Notebook: Transitions paramount at Martinsville
Martinsville Speedway may not be the fastest circuit in NASCAR's Sprint Cup Series, but the abrupt transitions from accelerator to brake and back to accelerator make the .526-mile, minimally-banked short track (11 degrees in the turns) one of the most challenging.
"There are two concerns when you come to Martinsville for me," said Mike Ford, crew chief for Denny Hamlin, who has posted one victory and five other top-six finishes in his last six races at the paper-clip-shaped speedway. "(First is) making sure that your brakes are on the car all day. You have to finish the race.
"The second one is the drive off (the corner). It's the transitions here at Martinsville. You're not carrying a lot of speed through the corner but you need to accelerate hard, and you need to stop hard. The acceleration is put on my shoulders to determine. The brakes -- that work is done before you get here, so once you're here, you have what you have and you need to take care of it. It's a finicky balance. You want to go harder, but you also need to be smart about it."
Driver Jeff Gordon, a seven-time winner at Martinsville, said brake packages have improved dramatically in the last few years -- a good thing at a track where drivers use their brakes slightly more than a third each green-flag lap.
"They've come so, so far," Gordon said. "I think what's probably come further is the cooling, being able to keep them cool. It really has allowed us to not have to manage the brakes as we used to as much. If you're in the middle of the pack and you're running really hard you can still melt the bead or have some brake problems.
"(But) I've run this race before, every lap as hard as I could, and never even thought about trying to take care of the brakes and had no problem. That's something that didn't happen in the past. It's all the technology. It's the rotors, the caliper -- but I would say most of it is in the cooling."
BUSCH: LEAD ISN'T INSURMOUNTABLE
Though he's fifth in the Cup standings, 177 points behind leader Jimmie Johnson, Kurt Busch hasn't given up on the prospect of a winning a second title to go with his 2004 championship, the first decided under the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup format.
"I had a (96)-point lead heading to Atlanta one year (2004) and blew a motor," Busch said. "That lead blew up in smoke. Anything can happen. I feel like where we are in points, 177 back, he's gained those on us these first five races. What's to say that we can't gain that back on him in the next five?"
GRIESE APOLOGIZES FOR SLUR
During a promo for the Chase on ESPN's telecast of the Ohio State-Minnesota college football game, the network ran a list of the top five in the Cup standings.
The following exchange occurred during the broadcast: "Where's Juan Pablo Montoya?" asked analyst Chris Spielman, to which his broadcast partner, Bob Griese, replied, "He's out having a taco."
At the end of the telecast, approximately two hours after making the remark, Griese apologized for his slur against the Colombian driver.
"Juan Pablo Montoya, he's one of the best drivers in NASCAR -- just want to apologize for a comment I made earlier in the ballgame," he said.
Late Saturday afternoon, ESPN issued the following statement:
"During today's telecast of the Ohio State-Minnesota college football game on ESPN, analyst Bob Griese made an inappropriate comment when discussing NASCAR driver Juan Pablo Montoya. Bob apologized during the telecast, and plans to apologize again (Saturday night) during ESPN's college football programming after his plane lands. ESPN has spoken to Bob and he understands that his comment was uncalled for."
Earnhardt Ganassi Racing, which fields the No. 42 Chevrolets driven by Montoya, chose not to comment on Griese's remarks.
"There are two concerns when you come to Martinsville for me," said Mike Ford, crew chief for Denny Hamlin, who has posted one victory and five other top-six finishes in his last six races at the paper-clip-shaped speedway. "(First is) making sure that your brakes are on the car all day. You have to finish the race.
"The second one is the drive off (the corner). It's the transitions here at Martinsville. You're not carrying a lot of speed through the corner but you need to accelerate hard, and you need to stop hard. The acceleration is put on my shoulders to determine. The brakes -- that work is done before you get here, so once you're here, you have what you have and you need to take care of it. It's a finicky balance. You want to go harder, but you also need to be smart about it."
Driver Jeff Gordon, a seven-time winner at Martinsville, said brake packages have improved dramatically in the last few years -- a good thing at a track where drivers use their brakes slightly more than a third each green-flag lap.
"They've come so, so far," Gordon said. "I think what's probably come further is the cooling, being able to keep them cool. It really has allowed us to not have to manage the brakes as we used to as much. If you're in the middle of the pack and you're running really hard you can still melt the bead or have some brake problems.
"(But) I've run this race before, every lap as hard as I could, and never even thought about trying to take care of the brakes and had no problem. That's something that didn't happen in the past. It's all the technology. It's the rotors, the caliper -- but I would say most of it is in the cooling."
BUSCH: LEAD ISN'T INSURMOUNTABLE
Though he's fifth in the Cup standings, 177 points behind leader Jimmie Johnson, Kurt Busch hasn't given up on the prospect of a winning a second title to go with his 2004 championship, the first decided under the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup format.
"I had a (96)-point lead heading to Atlanta one year (2004) and blew a motor," Busch said. "That lead blew up in smoke. Anything can happen. I feel like where we are in points, 177 back, he's gained those on us these first five races. What's to say that we can't gain that back on him in the next five?"
GRIESE APOLOGIZES FOR SLUR
During a promo for the Chase on ESPN's telecast of the Ohio State-Minnesota college football game, the network ran a list of the top five in the Cup standings.
The following exchange occurred during the broadcast: "Where's Juan Pablo Montoya?" asked analyst Chris Spielman, to which his broadcast partner, Bob Griese, replied, "He's out having a taco."
At the end of the telecast, approximately two hours after making the remark, Griese apologized for his slur against the Colombian driver.
"Juan Pablo Montoya, he's one of the best drivers in NASCAR -- just want to apologize for a comment I made earlier in the ballgame," he said.
Late Saturday afternoon, ESPN issued the following statement:
"During today's telecast of the Ohio State-Minnesota college football game on ESPN, analyst Bob Griese made an inappropriate comment when discussing NASCAR driver Juan Pablo Montoya. Bob apologized during the telecast, and plans to apologize again (Saturday night) during ESPN's college football programming after his plane lands. ESPN has spoken to Bob and he understands that his comment was uncalled for."
Earnhardt Ganassi Racing, which fields the No. 42 Chevrolets driven by Montoya, chose not to comment on Griese's remarks.
By Reid Spencer
Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service
