Positions matter most at Martinsville, whether start, restarts or pit placement

Ray Slover

Positions matter most at Martinsville, whether start, restarts or pit placement image

If track position is so important at Martinsville, why hasn't Joey Logano won there? After all, he began three consecutive races as fastest qualifier.

Sunday, Logano begins second on the starting grid. And at Saturday morning's practice, he was second fastest.

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When Sunday's race begins, the first in the Chase for the Sprint Cup's Round of 8, Logano will start alongside pole-sitter Martin Truex Jr. Logano is fastest of the eight drivers seeking the Cup championship.

The race, remember, is 500 laps on a half-mile track. It's two drag races and a traffic jam. Track position can be a nightmare; getting forward in the pack will be a matter of timing and luck.

It is a headache of a race — appropriately as sponsored, the Goody's Fast Relief 500.

"Look at how tight the field is from first to 25th or further back than that," Logano said after Friday's qualifying. "It's really close. We missed [pole position] by eight-thousandths of a second and in the spring we won the pole by less than that, so everything here at Martinsville is so tight and so close."

The first 33 drivers, by the way, are within half a second of Logano.

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There's another big advantage to starting as far up in the field as possible. Pit position. At Martinsville, pit position is huge. Making good pit stops translates into gaining position on the track.

Truex has the coveted stall nearest the pit road exit.

"This place is just so tough, and that first pit stall is just so critical to having a shot at winning here," Truex said Friday.

"It's no guarantee that we'll race well on Sunday, but it's definitely a nice advantage if you have a good racecar to be able to make up spots on pit road and not have to worry about getting blocked in and all those things. It's a definite advantage, and hopefully we can have a good car to take advantage of it."

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Jimmie Johnson starts third. As an eight-time winner at Martinsville, "Six-time" is in good position. But not perfect at a place where a little is a lot, in speed or in position.

"It was really about me finding a half a tenth," Johnson said after qualifying. "It was really the smallest of margins that made the difference. That is the speed we ran in practice, which had us 11th or 13th or something and now it has us good enough for third.

"Just a very difficult feel and everybody is so stinking tight. So, glad that it worked out that is a great starting spot, great pit road pick. Definitely doing things and headed in the right direction."

Saturday's afternoon practice would be more indicative of Sunday's racing than the morning session.

Is pole position critical to victory? Possibly, although pit stall placement and restart position might be even more important.

Consider:

— Johnson won three times from pole position, including the fall 2012 and spring 2013 races. He won from 18th in 2004 and 20th in 2007.

Jeff Gordon, a nine-time winner at Martinsville, won both 2003 races from pole position, but won both 2005 races from 16th and 15th, respectively. He won last year from fifth. He starts 10th on Sunday.

— Kurt Busch won from 22nd in 2014's spring race. Dale Earnhardt Jr. did Busch one better in the fall race, winning from 23rd.

— Denny Hamlin's wins came from second, 17th, 19th, first and, last spring, 15th.

— But the granddaddy of all charges from the rear came in 2002, when Kurt Busch won from 36th.

Here are Saturday morning's practice speeds for Cup drivers. Jamie McMurray was fastest at 96.78 mpg.

Pos. (Start) No. Driver Brand Speed
2 (2) 22 Joey Logano Ford 96.736
6 (17) 20 Matt Kenseth Toyota 96.558
7 (7) 19 Carl Edwards Toyota 96.519
10 (3) 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevy 96.42
11 (8) 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota 96.401
12 (23) 41 Kurt Busch Chevy 96.396
13 (20) 4 Kevin Harvick Chevy 96.391
16 (9) 18 Kyle Busch Toyota 96.249

And the midday practice.

Pos. (Start) No. Driver Brand Speed
5 (9) 18 Kyle Busch Toyota 95.748
8 (2) 22 Joey Logano Ford 95.622
10 (20) 4 Kevin Harvick Chevy 95.603
12 (23) 41 Kurt Busch Chevy 95.501
15(17) 20 Matt Kenseth Toyota 95.468
16 (8) 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota 95.371
20 (3) 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevy 95.261
27(7) 19 Carl Edwards Toyota 95.012

After Martinsville, Chase drivers will have a chance to qualify for the Cup championship race at Homestead-Miami in races at Texas and Phoenix. Win, you're in. Last year, only Gordon won his way to the title race.

Ray Slover