This Week in Auto Racing March 27 - 29
Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - While the Sprint Cup and Camping World Truck Series run at the half-mile Martinsville Speedway this weekend, the 2009 Formula One season gets underway in "the land down under" with the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne.
Sprint Cup Series
Goody's Fast Pain Relief 500 - Martinsville Speedway - Martinsville, VA
After a dominating performance in last Sunday's Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway, Kyle Busch collected his fifth NASCAR national series victory in four straight race weekends.
Busch won both the Nationwide and Camping World Truck Series events on February 21 at California. He captured the victory in the Sprint Cup race one week later at his home town track in Las Vegas. Busch defended his title in the March 7 truck event at Atlanta. He could have scored a weekend sweep at Bristol, but a tire violation late in the Nationwide race cost him the victory. He led 156 of 254 laps before his pit-road mishap occurred.
Now Busch is looking to win for a fifth consecutive weekend as the Sprint Cup and Camping World Truck Series head to Martinsville Speedway, which is one of the oldest continuously-operating race tracks in the country.
"Hopefully I can carry that into Martinsville," Busch said. "I suck there, so it's gonna be hard to do, but we'll see what we can figure out. The best finish I think I've had there is a fourth in Cup and a third in trucks or something like that, or a fourth in trucks, too. I've got two chances next weekend. Hopefully we can get one of 'em. If not, then we just have to start another streak."
Busch has recorded four top-10 finishes in eight Cup starts at Martinsville, with his best finish of fourth coming in both races during the 2007 season. He finished 29th and 38th at Martinsville last year.
With his second-place finish at Bristol, Denny Hamlin moved up six positions to eighth in points. At the start of the season, Hamlin said he wanted this to be a big year for him by winning more races and having a better shot at the championship. He admits there are things his team still needs to work on, particularly qualifying.
"We got to work on qualifying, and we got to get our cars faster on the short runs." Hamlin said. "We qualify bad every week. That helps (other teams) because they get a better pit stall. There's little things that makes that team have a little bit of an advantage before the race even starts."
Hamlin scored one victory and finished eighth in points in 2008. He won at Martinsville one year ago.
The Joe Gibbs Racing driver has also qualified 23rd or worse in three of the first five races this season. His two other starts have been sixth (Atlanta) and 10th (Daytona).
Qualifying well is critical at Martinsville as far as pit stall selection. Points leader Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with seven wins and seven poles at the half-mile, "paper-clip" track. Gordon said a strong qualifying run will secure you a good pit selection, and therefore help your chances of winning the race.
"There are only a handful of pit stalls here worth having," Gordon said. "Pit stall number one is the obvious choice, and there is another one on the front straightaway that has an opening (in front of the stall). You can also make pit stall number two work, but you are always going to be concerned about the car pitted ahead of you."
With five races now completed, the current owner points will determine each week's guaranteed top-35 starting positions, with teams outside the top-35 having to qualify on time. David Gilliland, in his No.71 TRG Motorsports Chevrolet, sits in the coveted 35th spot. Rookie Scott Speed (36th), Aric Almirola (37th) and Paul Menard (38th) are among those drivers who will have to race their way into the show at Martinsville.
Travis Kvapil is 39th in owner points, but is not expected to compete at Martinsville since his No.28 Yates Racing team is ceasing operations this week due to lack of season sponsorship.
Meanwhile, Hendrick Motorsports has been dominant at Martinsville Speedway the past six years. Gordon and three-time defending Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson have combined for nine wins in the last 12 races there.
Currently ninth in points, Johnson had started the season slow but returned to form at Bristol, where he finished third. Johnson has posted five victories at Martinsville, with four of them coming in the last five races.
"It is such a difficult track and a challenging track where not only you have to deal with frustration and understand that track, but I don't think you can grow up racing on any surface or any level racing in the country and be ready for that track, Johnson said. "I really enjoy the track. It's such a quirky, odd track that we run at."
Martinsville is a flat track compared to Bristol's high banking. Johnson said each track has a different style of racing.
"(At Bristol), you probably spend more time on the gas and if not more wide- open throttle in the corner than you do on the straightaway," he said. "You go to Martinsville and you're off the gas when you should be and you're on the gas when you should, and I can get that rhythm."
This weekend will mark the 25th anniversary of Hendrick Motorsports' first Cup victory. Geoff Bodine drove the No.5 car to Victory Lane at Martinsville in 1984, giving car owner Rick Hendrick his first win in the series.
Camping World Truck Series
Kroger 250 - Martinsville Speedway - Martinsville, VA
The start of the 2009 season is not what Johnny Benson had expected as the defending Camping World Truck Series champion sits 29 points out of the top-10.
Benson, in his first season for Red Horse Racing, has finished ninth (Atlanta), 12th (California) and 26th (Daytona) in the first three races this season.
Benson captured his first win at Martinsville when the series last ran there in October. The victory gave Benson and his then Bill Davis Racing team the momentum they needed to defeat Ron Hornaday Jr. for the 2008 points title.
"Martinsville has been a good track for me so we look for this weekend to be a good one for us," Benson said. "Last year, we had a truck to win both races, but sometimes it doesn't work out that way. Winning at Martinsville last fall was really cool. I have run well there in the past, but that was my first win there so it was special. That win really gave us the extra confidence we needed, especially in such a tight battle for the championship."
Benson has a combined 30 starts at Martinsville in NASCAR's three top divisions, with 11 previous races there in the Truck Series.
Kyle Busch heads to Martinsville with a 25-point lead over Todd Bodine, whose team has secured a one-race sponsorship from Whelen Engineering Co. The team is still seeking sponsorship for the remainder of the year. Bodine kicked off the 2009 season with a victory at Daytona.
The Truck Series will make the first of two visits to Martinsville on Saturday for the Kroger 250. The track has been on the schedule each year since the series' inception in 1995. Texas is the only other track to host two events each season.
Dennis Setzer and Mike Skinner lead all drivers with three wins at Martinsville. In fact, they are the only drivers with multiple victories there. Setzer's last series victory came at Martinsville one year ago. He also won back-to-back races there from 2002-03.
Skinner scored a season-sweep at Martinsville in 2007.
"I'm very excited to be heading to Martinsville this weekend," Skinner said. "I've won two of the last four races the Truck Series has had there, so to go back to a track where you've had success in the past is always fun."
Skinner's first victory there came in 1996.
FORMULA ONE
Australian Grand Prix - Albert Park Circuit - Melbourne, Australia
The 2009 Formula One season will feature major changes to the sport with new rules in place to increase competition and reduce costs for teams.
The most significant change relates to aerodynamics with smaller rear wings and wider front wings which may be adjusted by the driver twice per lap. The new Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS), a mechanical system that collects energy during braking and converts it to give the car a slight power boost, will give drivers additional horsepower. Slick tires will also return to competition.
Rules that limit engine performance, ban testing and reduce team personnel will help F1 teams cut costs significantly.
Last week, F1's governing body, the International Automobile Federation (FIA), announced drastic changes in determining the driver's championship, with the winner of the most grand prix, not points, deciding the title. If two or more drivers finished the season with the same number of wins, the title would be awarded to the one with the most points, based on the current system.
However, the FIA reversed its decision Friday by agreeing to delay its new points system until 2010. F1 teams did not agree with the revised system, saying the change came too soon prior to the start of the season without their unanimous agreement.
So after months of preparation and several rule changes, 20 drivers are now set to begin their quest towards the 2009 F1 World Championship with the season-opening Australian Grand Prix this weekend in Melbourne.
Lewis Hamilton won his first F1 championship in 2008 at age 23. Hamilton became the first black driver to capture the title, and the first Briton to do so since Damon Hill in 1996.
Four drivers emerged as title contenders last year, with the competition so close at the halfway point of the season that only two points separated Hamilton, Felipe Massa, Kimi Raikkonen and Robert Kubica.
For the second year in a row, the championship was decided on the final lap in the season-ending Brazilian Grand Prix. After losing the title by one point to Raikkonen during his sensational rookie season in 2007, Hamilton captured last year's title with a twist of luck and a slightest bit of margin.
Hamilton, who came to Sao Paulo, Brazil in November with a seven-point lead over home-crowd favorite Massa, was on the verge of losing the title to the Ferrari driver in the final lap of the race. While Massa took the checkered flag for the Brazilian GP, Hamilton was running sixth on the last lap. The McLaren driver, however, passed Toyota's Timo Glock for fifth place as he entered the last corner. Hamilton ended the season just a single point ahead of Massa.
Hamilton scored five victories and made 10 podium appearances during his 2008 championship campaign.
Despite a second-place finish in points, Massa led all drivers with six wins last year.
Raikkonen and Kubica both faded in the latter half of the season, as they tied for third in the final standings. The two drivers finished 23 points out of the lead.
Hamilton's title defense may be in jeopardy in 2009, at least in the early season, as the McLaren team admitted outright last week that victory at Albert Park is "unlikely." Hamilton, who won last year's Australian GP after securing the pole, said that he is not as optimistic this year as he was in the past.
"Despite weeks of winter testing, it's still difficult to know exactly who has the best package, and finding out over the weekend in Albert Park is always fascinating," Hamilton said. "Perhaps McLaren Mercedes doesn't come to Melbourne with the same prospects to challenge at the front that we experienced in both 2007 and '08. but the whole team will be working tirelessly to help us move back to the front."
Ferrari drivers Massa and Raikkonen figure to be the pre-season top contenders for the title. The Italian auto manufacturer did exceptionally well in winter testing with its new F60 car.
"Ferrari was very competitive during the tests, but we'll do the F60's countercheck at Melbourne, when we'll all meet in the race with the same fuel at the same time," Raikkonen said. "Only then we'll see how strong we are and maybe we've got to wait for a couple of races to have a clearer situation."
Raikkonen, the 2007 World Champion, is ready for a new season after a dismal end to last year. The Finn closed out the 2008 season with several disappointing finishes and some wondered whether he had lost his competitive edge.
While Ferrari and McLaren were at the top of the class last year, the impressive tests from newcomer Brawn GP earlier this month at Barcelona and Jerez Spain has raised eyebrows among other teams. Team Principal Ross Brawn acquired the former Honda team and debuted the Brawn BGP 001 car at Barcelona, with drivers Rubens Barrichello and Jenson Button turning in the fastest times during the four-day session there.
"Our ambition has always been to be on the grid for the first race of the season in Melbourne and our planning was specifically tailored towards the achievement of this goal," Brawn said. "I am extremely proud that we have achieved our ambition and the Australian Grand Prix will mark the start of an exciting new journey for our team."
Barrichello and Button are likely dark horses in F1 this year, but with Mercedes-Benz engine powering their cars, who knows how well the two Brawn GP drivers will do, starting with the Australian GP.