JD Motorsports and Landon Cassill Join Forces for 2013

JD Motorsports with Gary Keller has inked a deal with Landon Cassill to be the primary driver of the No. 4 Flex Seal Chevrolet for the remainder of the 2013 NASCAR Nationwide Series. The agreement covers all the companion events on the NASCAR Nationwide Series schedule, beginning next week at Texas Motor Speedway.

Cassill, 23, comes to the team with a vast racing experience over the past five years, including winning the 2008 NASCAR Nationwide Series Rookie of the Year. He began his racing career when he first entered a quad race at the tender age of three-years-old, then progressing to karting where he won two Kart Series National Championships and four International Kart Federation Championships.

Quickly adapting, Cassill then became the youngest winner in the ASA Late Model Series in 2003 by a winning a North Series event at Lake Erie Speedway at the age of 14, his first foray into stock car racing. Cassill began his NASCAR career through the GM Racing Development competition and was signed by NASCAR powerhouse Hendrick Motorsports in December of 2006. He was then tasked with testing the team’s Car of Tomorrow program as the lead driver in their research and development department which accumulated 13 of the first 16 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series COT race wins.

In 2008 Cassill began a stint at JR Motorsports where he ended the season with 19 starts, five top-10’s, one pole and the NASCAR Nationwide Series Raybestos Rookie of the Year honor. Cassill continued testing with Hendrick Motorsports and completed one start in Phoenix Racing’s No. 1 Miccosukee Chevrolet at Memphis Motorsports Park in 2009, where he finished 10th.

The year 2009 saw Cassill take on the challenge of qualifying for his very first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series events. 2012 marked Cassill’s first full-time season on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Cassill drove the No. 83 Burger King Toyota to seven top-20 finishes for start-up team BK Racing. For 2013, Landon will also be competing in the Sprint Cup Series, racing the No. 33 Circle Sport Chevrolet.

“JD Motorsports is pleased to announce the addition of Landon Cassill to our team. His experience in both the Nationwide Series and the Sprint Cup Series will help to improve our entire program,” stated Johnny Davis, owner and CEO of JD Motorsports.

“We are very excited to have Landon on the team. Landon brings with him a great deal of experience and success and we think he’ll do a tremendous job moving the team forward. We would love to see him in the winner’s circle!” stated Phil Swift, owner of Swift Response LLC, maker of Flex Seal. Flex Seal, in Original and Brite, both spray out a liquid that seeps into cracks and holes, and dries to a watertight, flexible rubberized coating. Flex Seal and Flex Seal Brite seal out water and last for years. Use Flex Seal for: Gutters, Roofs, Pipes, Windows, Trim, Cement Driveways, Fountains & More.

“I am really happy to be joining JD Motorsports and racing the No. 4 Flex Seal Chevrolet in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. I went down to the shop and met with Johnny and the guys, and I am excited for the opportunity. I look forward to helping them improve over the course of the season, and I believe we can race competitively starting at Texas.” -Landon Cassill

- JD Motorsports Release

Gander Mountain to Sponsor MWR's No.15 Car at Texas

Gander Mountain, the nation’s largest retail network of outdoor specialty stores for hunting, fishing, camping, marine and outdoor lifestyle products and services, today announced it will sponsor Michael Waltrip Racing’s No. 15 car driven by NASCAR star Clint Bowyer in the Sprint Cup Series NRA 500 on Saturday, April 13, at Texas Motor Speedway.

During next Saturday’s prime time event, Gander Mountain will showcase on Michael Waltrip Racing’s popular No. 15 car the company’s firearms responsibility call to action: “With Rights Comes Responsibility; Secure Your Firearms.”  Beginning this Friday, April 5, Gander Mountain is encouraging firearms owners to take a responsibility pledge at GanderMountain.com and use the hashtag #responsibilitypledge in social media to raise awareness and encourage accountability on the subject of responsible ownership.

“As a leading outdoors retailer, Gander Mountain is committed to the mandate of responsible firearms ownership, and the importance of guarding against firearms getting into the hands of the underaged, untrained and unauthorized,” said Steve Uline, executive vice president of marketing for Gander Mountain.  “We believe that with rights comes responsibility.  For existing firearms owners and those considering becoming an owner, personal responsibility is paramount.  

“Even in the case of owners who understand the importance of responsibility, everyone should take the opportunity to revisit the security of their firearms.”

Gander Mountain’s partnership with Michael Waltrip Racing and Clint Bowyer provides an ideal stage, televised to a nationwide audience during primetime, to deliver the imperative message that responsible firearms ownership should never be optional, Uline said.

“The race track and racing fans are the perfect environment in which to launch our responsible ownership initiative,” Uline said.  “In addition to being one of NASCAR’s superstar drivers, Clint Bowyer also is an avid outdoorsman who is personally committed to responsible firearms ownership.”

“Anyone who knows me knows I love to hunt and be outdoors,” Bowyer said. “I’m partnering with Gander Mountain because we both believe that with rights comes responsibility.  Most people think they are responsible firearm owners, but we want to make sure that when firearms are stored they are secured and locked up – meaning with gun safes and trigger locks.”

Sponsorship of Bowyer’s No. 15 at Texas is just one facet of Gander Mountain’s integrated marketing and communications effort driving the “With Rights Comes Responsibility; Secure Your Firearms” initiative.  In addition to pledge at GanderMountain.com, the company is raising awareness via newspaper advertising, website presence, social media and point-of-sale this month, with additional responsibility initiatives planned for later in the year.  

Gander Mountain’s commitment to responsible ownership goes beyond marketing, including training thousands of firearms users annually via safety classes and private instruction.  Also, Gander Mountain is initiating a company policy calling for all employees to ask all customers who purchase a firearm if they are properly equipped to safeguard it. 

- Michael Waltrip Racing News

NASCAR Driver Statistics - Martinsville

Not all teams announce their weekly race previews'. Here is a list of those teams that do reveal the information in the teams race preview: 

#1- Jamie McMurray - McMurray will make his 21st start this weekend at Martinsville Speedway.  McMurray has accumulated one pole, 10-top-10 finishes and one top-five.  He has an average starting position of 15.3 and an average finishing position of 17.  McMurray’s best finish at the track came in the fall race of 2004, when he came to the checkered in second.

#2- Brad Keselowski - Keselowski will make his 7th start this weekend at Martinsville. He has 3 top 10's at the track with a best finish of 6th in October of 2012. He has an average start of19.833, an average finish of 12.167 and has led 10 laps. 

#5- Kasey Kahne -  In 18 Cup starts at Martinsville Speedway, Kahne has recorded two top-five finishes and three top-10s. He scored his best result at the short track in April 2005 when he rallied from a 35th-place starting spot to finish second. The driver of the No. 5 Farmers Insurance Chevrolet SS scored the pole position at the half-mile oval in April 2012 and has qualified sixth or better six times at the Virginia short track. Most recently, Kahne led 12 laps and scored a third-place finish at Martinsville in October 2012.

#7- Dave Blaney - Blaney has an impressive 34 starts at Martinsville Speedway. His best finish came in 2005, when he took the checkers in 16th position. Dave has an average finish on 31.4.

#9- Marcos Ambrose - Ambrose has secured three top-15 finishes at the paper clip track in his eight career starts, including a 15th-place finish last spring. With his strong road course skills, Ambrose knows how to conserve his brake package to be able to drive aggressively at the end of the 500-lap race.

#10-Danica Patrick - The STP Gas Booster 500 at Martinsville Speedway will mark Danica Patrick’s 16th career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start and her first stock car start of any kind at Martinsville

#14-Tony Stewart - Stewart has three wins, three poles, seven top-threes, nine top-fives, 15 top-10s and has led a total of 1,208 laps in his 28 career Sprint Cup starts at Martinsville. His average start is 13.0, his average finish is 13.7 and he has a lap completion rate of 96.1 percent.

#15- Clint Bowyer -  Bowyer will make his 15th NSCS start at Martinsville Speedway on April 7. In 14 previous starts, Bowyer has two top-fives (fifth in 2009-1, 2012-1) and eight top-10 finishes. His best starting position was third in 2009-1. Bowyer has an average starting position of 16th and finish of 14th. He has led 247 laps, including at least one lap in three of his last four starts at Martinsville.

#16- Greg Biffle - Biffle has 20 Sprint Cup Series starts at Martinsville.  In those starts he has earned three top-10 finishes, including one last fall during the Chase.  The team is returning this weekend with that same chassis.

#17- Ricky Stenhouse Jr. -  Stenhouse will make his first Sprint Cup career start at Martinsville Speedway this weekend. Stenhouse has never raced in any series at Martinsville. He is currently 12th in the point standings, 60 points behind the leader.

#18- Kyle Busch - Busch has seven top-five and eight top-10 finishes, and has led a total of 397 laps in his 16 career Sprint Cup starts at Martinsville. His average Martinsville finish is 16.8. 

#20- Matt Kenseth -  In 26 Sprint Cup Series starts at Martinsville, Kenseth has completed 12,901 of 13,034 laps (99.0 percent).  Kenseth has led for a total of 73 laps and has earned three top-five and eight top-ten finishes at the half-mile track.   A runner-up finish is Kenseth’s career best finish at Martinsville (April 2002).

#22- Joey Logano - Logano will make his 9th start this week at Martinsville. In 8 previous starts he has 1 top 5 and 2 top 10's, his best being a 2nd place finish in March of 2010. His average start is 16.250 with an average finish of 15.250.

#24- Jeff Gordon - In 40 starts at Martinsville Speedway, Gordon has seven wins, 25 top-fives and 32 top-10′s. He has been running at the finish in all 40 events, and the four-time NASCAR Cup Series champion has led 3,515 laps on the 0.526-mile track. Cale Yarborough tops that list with 3,784, a difference of 269 laps. Gordon has led 269 or more laps at Martinsville three times, including pacing the field for 329 laps in this event last year. Along with seven wins, Gordon also has seven poles at Martinsville, one off the track record held by Darrell Waltrip. Gordon has posted 20 consecutive seasons (1993 – 2012) with a pole, tying him with David Pearson for the most all-time.

#27- Paul Menard -  Menard has 11 starts at Martinsville Speedway. His best start of ninth came in 2010 and 2012 and best finish of 12th came in 2012. The Wisconsin native has completed 5,279 of 5,534 laps attempted (95.4 percent) at the half-mile oval.

#29- Kevin Harvick - Harvick has made 23 NSCS starts at Martinsville Speedway since 2001. During that time he has scored one win (April 2011), three top fives and 10 top-10 finishes. He has completed 97.4 percent of the laps run in those 21 races (11,236 of 11,534) and led a total of 363 laps at the short track. Harvick holds an average starting position of 13.3 and an average finish of 16.7 at Martinsville.

#31- Jeff Burton - Burton grew up an hour away from Martinsville Speedway in South Boston, Va. and Sunday’s event marks his 37th start at the half-mile facility. He has amassed 10 top-five and 16 top-10 finishes, led 940 laps and made one trip to Victory Lane in 1997.

#36- J J Yeley - Yeley has a total of 9 starts at the 1/2 mile track in Virginia. His best finish came in 2006, when he ended the race in 20th position. Yeley’s average finish is 33.3.

#39- Ryan Newman - In 22 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at Martinsville, Newman boasts one win, seven top-five finishes and 11 top-10s. Additionally, the 35-year-old from South Bend, Ind., has led 194 laps of competition, has an average starting position of ninth, an average finish of 13.6 and has completed 96.7 percent of the laps he’s contested (10,673 of 11,034) at the paperclip-shaped oval.

#42- Juan Pablo Montoya - Montoya will make his 12th at Martinsville Speedway this weekend.  In his NSCS career Montoya has earned two top-five finishes, three top-10 finishes and has led 46 laps at the track.  Montoya has zero DNF’s (did not finish) and has completed 5,918  of 6,034 laps (98.1%).  Montoya’s highest starting position is fifth in the 2010 fall race and his highest finish is third in the 2009 fall race.

#43- Aric Almirola - Almirola has 8 starts at Martinsville, scoring 1 top 5, 2 top 10's with only 3 DNF's. His best finish was 4th place in October of 2012 and he has led 56 laps at the half mile paper clip shaped track.

#47- Bobby Labonte - Martinsville Speedway has held 128 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races where there have been 57 pole winners and 47 race winners. Bobby Labonte is one of those drivers that owns a pole (4/23/95) and a victory (4/14/02) and has six top-five and 14 top-10 finishes at the .526-mile short track. The 2000 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion has led 320 laps at Martinsville. He also won a NASCAR Nationwide Series race (10/18/92) at the venue.

#48- Jimmie Johnson - Johnson’s Martinsville Quick Stats: Seven wins (October 2012, April 2009, October 2008, April and October 2007, October 2006, October 2004) in 22 starts. The total is a career best and ties Johnson’s total at Dover (Del.) International Speedway.  Johnson can move into sole possession of third place on the all-time Martinsville wins list with a win Sunday. He is currently tied with Rusty Wallace and Jeff Gordon with seven wins. Richard Petty is first with 15 wins, followed by Darrell Waltrip with 11.  Five of Johnson’s Martinsville victories occurred during the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.  Two poles (October 2012 and April 2006).  15 top-five finishes (68.2 percent) and 19 top-10s (86.4 percent) in 22 starts. In 22 races, has finished outside the top-10 only three times (12th in April 2012; 11th in April 2011, 35th in April 2002). Average start is 11.9 and average finish is 5.5. One DNF (Did Not Finish) – April 2002. Has completed 10,980 of 11,034 laps (99.5 percent) and led 1,981.

#51- Regan Smith - Smith has eight Cup Series starts at the half-mile, paperclip-shaped oval. He’s finished inside the top 20 three times and scored top-15s in two events. His best finish is 13th place, which he achieved in 2011.

#55- Brian Vickers -  Vickers owns 15 starts at Martinsville Speedway. He has three top-10 finishes and had led 27 laps of competition.

#88- Dale Earnhardt Jr - This weekend’s race will mark Earnhardt’s 475th start in a sanctioned Sprint Cup points-paying event and his 600th overall in NASCAR competition. He also has tallied 125 starts in the NASCAR Nationwide Series.  In 26 Sprint Cup starts at Martinsville Speedway, Earnhardt has scored 10 top-five finishes, 14 top-10s and has led 868 laps. He recorded a career-best runner-up finish at the Virginia short track behind the wheel of the No. 88 Chevrolet in October 2008 and again in April 2011.

#99- Carl Edwards - In 17 starts at the 0.526-mile track, Edwards has one top-five and five top-10 finishes. His average start is 18.1, and his average finish is 16.1.  Edwards has completed 97.9 percent (8351 of 8534) of laps in Cup competition attempted at Martinsville Speedway.  

- Reported in Team News/Press Releases

Go Green Racing Announces First NASCAR Cup Race of 2013

Go Green Racing announced that they will attempt their first NASCAR Sprint Cup series race of the 2013 season at Richmond International Raceway on April 27th for the Toyota Owners 400.

 The #79 Ford Fusion team had plans to start their season earlier in the year, but with the limited availability of parts for the new Gen 6 cars, as well as building them, delayed the start. 

Go Green Racing expects to compete in 8-10 events this season with hopes of running the entire races as funding permits. The team has had conversations with several drivers for the #79 Ford Fusion and hopes to make an announcement in the coming weeks as to who that will be. 

Go Green Racing, founded by Maine native Archie St. Hilaire, has enjoyed success in the NASCAR Nationwide series over the past several years before fielding a NSCS entry last season on a limited schedule. The team qualified for six races including the Southern 500, Brickyard 400, and both races at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

- Go Green Racing News

Goodyear Tire Fast Facts - Martinsville

GOODYEAR TIRE NOTES 

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series -- Race No. 6 – STP Gas Boosters 500 
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series -- Race No. 2 – Kroger 250 
Martinsville Speedway (0.526-mile oval) – 
Fast Facts for April 5-7, 2013 

Tire: Goodyear Eagle Short Track Radials (Sprint Cup); 
Goodyear Wrangler Short Track Radials (Camping World Truck) 

Set limits: Sprint Cup: 5 sets for practice/qualifying, and 11 sets for 
the race; 
Camping World Truck: 4 sets for the event 

Number of Tires: Sprint Cup: Left-side -- 1,325, Right-side -- 1,325; 
Camping World Truck: Left-side – 325, Right-side -- 325 

Tire Codes: Left-side -- D-4588; Right-side -- D-4590 

Tire Circumference: Left-side -- 87.5 in. (2,222 mm); Right-side -- 
88.6 in. (2,250 mm) 

Technical Inspection Inflation: Left Front -- 25 psi; Left Rear -- 25 
psi 
Right Front -- 25 psi; Right Rear -- 25 psi 

Minimum Recommended Inflation: Left Front -- 10 psi; Left Rear -- 10 
psi; 
Right Front -- 23 psi; Right Rear -- 22 psi 

Teams in both NASCAR series in action at Martinsville this week 
will run the same tire codes, though the Sprint Cup tires will be 
branded "Goodyear Eagle," while the Camping World Truck tires will be 
branded "Goodyear Wrangler". This is the first time these teams 
have run on either of these two tire codes. Compared to what was 
run at Martinsville last year, this left-side tire code (D-4588) 
features slight construction and compound changes, while this 
right-side code (D-4590) features a minor compound change and has 
slightly less gage (tread depth). This tire set-up came out of a 
Goodyear test at Martinsville last August 7-8. Drivers and teams 
participating in that Gen-6 test were Carl Edwards in the No. 99 Roush 
Fenway Racing Ford, Kevin Harvick in the No. 29 Richard Childress 
Racing Chevrolet, Jimmie Johnson in the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports 
Chevrolet and Martin Truex Jr. in the No. 56 Michael Waltrip Racing 
Toyota. As on most NASCAR ovals one mile or less in length, teams 
will not run inner liners in their tires at Martinsville.

- Goodyear Racing News

Martinsville Speedway History and Notes

At Martinsville Speedway:

History:
Opened in September 1947 by H. Clay Earles, Martinsville, 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 Sprint Cup race was Sept. 25, 1949.

The track was paved in 1955.

The first 500-lap event at Martinsville was in 1956.

Concrete corners were added atop asphalt in 1976.

Notebook
There have been 128 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Martinsville Speedway, one in the inaugural year and two races per year since 1950.

589 drivers have competed in at least one NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Martinsville; 372 in more than one.

NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty has the all-time most NASCAR Sprint Cup starts at Martinsville with 67 starts; Terry Labonte has the most among active drivers with 53.

Curtis Turner won the inaugural Coors Light pole at Martinsville Speedway in 1949.

57 drivers have Coors Light poles at Martinsville, led by NASCAR Hall of Famer Darrell Waltrip with eight; Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with seven.

11 drivers have won two or more consecutive Coors Light poles at Martinsville Speedway. Four of the 11 have won 3 consecutive poles at Martinsville: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).

Youngest Martinsville pole winner: Ricky Rudd (4/26/1981 – 24 years, 7 months, 14 days).

Oldest Martinsville pole winner: Morgan Shepherd (4/26/1987 – 45 years, 6 months, 14 days).

47 different drivers have won at Martinsville Speedway, led by Richard Petty (15); Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson lead the series among active drivers with seven wins each.

23 drivers have multiple wins at Martinsville Speedway only five active drivers have multiple wins: Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson (seven); Denny Hamlin (four); Tony Stewart (three) and Mark Martin (two).

Hendrick Motorsports and Petty Enterprises are tied for the lead in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series for the most wins at Martinsville Speedway with 19 each.

20 of 128 races at Martinsville Speedway have been won from the Coors Light pole; six of those 20 wins came from active drivers: Tony Stewart (2000),Jeff Gordon (2003 twice), Jimmie Johnson (2008, 2012) and Denny Hamlin (2010).

The Coors Light pole is the most proficient starting spot in the field at Martinsville producing more wins than any other starting position in the field.

35 NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Martinsville Speedway have been won from the front row: 20 from the pole and 15 from second-place.

93 of the 128 NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Martinsville Speedway have been won from a top-10 starting position.

Five of the 128 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Martinsville Speedway have been won from a starting position outside the top 20.

The deepest in the field that a race winner has started was 36th, by Kurt Busch in the fall of 2002.

Youngest Martinsville winner: Richard Petty (04/10/1960 – 22 years, 9 months, 8 days).

Oldest Martinsville winner: Harry Gant (09/22/1991 – 51 years, 8 months, 12 days).

NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt leads the series in runner-up finishes at Martinsville Speedway with seven; Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with four, followed by his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson with three.

Richard Petty leads the series in top-five finishes at Martinsville Speedway with 30; Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with 25, followed by Jimmie Johnson with 15.

Richard Petty leads the series in top-10 finishes at Martinsville Speedway with 37; Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with 32, followed by Terry Labonte (27) and Mark Martin (25).

Jeff Gordon leads active drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in average starting position at Martinsville Speedway with a 7.225. Ryan Newman is the only other active driver with an average starting position at Martinsville in the top 10 (9.045).

Three active drivers have a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series average finish in the top at Martinsville: Jimmie Johnson (5.545), Jeff Gordon (7.075) andDenny Hamlin (8.200).

There have been five NSCS green-white-checkered finishes at Martinsville Speedway: fall 2007 (500/506), fall 2008 (500/504), fall 2009 (500/501), spring 2010 (500/508), and spring 2012 (500/515).

Qualifying has been cancelled due to weather conditions eight times in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Martinsville Speedway; the most recent was the fall race of 2011.

Jeff Gordon has participated in the most NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Martinsville Speedway without a DNF (40).

Tony Stewart (4/18/1999) and Scott Riggs (4/10/2005) won their first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coors Light poles at Martinsville Speedway.

Mike Bliss (09/27/1998), Travis Kvapil (10/24/2004), Michael McDowell (3/30/2008) and Scott Speed (10/19/2008) made their first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career starts at Martinsville Speedway.

11 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers have posted consecutive wins at Martinsville Speedway. Fred Lorenzen won four NSCS races straight (the most) from the fall of 1963 through the spring of 1965.

All 10 active NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers who have won at Martinsville Speedway participated in at least two or more races before visiting Victory Lane.Tony Stewart won at Martinsville with the fewest previous appearances (three).

Ryan Newman competed at Martinsville Speedway 20 times before winning in the spring of 2012; the longest span of any the 10 active NASCAR Sprint Cup Series winners.

Four drivers have made 10 or more attempts before their first win at Martinsville Speedway: Mark Martin (12); Bobby Labonte (18), Kevin Harvick (19) and Ryan Newman (20).

Terry Labonte leads the series with the most NASCAR Sprint Cup starts at Martinsville Speedway without visiting Victory Lane at 53.

Since the advent of electronic scoring the closest margin of victory at Martinsville Speedway was the April 1, 2007 race won by Jimmie Johnson with a MOV of 0.065 second.

This weekend will be Danica Patrick’s first attempt at Martinsville Speedway. If she makes the event, she will become the first female driver to compete at Martinsville in the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

Seven car numbers have produced five or more Martinsville Speedway NSCS wins:

Car Number – Drivers – (Years)

No. 43 – Richard Petty (1960, ’62, ’63, ’67 sweep, ’68, ’69 sweep, ’70, ’71, ’72 sweep, ’73, ’75 and ’79); John Andretti (1999)

No. 11 – Cale Yarborough (1974, ’76, ’77 sweep, ‘78); Darrell Waltrip (1981, ’82, ’83, ’84); Geoff Bodine (1990 sweep); Denny Hamlin (2008, ’09, ’10 sweep)

No. 28 – Fred Lorenzen (1961, ’63, ’64 sweep, ‘65 and ‘66); Buddy Baker (1979); Ernie Irvan (1993).

No. 2 – Dale Earnhardt (1980); Rusty Wallace (1993, ‘94 sweep, ’95, ’96 and ‘04)

No. 24 – Jeff Gordon (1996, ’97, ’99, ’03 sweep and ’05 sweep)

No. 48 – Jimmie Johnson (2004, ’06, ’07 sweep, ’08, ’09, ’12)

No. 3 – Ricky Rudd (1983); Dale Earnhardt (1985, ’87, ’88, ’91, ’95)

Martinsville Speedway Data
Season Race #: 6 of 36 (4-07-13)Track Size: 0.526-mile
Banking/Turns 1 & 2: 12 degrees
Banking/Turns 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

Top 12 Driver Rating at MartinsvilleJimmie Johnson........................ 122.3
Jeff Gordon.............................. 120.9
Denny Hamlin............................ 111.6
Dale Earnhardt Jr........................ 99.8
Tony Stewart............................... 99.7
Kyle Busch................................. 95.3
Kevin Harvick.............................. 92.3
Clint Bowyer............................... 90.8
Ryan Newman............................. 89.5
Jeff Burton................................. 87.5
Mark Martin................................. 87.0
Brad Keselowski......................... 84.5

Note: Driver Ratings compiled from 2005-2012 races (16 total) among active drivers at Martinsville Speedway

-NASCAR Statistics

Roush Fenway to Feature New Tear-Away Paint Scheme Technology

No. 17 to feature two primary paint schemes in single race at Kansas

To commemorate the launch of Zest’s new “High Intensity” Men’s Body Wash, Roush Fenway Racing, its team of engineers and the No. 17 Sprint Cup team have devised a revolutionary ‘tear away’ paint scheme technology that will allow a team – for the first time in NASCAR history – to feature two primary paint schemes on a single car for the same race.

“I think this is awesome,” said No. 17 Zest driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr. “We are always looking to be the first in everything we do here at Roush Fenway, so to be the first team to run two primary paint schemes during a single race is pretty cool. The funny thing is that I won’t actually see what the car looks like until after I climb out when the race is over. I know we’ve had to take some extra precautions with our spotter, Mike (Calinoff), such as extra practices and picture association testing to make sure he can keep up with me after the design change.”

The ‘tear away’ scheme will allow the team to run the popular aqua themed Zest scheme for the first half of the race at Kansas Speedway. When the team comes down pit road for the first time after the half-way mark in the 267-lap race, the crew will – in addition to the standard adjustments – literally ‘tear off’ the original scheme, revealing the all new Zest “High Intensity” scheme underneath.

The team has been working on the process for weeks and can accomplish the switch over without adding any time beyond that of a normal stop.

“To be able to offer this type of marketing solution to our partners is a game changer,” said Roush Fenway president Steve Newmark. “We’ve basically just doubled or even tripled our inventory, as our engineers have determined that a single car can hold up to three ‘tear-away’ paint schemes without affecting the weight or aerodynamics of the car. I would expect this to become the standard in how we market and display paint schemes on the race cars by giving our partners even greater opportunities to connect their brands with NASCAR’s intensely loyal fan base.”

“We are very excited to say that we are the first partner to utilize the new ‘tear-off’ paint scheme technology,” said Jim Daniels, president and CEO of Zest parent company High Ridge Brands. “I can’t think of a better way to launch our new line of Zest High Intensity Force body wash. The guys on the team will smell great and with our pheromone enhanced body wash they will be quite irresistible. We have even asked Ricky and the team to wait until after the checkered flag to use the product in order to eliminate potential distractions during the race.”

- Roush Fenway Racing Press Release