Statistical Advance: Analyzing the Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500 at Martinsville

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (April 5, 2021) – Below is a look at some of the top statistical performers at Martinsville Speedway in Martinsville, Virginia, going into the Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500 on Sunday, April 10, at 7:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90).

2021 Top 30 In Points				2021 Driver Playoff Outlook Following Race No. 7
Rank	Driver	Points	Ldr.	Rank	Driver	Points	Wins	Stages	Playoff Pts	Pts From Cutoff
1	Denny Hamlin	327	0	1	Joey Logano	269	1	2	7	In On Wins
2	Joey Logano	269	-58	2	Martin Truex Jr.	247	1	1	6
3	Martin Truex Jr.	247	-80	3	Kyle Larson	242	1	3	8
4	Kyle Larson	242	-85	4	William Byron	228	1	1	6
5	Brad Keselowski	232	-95	5	Ryan Blaney	226	1	1	6
6	William Byron	228	-99	6	Christopher Bell	186	1	0	5
7	Ryan Blaney	226	-101	7	Michael McDowell	183	1	0	5
8	Kevin Harvick	225	-102	8	Denny Hamlin	327	0	3	3	159
9	Chase Elliott	211	-116	9	Brad Keselowski	232	0	1	1	64
10	Christopher Bell	186	-141	10	Kevin Harvick	225	0	0	0	57
11	Austin Dillon	186	-141	11	Chase Elliott	211	0	1	1	43
12	Michael McDowell	183	-144	12	Austin Dillon	186	0	0	0	18
13	Kyle Busch	183	-144	13	Kyle Busch	183	0	0	0	15
14	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	180	-147	14	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	180	0	0	0	12
15	Kurt Busch	173	-154	15	Kurt Busch	173	0	0	0	5
16	Alex Bowman	172	-155	16	Alex Bowman	172	0	0	0	4
17	Chris Buescher	168	-159	17	Chris Buescher	168	0	1	1	-4
18	* Ryan Preece	154	-173	18	* Ryan Preece	154	0	0	0	-18
19	Ryan Newman	149	-178	19	Ryan Newman	149	0	0	0	-23
20	Daniel Suarez	144	-183	20	Daniel Suarez	144	0	0	0	-28
21	Bubba Wallace	136	-191	21	Bubba Wallace	136	0	0	0	-36
22	Erik Jones	122	-205	22	Erik Jones	122	0	0	0	-50
23	Cole Custer	118	-209	23	Cole Custer	118	0	0	0	-54
24	Matt DiBenedetto	117	-210	24	Matt DiBenedetto	117	0	0	0	-55
25	Tyler Reddick	112	-215	25	Tyler Reddick	112	0	0	0	-60
26	Ross Chastain	110	-217	26	Ross Chastain	110	0	0	0	-62
27	Chase Briscoe #	104	-223	27	Chase Briscoe #	104	0	0	0	-68
28	Aric Almirola	88	-239	28	Aric Almirola	88	0	0	0	-84
29	Corey LaJoie	59	-268	29	Corey LaJoie	59	0	0	0	-113
30	Anthony Alfredo #	58	-269	30	Anthony Alfredo #	58	0	0	0	-114

Martinsville Speedway Data

Season Race #: 7 of 36 (04-10-21)

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

Race Length: 500 laps / 263 miles

Stage 1 & 2 Length: 130 laps (each)

Final Stage Length: 240 laps

Top 12 Driver Ratings at Martinsville

Denny Hamlin……………………… 105.0

Kyle Busch…………………………. 102.7

Brad Keselowski……………………. 99.8

Ryan Blaney…………………………. 98.5

Joey Logano………………………… 97.3

Chase Elliott…………………………. 95.3

Kevin Harvick……………………….. 93.8

Martin Truex Jr……………………… 84.4

Ryan Newman………………………. 83.8

Kurt Busch…………………………… 82.0

William Byron……………………….. 74.9

Kyle Larson………………………….. 73.6

Note: Driver Ratings compiled from 2005-2020 races (32 total) among active drivers at Martinsville Speedway.

MARTINSVILLE-SPECIFIC LOOP DATA STATISTICS

(Driver stats in the below section are from 2005-Present)

Ryan Blaney (No. 12 Team Penske Ford)

• Five top fives, six top 10s
• Average finish of 10.700, third-best
• Average Running Position of 9.907, second-best
• Driver Rating of 98.5, fourth-best
• 203 Fastest Laps Run, 11th-best
• 3,523 Laps in the Top 15 (70.4%), 13th-most
• 225 Quality Passes, 16th-most

Kyle Busch (No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota)

• Two wins, 16 top fives, 18 top 10s; two poles
• Average finish of 12.194, fourth-best
• Average Running Position of 10.706, third-best
• Driver Rating of 102.7, second-best
• 885 Fastest Laps Run, second-best
• 12,071 Laps in the Top 15 (77.7%), series-most
• 972 Quality Passes, second-most

Kurt Busch (No. 1 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet)

• Two wins, four top fives, nine top 10s; one pole
• Average finish of 19.063, 10th-best
• Average Running Position of 15.767, ninth-best
• Driver Rating of 82.0, 10th-best
• 240 Fastest Laps Run, ninth-best
• 9,210 Laps in the Top 15 (57.4%), fourth-most
• 828 Quality Passes, fifth-most

William Byron (No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet)

• One top five, two top 10s
• Average finish of 21.000, 17th-best
• Average Running Position of 17.023, 12th-best
• Driver Rating of 74.9, 11th-best
• 71 Fastest Laps Run, 16th-best
• 1,410 Laps in the Top 15 (47.0%), 18th-most
• 127 Quality Passes, 19th-most

Chase Elliott (No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet)

• One win, four top fives, six top 10s
• Average finish of 14.545, sixth-best
• Average Running Position of 13.057, seventh-best
• Driver Rating of 95.3, sixth-best
• 380 Fastest Laps Run, seventh-best
• 3,717 Laps in the Top 15 (67.5%), 12th-most
• 274 Quality Passes, 14th-most

Denny Hamlin (No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota)

• Five wins, 15 top fives, 21 top 10s; four poles
• Average finish of 9.933, series-best
• Average Running Position of 9.622, series-best
• Driver Rating of 105.0, series-best
• 984 Fastest Laps Run, series-best
• 12,039 Laps in the Top 15 (80.1%), second-most
• 1,024 Quality Passes, series-most

Kevin Harvick (No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford)

• One win, five top fives, 19 top 10s
• Average finish of 13.906, eighth-best
• Average Running Position of 12.762, sixth-best
• Driver Rating of 93.8, seventh-best
• 565 Fastest Laps Run, fourth-best
• 11,335 Laps in the Top 15 (70.7%), third-most
• 950 Quality Passes, third-most

Brad Keselowski (No. 2 Team Penske Ford)

• Two wins, 11 top fives, 16 top 10s
• Average finish of 10.182, second-best
• Average Running Position of 11.175, fifth-best
• Driver Rating of 99.8, third-best
• 641 Fastest Laps Run, third-best
• 8,105 Laps in the Top 15 (73.5%), eighth-most
• 770 Quality Passes, sixth-most

Kyle Larson (No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet)

• One top five, two top 10s
• Average finish of 22.416, 23rd-best
• Average Running Position of 17.832, 13th-best
• Driver Rating of 73.6, 12th-best
• 52 Fastest Laps Run, 18th-best
• 3,125 Laps in the Top 15 (52.0%), 14th-most
• 297 Quality Passes, 13th-most

Joey Logano (No. 22 Team Penske Ford)

• One win, eight top fives, 12 top 10s; five poles
• Average finish of 12.375, fifth-best
• Average Running Position of 10.997, fourth-best
• Driver Rating of 97.3, fifth-best
• 476 Fastest Laps Run, sixth-best
• 8,620 Laps in the Top 15 (71.7%), seventh-most
• 713 Quality Passes, seventh-most

Ryan Newman (No. 6 Roush Fenway Racing Ford)

• One win, eight top fives, 17 top 10s; three poles
• Average finish of 14.250, seventh-best
• Average Running Position of 15.205, eighth-best
• Driver Rating of 83.8, ninth-best
• 211 Fastest Laps Run, 10th-best
• 8,882 Laps in the Top 15 (55.4%), fifth-most
• 852 Quality Passes, fourth-most

Martin Truex Jr (No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota)

• Two wins, seven top fives, 13 top 10s; one pole
• Average finish of 17.000, ninth-best
• Average Running Position of 16.116, 10th-best
• Driver Rating of 84.4, eighth-best
• 560 Fastest Laps Run, fifth-best
• 8,646 Laps in the Top 15 (57.5%), sixth-most

• 646 Quality Passes, ninth-most

NASCAR Cup Series 2021 Top 16 in the Driver Standings at Martinsville Speedway

Rank	Driver	Races	Poles	Wins	Top Fives	Top 10s	DNFs	Average Finish	Driver Rating
1	Denny Hamlin	30	4	5	15	21	2	9.9	105.0
2	Joey Logano	24	5	1	8	12	0	12.4	97.3
3	Martin Truex Jr	30	1	2	7	13	2	17.0	84.4
4	Kyle Larson	12	0	0	1	2	4	22.4	73.6
5	Brad Keselowski	22	0	2	11	16	0	10.2	99.8
6	William Byron	6	0	0	1	2	2	21.0	74.9
7	Ryan Blaney	10	0	0	5	6	0	10.7	98.5
8	Kevin Harvick	39	0	1	5	19	1	14.9	93.8
9	Chase Elliott	11	0	1	4	6	0	14.5	95.3
10	Christopher Bell	2	0	0	0	0	0	21.5	61.0
11	Austin Dillon	14	0	0	2	2	2	19.9	68.7
12	Michael McDowell	20	0	0	0	0	7	29.8	44.3
13	Kyle Busch	31	2	2	16	18	1	12.2	102.7
14	Ricky Stenhouse Jr	16	0	0	0	2	1	26.2	51.5
15	Kurt Busch	41	1	2	4	9	3	19.7	82.0
16	Alex Bowman	10	0	0	0	3	0	20.4	66.5

* – Based on last 32 races at Martinsville Speedway (2005 – 2020).

Martinsville: Qualifying/Race Data

 

2020 pole winner:

None – Lineups were decided by Random Draw – Ryan Blaney started first.

Track qualifying record:

Joey Logano, Ford

100.201 mph, 18.898 secs. 03-28-14

 

2020 race winner:

Martin Truex Jr., Toyota

77.378 mph, (03:23:56), 06-10-20

Track race record:

Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet

82.223 mph, (3:11:55), 09-22-96

Martinsville Speedway:

HISTORY

• Opened in September of 1947 by H. Clay Earles, Martinsville Speedway, originally a dirt track, is one of the oldest continuously-operating race tracks in the United States.
• The first NASCAR-sanctioned race at Martinsville was on July 4, 1948.
• The first NASCAR Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway was on Sept. 25, 1949 and won by NASCAR Hall of Famer Red Byron driving an Oldsmobile for car owner Raymond Parks.
• The track was paved during the summer months of 1955. The first race at the track that season was on dirt (May 15) and the second race of the year was the first on the paved track (Oct. 16). Prior to paving the track, the Cup Series ran 12 races total on the dirt at Martinsville (1949-1955).
• The first 500-lap event at Martinsville was in 1956.
• Concrete corners were added atop asphalt in 1976.
• In total, there have been 144 NASCAR Cup Series races at Martinsville Speedway, one in the inaugural year and two races per year since 1950.

STARTS

• A total of 641 different drivers have competed in at least one NASCAR Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway; 411 have competed in more than one.
• NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty leads the NASCAR Cup Series in starts at Martinsville Speedway with 67; followed by Dave Marcis and Ricky Rudd with 55 each.
• Kurt Busch leads the series in starts among active drivers at Martinsville Speedway with 41 starts; followed by Kevin Harvick (39) and Ryan Newman (38).
• In total, 62 drivers have made their first career NASCAR Cup Series start at Martinsville Speedway.
• Chase Elliott (March 29, 2015) and Michael McDowell (March 30, 2008) are the active drivers who have made their first NASCAR Cup Series career start at Martinsville.
• The most recent driver to make their series debut at Martinsville was Kyle Weatherman on October 29, 2017.
• Fonty Flock (nine starts) leads the NASCAR Cup Series in average starting position at Martinsville Speedway with a 3.125.

• Joey Logano (24 starts) leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series in average starting position at Martinsville Speedway with a 7.917.

Top 10 in Average Starting Position at Martinsville Speedway (All-Time & Active)

Rank	All-Time Drivers	Avg Start	Races	Rank	Active Drivers	Avg Start	Races
1	Fonty Flock	3.125	9	1	Joey Logano	7.917	24
2	Fred Lorenzen	4.294	17	2	Ryan Blaney	8.100	10
3	Frankie Schneider	5.000	3	3	Denny Hamlin	8.700	30
4	Tim Flock	5.889	11	4	Chase Elliott	10.455	11
5	Cale Yarborough	5.935	31	5	Kyle Busch	10.839	31
6	Johnny Patterson	6.000	3	6	Ryan Newman	11.289	38
7	Bobby Isaac	6.067	15	7	Brad Keselowski	11.682	22
8	Dick Hutcherson	6.200	5	8	Kyle Larson	12.750	12
9	Joe Millikan	6.200	5	9	Martin Truex Jr	13.500	30
10	David Pearson	6.571	28	10	Kevin Harvick	13.872	39

POLES

• In total 61 different drivers have won poles in the NASCAR Cup Series at Martinsville Speedway.
• 28 of the 61 NASCAR Cup Series Martinsville Speedway pole winners have won multiple poles.
• Six NASCAR Cup Series Martinsville Speedway pole winners are active this weekend.

Active Pole Winners (6)	Poles
Joey Logano	5
Denny Hamlin	4
Ryan Newman	3
Kyle Busch	2
Kurt Busch	1
Martin Truex Jr	1

• Curtis Turner won the inaugural NASCAR Cup Series pole at Martinsville Speedway in 1949.
• NASCAR Hall of Famer Darrell Waltrip leads the NASCAR Cup Series in poles at Martinsville Speedway with eight poles (1979, 1976, 1980, 1981, 1983, 1985, 1992).
• Joey Logano leads the series among active drivers with the most poles at Martinsville with five (2015 sweep, spring 2016, fall 2017 and spring 2019).
• A total of 13 different drivers have won two or more consecutive poles at Martinsville Speedway; the most recent was Joey Logano who won three consecutive poles at Martinsville from 2015-2016.
• Five drivers have won three or more consecutive poles at Martinsville Speedway in the series: Glen Wood (fall of 1959 and 1960 sweep, Darrell Waltrip (1979 sweep and spring 1980), Mark Martin (fall of 1990 and 1991 sweep), Jeff Gordon (2003 sweep and spring 2004) and Joey Logano (2015 sweep, 2016 spring)
• Youngest series Martinsville pole winner: Ricky Rudd (April 26, 1981 – 24 years, 7 months, 14 days).

• Oldest series Martinsville pole winner: Morgan Shepherd (April 26, 1987 – 45 years, 6 months, 14 days).
• A total of 12 different drivers have posted their first career NASCAR Cup Series pole at Martinsville Speedway; none are active this weekend.

First Time Pole Winners	Date
Curtis Turner	Sunday, September 25, 1949
Buck Baker	Sunday, May 21, 1950
Fonty Flock	Sunday, October 15, 1950
Perk Brown	Sunday, October 19, 1952
Glen Wood	Sunday, October 12, 1958
Bobby Johns	Sunday, May 3, 1959
Lennie Pond	Sunday, April 23, 1978
Ricky Rudd	Sunday, April 26, 1981
Ricky Craven	Sunday, April 21, 1996
Kenny Wallace	Sunday, April 20, 1997
Tony Stewart	Sunday, April 18, 1999
Scott Riggs	Sunday, April 10, 2005

WINS

• A total of 54 different NASCAR Cup Series drivers have won at Martinsville Speedway.
• 27 of the 54 different NASCAR Cup Series winners at Martinsville Speedway have won multiple times.
• Nine of the 54 different NASCAR Cup Series Martinsville Speedway winners are active this weekend.

Active Race Winners (9)	Wins
Denny Hamlin	5
Brad Keselowski	2
Kurt Busch	2
Kyle Busch	2
Martin Truex Jr	2
Chase Elliott	1
Joey Logano	1
Kevin Harvick	1
Ryan Newman	1

• The first NASCAR Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway was on Sept. 25, 1949 and won by NASCAR Hall of Famer Red Byron driving an Oldsmobile for car owner Raymond Parks.
• NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty leads the NASCAR Cup Series in wins at Martinsville Speedway with 15 victories (1960, 1962, 1963, 1967 sweep, 1968, 1969 sweep, 1970, 1971, 1972 sweep, 1973, 1975, 1979).
• Denny Hamlin leads the NASCAR Cup Series among active drivers in wins at Martinsville Speedway with five victories (2008, 2009, 2010 sweep, 2015).
• A total of 13 NASCAR Cup Series drivers have posted consecutive wins at Martinsville Speedway.

• Fred Lorenzenwon four Cup Series Martinsville races straight (the most) from the fall of 1963 through the spring of 1965.
• Martin Truex Jr.was the most recent driver to win consecutive Cup races at Martinsville (Oct. 2019; June 2020).

• A total of 12 different drivers have posted their first career NASCAR Cup Series win at Martinsville Speedway; the most recent was Ricky Craven (10/15/2001).

First-Time Race Winners	Date
Herb Thomas	Sunday, October 15, 1950
Dick Rathmann	Sunday, April 6, 1952
Jim Paschal	Sunday, October 18, 1953
Jack Smith	Sunday, October 28, 1956
Bob Welborn	Sunday, October 6, 1957
Fred Lorenzen	Sunday, April 9, 1961
Earl Ross	Sunday, September 29, 1974
Dave Marcis	Sunday, September 28, 1975
Morgan Shepherd	Sunday, April 26, 1981
Harry Gant	Sunday, April 25, 1982
Geoff Bodine	Sunday, April 29, 1984
Ricky Craven	Monday, October 15, 2001

• Youngest series Martinsville winner: Richard Petty (April 10, 1960 – 22 years, 9 months, 8 days).
• Oldest series Martinsville winner: Harry Gant (September 22, 1991 – 51 years, 8 months, 12 days).
• A total of 21 of the 144 NASCAR Cup Series races (14.6%) at Martinsville Speedway have been won from the pole or first starting position.  Note: Jimmie Johnson won the 2008 Martinsville Cup race from the first starting position due to qualifying being cancelled due to weather.
• Four of the 21 Cup Series wins at Martinsville from the first starting position came from active drivers:

• • Jimmie Johnson(2008, 2012 and Spring of 2013)
  • Denny Hamlin(2010)

• The first starting position is the most proficient starting spot in the field at Martinsville, producing more wins than any other starting position (21 victories – a winning percentage of 14.6%).
• 36 of the 144 (25.8%) NASCAR Cup Series races at Martinsville Speedway have been won from the front row: 21 from the first starting position and 15 from the second starting position.

NASCAR Cup Series Wins by Starting Positions at Martinsville Speedway

Note: In four of the early races at Martinsville Speedway (1950, Spring 1953, Fall 1953 and Spring 1954), the starting positions were not provided on the official race reports; therefore, the below chart is based off the provided starting positions of the winners of the remaining 140 races.

 

Starting Position	Wins	Winning %	Starting Position	Wins	Winning %
1	21	15.00%	14	6	4.29%
2	15	10.71%	15	4	2.86%
3	17	12.14%	16	1	0.71%
4	14	10.00%	17	4	2.86%
5	8	5.71%	18	1	0.71%
6	8	5.71%	19	2	1.43%
7	8	5.71%	20	3	2.14%
8	3	2.14%	21	2	1.43%
9	6	4.29%	22	1	0.71%
10	5	3.57%	23	2	1.43%
11	2	1.43%	24	1	0.71%
12	3	2.14%	36	1	0.71%
13	2	1.43%
Stats			Winning %	Wins
Winning from the first starting position:			15.00%	21
Winning from the front row:			25.71%	36
Winning from a top-five starting position:			53.57%	75
Winning from a top-10 starting position:			75.00%	105
Winning after starting outside the top 20:			5.00%	7

• The deepest in the field that a NASCAR Cup Series Martinsville Speedway race winner has started is 36th, by Kurt Busch in the fall of 2002.
• Martin Truex Jr. competed at Martinsville Speedway 28 times before winning in 2019; the longest span of any the nine active NASCAR Cup Series winners.
• Five active winners have made 10 or more attempts before their first win at Martinsville Speedway: Martin Truex Jr. (28), Kyle Busch (21) Ryan Newman (20), Kevin Harvick (19), Brad Keselowski (14).
• Aric Almirola leads the NASCAR Cup Series in starts without a win at Martinsville with 24 starts.
• In total 39 different car owners have won at Martinsville Speedway.

Top Five in Owner Wins at Martinsville Speedway (All-Time)

Organizations	Wins
Hendrick Motorsports	25
Petty Enterprises	19
Junior Johnson & Assoc.	12
Joe Gibbs Racing	11
Team Penske	9

 

• Hendrick Motorsports leads the NASCAR Cup Series in wins at Martinsville Speedway with 25 wins – Jeff Gordon (nine), Jimmie Johnson (nine), Darrell Waltrip (four), Geoffrey Bodine (one), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (one), Chase Elliott (one).
• A total of 11 manufacturers have won in the NASCAR Cup Series at Martinsville Speedway:

Rank	Manufacturer	Cup Wins
1	Chevrolet	57
2	Ford	30
3	Plymouth	12
4	Dodge	10
5	Toyota	9
6	Pontiac	8
7	Oldsmobile	8
8	Buick	3
9	Chrysler	3
10	Hudson	2
11	Mercury	2

ADDITIONAL FINISHING POSITIONS

Runner-Up Finishes

• A total of 69 NASCAR Cup Series drivers have finished runner-up at Martinsville Speedway.
• NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt leads the NASCAR Cup Series in second-place finishes with seven runner-up finishes (1987, 1989, 1990, 1994, 1997, 1999, 2000).
• Denny Hamlin (2006, 2009, 2018) and Kyle Busch (2012, 2017, 2018) lead all active drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series at Martinsville with three runner-up finishes each

 

Top Five in Runner-Up Finishes at Martinsville Speedway (All-Time & Active)

Rank	All-Time Drivers	Runner-Ups	Rank	Active Drivers	Runner-Ups
1	Dale Earnhardt	7	1	Denny Hamlin	3
2	Bobby Allison	6	2	Kyle Busch	3
3	Lee Petty	6	3	Brad Keselowski	2
4	Cale Yarborough	5	4	Ryan Blaney	2
5	Jeff Gordon	5	5	Chase Elliott	1
	Richard Petty	5		Joey Logano	1
				Martin Truex Jr	1
				Ryan Newman	1
				William Byron	1

 

Top-Five Finishes

• A total of 153 different NASCAR Cup Series drivers have finished in the top-five at Martinsville.
• NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty leads the NASCAR Cup Series in top-five finishes at Martinsville Speedway with 30; followed by Jeff Gordon with 29.
• Kyle Busch leads all active drivers with 16 top fives at Martinsville, followed by Denny Hamlin with 15 top-five finishes.

Top Five in Top-Five Finishes at Martinsville Speedway (All-Time & Active)

Rank	All-Time Drivers	Top Fives	Rank	Active Drivers	Top Fives
1	Richard Petty	30	1	Kyle Busch	16
2	Jeff Gordon	29	2	Denny Hamlin	15
3	Darrell Waltrip	27	3	Brad Keselowski	11
4	Jimmie Johnson	19	4	Joey Logano	8
5	Dale Earnhardt	18	5	Ryan Newman	8

Top-10 Finishes

• A total of 262 different NASCAR Cup Series drivers have finished in the top-10 at Martinsville.
• NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon leads the NASCAR Cup Series in top-10 finishes at Martinsville Speedway with 38 top 10s; followed by Richard Petty with 37.
• Denny Hamlin leads all active NASCAR Cup Series drivers in top 10s at Martinsville with 21; followed by Kevin Harvick with 19.

Top Five in Top-10 Finishes at Martinsville Speedway (All-Time & Active)

Rank	All-Time Drivers	Top 10s	Rank	Active Drivers	Top 10s
1	Jeff Gordon	38	1	Denny Hamlin	21
2	Richard Petty	37	2	Kevin Harvick	19
3	Darrell Waltrip	31	3	Kyle Busch	18
4	Bobby Allison	28	4	Ryan Newman	17
5	Terry Labonte	27	5	Brad Keselowski	16

Average Finish

• Dick Hutcherson (five starts) leads the series in average finishing position at Martinsville Speedway with a 3.8 average finish.
• Denny Hamlin (30 starts) leads the series among active drivers in average finishing position at Martinsville Speedway with a 9.933; followed by Brad Keselowski with a 10.182 average finish (22 starts).

Top 10 in Average Finishing Position at Martinsville Speedway (All-Time & Active)

Rank	All-Time Drivers	Avg Finish	Races	Rank	Active Drivers	Avg Finish	Races
1	Dick Hutcherson	3.800	5	1	Denny Hamlin	9.933	30
2	Frank Mundy	4.000	3	2	Brad Keselowski	10.182	22
3	Bill Amick	4.500	2	3	Ryan Blaney	10.700	10
4	Bill Snowden	5.000	2	4	Kyle Busch	12.194	31
5	Bud Moore	5.000	2	5	Joey Logano	12.375	24
6	Lee Petty	6.474	19	6	Chase Elliott	14.545	11
7	Swede Savage	6.500	2	7	Ryan Newman	14.816	38
8	Jeff Gordon	6.745	47	8	Kevin Harvick	14.923	39
9	Clyde Minter	8.000	4	9	Martin Truex Jr	17.000	30
10	Herb Thomas	8.000	7	10	Kurt Busch	19.732	41

 

TRACK/EVENT SPECIFIC STATS

• Qualifying has been cancelled 12 times in the NASCAR Cup Series at Martinsville Speedway:

No.	Date of Race	Drivers That Started First Due To Qualifying Cancelled	Reason
1	Sunday, May 17, 1953	Joe Eubanks	Weather
2	Sunday, May 16, 1954	Ralph Liguori	Weather
3	Sunday, October 16, 1955	Gwyn Staley	Weather
4	Sunday, September 24, 1995	Jeff Gordon	Weather
5	Sunday, October 19, 2008	Jimmie Johnson – Only one to win	Weather
6	Sunday, March 29, 2009	Jeff Gordon	Weather
7	Monday, March 29, 2010	Kevin Harvick	Weather
8	Sunday, October 30, 2011	Carl Edwards	Weather
9	Sunday, April 2, 2017	Kyle Larson	Weather
10	Monday, March 26, 2018	Martin Truex Jr	Weather
11	Wednesday, June 10, 2020	Ryan Blaney – Random Draw	Pandemic
12	Sunday, November 1, 2020	Brad Keselowski – Metric Qualifying	Pandemic

• Eight NASCAR Cup Series races at Martinsville Speedway have been shortened due to weather:

Date	Scheduled	Actual	Fewer Laps	Race Winner	Runner-up
Sunday, April 23, 1995	500	356	144	Rusty Wallace	Ted Musgrave
Sunday, April 24, 1977	500	384	116	Cale Yarborough	Benny Parsons
Sunday, September 26, 1976	500	340	160	Cale Yarborough	Darrell Waltrip
Sunday, September 30, 1973	500	480	20	Richard Petty	Cale Yarborough
Sunday, May 31, 1970	500	377	123	Bobby Isaac	Bobby Allison
Sunday, April 9, 1961	500	149	351	Fred Lorenzen	Rex White
Sunday, October 12, 1958	500	350	150	Fireball Roberts	Speedy Thompson
Sunday, October 17, 1954	200	165	35	Lee Petty	Hershel McGriff

• There have been six series races that have ended in NASCAR Overtime at Martinsville Speedway:

Date	Scheduled	Actual	Overtime	Race Winner	Runner-up
Sunday, October 29, 2017	500	505	5	Kyle Busch	Martin Truex Jr.
Sunday, April 1, 2012	500	515	15	Ryan Newman	AJ Allmendinger
Monday, March 29, 2010	500	508	8	Denny Hamlin	Joey Logano
Sunday, October 25, 2009	500	501	1	Denny Hamlin	Jimmie Johnson
Sunday, October 19, 2008	500	504	4	Jimmie Johnson	Dale Earnhardt Jr
Sunday, October 21, 2007	500	506	6	Jimmie Johnson	Ryan Newman

 

• Since the advent of electronic scoring in 1993, the closest margin of victory in the NASCAR Cup Series at Martinsville Speedway is the April 1, 2007 race won by Jimmie Johnson with a Margin of Victory of 0.065 second over second-place Jeff Gordon.

 

Top Five Closest NASCAR Cup Series Margins of Victory at Martinsville Speedway

Margin of Victory	Date	Race Winner	Runner-Up
0.065	Sunday, April 1, 2007	Jimmie Johnson	Jeff Gordon
0.107	Sunday, October 28, 2018	Joey Logano	Denny Hamlin
0.141	Sunday, October 29, 2017	Kyle Busch	Martin Truex Jr
0.141	Monday, October 15, 2001	Ricky Craven	Dale Jarrett
0.170	Sunday, October 30, 2011	Tony Stewart	Jimmie Johnson

LAP LEADERS

• A total of 152 different drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series have led at least one lap at Martinsville.
• NASCAR Hall of Famer Cale Yarborough leads the series in laps led at Martinsville Speedway with 3,851 laps led (29%) in 31 starts.

Rank	All-Time Drivers	Races	Led	Completed	% Led
1	Cale Yarborough	31	3,851	13,392	29%
2	Jeff Gordon	47	3,779	23,269	16%
3	Rusty Wallace	44	3,632	19,829	18%
4	Darrell Waltrip	52	3,617	23,727	15%
5	Richard Petty	67	2,964	27,891	11%
6	Jimmie Johnson	38	2,932	18,765	16%
7	Fred Lorenzen	17	2,731	6,638	41%
8	Bobby Allison	44	1,986	18,271	11%
9	Dale Earnhardt	44	1,947	18,907	10%
10	Denny Hamlin	30	1,608	14,523	11%

• The most laps led by the NASCAR Cup Series race winner at Martinsville Speedway was 493 laps led of the scheduled 500 (98.6%) by NASCAR Hall of Famer Fred Lorenzen on Sept. 27, 1964; he started from the pole.
• The most laps led by a NASCAR Cup Series driver that did not win the race at Martinsville Speedway was 432 laps led of the scheduled 500 (86.4%) by NASCAR Hall of Famer Bobby Allison on Sept. 24, 1972; he started from the pole but finished second.
• The fewest laps led by the NASCAR Cup Series race winner at Martinsville Speedway was four laps of the scheduled 500 by John Andretti on April 18, 1999; he started the race 21st.
• Denny Hamlin leads all active drivers in the series in laps led at Martinsville with 1,608 (11%) in 30 starts.

Rank	Active Drivers	Races	Led	Completed	% Led
1	Denny Hamlin	30	1,608	14,523	11%
2	Kyle Busch	31	1,429	15,188	9%
3	Joey Logano	24	1,083	11,976	9%
4	Martin Truex Jr	30	987	14,492	7%
5	Brad Keselowski	22	891	10,957	8%
6	Kevin Harvick	39	628	19,195	3%
7	Kurt Busch	41	487	19,883	2%
8	Chase Elliott	11	429	5,374	8%
9	Ryan Blaney	10	215	5,001	4%
10	Ryan Newman	38	196	18,592	1%

 

FEMALE COMPETITOR STATS

• Danica Patrick is the only female driver to compete at Martinsville Speedway in the NASCAR Cup Series. Below are Patrick’s stats at Martinsville.

Driver	Starting Position	Finishing Position	Date	Driver Rating
Danica Patrick	23	17	10/29/2017	61.7
Danica Patrick	29	23	4/2/2017	54.2
Danica Patrick	24	24	10/30/2016	53.2
Danica Patrick	28	16	4/3/2016	69.2
Danica Patrick	16	40	11/1/2015	49.8
Danica Patrick	16	7	3/29/2015	86.9
Danica Patrick	30	34	10/26/2014	61.3
Danica Patrick	10	32	3/30/2014	52.4
Danica Patrick	41	17	10/27/2013	64.7
Danica Patrick	32	12	4/7/2013	72.6
Averages	24.9	22.2		62.6

 

 

NASCAR IN VIRGINIA

• There have been 529 NASCAR national series races among 10 tracks in the state of Virginia.
• Martinsville Speedway hosted the very first NASCAR national series race in the state of Virginia on Sept. 25, 1949 – the NASCAR Cup Series event was won by Red Byron (Oldsmobile).

Track Name	City	Cup	Xfinity	Truck	Total	First Year
Martinsville Speedway	Martinsville	144	35	43	222	1949
Richmond Raceway	Richmond	128	74	12	214	1953
South Boston Speedway	South Boston	10	35	3	48	1960
Langley Field Speedway	Hampton	9	14	0	23	1964
Old Dominion Speedway	Manassas	7	0	0	7	1958
New River Valley Speedway	Dublin	0	4	0	4	1989
Southside Speedway	Richmond	4	0	0	4	1961
Starkey Speedway	Roanoke	4	0	0	4	1958
Norfolk Speedway	Norfolk	2	0	0	2	1956
Princess Anne Speedway	Norfolk	1	0	0	1	1953
Totals		309	162	58	529

VIRGINIA IN NASCAR

• A total of 184 different drivers with their home state recorded as Virginia have made at least one start in a NASCAR national series race.
• 19 drivers from Virginia have won at least one race in NASCAR’s three national series. 11 of the 19 Virginia native NASCAR winners have won in the NASCAR Cup Series.
• In total the drivers from Virginia have won 262 NASCAR national series races combined.

Rank	Driver	Cup	Xfinity	Truck	Combined
1	Denny Hamlin	44	17	2	63
2	Joe Weatherly	25	0	0	25
3	Ricky Rudd	23	1	0	24
4	Jeff Burton	21	27	0	48
5	Curtis Turner	17	0	0	17
6	Ward Burton	5	4	0	9
7	Glen Wood	4	0	0	4
8	Elliott Sadler	3	13	1	17
9	Emanuel Zervakis	2	0	0	2
10	Lennie Pond	1	0	0	1
11	Wendell Scott	1	0	0	1
12	Tommy Ellis	0	22	0	22
13	Jimmy Hensley	0	9	2	11
14	Rick Mast	0	9	0	9
15	Hermie Sadler	0	2	0	2
16	Elton Sawyer	0	2	0	2
17	Stacy Compton	0	0	2	2
18	Jon Wood	0	0	2	2
19	Jeb Burton	0	0	1	1
	Totals	146	106	10	262