This Week in Auto Racing October 22 - 24

This Week in Auto Racing October 22 - 24

Martinsville, VA (Sports Network) - The Sprint Cup Series runs its only short- track race in the championship Chase this weekend at Martinsville Speedway. The Camping World Series joins Sprint Cup at Martinsville, while the Nationwide Series hits the track at Gateway International Raceway for the second time this year. Formula One travels to South Korea for the inaugural running of the Korean Grand Prix.

Sprint Cup Series

Tums Fast Relief 500 - Martinsville Speedway - Martinsville, VA

The 10-race Chase for the Sprint Cup championship hit the halfway point last Saturday at Charlotte, with Jamie McMurray playing the spoiler in the playoff battle. McMurray, who is not in the 12-driver Chase field, picked up his third "big" win of the season. He won the Daytona 500 and the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis earlier this year.

Heading into Martinsville this weekend, the Chase has more or less come down to a three-driver battle for the championship. Jimmie Johnson's third-place finish at Charlotte gave him a 41-point lead over Denny Hamlin, who finished one spot behind Johnson in fourth. Kevin Harvick is 77 points out of the lead after his eighth-place run.

Jeff Gordon's championship hopes are starting to slip away, as he trails his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Johnson by a distant 156 points. However, don't count Gordon out of the title race just yet. Johnson was 146 points out of the lead after the first five races in the 2006 Chase, but came back to win his first championship.

Johnson and Hamlin have been the dominant drivers at Martinsville lately. The two have combined for the last eight wins here. Hamlin will attempt to win his third straight race at Martinsville on Sunday.

"I think Martinsville is probably my best racetrack, as far as me versus the competition," Hamlin said. "I feel like it's a racetrack that I've got a knack for. As a driver, I feel like I can make up a little bit of difference at Martinsville. It's just a track I've had success right from the first year."

Johnson won three in a row at Martinsville from 2006-07. He finished second to Hamlin in last year's fall race here. In March, Johnson was not as dominant as he normally had been at Martinsville. Despite finishing ninth, he did take the points lead for the first time this season.

"We were trying some stuff the first time there, but we are not going back with the same style car," Johnson said. "We went to Little Rock [last] week and made some laps, and feel like we have got a good place to start, and go back with what we know and race from there."

Johnson's team also tested at Little Rock, AR prior to the spring race at Martinsville.

When the series competed here for the first time this season, NASCAR made some changes to the current car, with the spoiler replacing the wing on the rear deck of the car.

Hamlin won the first race with the spoiler. Days after his Martinsville win, Hamlin underwent surgery to repair his torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his left knee.

Johnson and Hamlin currently lead the series with six victories each this season.

Harvick has yet to win at Martinsville, but has finished 12th or better in five of the last six races here. He finished 35th in the spring event.

"I think we've run well there," Harvick said. "We ran well at the first race, but had some mechanical issues. We just have to keep doing what we've been doing. I think [Richard Childress Racing teammate Jeff] Burton had the fastest car there last time and wound up getting a flat tire, so we will look at those notes and go from there and see what happens."

Gordon has been very impressive at Martinsville, scoring 15 straight top-10 finishes here. He leads all active drivers with seven wins at the 0.526-mile Virginia short track.

"Our race cars always seem to be fast here, so this is a track that we carry a lot of confidence into," Gordon said.

Forty-eight teams are on the preliminary entry list for the Tums Fast Relief 500.

Camping World Truck Series

Kroger 200 - Martinsville Speedway - Martinsville, VA

After taking the last three weekends off, the Camping World Truck Series resumes its season at Martinsville. When the series last raced on September 25, Austin Dillon hit the jackpot in Las Vegas. Dillon, the 20-year- old grandson of NASCAR multi-team owner Richard Childress, picked up his second win during his rookie year. He became the first rookie in the series to win multiple races since Carl Edwards notched three victories in 2003.

Martinsville begins five consecutive races that will wrap up the 2010 season. Talladega, Texas, Phoenix and Homestead follow Martinsville.

Todd Bodine currently holds a comfortable 262-point lead over Aric Almirola. Bodine has 41 career short-track starts in the series, but has yet to win at a track that is less than one mile in length. His best finish at Martinsville is second, which came twice, most recently in last year's fall race.

Timothy Peters is the defending race winner. Peters led the final 84 laps and conserved enough fuel at the end for his first victory in the series.

"My face just lights up when I say the word 'Martinsville,'" Peters said. "I just hope we can repeat what we did last year. I've always loved that place. It just fits my driving style."

Mike Skinner, Dennis Setzer and Kevin Harvick are those drivers who have multiple victories at Martinsville. Skinner and Setzer have won here three times each. Harvick picked up his second win at this 0.526-mile oval in March.

Martinsville is one of nine tracks on the current series schedule where Ron Hornaday Jr. has yet to win. Hornaday, the four-time and defending series champion, has recorded 22 career short track wins, including a victory at O'Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis earlier this year.

"I've been asked a lot in my career what certain wins mean to me, and I have to say a win at Martinsville would be one that would certainly stick out, only because it is the track that I have been to the most and haven't been able to get a win," Hornaday said. "We've been close so many times, and to be able to get the first grandfather clock [trophy] would be awesome. I don't race for the money. I race for the trophies, and that would be a prized possession to add to my collection."

Hornaday has 16 truck starts at Martinsville. He has finished second in the last two spring races here.

Thirty-eight teams are on the preliminary entry list for the Kroger 200.

Nationwide Series

Five-Hour Energy 250 - Gateway International Raceway - Madison, IL

While the Sprint Cup and Camping World Truck Series compete at Martinsville, the Nationwide Series runs its final "stand-alone" race of the season this weekend at Gateway International Raceway just outside St. Louis.

A second Gateway date was added to the Nationwide schedule this year, because Memphis Motorsports Park dropped its date after the track ceased operations at the end of the 2009 season.

However, this will be the last Nationwide race at Gateway. Prior to the 2011 NASCAR national touring series schedules being released, Gateway's parent company, Dover Motorsports Inc., announced it declined the Nationwide and Camping World races at the 1.25-mile track for next year.

Brad Keselowski, the current points leader, is hoping to win the last Nationwide race at Gateway. Last year, Keselowski took the checkered flag for the final event at Memphis.

"Gateway in a unique facility, and it's a shame that we will lose that uniqueness from the schedule next year," Keselowski said. "It took me a few years to get used to that place, but it turned into one of my favorite stops of the year. So now we are going to turn our attention into being the last Nationwide Series winner at Gateway.

"I was fortunate enough to be the last winner at Memphis. That is still one of my favorite wins. We obviously had a great car at Gateway in the spring, a car that should have won the race. Even though we don't have that car anymore, I believe our stable of cars have gotten better since then anyway. We'll have to come from the back, since I won't make qualifying, but I'm confident in this team that we can make it work."

Keselowski, Edwards, Paul Menard and Michael McDowell are those drivers who are attempting the Martinsville/Gateway combo.

When the series raced here in July, Keselowski and Edwards renewed their on- going rivalry.

Edwards nudged Keselowski and spun him into the frontstretch wall just before the two crossed the finish line. Edwards won at Gateway for a record third time, while Keselowski slid across the line in 14th-place. Shelby Howard then plowed into him, causing another spin around.

Days after their Gateway altercation, NASCAR penalized Edwards with a loss of 60 Nationwide points. He also was fined $25,000 and placed on probation until December 31. Keselowski only received probation for the remainder of the year.

"I think Brad has done a really good job of just maintaining and doing his best," Edwards said. "He's gone over the line with me a couple of times, and we've gone round and round about it. We still can walk up to each other and shake hands and go have a good race."

Keselowski holds an insurmountable 450-point lead over Edwards with just four races to go. He mathematically can clinch his first Nationwide championship this weekend. If Keselowski leaves Gateway with a 586-point lead or higher, he will wrap up the title.

"If he wins that championship, which it looks like he's going to, then those guys have earned it," Edwards added. "They've done a really good job on the race track, and anytime that I've had any issue with him, I've addressed it."

Forty-nine teams are on the preliminary entry list for the Five-Hour Energy 250.

FORMULA ONE

Korean Grand Prix - Korean International Circuit - Yeongam County, South Korea

The 2010 Formula One calendar continues this weekend with the inaugural running of the Korean Grand Prix in Yeongam.

Right now, 31 points separate leader Mark Webber from fifth-place and defending world champion Jenson Button. Yeongam could significantly change that points gap.

The addition of a brand new circuit on the F1 schedule presents its share of challenges for teams, as they figure out how to prepare for the unknown.

"Korea is a new venue for everyone," Webber said. "It looks like a nice layout in terms of the track. We are all optimistic to go there and have a good run, and I am looking forward to it."

Sunday's Korean GP should be an entertaining race, since drivers have yet to experience Yeongam's newly built circuit.

Sebastian Vettel won the most recent F1 inaugural event -- the 2009 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

"I am pretty excited about South Korea," Vettel said. "It's a new race track, which means none of us have been there before. While I know the race will take place, I can't really say anything about the track itself until Friday [practice]."

Vettel won his fourth grand prix of the season two weeks ago at Suzuka, Japan. He moved to within 14 points of his Red Bull Racing teammate Webber.

Fernando Alonso from Ferrari also trails Webber by 14 points. Alonso has kept his bid for a third world championship intact after winning in Italy and Singapore, and then finishing third in Japan.

"In Korea, we will have to attack because now we must close the gap to Webber," Alonso said. "To lose any more ground would make the situation more complicated."

Last month, F1's governing body, the International Automobile Federation, gave the South Korean circuit a green light for the race. FIA race director Charlie Whiting described the track as "satisfactory," and the mandatory licence was issued through the Korea Automobile Racing Association (KARA).

The Korean GP has the full backing from South Korea's Central Government, as well as the Government of South Jeolla Province, where the circuit is located. The track, designed by world-renowned designer Hermann Tilke, can accommodate 130,000 spectators.