At Bristol last weekend, the Car of Tomorrow made its long awaited debut in NASCAR; however it did not receive flattering reviews from the drivers. Even race winner Kyle Busch took a verbal shot at the COT by simply saying ‘they suck’.
At Martinsville this weekend, drivers and teams will get a second chance to see if they can get a handle on the car that will be completely phased in by 2009.
Martinsville Speedway is a paper-clip oval 0.526-mile in length making it the shortest and most treacherous track on the NASCAR Nextel Cup circuit. Jeff Gordon’s seven wins at the track are the most by any active Nextel Cup driver. Ricky Rudd has three wins at Martinsville Speedway, and Tony Stewart and Jimmie Johnson each have two a piece.
Who will win the Goody’s Orange Cool 500? Tony Stewart. It was obvious that the Joe Gibbs Racing boys had the Car of Tomorrow figured out last weekend at Bristol. Between Stewart, Denny Hamlin, and J.J. Yeley, the trio of Gibbs cars led 443 of the 504 paced around the 0.533 bullring. Stewart appeared to be well on his way to his first win of the 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup season before a fuel pump malfunction ended his chance at a victory. Once it was apparent that Stewart was out of the running, Hamlin became the guy that everyone was chasing. But like Stewart, Hamlin suffered a fuel pump malfunction and limped to a fourteenth place finish.
Stewart was the class of the field at Bristol, and the scary thing is, historically he is even better Martinsville.
Keep an eye on the Hendrick Motorsports cars of Kyle Busch and Jeff Gordon, as well as the trio of Richard Childress Racing drivers.
Payback? Matt Kenseth may want to keep a watchful eye on Dale Jarrett. Jarrett will not hesitate to enact retribution. I’m sure Ryan Newman can attest to that. Also, Reed Sorenson may have a bone to pick with Kevin Harvick, but I really don’t think that he wants to bark up that tree. Robby Gordon and Juan Pablo Montoya didn’t seem to get along very well at Bristol, and they could very well have another encounter as they will likely run towards the back of the pack again this week at Martinsville.
Projected top ten finishing order at Martinsville
1. Tony Stewart
2. Denny Hamlin
3. Jeff Burton
4. Kyle Busch
5. Jeff Gordon
6. Kevin Harvick
7. Dale Earnhardt Jr
8. Elliott Sadler
9. Ryan Newman
10. Greg Biffle
Darkhorse picks- J.J. Yeley, Clint Bowyer, Jamie McMurray, David Stremme, Bobby Labonte, Jeff Green
Who needs a strong finish- Kasey Kahne, Kurt Busch, Ricky Rudd, Dale Jarrett, Scott Riggs, Jeremy Mayfield
Friday March 30-
10:30 AM ET- NASCAR Nextel Cup Practice, SPEED
3:30 PM ET- NASCAR Nextel Cup Qualifying, SPEED
Saturday March 31-
10:00 AM ET- NASCAR Nextel Cup Practice, SPEED
12:30 PM ET- Final NASCAR Nextel Cup Practice (Happy Hour), SPEED
Sunday April 1-
1:30 PM ET- Goody’s Orange Cool 500, at Martinsville Speedway, FOX
