion 500, 1965 Old Dominion 500, 1963 Old Dominion 500, 1961 Virginia 500, 1958 Grand National Race No 49
Average number of leaders: 6.3
Most lead changes: 33, 2014 STP 500
Fewest lead changes: 1 (2 times), 1961 Virginia 500, 1958 Grand National Race No 49
Average number of lead changes: 12.1
Victory Lane
Last five winners (starting position):October 2014: Dale Earnhardt Jr. (23rd)
March 2014: Kurt Busch (22nd)
October 2013: Jeff Gordon (ninth)
April 2013: Jimmie Johnson (pole)
October 2012: Jimmie Johnson (pole)
Worst starting position for race winner: 36th, Kurt Busch: 2002 Old Dominion 500 by Old Navy. Notably, Busch also won this spring after starting 22nd, the worst starting position for a driver since 2002.
A race at Martinsville has been won by the pole sitter 20 times and from the front row 34 times in 120 races.
Recent races won from the pole:
April 2013: Jimmie Johnson, STP Gas Booster 500
October 2012: Jimmie Johnson, Tums Fast Relief 500
October 2010: Denny Hamlin, Tums Fast Relief 500
October 2008: Jimmie Johnson, Tums QuikPak 500 (set by rule book)
October 2003: Jeff Gordon, Subway 500
April 2003: Jeff Gordon, Virginia 500
October 2000: Tony Stewart, NAPA AutoCare 500
Active winners at Martinsville
Jeff Gordon: 8
Jimmie Johnson: 8
Denny Hamlin: 4
Tony Stewart: 3
Kurt Busch: 2
Kevin Harvick: 1
Ryan Newman: 1
Dale Earnhardt Jr.: 1
First time winners at Martinsville:
Ricky Craven, 2001 Old Dominion 500
Geoff Bodine, 1984 Sovran Bank 500
Harry Gant, 1982 Virginia National Bank 500
Morgan Shepherd, 1981 Virginia 500
Dave Marcis, 1975 Old Dominion 500
Earl Ross, 1974 Old Dominion 500
Fred Lorenzen, 1961 Virginia 500
Bob Welborn, 1957 Grand National Race No 49
Jack Smith, 1956 Grand National Race No 54
Running at the End
The following active drivers have been running at the end of every Martinsville race they started:Jeff Gordon (44)
Greg Biffle (24)
Carl Edwards (21)
Joey Logano (12)
Brad Keselowski (10)
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (4)
Cole Whitt (3)
Justin Allgaier (2)
Michael Annett (2)
Alex Bowman (2)
Austin Dillon (2)
Brendan Gaughan (2)
Trevor Bayne (1)
Jimmie Johnson failed to finish his first race in 2002, but has been running at the end of the last 25.
Danica Patrick had a three-race streak of running at the end snapped last fall when she crashed on lap 351.
Kyle Busch failed to finish his first race in 2005, but has been running at the end of the last 18.
Great Starts
Active drivers with top-10s in their first start on this track:Denny Hamlin: eighth (2005)
Jeff Gordon: eighth (1993)
