Statistical Advance: Analyzing the Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 400

Below is a look at some of the top statistical performers at Martinsville Speedway in Martinsville, Virginia, going into the Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 400 on Sunday, April 9, at 7:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90).

Martinsville Speedway Track Data
Season Race #: 8 of 36 (04-09-22)
Track Size: 0.526-mile
Banking/Turn 1 & 2: 12 degrees
Banking/Turn 3 & 4: 12 degrees
Banking/Frontstretch & Backstretch: 0 degrees
Frontstretch & Backstretch Length:  800 feet
Race Length: 400 laps / 210.4 miles
Stage 1 & 2 Length: 130 laps (each)
Final Stage Length: 240 laps

Martinsville Speedway Qualifying/Race Records

Track qualifying record:
Joey Logano, Ford, 100.201 mph, 18.898 secs. March 26, 2014

Track race record:
Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 82.223 mph, (3:11:55), September 22, 1996

Martinsville Speedway – Stats & Tidbits:

HISTORY

• Opened in September of 1947 by H. Clay Earles, Martinsville Speedway, originally a dirt track, is one of the oldest continuously-operating race tracks in the United States.
• The first NASCAR-sanctioned race at Martinsville Speedway was on July 4, 1948.
• The first NASCAR Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway was on Sept. 25, 1949 and won by NASCAR Hall of Famer Red Byron driving an Oldsmobile for car owner Raymond Parks.
• The track was paved during the summer months of 1955. The first race at the track that season was on dirt (May 15) and the second race of the year was the first on the paved track (Oct. 16). Prior to paving the track, the Cup Series ran 12 races total on the dirt at Martinsville (1949-1955).
• The first 500-lap event at Martinsville was in 1956.
• Concrete corners were added atop asphalt in 1976.
• In total, there have been 146 NASCAR Cup Series races at Martinsville Speedway, one in the inaugural year and two races per year since 1950. Martinsville Speedway has hosted the second-most NASCAR Cup Series points-paying races all-time (146) behind Daytona International Speedway (150).

STARTS

• A total of 645 different drivers have competed in at least one NASCAR Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway; 419 have competed in more than one.
• NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty leads the NASCAR Cup Series in starts at Martinsville Speedway with 67; followed by Dave Marcis and Ricky Rudd with 55 each.
• Kurt Busch leads the NASCAR Cup Series in starts among active drivers at Martinsville Speedway with 43 starts; followed by Kevin Harvick (41).
• In total, 62 drivers have made their first career NASCAR Cup Series start at Martinsville Speedway.
• Chase Elliott (March 29, 2015) and Michael McDowell (March 30, 2008) are the only active drivers who have made their first NASCAR Cup Series career start at Martinsville.
• The most recent driver to make their series debut at Martinsville was Kyle Weatherman on October 29, 2017.
• The best finish by a driver making their first career start in the NASCAR Cup Series at Martinsville Speedway was by Clyde Minter in 1949 when he started seventh and finished fourth.
• Fonty Flock (nine starts) leads the NASCAR Cup Series in average starting position at Martinsville Speedway with a 3.125.
• Joey Logano (24 starts) leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series in average starting position at Martinsville Speedway with a 7.917.

Top 10 in Average Starting Position at Martinsville Speedway (All-Time & Active)

POLES

• In total 61 different drivers have won poles in the NASCAR Cup Series at Martinsville Speedway.
• 28 of the 61 NASCAR Cup Series Martinsville Speedway pole winners have won multiple poles.
• Six NASCAR Cup Series Martinsville Speedway pole winners are active this weekend.

• Curtis Turner won the inaugural NASCAR Cup Series pole at Martinsville Speedway in 1949.
• NASCAR Hall of Famer Darrell Waltrip leads the NASCAR Cup Series in poles at Martinsville Speedway with eight poles (1979, 1976, 1980, 1981, 1983, 1985, 1992).
• Joey Logano leads the series among active drivers with the most poles at Martinsville with five (2015 sweep, spring 2016, fall 2017 and spring 2019).
• A total of 13 different drivers have won two or more consecutive poles at Martinsville Speedway; the most recent was Joey Logano who won three consecutive poles at Martinsville from 2015-2016.
• Five drivers have won three or more consecutive poles at Martinsville Speedway in the series: Glen Wood (fall of 1959 and 1960 sweep, Darrell Waltrip (1979 sweep and spring 1980), Mark Martin (fall of 1990 and 1991 sweep), Jeff Gordon (2003 sweep and spring 2004) and Joey Logano (2015 sweep, 2016 spring)
• Youngest series Martinsville pole winner: Ricky Rudd (April 26, 1981 – 24 years, 7 months, 14 days).
• Oldest series Martinsville pole winner: Morgan Shepherd (April 26, 1987 – 45 years, 6 months, 14 days).
• A total of 12 different drivers have posted their first career NASCAR Cup Series pole at Martinsville Speedway; none are active this weekend.

WINS

• A total of 55 different NASCAR Cup Series drivers have won at Martinsville Speedway.
• 27 of the 55 different NASCAR Cup Series winners at Martinsville Speedway have won multiple times.
• Nine of the 54 different NASCAR Cup Series Martinsville Speedway winners are active this weekend.

• The first NASCAR Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway was on Sept. 25, 1949 and won by NASCAR Hall of Famer Red Byron driving an Oldsmobile for car owner Raymond Parks.
• NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty leads the NASCAR Cup Series in wins at Martinsville Speedway with 15 victories (1960, 1962, 1963, 1967 sweep, 1968, 1969 sweep, 1970, 1971, 1972 sweep, 1973, 1975, 1979) – tied with North Wilkesboro (R. Petty, 15 wins) for the most wins at a single track in the series.
• Denny Hamlin leads the NASCAR Cup Series among active drivers in wins at Martinsville Speedway with five victories (2008, 2009, 2010 sweep, 2015).
• A total of 13 NASCAR Cup Series drivers have posted consecutive wins at Martinsville Speedway.
• Fred Lorenzen won four Cup Series Martinsville races straight (the most) from the fall of 1963 through the spring of 1965.
• Martin Truex Jr. was the most recent driver to win consecutive Cup races at Martinsville (Oct. 2019; June 2020).

• A total of 12 different drivers have posted their first career NASCAR Cup Series win at Martinsville Speedway; the most recent was Ricky Craven (10/15/2001).

• Youngest series Martinsville winner: Richard Petty (April 10, 1960 – 22 years, 9 months, 8 days).
• Oldest series Martinsville winner: Harry Gant (September 22, 1991 – 51 years, 8 months, 12 days).
• A total of 21 of the 146 NASCAR Cup Series races (14.6%) at Martinsville Speedway have been won from the pole or first starting position.  Note: Jimmie Johnson won the 2008 Martinsville Cup race from the first starting position due to qualifying being cancelled due to weather.
• Only one of the 21 Cup Series wins at Martinsville from the first starting position came from active drivers: Denny Hamlin (2010).
• The first starting position is the most proficient starting spot in the field at Martinsville, producing more wins than any other starting position (21 victories – a winning percentage of 14.6%).
• 36 of the 146 (25.8%) NASCAR Cup Series races at Martinsville Speedway have been won from the front row: 21 from the first starting position and 15 from the second starting position.

NASCAR Cup Series Wins by Starting Positions at Martinsville Speedway

Note: In four of the early races at Martinsville Speedway (1950, Spring 1953, Fall 1953 and Spring 1954), the starting positions were not provided on the official race reports; therefore, the below chart is based off the provided starting positions of the winners of the remaining 142 races.

• The deepest in the field that a NASCAR Cup Series Martinsville Speedway race winner has started is 36th, by Kurt Busch in the fall of 2002.
• Martin Truex Jr. competed at Martinsville Speedway 28 times before winning in 2019; the longest span of any the nine active NASCAR Cup Series winners.
• Four active winners have made 10 or more attempts before their first win at Martinsville Speedway: Martin Truex Jr. (28), Kyle Busch (21), Kevin Harvick (19), Brad Keselowski (14).
• Aric Almirola leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series in starts without a win at Martinsville with 26 starts.
• In total 39 different car owners have won at Martinsville Speedway.

Top Five in Owner Wins at Martinsville Speedway (All-Time)

• Hendrick Motorsports leads the NASCAR Cup Series in wins at Martinsville Speedway with 26 wins – Jeff Gordon (nine), Jimmie Johnson (nine), Darrell Waltrip (four), Geoffrey Bodine (one), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (one), Chase Elliott (one), Alex Bowman (one).
• A total of 11 manufacturers have won in the NASCAR Cup Series at Martinsville Speedway:

ADDITIONAL FINISHING POSITIONS

Runner-Up Finishes

• A total of 69 NASCAR Cup Series drivers have finished runner-up at Martinsville Speedway.
• NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt leads the NASCAR Cup Series in second-place finishes with seven runner-up finishes (1987, 1989, 1990, 1994, 1997, 1999, 2000).
• Kyle Busch (2012, 2017, 2018, 2021) leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series at Martinsville with three runner-up finishes each

Top Five in Runner-Up Finishes at Martinsville Speedway (All-Time & Active)

Top-Five Finishes

• A total of 154 different NASCAR Cup Series drivers have finished in the top-five at Martinsville.
• NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty leads the NASCAR Cup Series in top-five finishes at Martinsville Speedway with 30; followed by Jeff Gordon with 29.
• Kyle Busch leads all active drivers with 17 top fives at Martinsville, followed by Denny Hamlin with 16 top-five finishes.

Top Five in Top-Five Finishes at Martinsville Speedway (All-Time & Active)

Top-10 Finishes

• A total of 266 different NASCAR Cup Series drivers have finished in the top-10 at Martinsville.
• NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon leads the NASCAR Cup Series in top-10 finishes at Martinsville Speedway with 38 top 10s; followed by Richard Petty with 37.
• Denny Hamlin leads all active NASCAR Cup Series drivers in top 10s at Martinsville with 22; followed by Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch with 20 each.

Top Five in Top-10 Finishes at Martinsville Speedway (All-Time & Active)

Average Finish

• Dick Hutcherson (five starts) leads the series in average finishing position at Martinsville Speedway with a 3.8 average finish.
• Denny Hamlin (32 starts) leads the series among active drivers in average finishing position at Martinsville Speedway with a 10.156.

Top 10 in Average Finishing Position at Martinsville Speedway (All-Time & Active)

TRACK/EVENT SPECIFIC STATS

• Qualifying has been cancelled 14 times in the NASCAR Cup Series at Martinsville Speedway:

• Eight NASCAR Cup Series races at Martinsville Speedway have been shortened due to weather:

• There have been seven series races that have ended in NASCAR Overtime at Martinsville Speedway:

• Since the advent of electronic scoring in 1993, the closest margin of victory in the NASCAR Cup Series at Martinsville Speedway is the April 1, 2007 race won by Jimmie Johnson with a Margin of Victory of 0.065-second over second-place Jeff Gordon.

Top Five Closest NASCAR Cup Series Margins of Victory at Martinsville Speedway

LAP LEADERS

• A total of 152 different drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series have led at least one lap at Martinsville.
• NASCAR Hall of Famer Cale Yarborough leads the series in laps led at Martinsville Speedway with 3,851 laps led (29%) in 31 starts.

• The most laps led by the NASCAR Cup Series race winner at Martinsville Speedway was 493 laps led of the scheduled 500 (98.6%) by NASCAR Hall of Famer Fred Lorenzen on Sept. 27, 1964; he started from the pole.
• The most laps led by a NASCAR Cup Series driver that did not win the race at Martinsville Speedway was 432 laps led of the scheduled 500 (86.4%) by NASCAR Hall of Famer Bobby Allison on Sept. 24, 1972; he started from the pole but finished second.
• The fewest laps led by the NASCAR Cup Series race winner at Martinsville Speedway was four laps of the scheduled 500 by John Andretti on April 18, 1999; he started the race 21st.
• Denny Hamlin leads all active drivers in the series in laps led at Martinsville with 1,987 (13%) in 32 starts.

FEMALE COMPETITOR STATS

• Danica Patrick is the only female driver to compete at Martinsville Speedway in the NASCAR Cup Series. Below are Patrick’s stats at Martinsville.

NASCAR IN VIRGINIA

• There have been 540 NASCAR national series races among 10 tracks in the state of Virginia.
• Martinsville Speedway hosted the very first NASCAR national series race in the state of Virginia on Sept. 25, 1949 – the NASCAR Cup Series event was won by Red Byron (Oldsmobile).

VIRGINIA IN NASCAR

• A total of 185 different drivers with their home state recorded as Virginia have made at least one start in a NASCAR national series race.
• 20 drivers from Virginia have won at least one race in NASCAR’s three national series. 11 of the 20 Virginia native NASCAR winners have won in the NASCAR Cup Series.
• In total the drivers from Virginia have won 267 NASCAR national series races combined.

— NASCAR —