Records and facts

Last year's  400 was a celebration for Hendrick Motorsports' 40th anniversary of their first victory. All four teams ran special metallic red schemes. 

Ultimately, the Hendrick contingent went home happy. William Byron took the lead from Daniel Suarez on lap 327, then held off Chase Elliott on a two-lap sprint to take the victory.

Byron won by .550 seconds over Kyle Larson, then Elliott in a Hendrick 1-2-3. Bubba Walalce was fourth, while Ryan Blaney was fifth.

Among active drivers, Jimmie Johnson (not entered) has the most wins at Martinsville with nine. Hamlin has five triumphs, Martin Truex Jr. (not entered) has three wins, while Kyle Busch and Keselowski have two each.

All-time, Richard Petty is the leader with 15 career victories. Darrell Waltrip has 11 Martinsville victories, then Johnson and Jeff Gordon with nine. Rusty Wallace has seven wins and could have had an eighth if he didn't get black-flagged for jumping the final restart from the lead in the 1997 Hanes 500. Three other drivers (Cale Yarborough, Dale Earnhardt and Fred Lorenzen) have six wins each.

Track Facts
Track / Race Length: 0.526-mile oval, 500 laps (263 miles)
Banking: 12 degrees

Straightaways: 800 ft., flat

Grandstand Seating: 55,000

Pit Road Speed: 30 mph
Pace Car Speed: 35 mph
Opened: 1947 (first Cup race in the inaugural season, 1949)

Website: http://www.martinsvillespeedway.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MartinsvilleSpeedway

Twitter: http://twitter.com/MartinsvilleSwy

Pre-Race Schedule:

Practice: Saturday, March 29, 2:05 - 2:55 p.m. ET on Amazon Prime Video

Qualifying: Saturday, Oct. 28 at 3:05 p.m. ET on Amazon Prime Video

Say What?

"It’s a tough racetrack, and any time you come in the pits and make an adjustment on your car, you certainly hope it goes the right way, or you make enough of it, or you don’t make too much of an adjustment. The last run can be tricky, too, because you can be coming off a 50-lap run on right-side tires and take four and you’ve only got 30 [laps] to go, or you could have 80 to go and you know you have to manage that run all the way to the end.

"I think just being able to get comfortable, get settled and make sure that you’re good to go for those long hauls. Don’t worry about what lap it is, ever, during a race. That’s the worst thing that could happen to you. You just try to not ever worry about what lap you’re on or what’s going on around you. You just keep battling, keep driving, keep your focus forward on what you’re doing."- Kyle Busch

"I have always enjoyed going to Martinsville. I have the clock from my first truck win in my living room, so it’s a good reminder that I can get the job done. It’s a difficult track to navigate, with a lot of beating and banging and passing being a challenge, but I’m up for it, and I know my team is too. Hopefully, I can deliver a checkered flag to Colortech in their first race back. They have a bright, colorful car, that you won’t be able to miss." - Todd Gilliland

"I’m excited. There’s a lot of different styles that we race on racetrack wise, right? Phoenix is not really a short track, it’s pretty unique in the approach, set up, and things like that. So, I feel like Martinsville is that first true short track, but at the same time, it’s such a unique short track that is its own beast and approach. I look forward to it, we’ve had a lot of speed this year with our Spire cars. Martinsville’s been a love hate relationship for me. It’s been an up and down race in the old car. It was one of my better tracks. I felt like I could outperform my equipment at times but in the NextGen era, it just hasn’t been great for me, which is crazy because everywhere else has been really good in the NextGen car, so it’s a head scratcher for sure." - Michael McDowell
 

Phil Allaway is the Frontstretch newsletter manager. He can be reached at phil.allaway@frontstretch.com. Photo is courtesy of Nigel Kinrade Photography.