All through the 2024 NASCAR season, Ken Martin, director of historic content material for the sanctioning physique, will provide his strategies on which historic races followers ought to watch from the library in preparation for every upcoming race weekend.
Martin has labored completely for NASCAR since 2008 however has been concerned with the game since 1982, overseeing varied initiatives. He has labored within the broadcast sales space for a whole lot of races, aiding the printed group with completely different duties. This contains calculating the “factors as they run” for the historic 1992 finale, the Hooters 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
The next strategies are Ken‘s picks to observe earlier than this Sunday‘s Xfinity 500 on the Martinsville Speedway (2 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports activities App).
Oct. 24, 2004, will probably be a day perpetually remembered as one of many darkest days in NASCAR historical past.
An plane owned by Hendrick Motorsports crashed in Virginia, killing all ten passengers on board. Those that misplaced their lives included Rick Hendrick‘s son Ricky, group president John Hendrick and his two daughters, Jennifer and Kimberly, engine builder Randy Dorton, normal supervisor Jeff Turner, DuPont‘s Joe Jackson and the pilot of the aircraft, Scott Lathram.
They had been on the best way to Martinsville Speedway to observe the race, however by no means made it to the observe. These on the observe turned conscious of the state of affairs as Jimmie Johnson received the race however didn’t go to Victory Lane due to the tragedy.
Quick ahead to 2014 and the Cup Collection arrived again at Martinsville on Oct. 24, 10 years to the day that the tragedy occurred.
Hendrick Motorsports was probably the most dominant group on the observe since 2003, as Jeff Gordon received 5 races on the observe and Johnson grabbed eight of his personal. It appeared greater than becoming if they may pull off one other victory throughout a somber weekend for the group, with these 10 who misplaced their lives recent on everybody‘s minds.
The race additionally marked the primary race of the ultimate spherical of the playoffs, with a visit to Homestead to race for the championship on the road if any of the eight remaining playoff drivers might pull off a victory.
These drivers included Gordon, Ryan Newman, Joey Logano, Matt Kenseth, Denny Hamlin, Carl Edwards, Brad Keselowski and Kevin Harvick.
Polesitter Jamie McMurray jumped out to an early lead and led the vast majority of the primary 85 laps earlier than Gordon discovered his option to the entrance.
He paced the sphere for the subsequent 83 laps earlier than the warning flag flew for a two-car incident.
Because the race progressed, it appeared like Gordon had the quickest automotive however a handful of drivers additionally had sturdy vehicles able to profitable, together with Logano, Hamlin, Bowyer and Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Tony Stewart stayed out on the observe as Gordon and Earnhardt Jr. got here into the pits for tires below a purple flag with 10 laps left.
Earnhardt Jr. powered his option to the entrance to steer the ultimate 4 laps, holding off Gordon as the 2 Hendrick drivers delivered an emotional one-two end for the group. It was his first win on the observe.
An emotional Earnhardt Jr. famous the tragedy in Victory Lane, speaking about how he is aware of firsthand how laborious occasions like these may be for a grieving household.
Newman, Stewart and Logano rounded out the rest of the highest 5.
The very best of highs and the bottom of lows.
Martinsville marked the primary race of the ultimate spherical of the playoffs, as all of them eyed the glory of with the ability to race for a championship at Homestead.
Jeff Gordon, Kyle Busch, Martin Truex Jr., Kevin Harvick, Carl Edwards, Brad Keselowski, Kurt Busch and Joey Logano had been the eight drivers remaining. These drivers have all since been named as certainly one of NASCAR‘s 75 Best Drivers in 2023 throughout NASCAR‘s seventy fifth Anniversary season, making the race look much more iconic on reflection.
All the season appeared to belong to Logano and continued to go his means because the months progressed. He kicked off the season with a victory within the Daytona 500, whereas additionally profitable at Watkins Glen and Bristol earlier than the playoffs began.
Just a few strong runs over the primary handful of playoff races stored Logano transferring on to the subsequent spherical however he actually ignited when the collection arrived at Charlotte.
He received the race at Charlotte and adopted that up with wins at Kansas and Talladega earlier than placing his No. 22 automotive on the pole at Martinsville.
His victory at Kansas got here regardless of some late-race drama on the observe between Matt Kenseth and himself, as Kenseth later claimed that it value him a shot at racing for the championship.
Logano continued along with his foot on the pedal at Martinsville, main 207 laps earlier than Kenseth exacted his revenge. Kenseth plowed into Logano‘s automotive heading into the flip, as Logano was nonetheless main the race, destroying each of their vehicles within the course of. This might ultimately result in a Thirty seventh-place end for Logano and a two-race suspension for Kenseth.
This arrange a late-race battle for the win, which was slowed by a handful of warning flags. The final of which arrange a shootout for the win.
Gordon, who had already introduced that the 2015 season can be the final of his legendary profession, held off a hard-charging Jamie McMurray to seize his 93rd profession victory and punch his ticket to race for a fifth Cup Collection title at Homestead.
Ross Chastain by no means had it straightforward.
He made his NASCAR nationwide collection debut in 2011 within the Craftsman Truck Collection, making 5 begins earlier than going full-time for Bobby Dotter in 2012.
Chastain confirmed flashes of promise, together with a third-place end at Bristol and a seventh at Martinsville. This helped him land a part-time schedule with Brad Keselowski Racing for the 2013 season.
He made 14 begins and completed tenth or higher in half of them, exhibiting much more indicators that the 20-year-old driver had a vibrant future if the celebs might simply merely align for the Alva, Florida driver.
Sadly, that was not the case. He landed a full-time trip for 2015 within the Xfinity Collection for JD Motorsports and stored trucking away for the group via the 2017 season.
That very same season he made his Cup Collection debut for Jay Robinson, ending a powerful twentieth for the group.
He received his massive break the next season, getting an opportunity to drive the No. 42 automotive for Chip Ganassi Racing within the Xfinity Collection. He sat on the pole and led 90 laps at Darlington in his first begin for the group however contact with Kevin Harvick ultimately led to a Twenty fifth-place end.
Two weeks later he received at Las Vegas, exhibiting the world that regardless of the gear he had as much as that time in his profession, he could possibly be a profitable driver.
Quick ahead via full-time rides with Jay Robinson, Kaulig Racing and some begins with Spire Motorsports and Roush Fenway Racing, Chastain had seemingly seen all of it.
2021 lastly appeared to be the 12 months the place the whole lot aligned for Chastain as he captured a full-time trip with Ganassi for the Cup Collection marketing campaign.
He completed twentieth in factors however three top-five finishes and eight top-10s constructed momentum for the next season. That was till it occurred once more.
Ganassi shut down his group and bought the belongings to the brand new Justin Marks and Pitbull partnership, dubbed Trackhouse Racing.
Chastain was ultimately employed to drive their No. 1 automotive however the now 29-year-old driver was backed into one other state of affairs the place he couldn‘t construct off of a earlier season and was beginning with a recent slate.
Someway, all of it appeared to click on off the bat for the brand new group and driver.
After two struggling efforts at Daytona and Auto Membership Speedway, Chastain completed third at Las Vegas and put collectively back-to-back second-place finishes the subsequent two weeks at Phoenix and Atlanta. The next race at COTA noticed Chastain seize the primary victory of his Cup Collection profession, seemingly locking himself into the playoffs for the primary time as effectively.
The playoffs noticed Chastain make it via the primary and second rounds, leaving him as one of many eight remaining drivers vying for a title on the finish of the season in Phoenix.
The primary two races of the spherical couldn‘t have gone a lot better for Chastain, as he completed second but once more at Las Vegas and at Homestead.
He arrived at Martinsville along with his season on the road, needing a victory or sufficient factors to maneuver himself into place to race for the title and obtain all of his goals.
As his probabilities of transferring on appeared slim to none as the ultimate laps handed by, Chastain air-mailed his automotive into the flip, using the wall all the best way previous the beginning/end line. He handed Denny Hamlin within the course of, leaving him with a fourth-place end and knocking Hamlin out of the playoffs whereas placing himself in with one of the crucial clutch moments in NASCAR historical past.
The transfer, hailed the “Hail Melon” had the complete NASCAR group buzzing, as Chastain heroically put himself alongside Martinsville race winner Christopher Bell, Joey Logano and Chase Elliott within the Closing 4.
