Struggling drivers see hope in Martinsville

Struggling drivers see hope in Martinsville


By Reid Spencer
March 28, 2011)

Salvation, your name is Martinsville.
That’s the fervent hope of a handful of drivers who need strong performances at the .526-mile paper-clip-shaped track to jump-start their seasons.
First and foremost is Denny Hamlin, who fell to 21st in the Sprint Cup standings when an engine failure knocked him out of Sunday’s Auto Club 400 after 105 of 200 laps at Fontana, Calif., and relegated him to 39th place.
Engine problems have plagued Joe Gibbs Racing all season. Hamlin, Kyle Busch and Joey Logano have experienced in-race failures, and, frankly, Hamlin is worried about it.
“At this point, yeah, now it’s starting to affect me,” Hamlin said. “I’m worried a little bit more. It’s frustrating, because you want to do the best you can each week, and (crew chief) Mike (Ford) and the team did a great job setting up the car, and we had a fast car.
“It doesn’t matter in the end if you can’t finish the way you’re supposed to.”
Thankfully for Hamlin, the next stop for the Cup series is Martinsville, where he has won the past three races. Last year, a victory in the spring race at Martinsville jump-started a season that produced a series-high eight victories.
Hamlin was 19th in points heading into Martinsville last year. By the end of the year, he was challenging Jimmie Johnson for the championship. Accordingly, it’s too early to panic, even with the engine problems. Hamlin doesn’t feel it’s time for a win-or-bust mentality at Martinsville.
“It’s too early for that,” he said. “We have to do everything we can at this point to get solid runs. … We definitely need to get some solid finishes—we need to prove at this point we can finish a race.”
To say Johnson is in a slump is a bit of a misnomer. He just feels that way when he goes 10 or more races without a win. When Kevin Harvick passed the No. 48 Chevrolet in the final corner of Sunday’s race and kicked Johnson back to second place, that made 13 straight races without a win for the five-time Cup champion, tied for the fifth longest winless streak of his career.
Martinsville might be the cure for that drought. Johnson has won there six times, and he and Hamlin have combined to win the past nine races there.
Nevertheless, it’s only fair to note that during the past 13 events, Johnson has finished second three times and third four times. His average finish in those 13 races is 6.7, and he’s currently fifth in points. That’s the kind of drought other drivers would love to experience.
You could put Jeff Burton in that category. Through five races, Burton is 25th in points. Pit road has been a snake pit for the driver of the No. 31 Chevy. A speeding penalty in Sunday’s race turned a potential top-five finish into a 15th.
Perhaps a trip to Martinsville in Burton’s home state will help. Burton has a win and 15 top 10s in 33 starts there, and he’s almost always fast at NASCAR’s shortest track.
The same goes for Brad Keselowski, who is looking for his first top 10 this season. His No. 2 Penske Dodge hasn’t found the handle at the intermediate speedways, but Keselowski has finished 12th and 10th in his two Cup starts at Martinsville.
Though David Reutimann (27th in points), Jamie McMurray (28th) and Logano (29th) don’t have exceptional records at Martinsville, they, too, need strong finishes on Sunday to keep their fading hopes for a Chase spot alive.