| | When the leaves start to turn color on the Blue Ridge Parkway, you know it's time for a return trip to Martinsville. The half-mile paper clip of concrete and pavement has been a staple on the Winston Cup circuit since before the Winston Cup circuit was even born.
If you have never penciled in a visit to the Martinsville Speedway on your racing calender, you really are
missing a link back to racing's past. The amenities have improved over the
years, but it is still your basic short track with a tightly packed infield.
Read that to be no fans in the infield with Dale Earnhardt painted school
buses. Also read that to mean, one set of bathrooms and one concession
stand.
|  | | John Andretti has put the famous colors of the No. 43 in Victory Lane at Martinsville. |
If you've seen the Jeff Bridge's movie "The Last American Hero" (rent it if you haven't), Martinsville looks the same in 2000 as it did in 1973. Okay, so maybe the bathrooms have been improved and more grandstands have been added, but the train still passes
once or twice a day a few yards off the backstretch bleachers.
The final short track race of the season also marks a return to the site of Mark Martin's only victory in 2000. While "Peanut" trys to pick up his second win of the season, a host of other drivers who won in 1998 and '99 still
seek a trip to Victory Lane in 2000.
Ricky Rudd's move to Robert Yates Racing has been an improvement in virtually every category except one -- he is still missing a victory. Those stats may get another positive jolt this weekend in Martinsville, the site of
Ricky Rudd's last career victory.
It is hard to believe that 67 races have taken the checkered flag since Rudd last earned one of those flags. And while his owner/driver days are in the past, his driving career has a bright future. He continues to climb through the points standings, and he's returned to the status of weekly contender.
Rudd is 28 positions higher in the points standings compared to this time last year. He is currently in the sixth position, and the last time he was this high in the standings at Texas in '97. Yet he remains the only driver in the top 10 to not have a "W" in 2000. A win would certainly aid the Virginian's quest to finish among the top-five in points -- something he's only done three times in his career and not since 1994.
By the way, if you're in an office pool, and you've drawn Ricky Rudd. Don't worry, of his last five wins, three
came after September. Still, Rudd isn't the only "winner" seeking a checkered flag as the season hits the
final seven-race stretch.
John Andretti is another driver whose last win came on this historic half-mile. It was his first win for The King and famous 43
team. But he hasn't seen Victory Lane since that April run of 1999. And how do you even
begin to describe the 2000 season for John Andretti?
His last top-five finish came at Sonoma in '99, and the No. 43 has led only 10 laps in 2000. Martinsville could prove to be the steam roller he needs to flatten out his rocky road. Okay, so at least it would help smooth it a little.
When Andretti won here in 1999, he led a whopping four laps. But who cares? We all know it's the final
lap that counts. A victory would help moral at Petty Enterprises and boost
the 43 team's confidence. Andretti usually runs well on concrete and flat
tracks. Martinsville has both characteristics, so maybe, just maybe, good luck
will hit the 43 car for a change.
Bobby Hamilton's a short-timer again. And the last time he was a short-timer, it was behind the wheel of the 43 car, and he won before the season was out. The King put up a $100,000 bonus that year, I
doubt Larry McClure will do the same. But a win would be worth a lot of money
to Hamilton.
Not only would winning over these final seven races make him a lock to find a Cup ride in 2001, but end a frustrating and unlucky period at the No. 4 car. In the spring of '98 at Martinsville, Hamilton had a dominating weekend. All the pieces to the
winning puzzle came together on a sunny afternoon. He started his dominating day from the pole, led 378 of 500 laps, and scored his third career victory.
It has been his only bright spot over his three seasons at Morgan-McClure Motorsports. Before last year, he had gone to Victory Lane once a year for three straight seasons. Last year's winless campaign broke the streak, and now Hamilton is hoping to
break this winless streak.
Two of Hamilton's three career victories came late in the season. Maybe he can pull one more out in late September. The first factor would be to lead a lap, something he hasn't been able to do since leading one
lap at Texas.
Ask any of these drivers who've been to Victory Lane and they'll say the path back is sometimes tough to find. These three are
on the path, while three others are playing with their GPS satelite systems
trying to find the direct route.
I've said all season we could see yet another first-time winner in 2000. If someone breaks through this fall, it would tie a modern-era record set in 1988 with four first-time winners.
Could Mike Skinner be the driver to prove me right. He has led a combined 148 laps over his past two visits to Martinsville. He led 10 laps in the spring and 138 a year ago. Okay, so it has become a broken record, but Skinner could break through
on Sunday.
So could Hendrick hotshoe Jerry Nadeau. The 25 team hasn't been
this competitive since a Republican was in office. I'm talking about Ronald Reagan, not George
Bush.
Nadeau has never led a lap on a short track, but he has shown some short-track prowess. In the spring, he qualified sixth at Martinsville, and followed that up by starting fifth and third at Bristol and Richmond. He may
have the most momentum of any driver seeking his first win.
But the sentimental favorite this week may just be Elliott Sadler. He and his team hail
from Virginia. And it is only appropriate that Martinsville, a track 45
minutes from the Wood Brothers shop, will mark their 1,000th career Winston
Cup start. | |
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