NASCAR at Martinsville 2014: Start Time, Live Stream, TV Schedule and More
NASCAR is all set up at Martinsville Speedway in Virginia for the first of three Eliminator Round races in the Chase for the Sprint Cup.
This isn't to say an especially small field will be out on the track for the Goody's Headache Relief Shot 500 on Sunday, as the drivers still in championship contention will be joined by a litany of other competitors looking out for personal glory as the 2014 season nears its close.
Nicknamed "The Paperclip," Martinsville Speedway's half-mile track will ensure close quarters out on the track, amplifying the personalities and strategies employed by NASCAR's top drivers.
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Make no mistake, the eight competitors still in the Chase for the Sprint Cup will be the main focus of most NASCAR fans, but the opportunity for other drivers to play spoiler and derail dreams looms large.
Let's take a look at the key race information for this weekend, along with a quick preview of the competition at hand.
2014 Goody's Headache Relief Shot 500
Where: Martinsville Speedway in Ridgeway, Virginia
When: Sunday, October 26
Start Time (ET): 1:30 p.m.
Watch: ESPN
Live Stream: WatchESPN
Starting Positions
| 1 | Jamie McMurray |
| 2 | Joey Logano |
| 3 | Matt Kenseth |
| 4 | Tony Stewart |
| 5 | Denny Hamlin |
| 6 | Brad Keselowski |
| 7 | Jimmie Johnson |
| 8 | Kyle Busch |
| 9 | Ryan Newman |
| 10 | Kurt Busch |
| 11 | Carl Edwards |
| 12 | Clint Bowyer |
| 13 | Jeff Gordon |
| 14 | Paul Menard |
| 15 | AJ Allmendinger |
| 16 | Kyle Larson |
| 17 | Brian Vickers |
| 18 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. |
| 19 | Austin Dillon |
| 20 | Casey Mears |
| 21 | Greg Biffle |
| 22 | Justin allgaier |
| 23 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. |
| 24 | Kasey Kahne |
| 25 | Marcos Ambrose |
| 26 | Martin Truex Jr. |
| 27 | Aric Almirola |
| 28 | Landon Cassill |
| 29 | David Ragan |
| 30 | Danica Patrick |
| 31 | Reed Sorenson |
| 32 | Alex Bowman |
| 33 | Kevin Harvick |
| 34 | David Gilliland |
| 35 | Josh Wise |
| 36 | Cole Whitt |
| 37 | Michael Annett |
| 38 | Clay Rogers |
| 39 | Travis Kvapil |
| 40 | J.J. Yeley |
| 41 | Timmy Hill |
| 42 | Kyle Fowler |
| 43 | Mike Wallace |
Race Preview
Joey Logano and Matt Kenseth, both of whom are still in the Chase, laid the groundwork for a strong finish to the season by qualifying second and third, respectively. They both bumped up against the 100 mph mark during qualifying, but no driver was able to top that mark. It's an impressive speed to approach on such a short track.
No driver came closer to that elusive triple-digit speed than Jamie McMurray, who won the pole in qualifying Friday. He screamed around the track with a face-melting best time of 99.905 mph.
He is not in the Chase and is content with the fact that more fans will be paying attention to the race within the race rather than the fate of a pole-winner who is 20th in the Sprint Cup standings.
"It's not a big surprise to me," McMurray said, via ESPN.com's John Oreovicz. "I'm totally OK with being in the shadow."
McMurray isn't the only driver set up well to play spoiler at The Paperclip. Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch, Tony Stewart and Kurt Busch joined McMurray as the non-Chase drivers to qualify in the top 10.
Kurt Busch won the STP 500 at Martinsville earlier in the year and will start from the 10th spot Sunday. Brad Keselowski, coming off a clutch win at the Geico 500 at Talladega Superspeedway that kept him in championship contention, qualified sixth. Jeff Gordon, vying for his fifth Sprint Cup championship, wasn't at his best Friday and will start 13th in the race.
Denny Hamlin—who has just one win on the season and yet is still in contention—has performed well at Martinsville in the past and believes the Chase's constantly narrowing elimination format gives steady, dependable racers like him a chance to capitalize on a late run of good form.
"This (Chase) format is just tailor-made for an average team that's just been squeaking by, squeaking by, to get hot at the right time and then the next thing you know steal a championship," he said, via FoxSports.com's Jared Turner.
One racer who will be quick to maneuver his way to the front of the pack is Kevin Harvick. Harvick had a disastrous qualifying run, scraping the wall at one point and coming in with the 33rd-best time of the day. USA Today's Jeff Gluck noted it was one of his worst qualifying performances of the year:
Harvick was understandably disappointed with the result.
"We just missed it today," he said, per NASCAR.com's Reid Spencer. "We were way too loose. We struggled in practice and just missed it in qualifying."
Harvick has the lowest qualifying spot among those still in Chase contention
Fortunately for Harvick and the other competitors unsatisfied with their starting spots, there will be two more practice rounds Saturday for drivers to gain complete comfort with the unforgiving track.
The unforgiving nature of the Sprint Cup Series format should weigh heavily on the minds of those in the race. Four drivers—Johnson Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kasey Kahne and Kyle Busch—were eliminated from the Chase at the Geico 500 at Talladega.
You either burn enough rubber or see your chances go up in smoke. The final eight drivers in the Chase are vying for just four spots in the Championship Round, which will take place at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 16.
Expect the driving to be especially fierce in this race as those remaining in the competition look for any opportunity to gain an early advantage. With so few competitions remaining, these steely drivers will be loathe to fall behind at Martinsville and will be forced to either play catch-up or come up with a victory to ensure passage to the next and final round.
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