Image by sidehike via FlickrAll three of NASCAR's national series are in action this weekend. Saturday's Nationwide Series race, the 5-Hour Energy 250 (3 p.m. ET, ESPN2), is at Gateway International Raceway in Madison, Illinois. The other two races -- Saturday's Camping World Truck Series race, the Kroger 200 (12:30 p.m., Speed), and Sunday's Sprint Cup race, the Tums Fast Relief 500 (1 p.m., ESPN) are at Martinsville Speedway in Martinsville, Virginia.
Sunday's Cup race is the sixth in the ten-race Chase for the Sprint Cup, and going in it's looking like a three-man race for the title. Jimmie Johnson leads Denny Hamlin by 41 points with Kevin Harvick in third, 77 points out. Several other drivers still have a shot, but will need a lot of luck between now and the end of the season. Jeff Gordon (-156) is fourth, followed by Kyle Busch and Tony Stewart, both tied at 177 points out. (Points standings)
Johnson and Hamlin have combined to win the past eight races at Martinsville. Hamlin won three of them including the past two. Gordon leads all active drivers with seven wins at the track, but hasn't won since sweeping both races in 2005. Johnson is right behind him with six Martinsville wins. They both have a long way to go to match the King's record; Richard Petty has 15 wins there.
Hamlin started the weekend off right by winning the pole for Sunday's race. In Friday qualifying he turned a lap of 19.518 seconds (97.018 mph), edging Marcos Ambrose for the pole by just 0.003 seconds. Greg Biffle qualified third, followed by Ryan Newman and Juan Montoya. Montoya's lap was just 0.012 seconds slower than Hamlin's.
In addition to Hamlin and Biffle, only two other Chasers -- Tony Stewart, sixth, and Carl Edwards, seventh -- qualified in the top ten. Gordon starts 11th, Clint Bowyer 17th, Jeff Burton 18th, Johnson 19th, Kyle Busch 26th, Kurt Busch 29th, and Matt Kenseth 32nd. Harvick has his work cut out for him; he starts 36th.
Michael McDowell, Robby Gordon, Terry Cook and Johnny Sauter failed to qualify for the 43-car field. (Race lineup)
Martinsville Speedway is one of the oldest NASCAR tracks. It was on the schedule in the inaugural season of 1949, and is the only track to be on the schedule every year since. At just 0.526 miles, it's also the shortest track, but it packs a lot of excitement in a small package. Drag race down one 800-foot straightaway, make a sharp left around a tight turn with almost no banking, then drag race down the other straightaway to another sharp turn. Repeat for 500 laps or until something, usually brakes, fails.
Saturday's Nationwide race will probably be the last NASCAR race at Gateway. Dover Motorsports, which owns the track, asked for it not to be included on the 2011 Nationwide and Truck Series schedules. It is uncertain if they are trying to sell it or will simply shut it down.
Barring a rainout or some other unforeseen event, Brad Keselowski and Carl Edwards will miss the drivers' meeting and have to start at the rear of the field. They will be spending most of the weekend at Martinsville and will probably show up at Gateway just long enough to jump in their cars and run the race. Keselowski leads Edwards by 450 points and can clinch the Nationwide Series championship if he gains 136 points on Edwards Saturday. Keselowski will win the championship if he averages a 26th-place finish in the four remaining races. Brandon McReynolds and Brad Sweet will be making their Nationwide debuts at Gateway.
Todd Bodine has a commanding 262-point lead over Aric Almirola with five Camping World Truck Series races remaining. Amber and Angela Cope will be making their Truck Series debuts at Martinsville. The 27-year-old nieces of Derrike Cope will be the first twins to compete in the same race in any of the three national NASCAR series.
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