Drivers to watch for the NASCAR Cup Series race at Martinsville

By Zach SturnioloApr 6, 2022, 7:00 PM EDT

Martinsville Speedway marks the shortest track on the points-paying Cup schedule at just 0.526 miles around.

The paperclip-shaped track hosts the first scheduled night race of the season on Saturday (7:30 p.m. ET, FS1) as the second straight short track for the Next Gen car.

The winning streak for drivers under 30 years old came to an end last week when 41-year-old Denny Hamlin took the checkered flag at Richmond Raceway. Will the older drivers get back to their winning ways at Martinsville? Let’s look at who might be up front:

FRONT RUNNERS

Martin Truex Jr.

Points position: Third
Last three races: 8th — Atlanta; 7th — COTA; 4th — Richmond
Recent at Martinsville: Three wins in last five races

Truex has been the driver to beat lately at Martinsville. The 2017 champion has won there in each of the last three seasons including the track’s last two spring events.

The No. 19 Toyota returned to form last weekend at Richmond Raceway, leading 80 laps before finishing fourth. He and his Joe Gibbs Racing teammates seemed to show they and Toyota are back.

Martinsville lends itself to heavier braking with its tighter corners, but Truex has shown no reason to doubt he’ll run up front Saturday.

Chase Elliott

Points position: Tied for first
Last three races: 6th — Atlanta; 4th — COTA; 14th — Richmond
Recent at Martinsville: Three top fives in last four races

Elliott lone win at Martinsville came in November 2020, a victory that propelled him into the Championship 4 and toward his first Cup title. He and crew chief Alan Gustafson struck on consistency at the half-mile track with six top-10 finishes in their last eight Martinsville starts.

Last week at Richmond, Elliott wasn’t much of a factor en route to a 14th-place finish while each of his three Hendrick Motorsports teammates finished inside the top eight.

But Elliott was runner-up in the spring Martinsville race one year ago and has led six of the last 10 races there. Elliott will likely be at the front of the field again Saturday.

Ryan Blaney

Points position: Tied for first
Last three races: 17th — Atlanta; 6th — COTA; 7th — Richmond
Recent at Martinsville: Six top-10 finishes in last nine races

Blaney has seemingly done everything this year but win. The No. 12 Ford leads the field in multiple categories but has yet to finish higher than fourth.

Martinsville has proven to be one of Blaney’s strong suits though. While he’s still searching for his first grandfather clock trophy, Blaney has finished second here twice and scored four straight top fives between 2019 and 2020.

Last year, Blaney finished 11th in both Martinsville events but swept the opening stages before being penalized on pit road at Lap 454. Only 400 laps are scheduled this time around, perhaps playing into his favor this weekend.

QUESTIONS TO ANSWER

Denny Hamlin

Points position: 20th
Last three races: 29th — Atlanta;18th — COTA; WIN — Richmond
Recent at Martinsville: Three finishes of 11th or worse in last four races

Hamlin is a five-time winner at Martinsville and was in contention again in November. But contact from Alex Bowman sent the No. 11 Toyota spinning in Turn 3 with seven laps to go, relegating Hamlin to a 24th-place finish while Bowman won.

Hamlin has been hit-or-miss lately at Martinsville. He hasn’t won at the paperclip since March 2015, but he also has four top fives in the last seven races there.

The No. 11 car was third in the spring last year and carries momentum from a Richmond win into this weekend for the first time this season.

Kyle Busch

Points position: 10th
Last three races: 33rd — Atlanta; 28th — COTA; 9th — Richmond
Recent at Martinsville: Three straight top 10s

Kyle Busch is the series’ winningest active driver on short tracks with 16 such wins, but the two-time Cup champion has just two wins at Martinsville.

Still, he’s been one of the best there lately, notching nine top fives and 11 top-10 finishes in the last 13 races. Busch spun twice last spring but still rallied for a 10th-place finish.

His 2022 season has been full of necessary comebacks after mid-race issues. Is this the week the No. 18 team finally gets a clean race?

Joey Logano

Points position: Fifth
Last three races: 9th — Atlanta; 31st — COTA; 17th — Richmond
Recent at Martinsville: Seven top 10s in last eight races

Logano is on a hot streak at Martinsville with five consecutive top-10 finishes. The 2018 series champion burst his way into the Championship 4 that year after roughing up Truex coming to the checkered flag.

The No. 22 team has led laps in 14 of the last 16 races at Martinsville, but mistakes on the track at Circuit of the Americas and on pit road at Richmond have resulted in finishes well outside the team’s capabilities.

The racing gets rough at Martinsville, but Logano has shown his own aggression that might work to his favor on Saturday night.

NASCAR penalizes Erik Jones, Legacy MC for L1 violation

By Dustin LongJun 7, 2023, 12:08 PM EDT

NASCAR has docked Erik Jones and Legacy Motor Club 60 points and five playoff points each, suspended crew chief Dave Elenz two races and fined him $75,000 for the L1 violation discovered this week at the R&D Center. The team was found to have modified the greenhouse.

The penalty drops Jones from 26th to 30th in the standings heading into Sunday’s race at Sonoma Raceway.

MORE: NASCAR’s $1 million question is can the culture change?

“We have been diligently working with NASCAR regarding the penalty and are working internally to determine the course of action in response,” said Joey Cohen, vice president, race operations for Legacy MC, in a statement. “We will announce that decision within the timeframe determined by the NASCAR Rule Book.”

Cohen will serve as interim crew chief during Elenz’s suspension.

Jones’ car was among those brought to NASCAR’s R&D Center in Concord, North Carolina, after last weekend’s race at WWT Raceway.

NASCAR cited the team for violating:

Section 14.1.C: Vehicles must comply with Section 14 Vehicle and Driver Safety Specifications of the NASCAR Rule Book at all times during an Event. Failure to comply will be subject to Penalty pursuant to Section 10 Violations and Disciplinary Action.

Section 14.1.D: Except in cases explicitly permitted in the NASCAR Rules, installation of additional components, repairs, deletions, and/or modifications to Next Gen Single Source Vendor-supplied parts and/or assemblies will not be permitted.

Section 14.1.2.B: All parts and assemblies must comply with the NASCAR Engineering Change Log.

NASCAR also announced penalties Wednesday in the Craftsman Truck Series.

Crew chief Andrew Abbott has been fined $5,000, Young’s Motorsports has been penalized 25 points and Chris Hacker has been docked 25 points for a violation with the team’s window net.

Crew chief Charles Denike has been fined $2,500 for a lug nut not properly installed on Christian Eckes‘ truck for TRICON Garage.

Kamui Kobayashi to make NASCAR debut with 23XI Racing at Indy

Associated PressJun 7, 2023, 9:20 AM EDT

LE MANS, France (AP) — Left out of the NASCAR celebration at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Toyota used Wednesday at the track to showcase its own stock car program and the upcoming Cup Series debut for one of the top racers in the world.

Kamui Kobayashi will make his NASCAR debut on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course with Toyota in August driving for 23XI Racing, the team owned by Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan.

The announcement made Wednesday had several top NASCAR executives in attendance – including chairman Jim France – as Toyota found Le Mans to be the perfect backdrop to spotlight the one-race deal.

Toyota Gazoo, after all, has won Le Mans the last five consecutive years and Kobayashi, part of the 2021 winning effort, is team principal of the two-car organization that will try to make it six straight wins in the most prestigious endurance event in the world.

Toyota had initially felt jilted when NASCAR blindsided the industry last year by announcing it would bring its new Next Gen car to centenary Le Mans in a specialized category that showcases innovation, but the project was with Chevrolet and Hendrick Motorsports. Toyota was the first rival NASCAR manufacturer to complain, and NASCAR has since tried to include all its partners in this weekend’s celebration and France signed off on holding the Kobayashi announcement at Le Mans.

It allowed Toyota to display the Camry it races in NASCAR; Kobayashi will drive the No. 67 in the Aug. 13 race. This will be the second race for the No. 67 car for 23XI Racing. Travis Pastrana finished 11th in the car at this year’s Daytona 500.

“We’ve been working on this assignment actually for a couple of years and Kamui has become a friend and we understood it was his dream one day to race in NASCAR,” said David Wilson, president of TRD, U.S.A. “With this great new Next Gen Toyota Camry TRD, the stars and planets started to align themselves and the next question became: Where should we announce this?

“It dawned on me with Kamui’s record of success, and being the team principal, to do it on this global stage at the biggest sports car race in the world.”

Kobayashi will be only the second Japanese driver to race in NASCAR’s top Cup Series and only the fifth to race in one of NASCAR’s top three national series. Kobayashi will be the first driver from Japan to race in the Cup Series in a Toyota, which entered NASCAR’s top series in 2007.

“It’s my dream, actually,” Kobayashi told The Associated Press. “It’s such a big sport in the United States and racing in Europe, I never had the chance or opportunity to race NASCAR. I think the opportunity will be challenging for myself because it is such a different category.

“But if I have success, I think it will make more opportunities for Japanese drivers. Toyota has been in NASCAR a long time, but there has never been any Japanese drivers for Toyota. That’s also why I say I appreciate this opportunity for myself.”

Kobayashi won the 24 Hours of Le Mans for Toyota in 2021 and hasn’t finished lower than third since 2018. He has six podium finishes in eight appearances in the iconic endurance race.

Toyota trails only Bentley, Jaguar, Ferrari, Audi and Porsche for most wins at Le Mans. Porsche holds the record with 19 victories.

Kobayashi in 2021, after winning Le Mans and the World Endurance Championship title driving for Toyota Gazoo, was named team principal.

Kobayashi started his racing career karting in Japan but was discovered by Toyota while racing in Europe. He was named one of Toyota’s reserve Formula One drivers and made his debut during the 2009 season at the Brazilian Grand Prix. He raced in F1 through 2014 with one podium finish in 75 career starts.

Following his F1 career, Kobayashi returned to Japan and switched to the Super Formula Series, a class he still actively competes in. He’s since won the Rolex 24 at Daytona twice and was the anchor on an IMSA endurance sports car team in the United States for two seasons that was formed by seven-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson.

Kobayashi loves racing in the United States, but IMSA’s adoption of new regulations to make its top class eligible to compete at Le Mans created a conflict of interest between Kobayashi’s Toyota responsibilities and continuing to race in IMSA, where Toyota is not represented in the top class. Toyota does field a Lexus in a lower IMSA division and Kobayashi raced for Vasser Sullivan Racing last June in Canada to get a feel for the GT car.

Many consider NASCAR’s Next Gen car to be very similar to the GT Lexus sports car that Kobayashi drove in IMSA last year, and that’s his closest experience to driving a stock car. He’ll be permitted to test with 23XI at a small track in Virginia ahead of the race at Indianapolis, and expects some time on the simulator.

Either way, he isn’t worried about seat time.

“I think I’m a guy who doesn’t need much practice, to be honest,” the 36-year-old Kobayashi told the AP. “I think once we jump in the car, we will be OK in a couple of laps. So I’m not really concerned about form.”

Drivers to watch at Sonoma Raceway

By Dustin LongJun 7, 2023, 7:00 AM EDT

This weekend begins a key period for Cup drivers. Sunday’s race at Sonoma Raceway begins a stretch of four road course events in the next 10 races. The race to make the playoffs and to score playoff points is intensifying.

FRONTRUNNERS

Tyler Reddick

Points position: 10th
Best finish this season: 1st (Circuit of the Americas)
Past at Sonoma: Does not have a top 15 in two previous starts

Reddick has won three of the last five Cup races on road courses, but Sonoma has been his kryptonite. He has yet to lead a lap there. Reddick’s three road course wins have been at Road America, Indianapolis and COTA.

Chase Elliott

Points position: 28th
Best finish this season: 2nd (Fontana)
Past at Sonoma: Four top 10s, including a runner-up, in six starts

Elliott returns to the series after sitting out last weekend’s race at WWT Raceway due to suspension. He’s in a must-win situation to make the playoffs. Known for his prowess on road courses, Elliott’s last win at such a track came in 2021 at Road America. In the nine races at road courses since that win, Elliott has two runner-up finishes and six top 10s.

Kyle Busch

Points position: 7th
Best finish this season: 1st (Fontana, Talladega I, WWT Raceway)
Past at Sonoma: Had six straight finishes of seventh or better before placing 30th last year

Busch is tied with William Byron for the most wins this season with three. Busch has placed in the top three in the last two road course races. He has led in five of the last seven Sonoma Cup races. He is a two-time Sonoma winner, taking the checkered flag in 2008 and ’15.

QUESTIONS TO ANSWER

Denny Hamlin

Points position: 8th
Best finish this season: 1st (Kansas I)
Past at Sonoma: Five consecutive top 10s until finishing 31st last year

Hamlin has not had a top-10 finish at a road course in the Next Gen car. He has an 18.4 average finish at road courses since last season. His best finish at a road course in that time is 13th at the Charlotte Roval.

Ross Chastain

Points position: 5th
Best finish this season: 2nd (Dover)
Past at Sonoma: Two straight top-10 finishes

Chastain lost the points lead last weekend after his third consecutive finish outside the top 20. His fourth-place finish at Circuit of the Americas this season broke a streak of three consecutive finishes outside the top 20 at road courses.

Chris Buescher

Points position: 13th
Best finish this season: 3rd (Talladega I)
Past at Sonoma: His runner-up finish last year was his first top 10 there in six starts

Until last year, Sonoma had not been kind to Buescher. He enters this weekend have scored six consecutive top 10s at road courses.

NASCAR Power Rankings: William Byron, Kyle Busch rank 1-2

By Dustin LongJun 6, 2023, 12:00 PM EDT

Kyle Busch moved closer to the top spot after his win Sunday at WWT Raceway, but William Byron keeps hold of No. 1 after another top-10 run.

The series heads to Sonoma Raceway this weekend, the second race of the season on a road course.

NBC SPORTS NASCAR POWER RANKINGS

(Previous ranking in parenthesis)

1. William Byron (1) — He goes into Sonoma with six consecutive top-10 finishes after his eighth-place result at WWT Raceway. Byron has led a series-high 717 laps this season.

2. Kyle Busch (4) — Recorded his third win of the season Sunday. He is tied with Byron for most wins this year. Busch scored 59 of a maximum 60 points and won his first stage of the year Sunday. He has 16 playoff points. Only Byron has more with 17 this season.

3. Kyle Larson (3) — His fourth-place finish continued his up-and-down season. In the last nine races, Larson has two wins, four top fives, a 20th-place result and four finishes of 30th or worse. He has led 588 laps this season, which ranks second this year to Byron.

4. Martin Truex Jr. (2) — His fifth-place finish is his sixth top 10 in the last eight races. He ranks third in laps led this year with 383.

5. Denny Hamlin (7) — Runner-up result at WWT Raceway is his fourth top 10 in the last seven races.

6. Ryan Blaney (10) — Followed Coca-Cola 600 win with a sixth-place run at WWT Raceway. He had an average running position of 2.6 on Sunday, second only to winner Kyle Busch’s average running position of 1.9.

7. Joey Logano (9) — Third-place finish is his second top 10 in the last four races.

8. Kevin Harvick (NR) — His 10th-place finish is his fourth consecutive finish of 11th or better.

9. Ross Chastain (6) — Lost the points lead after placing 22nd, his third consecutive finish outside the top 20.

10. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (NR) — Headed for his eighth top 15 in a row until he was collected in a crash after the contact between Austin Cindric and Austin Dillon late in Sunday’s race.

Dropped out: Chase Elliott (5th), Tyler Reddick (8th)

FRONT RUNNERS

QUESTIONS TO ANSWER

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MORE: NASCAR’s $1 million question is can the culture change?

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FRONTRUNNERS

QUESTIONS TO ANSWER

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NBC SPORTS NASCAR POWER RANKINGS

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