Biggest NASCAR Storylines to Watch Ahead of Sprint Cup Series at Martinsville

The biggest storyline heading into Martinsville’s paperclip track is the Sprint Cup debut of Chase Elliott. He’ll be driving the No. 25 car. What better way to wipe the Xfinity off of him than by putting him in Martinsville’s bullring?

Aside from that good news, there was Tony Stewart mouthing off to Martin Truex Jr. and Martinsville adding tire barriers (the Hydrox cookie of barriers) to its track to increase safety.

As of now, four drivers have sewed up bids in the Chase, and maybe this is Jeff Gordon’s best shot early in the season to lock up his spot in the playoffs. He has won eight times at Martinsville, equal to his teammate, Jimmie Johnson.

Let’s get on with it. Read on for a few of this week’s storylines heading cross-country to Martinsville.

Chase Elliott Makes His Sprint Cup Debut

Jim Topper/Associated Press

Elliott, the 19-year-old wunderkind and 2014 Xfinity Series champ, will make his Sprint Cup debut for Hendrick Motorsports. For people who pull for Team Hendrick, getting Elliott is a lot like the Indianapolis Colts drafting Andrew Luck: They had Peyton Manning for nearly 15 years, and then Luck falls in their laps for perhaps another 15 years. That’s 30 years of Hall of Fame-level quarterbacking.

Elliott, likewise, will drive the No. 24 car that will be vacated by Gordon in 2016. If Elliott is as good as promised, that will likely mean that Rick Hendrick will park in the great pit road in the sky knowing he secured 40 competitive years in the No. 24 Chevy.

“I’m excited to go to Martinsville. Hendrick Motorsports has had a lot of success there, it’s a place they’ve had a lot of wins," Elliott said, per Martinsville Speedway's official website (h/t Sporting News).

Between the four current HMS drivers, they have 17 wins. Johnson has eight, Gordon has eight, Dale Earnhardt Jr. has one and Kasey Kahne has zero.

HMS has this track figured out. Given the success HMS has at Martinsville, Elliott has a chance to make a statement, but he’s also stabled with drivers who want to win themselves, like...

Jeff Gordon Goes for Win No. 9

Alex Gallardo/Associated Press

Gordon wants No. 9 in a big way. Nine wins is huge (and that gives him a shot an inexplicable 10 come the Chase). Nine gets him into the Chase, thus satiating the Axalta Drive to End Hunger Chevy.

This is also the site of his biggest gaffe in last year’s Chase. Gordon, who missed the final round of the Chase by one point, cites a speeding penalty at Martinsville as his biggest mistake, not his full-body contact with Brad Keselowski at Texas.

He told Bob Pockrass of Sporting News:

"

At Martinsville, I made a mistake on pit road that cost us a win at that race. … That really stands out. That was a big mistake that I made and could have been the difference in getting to Homestead. I look back to see what could I have done? What could I control to have made our team better, our performances, our results better? … That really did cost us the win that day. We had control of the race. We were leading the race at that time.

"

Redemption at Martinsville will be on his mind in the sixth race of the season.

Martinsville Adding Tire Barriers

Steve Helber/Associated Press

At this point, any and all safety measures following Kyle Busch’s gruesome accident in the Daytona 500 are purely reactive. Better late than never.

Martinsville won’t be adding SAFER barriers to its half-mile paperclip oval, but it will beef up its tire barriers to better protect the drivers.

It’s generic cookies putting up tire barriers, but it’s better than pure concrete.

“We are committed to the continued safety of the drivers and our fans,” Martinsville Speedway president Clay Campbell said, per Daniel McFadin NBCSports.com. “We will continue to collaborate with ISC and NASCAR for additional safety enhancements deemed necessary.”

Dr. Dean Sicking, a UAB professor who helped develop the SAFER technology, admits that tire barriers have one fatal flaw.

“(The tire barrier) grabs you,” Sicking said, per USA Today's Jeff Gluck (h/t NBCSports.com). “So if you hit at a low angle, like Dale Earnhardt’s (fatal) crash (in the 2001 Daytona 500), 13-degree angle, it’s going to turn that car right into the barrier and you’re going to come to a stop right now. That’s tough.”

It’s a step in the right direction, and maybe due to the relatively low speeds at Martinsville tire barriers will suffice, but not having the proper technology at every track is like giving football players different helmets at different stadiums.

Tony Stewart Blowing Smoke

Tony Stewart’s rant is a bit hard to hear. One, the words that are FCC compliant are of a volume most dogs would have a hard time hearing. Two, a good 20-30 percent of all words are expletive.

So there you go

Stewart and Truex, oddly enough, were on the front row at one point about halfway through the Auto Club 400 at Fontana. The two chose to take two tires, while most of the leaders took four. The ensuring restart was flat-out comical, as the No. 14 and the No. 78 were swallowed up faster than Boba Fett on Tatooine.

Truex told NASCAR Illustrated (h/t NASCARTalk.com):

"

I was on the outside of (Almirola) coming off of Turn 2, and I didn’t like what he did to me the lap before. I kind of side-drafted him a little bit. We got on the straightaway, and I was on the outside and of course, I’m going to run up near the wall down the backstretch. I saw Tony in the mirror kind of having a little bit of a run, and I was like, ‘I don’t think he’s coming that fast. I’m just going to move up and he’s just going to push me on by the No. 43 and we’ll go on. … Then, wham, he slams into the back of me.

"

Stewart is mired in a frustrating start to his season. Fellow Stewart-Haas driver Kevin Harvick is playing video games on the front end of these first few races, while Kurt Busch has two top-fives in his two races since returning from suspension. Stewart is just trying to grab hold of anything.

He’s a three-time winner at Martinsville, and he’s coming off his best finish of the season at Fontana (14th). This could be a sign of better things to come for Smoke.

"We're fine. We talked (Monday) night. We're all good. It's heat of the moment,” Truex said, according to NASCAR.com. “I race Tony clean as anyone—I always have. I mean, I race everyone clean. I don't block people. He was upset. He was frustrated. It's understandable."

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Bouncing Back

Alex Gallardo/Associated Press

Earnhardt had a disappointing finish at Phoenix, finishing out of the top five for the first time this year. After a rough wreck, he finished 43rd.

At Fontana, he finished sixth, a great rebound and proof that his team is an unsung threat to win the championship this year.

"We're just glad to be able to rebound," Earnhardt said, per FoxSports.com. "Last week was very dismal, disappointing and frustrating. So, again, glad to be able to come here, run good, run strong."

Junior finally won his first race at Martinsville in the Chase in 2014. By that time, he had already been eliminated, but he snagged that first win at a track that means more than just racing for Hendrick Motorsports.

2014 marked the 10-year anniversary of when Hendrick lost friends and family to a plane crash just seven miles from Blue Ridge Regional Airport.

Being able to win the race took on more meaning. Earnhardt said, per NASCAR.com, after the win:

"

I lost my daddy (seven-time Cup champion Dale Earnhardt Sr.) a long time ago, and I know how hard that is. I can't imagine losing the magnitude of people that Rick lost. My heart goes out to him during this weekend. I love that his cars are good (enough) here to get the victory. So this honors them. I'm just real proud to be able to win at Martinsville in a Hendrick car. They always win here.

"

Earnhardt will have another shot at a win and a chance to lock up HMS’s second spot in the Chase.