Driver Spotlight: Mark Martin

Nascar Behind the Wall Driver spotlight: Mark Martin. This segment will be a short article about where each driver is right now during the 2013 season. At the end of the season I will review some of the more interesting stories from Driver Spotlight.

Last week I started this Driver Spotlight column with Tony Stewart. A lot of talk was surrounding Smoke after the Fontana race going into Martinsville so I thought why not start there. Well last week Mark Martin also had a lot of buzz around him as confusion set in after Denny Hamlin needed to find a replacement for about 6 weeks while he was out with an injured back.

First Mark Martin was in until Denny came back and then it was just for Martinsville, either way it caused a lot of confusion and Social Media blew up wondering if 50 Cent would be driving the #11 car this past Sunday. In the end we found Mark Martin back in the #11 and most likely listening to 50 Cent so it was a happy medium.

Mark started off Martinsville back in 35 place after slow qualifying and less then stellar practice times. This left many Denny Hamlin fans attacking the decision to have Martin as a replacement. But by the end of Martinsvill Martin found his way to a 10th place finish, one better than Brian Vickers who was running the Aarons #55. The 10th place finish was also Martins best finish since the first race of the season, Daytona (3rd).

PHOTO: What do you think of @55markmartin's look in the @fedex black? #NASCAR twitter.com/NASCAR/status/…
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) April 5, 2013

Mark Martin is one of the more interesting drivers in Nascar in that he is a very well respected driver and no one really has anything against him. Maybe that is because he could be one of the best drivers in Nascar History to never win a Nascar Championship. Time is running out for Martin and odds say he will never get one (He doesn't run ever race during the season so that doesn't help).

However, their is a chance that Mark Martin could break one of the longest streaks right now in Nascar, and that is his current win less streak which is over 100 races long.  Mark Martin has not won a race since New Hampshire in 2009 and was a part of the We're Going Streaking article which highlighted which drivers in Nascar have the longest win less streaks.

The 2013 season has fared some mixed results for Martin. He has three top 15's, two top 10's, a top 5, and a pole in 5 races so far this season. The downside of that is Martin hasn't been a threat to win any of those races and that has been the case over the past few seasons. Martin seems to have a strong start to race's but when it counts he falls off and just has a good finish.

Can Mark Martin break that mold and better yet,

can he break his streak and get one last trip downVictory Lane? Most Nascar fans that I know would agree that it would be a nice way for Mark Martin to go off (Whenever he finally hangs it up and just races a few here and there). But will it actually happen? Hopefully we revisit this Spotlight at the end of the season to talk about how he broke his win less streak in 2013.

Nascar Pit Road: Week 6

Martinsville Speedway

 

 

When you have eight, large, tall, grandfather clocks what do you do with them?  Jimmie Johnson will now have the answer to that after this weekend. Jimmie Johnson becomes the first driver this season to win multiple times after his Martinsville win. JJ dominated most of the weekend including the pole, leading 346 of 500 laps, and eventually winning the race. Matt Kenseth also lead 96 laps and Kyle Busch added in 56 laps up front on the day. Really no one could touch Johnson's 48 this Sunday and it showed in a less than exciting Martinsville finish.

 

That is not to say that the race was a snooze. Compared to the last two weeks, yes Martinsville was a bit slow, but this season has started out as good as any so far. I think cooler heads prevailed this week after having a weeks rest on the Nascar schedule. Tony Stewart and Joey Logano were near each other briefly with around 170 laps left, but nothing happened. Johnson, Jeff Gordon, and Clint Bowyer had a few late race restarts next to each other, but with Ryan Newman down a few laps none of them felt like getting into it this year (See last years Spring Martinsville finish).

 

However, Martinsville may not have had too many hot heads this week but we still had some drama. Jr Nation was very loud on Sunday when he was fighting in the front, and then falling to the back, and then spinning out of the race. Dale Earnhardt Jr was on the wrong end of turn3 and 4 when Brian Vickers came in too hot and hit Danica Patrick into Jr and spun Jr around. Then when Jr was trying to get turned around Jimmie Johnson could have let him, but instead he drove in front and put Jr a lap down (Everyone else in the field held up and let Jr get straightened out).

 

It is too bad at times like this that Jr is such a good garage man and teammate, otherwise the post race may have got interesting. Not much complaining was heard from Jr and he also made a classy move and made sure he mentioned the spin out wasn't Danica's fault and he had nothing against her.

 

We also had a bunch of cautions but no huge wrecks that also happened to stir up drama occurred. Kurt Busch did have his car start on fire towards the end of a dismal day for his team and every Nascar fan got to see the Car Self Extinguisher work (Which was pretty cool to see and see work). Overall Nascar fans got another quality race out of the Gen 6 car minus all the drama we have come to expect this season. On to Texas for our first Saturday night race of the season. Lets leave Martinsville in the past until the Chase. Check out full race results here.

 

 

Rising, Coasting, Falling Drivers after Martinsville Speedway

 

Rising:

• Jeff Gordon- He was a top driver in need of this finish. Gordon would have loved if he was the one getting his 8th win at Martinsville this time around, but he stayed at 7 career wins this week. Gordon did however notch his first top 5 (3rd) on the season.  Two quality finishes in a row for Gordon that now puts him in the Chase running standing 12th.
• Clint Bowyer- Clint may keep finding himself on this list if he keeps up the season trend of good finish bad finish. After starting the season off with a 11th and 6th place finish, Clint hasn't put together two good finished in a row. At Martinsville Bowyer had a car to win it, but JJ was just too strong. Bowyer eventually ended up finishing 2nd.
• Jamie McMurray- Do you remember much of McMurray's Sunday? He was quiet all day and was not in his Bass Pro Chevy, so it was easy to miss him, but it resulted in a top 10 (7th) on the day. McMurray hasn't been overall impressive, but he still sits 13th in points going to Texas.
• Honorable Mention- Marcus Ambrose (Qualified up front, finished 8th), Mark Martin (Slow rise from 35th to 10th filling in for Denny Hamlin), and Danica Patrick! (Stayed out of trouble and made her way to a 12th place finish. More impressive then her top 10 at Daytona)

Coasting:

• Greg Biffle- The Biffe finished in the top 10 (9th) but didn't make too much noise this Sunday. Kind of like this season, he sits 6th in points but hasn't really had a winning car too often.
• Honorable Mention: Brad Keselowski, Kevin Harvick, and Matt Kenseth.

Falling:

• Dale Earnhardt Jr: Jr Nation close your eyes! Jr fell after one week in first, but much of it was bad luck. The other half of it was that the Diet Mountain Dew team just couldn't find it for long runs and Jr fell off at the end of the race. Overall it was a good weekend for Jr but just a poor finish, so Jr find himself in the falling category for the first time (much like BK after last race). Will he bounce right back? Only time will tell.
• Tony Stewart- Smoke finished 17th, which wasn't terrible, but it was behind Danica, and it also would have been behind Newman if it wasn't for some cut tires and bad decisions with those tires. This also comes two races of 33rd and 22nd. Stewart just hasn't got it going so far in 2013 and has taken it out on Logano once, will he return to that by the end of the season? Also, only two top 15's on the year.
• Ryan Newman- Another Stewart Haas team member, Newman had a rough day with tires in the second half. He had a strong car to start the day (not a winning car, but possible top 10) he ran into tire troubles. Stopping on the track after his first down tired lead to a Nascar ruling of a 3 lap penalty that effectively ended his day. Newman has also been struggling to gain consistency this 2013 season.
• Dishonorable mention: Ricky Stenhouse Jr (Lost on the Danica battle), Joey Logano, and Kurt Busch.

Pit Road (Week 6 Power Rankings)

1. Jimmie Johnson (LW-5)- The top drivers have been so close that a win is an easy way to jump right back on top of the Rankings. It also helps he took back over the points standings.
2. Kyle Busch (LW-2)- Another top 5 for Busch after the Fontana win leave him staying still at number 2. Kyle still has not won at Martinsville but he did have a good car on Sunday.
3. Kasey Kahne (LW-4)- Kyle and Kasey have been on a four race hot streak. This week Kasey had a car that could have made a run at first but he never got in position at the end of the race, ending in 4th.
4. Brad Keselowski (LW-3)- BK finishes 6th and moves down in the power rankings!? How? Well the top 5 drivers as of late have been, well, all so good. Brad maybe 5th after this week but he is still 2nd in points and he has yet to win. I would guess a win is coming sometime soon if I am a betting man.
5. Dale Earnhardt Jr (LW-1) Jr has one bad race and he drops to 5th!? How? Like I said this top 5 has been competitive. Jr is still sitting well off 3rd in points, but he finished Sunday off struggling, finishing 24th. Last week BK hit his first speed bump and fell down the rankings, this time around its Jrs turn, what will he do about it next week?
6. Greg Biffle (LW- 7)- Biffle has a good run on Sunday for a quiet 9th. This is Biffle's second top 10 in a row and might be the start of a run.
7. Clint Bowyer (LW-NR)- Bowyer dropped out of the rankings last week, just to come back even stronger this week. He had a great car and finished 2nd at Martinsville. It has been up and down this year for Bowyer but he still sits 9th in points.
8. Matt Kenseth (LW-8)- Drivers passed him and fell this week in the rankings around Kenseth, but he remained in 8th. The rankings are too tough right now to move him up for a 14th place finish, but for a guy who isn't a fan of Martinsville to lead 96 laps on the day and be a front runner he has to get some credit.
9. Carl Edwards (LW-6)- He has been quiet, quietly falling. Carl is still putting together a better season then last, but the 15th place finish wasn't enough to keep him up near the top 5. Next week could be a bounce back week he needs.
10. Jeff Gordon (LW-NR)- The 10 spot was tough. Logano has had a great start to the season, but a rough day at Martinsville where it seemed everyone was running into him placed him 23rd on the day, effectively dropping him out. Gordon gets the nod here because he has had a hot career at Martinsville, and the power rankings are about who is hot at this time. My point, when isn't Gordon hot at this time? 7 time winner, Gordon had a car to win on Sunday. That is after a full day of figuring out the car. Gordon and his team may have worked more finding the right mix then anyone on the day, and he finished 3rd so something worked.

Dropping out- Joey Logano (LW-9) and Paul Menard (LW-10)

Just Missed- Kevin Harvick (Just cant get enough to get over the hump, too average so far) and Jamie McMurray

Want to look back at the preview for Martinsville? Check it out here.
Tweets of the Week leading up to Martinsville here.
Also last weeks Driver Spotlight: Tony Stewart.

Off to Nascar's first night race of the season, Texas Motor Speedway. Preview to come later this week. Also coming later this week Tweets of the Week leading up to Texas and the March Madness Nascar Style Finals!

Follow me on Twitter for more updates.

 



Week 6 Preview

Martinsville Speedway

 

I am happy to say Nascar is finally back this week. That was a long week off without the Sprint Cup but the Nascar world still had some entertainment in the media world. After learning early last week after the Fontana race that Denny Hamlin would miss at least 6 weeks (5 races) JGR had one heck of a time releasing to the media who would fill in for him. After all the confusion cleared it was settled, Mark Martin would be in the #11 at Martinsville while Brian Vickers drives the Aarons 55, and then they will swap back for the remainder of the time Hamlin is out (meaning Vickers will be in the #11 starting at Texas).

 

I'm sure everyone in the Nascar media was looking forward to some down time in the long Nascar season but the JGR mix up kept them on their toes. This week Nascar heads to Martinsville where drivers always need to be on their "toes," or in other words very alert. Martinsville has been as exciting, if not more exciting, as Bristol in the past few seasons so with all the driver drama in the early season this Spring race should be another good one.

 

The past four races at Martinsville has resulted in four Chevrolet car wins and four different drivers. Last year Ryan Newman picked up his first win of the season in the Spring and would end up being his only win. In the Fall, which is a Chase race, Jimmie Johnson got another win to put him in good position down the stretch of the Chase.  In 2011 Kevin Harvick and Tony Stewart both notched wins at Martinsville.

 

Denny Hamlin and Jimmie Johnson had won 9 straight races prior to the past four just mentioned (Johnson 5, Hamlin 4) which is an astonishing run.  Also on a run, but this one of the not so good category, a Ford car has not won since 2002, even a Dodge won in 2004 and they no longer are in Nascar.

 

The past four winners (Newman, Johnson, Harvick, Stewart) were all also in the top 10 in points coming into Martinsville.

 

Lots of stats to take in this week, which as always you can take them as you please. Here is a look at last years Spring Race Results.

 

The Good:

• Jeff Gordon- Gordon has 7 career wins at Martinsville Speedway which isn't too shabby. His average finish in the past four Martinsville races is 7.25 and his career is 7.08, also not too shabby. Add that all up and the fact that he has lead 507 of the past 2015 laps (Most in the past four) and I would say Gordon is a safe bet to bounce back at Martinsville. Best Chance Forecast: I would say Gordon is a lock in the top 5 if he stays out of trouble. The past four race history says he wont be the winner though (not in the top 10 in points) but history can change.
• Jimmie Johnson- Johnson also has 7 career wins at Martinsville, but the difference between him and Gordon, he has won 6 of the past 15 races here. JJ has also lead 431/2015 laps. If you are counting, Gordon and JJ have lead almost 50% of the past four races at Martinsville (1001/2015). Best Chance Forecast: Could JJ be the first repeat winner of 2013? With how dominant he has been here, and the fact that the "history" is in his favor (He is in the top 10 right now) I would say he has a great chance this weekend.
• Ryan Newman- Newman was the last winner at Martinsville in the Spring race (Last winner overall was JJ). Newman holds a career average finish of 13.59 and in the last four he has averaged 10.50. Newman is in need of a good finish so you can bet if the race comes down to it he will push for a top spot. Best Chance Forecast: Newman has a good track record here, I would say he will notch a top 10 this Sunday
• Dale Earnhardt Jr- Jr has to be one of the best active drivers at Martinsville that has never won here. He holds a 8.25 average finish in the last four races here (13.59 Career). In 26 career races he has 14 top 10's and 10 top 5's. Best Chance Forecast: Jr has had a hot start to 2013 but I'm not sure he gets his first win at Martinsville and the season this Sunday. I think Jr can get a top 10 though.

The Middle Class:

• Brad Keselowski- This is the kind of track that BK can strive at, yet he doesn't have a top 5 in his last four races at Martinsville. Last season he finished 9th and then during the Chase he finished 6th.  After his first bad finish of the season how will BK handle Martinsville? Best Chance Forecast: Top 15 for BK this week, but I think he has the best upside out of any guy in the middle class, could surprise with a top 5.
• Clint Bowyer- Last year Bowyer notched a top 10 and a top 5 in the two races at Martinsville. In the last four here he has 4 top 20's, 3 top 10's, and 1 top 5. That is very good but at the same time very average. He has been consistent and sitting just outside the top 12 that is what he needs. Best Chance Forcast: look for another top 15 for Bowyer.

The Bad:

• Kasey Kahne- Kahne is one of the hottest drivers right now heading to Martinsville but in his last four here he has finished 38th, 3rd, 39th, and 25th. Granted he did get a top 5 during the Chase last year, Kahne hasn't had much luck past that. It could just be bad luck and with all the momentum he has heading into this week he may have enough luck to get him through it.
• Paul Menard- Menard would surprisingly be in the Chase if the season ended today.  That being said, in his last four his best finish was 12th. (Last four look like this: 26, 12, 38, 24). What I said for Kahne goes for Menard, maybe his early season luck will help him out here this Sunday.
• Marcus Ambrose- Unlike Kahne and Menard, Ambrose is not going into Sunday on a hot streak. Like Kahne and Menard, Ambrose has not fared well here. In his last four he has finishes of 15th, 24th, 29th, and 29th. That is not the kind of finish Ambrose can afford if he wants to get back on track this season.

Laying Low:

• Aric Almirola- Not a long history to go off of, Almirola has always finished in the top 10. Ok, ok, he only has two starts at Martinsville, but he has had a good start to 2013 and he has a 4th and 8th place finish here under his belt. Aric knows how to stay up front here, he could find a way again this Sunday.
• AJ Allmendinger- Dinger has finished in the top 15 three of the past four races at Martinsville. Last Spring he finished 2nd and had a chance on a late restart to battle Newman for the win. If he is in a car this weekend look for him to make some noise.
• Brian Vickers- He is a long shot here. He hasn't had the best track record at Martinsville, in fact one race he was a part of just about every caution, but he did fair well at Bristol while in the #55. However he did finish 8th last time Nascar was at Martinsville, his only top 10 in the past four races here.
   

 

Driver Spotlight: Tony Stewart

This will be Nascar Behind the Wall's first addition of Driver Spotlight. This segment will be a short article about where each driver is right now during the  2013 season. (This time its Tony Stewart)

Owner/Driver Tony Stewart is a hot topic going into Martinsville. Smoke has never been shy when speaking his mind and that showed once again after California. I am all for Nascar drivers speaking their mind, in fact I would encourage it if I was Brian France. I think getting to know drivers on a personal level is a great thing and can help the sport grow even larger then it already is. Though I don't agree with Tony's stance on blocking in the case with Logano, it sure did add even more entertainment to the race. (Don't forget, Kyle Busch won the race, that might be a story)

Past the fact that he made some noise trying to get into a street fight with Logano and throwing a few phantom punches, Tony Stewart has been in the Nascar news for all the wrong reasons. This season has brought smoke but no fire. So far Stewart is 22nd in points with only one top 10. Even worse, his teammates/drivers are 20th (Ryan Newman) and 29th (Danica Patrick).

I can't imagine this is the way Stewart thought his season would start. He and Newman have had a list of car troubles on the season, from cut tires to missed shifts, that have left them in a deep hole looking to get out.

Now Tony isn't the only top tier driver struggling to get going in the 2013 season, Jeff Gordon (18th), Kevin Harvick (15th), and Clint Bowyer (13th) all sit outside the top 12, but that makes this climb out of the cellar even more difficult. With so many drivers outside looking in and the fact that in Chase history at this point 9 of the 12 drivers in the standings will get into the Chase, it doesn't look good for Smoke.

What is slowing Tony down? Stewart has a full time job trying to get Danica all the advice she needs to grow as a driver on the Nascar level. Most tracks she will come across this season she will have little or no experience at and I'm sure Stewart will try and give her tools to succeed.

Stewart also has to take the time to help Ryan Newman get out of his funk and keep his car on the track. Could the slow start of the Stewart-Haas season be bringing him unneeded stress that he can't handle? Is the full time three car team just too much to manage while he is trying to dig out of a hole? Last, will Stewart continue to take out his frustration on Joey Logano?

The next five races will be huge for Tony Stewart and his race team so it will be interesting to see if he can turn it around into the Chase. A high finish at Martinsville would be a good start.

Tony Stewarts early season stats. (Through the first 5 races)

• Daytona- 41st, Qualified 13th
• Phoenix- 8th, Qualified 6th
• Las Vegas- 11th, Qualified 9th
• Bristol- 31st, Qualified 8th
• Fontana- 22nd, Qualified 8th

Average Finish 22.6, Average Start 8.8
Only lead laps at one track, 18 at Fontana
7th and 27th finish's last year at Martinsville
3 Career wins at Martinsville, last one October 30th, 2011.

**4/28/13 Update: Smoke still struggling through the 2013 season and sits 21st in the Points Standings. After every race it looks like he will need to get some wins and find a way to stay in the top 20 to make the Chase. It looked as though he would get a quality finish at Richmond but Kurt Busch bumped him for a pass and Smoke never came back, falling from a top 10 finish to 18th. Once again he took out frustrations for a poor finish on a fellow driver, this time Kurt.**

**6/2.13 Update: Smoke had been continuing his struggling ways going into Nascars first stop at Dover International Speedway. The Monster Mile brought him better luck and Smoke came away with his first win of the 2013 season. The win not only moved Stewart up 4 places into 16th but if the Chase started after Dover he would get the Wild Card spot with the lone win. The win was the first win for the Stewart-Haas Racing team this year and it also put Smoke ahead of teammate Ryan Newman for the first time in awhile in the points. Will one win be enough to keep the Wild Card spot or will Stewart need more? I will keep tracking this story and his Driver Spotlight maybe one I review at the end of the season.**

**8/9/13 Update: Well a twist in the season story for Tony Stewart has just been thrown into 2013. This past week he was involved in a sprint car wreck that left him with a broken leg and needing multiple surgeries. What we know as of now, Smoke is out for at least Watkins Glen, and he is out for at least a few weeks after the Glen. What is not known, will he get back in the car before the Chase, and will he have enough time if he does to find another victory and get a WC spot (if he even gets back in time to salvage a top 20). It doesn't look like Smoke will have a chance at the Chase this year as we saw with Hamlin that it is just too tough to miss races and still compete.  It looks like this Driver Spotlight may come to a close early this season as we now know that TRUE summer hot streak will never come about. Previous to this injury he had been getting on a bit of a run and finding some top 10's.  This will really go down as a lost season for Stewart and one that is remembered with lots of wreck while he was out of his Sprint Cup car and also with a lot of news with his driver and teammate Danica Patrick in her debut season.**