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 400 on Sunday, April 9, at 7:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90).
Martinsville Speedway Track Data
Season Race #: 8 of 36 (04-09-22)
Track Size: 0.526-mile
Banking/Turn 1 & 2: 12 degrees
Banking/Turn 3 & 4: 12 degrees
Banking/Frontstretch & Backstretch: 0 degrees
Frontstretch & Backstretch Length: 800 feet
Race Length: 400 laps / 210.4 miles
Stage 1 & 2 Length: 130 laps (each)
Final Stage Length: 240 laps
Martinsville Speedway Qualifying/Race Records
Track qualifying record:
Joey Logano, Ford, 100.201 mph, 18.898 secs. March 26, 2014
Track race record:
Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 82.223 mph, (3:11:55), September 22, 1996
Martinsville Speedway – Stats & Tidbits:
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 Speedway 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 146 NASCAR Cup Series races at Martinsville Speedway, one in the inaugural year and two races per year since 1950. Martinsville Speedway has hosted the second-most NASCAR Cup Series points-paying races all-time (146) behind Daytona International Speedway (150).
STARTS
A total of 645 different drivers have competed in at least one NASCAR Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway; 419 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 NASCAR Cup Series in starts among active drivers at Martinsville Speedway with 43 starts; followed by Kevin Harvick (41).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 only 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.The best finish by a driver making their first career start in the NASCAR Cup Series at Martinsville Speedway was by Clyde Minter in 1949 when he started seventh and finished fourth.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)
RankAll-Time DriversAvg StartRacesRankActive DriversAvg StartRaces1Fonty Flock3.12591Joey Logano7.538262Fred Lorenzen4.294172Ryan Blaney7.750123Frankie Schneider5.00033Denny Hamlin8.313324Tim Flock5.889114Chase Elliott9.385135Cale Yarborough5.935315Kyle Busch10.758336Johnny Patterson6.00036Brad Keselowski11.375247Bobby Isaac6.067157Kyle Larson12.357148Dick Hutcherson6.20058Martin Truex Jr13.000329Joe Millikan6.20059Kevin Harvick13.6344110David Pearson6.5712810William Byron14.7508
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 (5)PolesJoey Logano5Denny Hamlin4Kyle Busch2Kurt Busch1Martin Truex Jr1Curtis 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 WinnersDate Curtis TurnerSunday, September 25, 1949Buck BakerSunday, May 21, 1950Fonty FlockSunday, October 15, 1950Perk BrownSunday, October 19, 1952Glen WoodSunday, October 12, 1958Bobby JohnsSunday, May 3, 1959Lennie PondSunday, April 23, 1978Ricky RuddSunday, April 26, 1981Ricky CravenSunday, April 21, 1996Kenny WallaceSunday, April 20, 1997Tony StewartSunday, April 18, 1999Scott RiggsSunday, April 10, 2005
WINS
A total of 55 different NASCAR Cup Series drivers have won at Martinsville Speedway.27 of the 55 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)WinsSeasonsDenny Hamlin52015, 2010 sweep, 2009, 2008Martin Truex Jr32021, 2020, 2019Brad Keselowski22019, 2017Kyle Busch22017, 2016Kurt Busch22014, 2002Alex Bowman12021Chase Elliott12020Joey Logano12018Kevin Harvick12011The 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) — tied with North Wilkesboro (R. Petty, 15 wins) for the most wins at a single track in the series.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 Lorenzen won 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 WinnersDateHerb ThomasSunday, October 15, 1950Dick RathmannSunday, April 6, 1952Jim PaschalSunday, October 18, 1953Jack SmithSunday, October 28, 1956Bob WelbornSunday, October 6, 1957Fred LorenzenSunday, April 9, 1961Earl RossSunday, September 29, 1974Dave MarcisSunday, September 28, 1975Morgan ShepherdSunday, April 26, 1981Harry GantSunday, April 25, 1982Geoff BodineSunday, April 29, 1984Ricky CravenMonday, October 15, 2001Youngest 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 146 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.Only one of the 21 Cup Series wins at Martinsville from the first starting position came from active drivers: 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 146 (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 142 races.
Starting PositionWinsWinning %Starting PositionWinsWinning %12114.79%1464.11%21510.56%1542.74%31711.97%1610.68%4149.86%1742.74%585.63%1810.68%685.63%1921.37%796.34%2032.05%832.11%2121.37%964.23%2210.68%1053.52%2321.37%1121.41%2410.68%1232.11%3610.68%1332.11% StatsWinning %WinsWinning from the first starting position:14.79%21Winning from the front row:25.35%36Winning from a top-five starting position:52.82%75Winning from a top-10 starting position:74.65%106Winning after starting outside the top 20:7.04%10The 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.Four active winners have made 10 or more attempts before their first win at Martinsville Speedway: Martin Truex Jr. (28), Kyle Busch (21), Kevin Harvick (19), Brad Keselowski (14).Aric Almirola leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series in starts without a win at Martinsville with 26 starts.In total 39 different car owners have won at Martinsville Speedway.
Top Five in Owner Wins at Martinsville Speedway (All-Time)
OrganizationsWinsHendrick Motorsports26Petty Enterprises19Junior Johnson & Assoc.12Joe Gibbs Racing12Team Penske9Hendrick Motorsports leads the NASCAR Cup Series in wins at Martinsville Speedway with 26 wins — Jeff Gordon (nine), Jimmie Johnson (nine), Darrell Waltrip (four), Geoffrey Bodine (one), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (one), Chase Elliott (one), Alex Bowman (one).A total of 11 manufacturers have won in the NASCAR Cup Series at Martinsville Speedway:RankManufacturerCup Wins1Chevrolet582Ford303Plymouth124Dodge105Toyota106Pontiac87Oldsmobile88Buick39Chrysler310Hudson211Mercury2
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).Kyle Busch (2012, 2017, 2018, 2021) leads 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)
RankAll-Time DriversRunner-UpsRankActive DriversRunner-Ups1Dale Earnhardt71Kyle Busch42Bobby Allison62Denny Hamlin33Lee Petty63AJ Allmendinger24Cale Yarborough54Brad Keselowski25Jeff Gordon5Chase Elliott2 Richard Petty5 Ryan Blaney2
Top-Five Finishes
A total of 154 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 17 top fives at Martinsville, followed by Denny Hamlin with 16 top-five finishes.
Top Five in Top-Five Finishes at Martinsville Speedway (All-Time & Active)
RankAll-Time DriversTop FivesRankActive DriversTop Fives1Richard Petty301Kyle Busch172Jeff Gordon292Denny Hamlin163Darrell Waltrip273Brad Keselowski124Jimmie Johnson194Martin Truex Jr95Dale Earnhardt185Joey Logano8
Top-10 Finishes
A total of 266 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 22; followed by Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch with 20 each.
Top Five in Top-10 Finishes at Martinsville Speedway (All-Time & Active)
RankAll-Time DriversTop 10sRankActive DriversTop 10s1Jeff Gordon381Denny Hamlin222Richard Petty372Kevin Harvick203Darrell Waltrip313Kyle Busch204Bobby Allison284Brad Keselowski175Terry Labonte275Martin Truex Jr15
Average Finish
Dick Hutcherson (five starts) leads the series in average finishing position at Martinsville Speedway with a 3.8 average finish.Denny Hamlin (32 starts) leads the series among active drivers in average finishing position at Martinsville Speedway with a 10.156.
Top 10 in Average Finishing Position at Martinsville Speedway (All-Time & Active)
RankAll-Time DriverAvg StartRacesRankActive DriversAvg FinishRaces1Dick Hutcherson3.80051Denny Hamlin10.156322Frank Mundy4.00032Ryan Blaney10.750123Bill Amick4.50023Brad Keselowski10.833244Bill Snowden5.00024Kyle Busch11.818335Bud Moore5.00025Joey Logano12.038266Lee Petty5.542246Chase Elliott13.692137Swede Savage6.50027Kevin Harvick14.707418Jeff Gordon6.745478Martin Truex Jr16.094329Dick Rathmann7.00059Tyler Reddick16.500410Glenn Dunaway8.667310Christopher Bell16.7504
TRACK/EVENT SPECIFIC STATS
Qualifying has been cancelled 14 times in the NASCAR Cup Series at Martinsville Speedway:No.Date of RaceDrivers That Started First Due To Qualifying CancelledReason1Sunday, May 17, 1953Joe EubanksWeather2Sunday, May 16, 1954Ralph LiguoriWeather3Sunday, October 16, 1955Gwyn StaleyWeather4Sunday, September 24, 1995Jeff GordonWeather5Sunday, October 19, 2008Jimmie Johnson — Only one to winWeather6Sunday, March 29, 2009Jeff GordonWeather7Monday, March 29, 2010Kevin HarvickWeather8Sunday, October 30, 2011Carl EdwardsWeather9Sunday, April 2, 2017Kyle LarsonWeather10Monday, March 26, 2018Martin Truex JrWeather11Wednesday, June 10, 2020Ryan Blaney – Random DrawPandemic12Sunday, November 1, 2020Brad Keselowski – Metric QualifyingPandemic13Sunday, April 11, 2021Joey Logano – Metric QualifyingPandemic14Sunday, October 31, 2021Kyle Larson – Metric QualifyingPandemicEight NASCAR Cup Series races at Martinsville Speedway have been shortened due to weather:DateScheduledActualFewer LapsRace WinnerRunner-upSunday, April 23, 1995500356144Rusty WallaceTed MusgraveSunday, April 24, 1977500384116Cale YarboroughBenny ParsonsSunday, September 26, 1976500340160Cale YarboroughDarrell WaltripSunday, September 30, 197350048020Richard PettyCale YarboroughSunday, May 31, 1970500377123Bobby IsaacBobby AllisonSunday, April 9, 1961500149351Fred LorenzenRex WhiteSunday, October 12, 1958500350150Fireball RobertsSpeedy ThompsonSunday, October 17, 195420016535Lee PettyHershel McGriffThere have been seven series races that have ended in NASCAR Overtime at Martinsville Speedway:DateScheduledActualOvertimeRace WinnerRunner-upSunday, October 31, 20215005011Alex BowmanKyle BuschSunday, October 29, 20175005055Kyle BuschMartin Truex Jr.Sunday, April 1, 201250051515Ryan NewmanAJ AllmendingerMonday, March 29, 20105005088Denny HamlinJoey LoganoSunday, October 25, 20095005011Denny HamlinJimmie JohnsonSunday, October 19, 20085005044Jimmie JohnsonDale Earnhardt JrSunday, October 21, 20075005066Jimmie JohnsonRyan NewmanSince 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 VictoryDateRace WinnerRunner-Up0.065Sunday, April 1, 2007Jimmie JohnsonJeff Gordon0.107Sunday, October 28, 2018Joey LoganoDenny Hamlin0.141Sunday, October 29, 2017Kyle BuschMartin Truex Jr0.141Monday, October 15, 2001Ricky CravenDale Jarrett0.170Sunday, October 30, 2011Tony StewartJimmie 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.RankAll-Time DriversRacesLedCompleted% Led1Cale Yarborough313,85113,39229%2Jeff Gordon473,77923,26916%3Rusty Wallace443,63219,82918%4Darrell Waltrip523,61723,72715%5Richard Petty672,96427,89111%6Jimmie Johnson382,93218,76516%7Fred Lorenzen172,7316,63841%8Denny Hamlin321,98715,52413%9Bobby Allison441,98618,27111%10Dale Earnhardt441,94718,90710%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 1,987 (13%) in 32 starts.RankActive DriversRacesLedCompleted% Led1Denny Hamlin321,98715,52413%2Kyle Busch331,42916,1899%3Joey Logano261,09812,9778%4Martin Truex Jr321,01615,4937%5Brad Keselowski2489111,8438%6Chase Elliott137186,37511%7Kevin Harvick4162820,1963%8Kurt Busch4348720,8822%9Ryan Blaney123726,0026%10Kyle Larson141126,3372%
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.DriverStarting PositionFinishing PositionDateDriver RatingDanica Patrick231710/29/201761.7Danica Patrick29234/2/201754.2Danica Patrick242410/30/201653.2Danica Patrick28164/3/201669.2Danica Patrick164011/1/201549.8Danica Patrick1673/29/201586.9Danica Patrick303410/26/201461.3Danica Patrick10323/30/201452.4Danica Patrick411710/27/201364.7Danica Patrick32124/7/201372.6Averages24.922.2 62.6
NASCAR IN VIRGINIA
There have been 540 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).Virginia NASCAR TracksCityCupXfinityTruckTotalFirst YearMartinsville SpeedwayMartinsville14637442271949Richmond RacewayRichmond13176132201953South Boston SpeedwaySouth Boston10353481960Langley Field SpeedwayHampton9140231964Old Dominion SpeedwayManassas70071958New River Valley SpeedwayDublin04041989Southside SpeedwayRichmond40041961Starkey SpeedwayRoanoke40041958Norfolk SpeedwayNorfolk20021956Princess Anne SpeedwayNorfolk10011953Totals31416660540
VIRGINIA IN NASCAR
A total of 185 different drivers with their home state recorded as Virginia have made at least one start in a NASCAR national series race.20 drivers from Virginia have won at least one race in NASCAR‘s three national series. 11 of the 20 Virginia native NASCAR winners have won in the NASCAR Cup Series.In total the drivers from Virginia have won 267 NASCAR national series races combined.RankDriverCupXfinityTruckCombined1Denny Hamlin47172662Joe Weatherly2500253Ricky Rudd2310244Jeff Burton21270485Curtis Turner1700176Ward Burton54097Glen Wood40048Elliott Sadler3131179Emanuel Zervakis200210Lennie Pond100111Wendell Scott100112Tommy Ellis02202213Jimmy Hensley0921114Rick Mast090915Hermie Sadler020216Elton Sawyer020217Brandon Brown010118Jeb Burton011219Stacy Compton002220Jon Wood0022Totals14910810267
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