When asked to describe his thoughts about Martinsville Speedway, NASCAR Cup driver Christopher Bell couldn’t have said it better: “It’s a love-hate relationship.”
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That’s what the Joe Gibbs Racing star told Roanoke, Va., television station WSLS-TV earlier this past week in preparation for Sunday’s Cook Out 400 at the .526-mile paperclip-shaped oval, the oldest operating racetrack in the Cup Series.
Part of that love-hate relationship is the unpredictability of the place. One second, you’re leading the race, and 10 seconds later, you’re into the wall and ultimately finish 25th.
“You just never know,” Bell said. “Sometimes at Martinsville Speedway, it can be the restarts, (which) can be so intense and very, very physical.”
“And other times, whenever you’re on old tires and you’re slipping and sliding around, you’ve been trying to pass the guy for so many laps, and he keeps blocking you. That can be the struggle point. Sometimes, it’s pit road. You just never know what you’re going to get there.” Bell’s history at Martinsville truly is love-hate.
As for love, in Fall 2022, he won for the first and only time he’s triumphed there, sending him into the season-ending Championship 4 race in Phoenix the following week (he’d end the season third in the overall standings). And then there’s the hate aspect.
Bell needed to finish strong in last Fall’s race at Martinsville to have a return visit to the Championship 4. Unfortunately, he finished 22nd and lost out on the fourth and final Championship 4 qualifying spot to William Byron.
What’s more, in Bell’s 10 career starts at the iconic track in southern Virginia, he has just one top-five (his win in 2022), two top-10s, four other top-20 showings and three finishes of 22nd or worse (he was 35th in this race last year and 22nd in last Fall’s race there).
Bell comes into Sunday’s race with three wins — all in a row (Atlanta, Austin, and Phoenix) — in the season’s first six events, the most of any driver in the Cup Series. But due to rough outings at Daytona (31st) and last week at Homestead (29th), Bell is only fifth in the Cup standings heading into Sunday’s race.
The Norman, Okla. native loves short tracks like Martinsville. Those types of tracks were where he cut his racing teeth on, where he has some of his best success.
“What do I love about short tracks?” Bell told WSLS. “Each short track has its own unique tendency in what it takes to be good there. And one thing I really love about Martinsville – and it’s a love-hate relationship – but you have to have all aspects of your team and game going well to win there.”
“You consistently see the best drivers, the best teams, and the best pit crews; they show up at Martinsville Speedway. And if you’re lacking in any of those departments, you’re not going to win.”
