Proceed with caution: Chase drivers react to debut of double-file restarts at Martinsville
Double-file restarts will be used for the first time at Martinsville Speedway in Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race. // Mark Sluder, NASCAR Scene
As the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series heads to Martinsville Speedway this weekend, everyone will be chasing Hendrick Motorsports' Jimmie Johnson and hoping to break his stranglehold on victory lane at the .526-mile oval.
The three-time defending series champion has won five of the last six Cup races at the short track and heads into this weekend’s Tums Fast Relief 500 with a commanding 90-point lead over Hendrick teammate Mark Martin in NASCAR’s Chase For The Sprint Cup.
In addition, Johnson has momentum on his side. He has notched three of his six 2009 victories during the first five Chase races. He has won the last two races and is coming off a performance in which he won from the pole position last Saturday night at Lowe’s Motor Speedway.
But as good as Johnson has been at Martinsville, he is not taking anything for granted, especially since double-file restarts will be used for the first time at the track in Sunday’s race.
“I think that double-file restarts are going to make it more intense and more exciting; a lot of the same stuff we've been seeing,” said Johnson, who has now gone 31 consecutive Chase races finishing in the top 15 and has 17 wins in 55 Chase starts.
“I think at the start of a race, you might see some guys forcing their way to the bottom and maybe taking some unneeded risks to get down to the bottom lane. But I think at the end of the race you'll see guys stuck door to door for a long, long time and not able to clear the other guy and take that position. I think it's going to be a great race.”
Mark Martin, who has not been victorious at Martinsville since 2000, is also concerned about those restarts.
“It's probably going to get a little intense sometimes,” Martin said. “But overall, I don't think it will be any crazier than it has been in most other races."
Meanwhile, other title contenders are hoping to gain ground on the pair this weekend.
Penske Racing’s Kurt Busch, who sits fifth in the standings, is hoping he fares better at Martinsville than he did in this year’s race there in the spring. Busch started on the front row but lost track position and had to settle for an 18th-place finish. Like those in front of him, he’ll be keeping an eye on the double-file restarts.
“We’ve already seen just how perilous it can get out there on the other tracks with the double-file restarts, and this will no doubt be the most treacherous situation yet,” Busch said. “As bad as it has been in the past, with the lapped cars in one lane and the lead lappers in the other, this will be the insane end of impossible.”
While Busch is trying to turn things around, Richard Petty Motorsports’ Kasey Kahne and Hendrick’s Jeff Gordon look to continue their recent upswing in performance. Kahne is coming off his first top-five finish since winning at Atlanta Motor Speedway in September. He’s ninth in the Chase standings after climbing a couple of spots last weekend, but trails Johnson by 331 points.
Kahne has has only one top-five finish at the track, and that came in 2005, but he believes he has improved at the track.
“As a driver, I’ve learned a lot about racing here. But I also think that my car has gotten better at this track,” Kahne said. “The first time I was here, I could barely go around it. I wasn’t even close to qualifying well here. The next year, I was better, and the car drove 10 times better than the year before, and we ran second. It’s a tough track, and I think that some people pick this track up quicker than others, but I also think that you need a car with a good setup to win a race here.”
Four-time Cup champion Gordon, who has finished sixth or better in the last four Chase races, should be confident of his chances this weekend as well. Even though his teammate Johnson has stolen the spotlight the past few seasons, Gordon leads active drivers in victories at Martinsville with seven.
“Our job is the same as always: Go there, make the car go through the corners as fast as we can, make sure we're not burning up the brakes, and get the car up off the corner and down the straightaways the best we possibly can against the competition,” Gordon said.
