Pre-Martinsville Pontifications
This week brings the second consecutive week at a short track and the second appearance of NASCAR’s CORN. If qualifying is any indication the boys in the Joe Gibbs stable may duplicate the dominating performance of last week. Assuming their fuel problems are solved.
JGR teammates Denny Hamlin, Tony Stewart and J.J. Yeley combined to lead 443 laps in the CORN’s debut race last week at Bristol Motor Speedway, and all three qualified in the top 10 for Sunday’s Goody’s Cool Orange 500 at Martinsville Speedway.
Hamlin won the pole for Sunday’s race with a fast lap of 19.911 seconds (95.103 miles per hour). Yeley qualified fifth (20.025), and Stewart was seventh (20.035).
Tony Stewart still holds the qualifying record set in 2005 with a time of 19.306 sec.
Jamie McMurrary backed up his first top ten of the year at Bristol and will start on the front row beside Hamlin missing the pole by 0.031 seconds.
Jeffy also seems to have the CORN dialed in after a pole and 3rd place last week and setting 3rd fast time this week.
Ken Schrader had to make the field on time and qualified fourth, his best qualifying effort since starting fourth for the 2003 spring Martinsville race.
OTHER NOTES: File this under things you didn’t know about the CORN. According to Dave Fairbank it comes equiped with “snazzy cupholders and a GPS system that allows drivers to avoid Robby Gordon.”
Here is a bit of trivia: What race team at Martinsville this weekend has a pit crew that counts among its members three African-Americans?
As for my pick this week I have to go with Smoke. Bad luck can’t happen every week, and despite his feelings for the place (”If I have a love-hate relationship with Martinsville, then we’re missing the love part of the equation.”) he along with the kid Hamlin are on a roll.
Under the heading of hedging-my-bets-on-April-Fools-Day I’ll pick Ken Schrader to win. And you heard it here first.
Martinville Speedway, Sports, NASCAR, NEXTEL Cup, Full Throttle, Auto racing, Motorsports
