Sunday’s Cup Series race at Martinsville provides drivers yet another opportunity to shuffle up the leaderboard in their favor. In what is the 8th race of the ongoing season, the challenges are a high wall to climb. But they’re not insurmountable. Hours to go before the green flag is waved, former Hendrick Motorsports crew chief Steve Letarte gave his take on what is required to conquer Martinsville.
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Letarte has finished in the top five at Martinsville 14 times as a crew chief. So make no mistake, he is the one person to listen to heading to the 0.526-mile short track. In an interview with former crew chief Todd Gordon, Letarte expressed that the race will be similar to an NFL game requiring a lot of patience and strategy. “It’s going to be three and a half yards a play, every play,” he said.
“Try to get a first down and inch your way forward. That’s what Martinsville is going to be. It may take you 100 to 200 laps to go from seventh to fifth but you can’t lose your patience. You have to inch your way forward.” He continued that the drivers ought to break the race down into parts and make sure that they’re running in the top five when it comes to the last 100 laps.
What’s the key to finding Victory Lane at @MartinsvilleSwy on Sunday?
According to @SteveLetarte and @ToddBGordon, you’ve got to have a great Saturday. pic.twitter.com/VQRq251lzq
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) April 6, 2024
Letarte has captained the crews of Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr. over 19 races at the Martinsville Speedway. He finished in the top ten in 16 of these races and won twice. Notably, his first-ever victory in the Cup Series came on the track back in 2005.
How important is qualifying at the Martinsville Speedway?
Todd Gordon concurred with Letarte and noted how qualifying positions would mean a lot on race day. “You’ve got to win on Saturday,” he said. “I think you’ve got to qualify in the top five, really, to put yourself in that position. It’s going to be hard to pass… I think this race track is very difficult to pass and make track position.”
Aligning with Letarte’s words, he reiterated that the drivers will need to execute throughout the day to make passes and win positions. If the expert duo’s insights are anything to go by, the higher up the grid a driver starts the better his chances of success will be.
That puts Kyle Larson with the biggest advantage to emerge as the winner. The Hendrick Motorsports driver qualified to start on the pole and will hope to hold his position throughout the 400 laps.
