The CHASE has come to Martinsville Speedway as the eight drivers remaining for the championship run enter the Eliminator Round. Some big names were dropped at Talladega. You can safely wager that will not alter any driver’s attitude of going for the win at the Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500.

Practices went off Friday for VA Lottery Pole Day as teams made use of the one session to dial in the cars for qualifying later that day. The Camping World Series trucks also took up lap time practice for the Kroger 200 to run Saturday.

As Sprint Cup qualifying rolled through CHASE drivers found themselves starting in the field as Jamie McMurray captured the top spot for the Coors Light Pole Award.

Logano, Kenseth, Stewart and Hamlin rounded out the top five qualifying slots.

Practices for Sprint Cup will resume Saturday with qualifying and racing for the Kroger 200.

Click HERE for a gallery of VA Lottery Pole Day!

 

Martinsville has always held a bit of a temper. Most of the time, it stays in check as “just racin'” but sometimes…

Such was the case for the Kroger 200 (Camping World Series Trucks). Late in the race the Bass Pro Shops #3 of Ty Dillon got into the Anderson’s Maple Syrup – Kroger #14 of Kevin Harvick.

Spin, wall, crash…

After they were able to move, Harvick began tapping and bumping the #3, moved around Dillon but only to jump and brake towards pit road. (more…)

There has been a lot of chatter about football lately. The season is just a couple of weeks in without, apparently, the standard issue referees. The regulars are on strike. The fill-ins are, apparently, less than stellar.

No matter, really. The “Chase” is on. How can there be a comparison? Early season football or late season racing? I’ll go racing any day.

So I did, of a sort. Kyle Busch was at Martinsville Speedway to give a brief on the Tums Fast Relief 500. The manner of this briefing was from the cockpit of an M&M’s #18 Toyota Cup Car, modified a bit to carry a passenger. Also suited up was Speedway President Clay Campbell. Clay has his own experiences with driving so he was also on hand to run passenger laps behind the wheel of a Federated Auto Parts #52 race car. The cars were brought up to Martinsville by the folks from Fast Track High Performance Driving School in North Carolina.

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