Martin Truex, Jr. led 464 laps on his way to victory in 2019(Photo: Getty Images)
Several NASCAR Cup Series teams made their way to the Martinsville Speedway during the early part of this week to engage in a test session on that historic half-mile track. And based on some of the more recent races held there and on other short tracks, the hope has to be that plenty of answers came from that two-day trial rather than more questions.
Teams were there to try out different tire compounds and gear ratios prior to the beginning of the NASCAR Playoffs which will begin after this weekend’s final regular season contest at the Daytona International Speedway. But this test will hopefully provide data and other information that can bring back the short track racing many have grown to love and enjoy.
Some recent races at Martinsville as well as the circuit’s other short tracks have left something to be desired in terms of passing, particularly at the front of the field. The Blue Emu Maximum Pain Relief 400 held earlier this season at the Virginia facility featured just two drivers leading virtually all the way as Chase Elliott paced the field for 185 times around the track while eventual winner William Byron led the way for 212 laps on a cold April evening.
Byron’s No. 24 Chevrolet was only able to take the lead from his Hendrick Motorsports teammate when the No. 9 car had a bad pit stop near the halfway mark of the race. For that matter, there were few passes to take place all throughout the field.
Some speculated that the weather played a role in the first Martinsville race of 2022 while others added that the Next Gen car was part of the equation.
But it wasn’t just that race in that weather with that car, which offered up little in the way of position exchanges. Brad Keselowski was out front for 446 circuits in the spring of 2019 in scoring a win then Martin Truex Jr. headed the pack for an even more astounding 464 times around the paper clip shaped track. In the fall of 2020, Elliott led 236 of 500 laps on his way to a win.
Richmond Raceway has also seen drivers lead more than half of the laps in some of its recent events so the lack of lead changes may not be a track specific issue either.
Any number of factors could be contributing to the tendency of some short track races turning into follow-the-leader affairs. Better quality brakes that will allow drivers to charge the turns lap after lap without having to worry about overextending that component is a possibility. Tires that are too hard or too good which prevents fall off throughout a run and does not allow for drivers who take care of their rubber and thus gain places might lead to this situation. And finally, the recent trend toward shifting gears on most tracks can give even poor handling cars the ability to jump off the turns and prevent others from drawing alongside has been offered up as a potential offender.
Two of those factors were addressed in the test session according to reports from NASCAR and other sources as a variety of gear ratios and tire compounds were used. However, shifting was still taking place with only the shifting points on the track being altered. It was stated that the track was taking more rubber than it did in the spring race but that could very well be a product of the temperature variance between the two different times on the track.
Whatever the cause and whatever changes might be made, if any, one could only hope that there will be more passing, more bumping and running, and maybe even some post-race drama in the future. Any changes that will come may not help at this late stage for this season but perhaps a difference might be seen in 2023 and beyond. Maybe short tracks will go back to being short tracks.
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Richard Allen has been covering NASCAR and other forms of motorsports since 2008.
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