WBKR NASCAR Cup Preview: Goody’s Fast Relief 500 Sunday

Our resident NASCAR expert, Blake Smith, is here with a look at Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup Race.

The drivers of the NASCAR Sprint Cup series will visit one of the series’ oldest venues, Martinsville Speedway. Martinsville has hosted NASCAR’s elite series since the inception of the series in 1949. At .526 miles, Martinsville Speedway is the shortest track on the circuit. Martinsville Speedway can be best described as 2 long drag-strips connected by 2 sharp turns. Some drivers compare the driving style at Martinsville to the style and finesse a driver uses at a road course.

There are two very important things a driver must take care of to be successful at Martinsville. They must take care of the nose and braking systems on the car. Abuse of either of these will be detrimental to their race, with a possible premature ending. A driver with proper finesse and a good handling car will be the driver to beat on Sunday. A driver to watch for will be Virginia native, Denny Hamlin who has 4 wins at Martinsville. Hamlin’s crew chief, Darian Grubb also went to victory lane last fall in Martinsville as Tony Stewart’s crew chief.

Coverage of the Goody’s Fast Relief 500 begins on Sunday at 11AM on WBKR and WBKR.com

Blake Smith