NASCAR
Stratta’s Six: Cook Out 400 at Martinsville Speedway
One of NASCAR’s most historic tracks is the next hurdle ahead for Cup Series stars. Martinsville Speedway has the chance to send one driver a step closer to the championship with a Playoff berth at stake. November’s return race to the paperclip-shaped track will also finalize the Championship 4. Likewise, every team wants a breakout run this weekend as preparation. Here are a few drivers to watch out for in Sunday’s Cook Out 400.
Denny Hamlin
Can Denny Hamlin remain perfect on short tracks this season? That’s the biggest question ahead for the No. 11 Toyota, entering Martinsville as the favorite. Hamlin has not won at Martinsville in nine years however, despite three straight top-fives. Coming off of wins at Bristol and Richmond though, team 11 is eyeing another trip to victory lane.
“We feel good going to Martinsville,” Hamlin said. “I have won there a few times, but it’s been a while and I haven’t won there with Chris (Gabehart, crew chief). So it’s definitely one we’d like to win. We’ve ran really well there together. Just, for whatever reason, haven’t closed it out to get the win. That’s the goal this weekend, to go there and get another one and keep the momentum going.”
Following an undefeated record on short tracks so far in 2024, Hamlin rightfully is a favorite for a sixth Grandfather clock. It has become apparent team 11 has gone all in on short tracks. Perhaps this move is to come in clutch at Martinsville in November. A checkered flag Sunday would be a statement across the garage that Hamlin is here to contend this year.
Ryan Blaney
Last fall’s Martinsville race was the long awaited first Grandfather clock going home with Ryan Blaney. The Penske driver had a stout record on the Virginia track heading into November, and capitalized in dominant fashion. With Ford still winless in the 2024 Cup season, Blaney eagerly awaits returning to one of his favorite tracks.
“Bristol and Martinsville are the same size, but very different shapes and banking and speed,” Blaney said. “I feel like at Martinsville I find myself getting into more of a rhythm than Bristol. At Bristol things are happening super quick and you’re always loaded up in the corner. Martinsville is more finesse. You ease it down in the corner and try to find your own rhythm there. That’s if you get a little bit of a break from someone pressuring you or you trying to pressure somebody else. You kind of get in this mode at Martinsville 50 or so laps into a run onwards. You just kind of find yourself in a little bit of a trance of making laps and adjusting for what the track wants. It’s a big rhythm racetrack.”
Prior to last fall’s win, Blaney was top-10 in seven of nine Martinsville races, including the last three. Now with four straight top-10s and a win, Blaney may be coming into his own at the historic venue. If a blue oval is to win on Sunday, keep an eye out on the No. 12.
Martin Truex Jr
Following last week’s Richmond overtime heartbreak, Martin Truex Jr is seeing red. Coming back to another track he’s had great success on, MTJ could complete the task at hand this time. Truex had especially strong Martinsville results in the Gen 6 car. He is optimistic about this coming chance in the Next Gen.
“I think we got to a point with the old car that we had some things that really worked for me,” Truex said. “We used to have it for a long time, and just did some fine tuning, tweaking here and there. Learning how to race and learning how to win at Martinsville, you learn a lot about the track and what it takes. Then they switched the car and that’s been a challenge for us. Two years ago, we were in trouble there, and then last spring we were kind of hit-or-miss throughout the day. I feel like we are still learning some things there about this car. What do I need here, what are things that kind of turn that switch for me here at this racetrack and do the things that I want it to. I don’t know if we are quite there yet, but you really need to be upfront and be dialed in. So hopefully we can make that happen this weekend.”
“Definitely high confidence going into Martinsville compared to the first year of this car. To be able to go run like we did at Richmond, it gives me a lot of confidence going forward that our Martinsville stuff should be good. I love going there, it’s been a really good track for us over the years aside from the first year of the Next Gen. Hopefully we can continue that and use that going forward with our Bass Pro Shops Camry.”
The three time Martinsville winner is hoping to make it Martin’s-ville once again. Since his last win here in 2021, Truex has two top-fives on the half mile. That stretch includes this race a year ago. In his first outing since losing Richmond, Truex may put together a similar beatdown at Martinsville.
Kyle Larson
Despite being Martinsville’s defending spring winner, Kyle Larson still lacks a certain Martinsville feel. Driver 5 says he’s not yet found a typical groove at the flat oval. This comes even with three top-10s in four Next Gen races. Larson also has laps led in two of these trips to Virginia.
“I still have a lot of room for improvement there to be a consistent contender,” Larson said. “It’s still not a comfortable track for me. I still don’t really feel I can run consistent, comfortable laps with a rhythm. Yeah, I won last year, but it’s still not a good track for me. I don’t go there and dominate like I have at a lot of other race tracks. But we happened to win there last year, so that was really neat and something I’ll never forget. It was something that I never thought I would do.”
As unlikely as a Larson Martinsville win was last year, a second one would be less surprising. Larson has slowly started to learn this track’s tendencies and how to perform here in the Next Gen. If cautions fall right like a year ago, Larson could end up in victory lane again.
William Byron
Fellow Hendrick driver William Byron is also no stranger to Martinsville success. Driver 24 has a win here, in 2022’s spring race. All of Team Hendrick will be celebrating their first win’s 40th anniversary this weekend, with special ruby red cars. The magnitude of a win this weekend is not lost on Byron for both Hendrick’s history and his own.
“Martinsville Speedway has been a very historic track for Hendrick Motorsports, especially in the early days,” Byron said. “For me, it’s special because I used to go there when I was growing up as a fan. Because of that, it’s always a place you want to run well, be up front and be competitive. It’s definitely a lot more fun to run up front there instead of in the middle of the pack. We always want to run well there. But there’s extra motivation this weekend to get that win for Mr. Hendrick and the company.”
Expect the four ruby Camaros to be rocket ships from the time they unload at Martinsville. The No. 24 is synonymous with Martinsville superiority, and with plenty of victories. Byron already helped Hendrick achieve a 40th season milestone, with the Daytona 500 win. The superteam’s winningest Next Gen driver hopes to add another momentous win to the list on Sunday.
Josh Berry
After time out front both at Bristol and Richmond, Josh Berry hopes to capitalize at his best track. The 33-year-old rookie has a pair of Grandfather clocks, from late model and Xfinity Series wins. Stewart-Haas Racing is also no slouch at this track, with over 100 laps led here a year ago. Teammate Chase Briscoe is also 4-4 in Next Gen Martinsville top-10s. Even with no past Cup laps around Martinsville, experience may lead the 4 to a banner day.
“I think it should be another good opportunity for us to build on the success we’ve have had at the short tracks this year,” Berry said. “Martinsville has been a good place for me in the past. I feel like if we can continue to carry the momentum we have had at some of the other short tracks this year, there’s no reason we can’t go contend for a win.”
“One of the things I learned really early on was just having patience. There are so many situations where you can get into trouble early in the race. You Just learn to have the patience to keep the car clean and be smart because those races are just so long. This weekend will be the longest race I have run there by far. So having the patience and discipline to be smart early will help me and the No. 4 team work our way through the race and hopefully be there at the end.”
Berry is not unfamiliar to stealing the spotlight at Martinsville. His maiden Xfinity win here came in a part-time season, upsetting all contenders. Across six Xfinity starts, Berry also bats .500 in top-fives. Out of all SHR cars, the stars seemingly line up for perhaps Berry’s best showing this year.
Martinsville will simultaneously be the end of the line and the championship springboard for a select few drivers in November. The green flag will fly in Virginia Sunday at 3:00 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. The short track also provides an elevated level of parity, possibly allowing a surprise winner. To put it simply, the field of potential Cook Out 400 winners is very large. Who ends up in victory lane will have put together a near perfect day on a very challenging track.
Written by Peter Stratta
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