Goody`s Fast Relief 500 Qualifying Update

Martinsville Speedway -- 03/29/2009

Author: Becca Gladden

Published: Saturday Mar 28 2009 5:17pm

While the story of the weekend so far at Martinsville has been the weather, I wonder whether tires might end up being a bigger issue Sunday.

The weather actually looks pretty good for race day, but if you read Jeff Gordon’s comments after practice Friday, the seven-time Martinsville winner voiced some serious concerns about tires.

Though it hasn’t been mentioned much in the media yet, Goodyear brought a brand-new right-side tire to Martinsville this weekend with a softer compound aimed at providing more grip. Tire wear was an under-reported concern at Bristol last week as well.

Regarding the Martinsville tire, Gordon said: “We definitely saw some wear, and we were under the understanding that they were going to soften the right-side tire up a little bit more. I've not had the chance to talk to Goodyear. I really want to talk to them a little bit more. We've just been so frantic working on the car and getting ready for qualifying I haven't had the time. But in my opinion, there's a huge difference … I don't know what exactly is in the tire that is making it do that because we did see pretty excessive wear on the right sides and also the left rear. I think that we see that a lot of times just from the grip going away and you just start spinning the rear tires a little bit more. That could be a very good thing for the race. I'm just not sure yet. This was the most rubber I've ever seen rolled up on the outside groove of the track than I've seen here in 10 years. That was really excessive, so that tells you a lot about the tire. I think Goodyear could
probably explain it better than I can.`

With the track being green for Sunday’s Cup race after today’s total washout of events, it will be interesting to see whether this new tire compound proves to be a washout as well.

Oddmakers are currently giving the favored line to Jeff Gordon at +350 over teammate Jimmie Johnson at +400 – perhaps a bit surprising as Johnson has won four of the last five outings here and five of the last nine. Although he hasn’t won a race yet this season, Johnson led 88 laps last week at Bristol and finished third.

On the other hand, Gordon has been the most consistent driver in the first five races this season, with an average finish of 5.4 and a 76-point lead in the standings. He’ll be starting on the pole Sunday as a result of the qualifying rain-out. Historically, 15% of Martinsville Cup races have been won from the pole, including two by Gordon himself. In addition, Gordon is riding a string of eight straight top-5 finishes into Martinsville.

With cars lined up on the starting grid by owner points, the first five rows will be:

Row 1 – Jeff Gordon, Kurt Busch

Row 2 – Clint Boywer, Kyle Busch

Row 3 – Carl Edwards, Kasey Kahne

Row 4 – Tony Stewart, Denny Hamlin

Row 5 – Jimmie Johnson, Matt Kenseth

Four drivers missed the field this weekend: Derrike Cope, Sterling Marlin, Tony Raines and Dennis Setzer. Jeremy Mayfield and Scott Riggs, who haven’t been able to qualify on time for a race since Fontana, are both in the field.

Denny Hamlin, the defending champion of this race, led the only pre-race practice session with a 96.176 mph lap. With the threat of rain looming, most teams practiced at or near race trim on Friday. Kevin Harvick, Jeff Gordon, Juan Pablo Montoya and Clint Bowyer rounded out the top five.

Kyle Busch, last week’s Bristol winner after leading 75% of the laps there, was 25th on the speed chart Friday. Chevy has been the dominant manufacturer at Martinsville, winning 10 of the last 12 races, but the same was said of Bristol until Kyle Busch’s win last week. Hamlin took Toyota to Victory Lane here last year.

Brakes are a perennial issue at Martinsville, as are pit road mistakes and miscues. While a good handling car is important, the driver in Victory Lane Sunday will be the one who doesn’t beat himself mentally.

Oddsmakers' Favorites:

Jeff Gordon +350
Jimmie Johnson +400
Kyle Busch +500

Mid-pack Maybes:

Clint Bowyer +1200
Kurt Busch +1200
Kevin Harvick +1500

Long-shots to Watch:

Tony Stewart +2000
Dale Earnhardt Jr. +2500
Jeff Burton +2500

Comment on this article.

(255 chars max)

Username:
(No HTML)

Captcha:

User	Comment
Cal	With the way things have been going, does anyone have end of season bets already going yet? I am still thinking there are a couple of sparks we are going to see come down pretty soon.
brownlee59	Oops, I forgot to put my user name in my comment. It says 75700 instead.Sorry about that Becca
75700	Actually Jeff hasnt won in quite awhile. I liked it when Kyle first starting winning, but eniugh lol, I like to see different drivers win too.
ryder_29	Jimmie Johnson and Matt Kenseth should be transferred at the first row. I`d like to see one of them win in Martinsville race. I honestly get tired hearing Jeff Gordon or Kyle Busch winning again.
jade06	I noticed that Martin Truex Jr. isn`t on the list. I wonder how he is doing right now. And I hope that there is no engine issues in the upcoming Martinsville race. It freaks me out if there`s a car wreck and one of my favorite drivers got involved.
Tetchie	Contented that Kurt Busch is placed on the first row. I`ll expect that he`ll win the race this time. If not him, then I`ll be watching Dale Earnhardt Jr. race to the finish lane.
brix12	Perhaps Martinsville is also one of the old tracks that causes tires to wear out, not just Bristol. Talk about new soft tires for the race cars in Goodyear, quality over quantity. Maybe the track doesn`t tolerate hard tires?
RaceFan88	Dale Jr may be a long shot but I always have hope. With the starting lineup not being determined by qualifying, the drivers, including Dale Jr, need to take their starting positions and do the best they can do to make it across the finish line first.
OGr8ty8	I find the seemingly little things that effect the outcome of a race interesting. When betting, I would not always consider the impact that the pit stalls would have on the outcome. Maybe I should more often but I don`t. What I`ve learned about Martinsville is that the driver`s pit location is of outmost importance as it can make or break the race for any driver.
NapaFave55	Although qualifying was rained out on Friday, the starting line-up may not be too different than it may have been if it had happened. There is a lot of good racing happening so far this year and that is exciting for both the drivers and the fans. I am surprised, though, that Tony, Dale Jr, and Jeff Burton are such long shots in the oddsmakers` eyes.
GordaFan24	Although I have watched Nascar races for years, it continues to amaze me the impact that the Goodyear tire has on the race. The tires are a serious issue and one would think that a tire company could actually get it right after being involved themselves for so many years.