WEEKEND HOT LAPS – are tires the answer? Championship 4 on the line

Martinsville Speedway’s place on the postseason calendar is no accident. When NASCAR revamped the 10 races that make up the playoffs, there was some concentration to increase competitiveness, excitement and the potential for added drama.

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Virginia short track is truly a reflection of the sport’s history and the perfect place to determine who will be competing for the championship next week in Phoenix. In a world where it’s impossible to get everyone to agree on any topic, Martinsville is an exception.

“It’s one of those places I just love to go to,” said Ryan Blaney as he looks to stay out of the playoffs and challenge for a second straight title next weekend. “We always seem to bring something good and hopefully continue to do so, but I really like this place.”

For most drivers, Martinsville is a return to the short tracks and bullrings of their early careers. Now this style of racing has reached the highest level of sport.

“We all grew up racing on Friday and Saturday nights at a track the size (of) Martinsville,” Chase Elliott said. “Short track racing is truly the foundation of NASCAR, and being in the Cup, especially on a weekend with so much on the line, is both stressful and rewarding.”

Make no mistake, despite the enthusiasm for short track racing that most garages share, Martinsville is also a unique challenge in its own right.

“Martinsville is a racetrack for drivers, and you’re not going to be good there unless you’re a good driver,” added Christopher Bell. “It’s pretty hard to fake.”

Goodyear will provide teams with a softer tire compound for Sunday’s Cup race. The right-hand tires will have the same tread compound as the Richmond and North Wilkesboro aftermarket tires to increase tire wear.

“Martinsville is a challenging track for a number of reasons, not just the time of year we race it, but also the tight concrete corner layout,” said Goodyear’s Greg Stucker. “We had a good test there in August and came away with this setup which is another step forward in our short track package.”

The Gen 7 Cup car wasn’t as stellar on short tracks as its intermediate track competitors. Softening the tires has been a trend this season to provide another variable in terms of downforce and in turn create more passing opportunities. At least that’s the goal.

“Hopefully we wear the tires a little bit,” Denny Hamlin said on his “Actions Detrimental” podcast earlier this week. “I mean we’re hoping we’ve got some wear on the tires and then you start seeing some visitors and visitors and we’re hoping the settings will make more of a difference, but I don’t think anybody knows what we’re getting into.”

Teams will have extra practice to get a handle on things. This idea is the right direction and is another indication of Goodyear’s commitment to doing everything possible for the tire manufacturer to help create better competition. But given the level of data, information and training teams have at their disposal in the modern era, this may not be as much of a rule changer as one would like.

We will find out soon on Sunday.

Aggression is sure to be on display in all three races throughout the weekend given the combination of tight quarters at Martinsville and playoff implications. But the drivers will be well served to keep things under control given NASCAR’s reaction this year.

Conner Jones will not compete in Friday night’s Truck Series race the sanctioning body suspended him for one race for his destruction of Matt Mills at Homestead last week. Jones was parked even after serving a two-lap penalty for aggressive driving during the race, a penalty that was also handed down to Lane Riggs in the Truck Series race at Nashville when he ran Stefan Parsons off the road.

Then there was Austin Dillon’s penalty after his last-lap display of reckless driving at Richmond when he passed Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin on the last lap. Dillon’s win still stands in the record books, but NASCAR stripped him of automatic playoff eligibility because of the move.

Close competition and contact as a byproduct is well within the scope of short track racing, and building things up from the playoffs on the line certainly makes sense. But the tired refrain of “I did what I had to do” when drivers intentionally hit another because of the checkered flag doesn’t ring as well as it once did. And you shouldn’t.

This weekend’s Martinsville tripleheader offers a number of intriguing avenues in the betting and gambling department. The list of top four favorites for Sunday’s Xfinity 500 Cup Series is a quartet of drivers just below the playoff mark heading into the weekend. Kyle Larson leads that group with +450, the same number assigned to Denny Hamlin. Ryan Blaney (+500) and Chase Elliott (+650) round things out.

William Byron is next by just seven points at +900, followed by Christopher Bell at +1100. Two drivers already in Championship 4, Joey Logano and Tyler Reddick, are +1300 and +2200 to win in Martinsville, respectively.

Saturday’s Xfinity Series Martinsville race has a slightly different dynamic. Aric Almirola, still in contention for the owner’s title playoff, is the favorite to take the checkered flag at +330. Then there are drivers trying to get into the Championship 4 like Chandler Smith (+450), Justin Allgaier (+450), Cole Custer (+500) and Sammy Smith (+750). Sam Mayer, who must win to get into the Phoenix title race, is listed at +900.

For the first time in a long time, Corey Heim was not the favorite in the Craftsman Truck Series. Christian Ekes (+320) has the honors, followed by non-playoff driver Lane Riggs (+380) and then Ty Majeski (+400). Haim’s +400 odds win the checkered flag.

It’s a great weekend at the Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway as the All-American 400 takes place at the historic Tennessee facility. A variety of divisions will be in action from Friday through Sunday, including Saturday’s 100-lap Pro Late Model race, followed by Sunday’s main event, the 300-lap Super Late Models.

The 300-lap Super Late Model main event is the season finale for the ASA STARS National Tour and is jointly sanctioned by the ASA Southern Super Series and the ASA Champion Racing Association.

Past race winners include NASCAR national champions Rusty Wallace, Darrell Waltrip, Chase Elliott, John Hunter Nemechek and Daniel Hamrick, as well as short track legends Butch Lindley and Bob Sennecker. Current winners include Bubba Pollard, Casey Roderick, Matt Craig, Stephen Nasse and William Savalich, who have won in recent years.