04/14/2023

RFK Advance | Martinsville I

Martinsville I Event Info:
Track Info: Martinsville Speedway, 0.526-mile short track
Date: Sunday, April 16
Time: 3 p.m. ET
Series: NASCAR Cup Series (NCS)
Location: Ridgeway, Virginia
Format: 400 laps, 210 miles, Stages: 80-100-220
TV: FS1
Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

Weekend Schedule:
Saturday: 4:35 p.m. ET, Practice (FS2, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Saturday: 5:20 p.m. ET, Qualifying (FS2, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Sunday: 3 p.m. ET, Race (FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)

6 Team Info:
Crew Chief: Matt McCall
Partner: Fastenal

• April is designated as Month of the Military Child (MOMC), a time to celebrate the resiliency and strength of children within military families. Brad Keselowski and the Checkered Flag Foundation (CFF) will recognize MOMC by featuring the name of military children in purple letters – the official color of MOMC – above the passenger side door on the No. 6 Ford.
• Names will appear on the name rail for each of the April races – Richmond, Bristol, Martinsville, Talladega and Dover. Part of CFF’s mission is to honor military members and their families who all make sacrifices.
• This week’s featured name is the Hardy siblings.

17 Team Info:
Crew Chief: Scott Graves
Partner: NEXLETOL (bempedoic acid and ezetimibe)

Pace Laps:

• The NASCAR Cup Series schedule heads to Martinsville this weekend for another short-track showdown, this time on pavement, with 400 laps set for Sunday afternoon at ‘The Paperclip.’
• RFK is coming off an impressive showing at Martinsville in 2022 that saw its two Ford Mustangs qualify inside the top-10 three of the four times there. Keselowski crossed the line fourth which was his best finish of the season until a post-race disqualification.

Keselowski at Martinsville
Starts: 26
Wins: 2 (2017, 2019)
Top-10s: 17
Poles: 1 (2020)

• Keselowski, a two-time winner at Martinsville, is set for his 27^th Cup start at ‘The Paperclip.’
• Martinsville stands as one of Keselowski’s best tracks statistically with an average finish of 12^th, fourth-best among active tracks on the circuit behind Loudon (10^th), Pocono (10.7) and Las Vegas (11.9).
• He has finished top-10 in over 65 percent of his starts there. Of the 17 top-10s, 12 have been inside the top five. He earned his first Grandfather clock back in 2017 and won the same race two years later in the spring.
• Keselowski has finished fifth or better in 11 of his last 16 races at the track with a pair of runner-up results and three finishes of third.
• Last season he ran 17^th in the spring, and crossed the line fourth in the fall race before later being disqualified.
• He carries an average starting position of 11.1 into the weekend with 15 starts inside the top-10 and one pole (2010). Last season he qualified ninth in the spring and sixth in the fall.
• Keselowski also made four Truck Series starts from 2004-07.

Buescher at Martinsville
Starts: 15
Wins: —
Top-10s: 1
Poles: —

• Buescher is set for his 16^th Cup start at Martinsville this weekend where he has one top-10 (P9), which came in the 2021 fall race.
• Last season Buescher finished 15^th in the spring race and 24^th in the fall.
• He has three-straight top-15s in the spring event dating back to 2020 with a P13 result that spring, followed by another 13^th-place finish in 2021, and last season’s P15.
• Buescher has an average starting position of 22.5 at Martinsville and is coming off a career qualifying effort of fourth last spring.

RFK Historically at Martinsville
Cup Wins: 4 (Mark Martin, 1992, 2000; Jeff Burton, 1997; Kurt Busch, 2002)

• For Whom the Bell Tolls: RFK has earned four Grandfather Clocks at Martinsville with former drivers Mark Martin (two), Jeff Burton and Kurt Busch. RFK most recently went to victory lane with Busch in Oct. 2002.
• Rock Around the Clock: RFK had its overall most-successful outing at Martinsville in the spring of 2002 when it placed all four of its cars inside the top 10 with drivers Martin, Burton, Busch and Matt Kenseth.
• Closing Time: RFK earned a one-two finish in the April 9, 2000 event at Martinsville with former drivers Martin and Burton. Martin paced the field for 64 laps en route to the victory.
• Short-Track Prowess: RFK has started a total of 696 NCS races on short tracks, recording a total of 23 wins, 124 top-five finishes, 247 top-10 finishes and 7,863 laps led.
• Tale of the Tape: RFK has started 224 NCS races at Martinsville, recording four victories, 26 top-five finishes, 69 top-10 finishes, an average finish of 17.8 and has led 1,378 laps. RFK also boasts two NASCAR Truck Series wins in 46 starts at Martinsville (fall of ’03 and ’05).

RFK Martinsville Wins

1992-1   Martin  Cup
1997-2   Burton  Cup
2000-1   Martin  Cup
2002-2   Busch    Cup
2003-2   Wood         Truck
2005-2   Craven       Truck

Last Time Out & Where They Stand
Bristol Dirt: Keselowski finished 17^th in the King’s Hawaiian Ford, while Buescher had his sights set on a top-10 before a spin in front of him on the race’s final restart ultimately set him back to finish 18^th.

Points Standings (6: 9^th, 17: 16^th): Keselowski remains inside the top-10 in points heading into the ninth points race of 2023, while Buescher sits inside the playoff picture in 16^th.

By the Numbers at Martinsville

Race      Win       T5           T10         Pole       Laps       Led        AvSt      AvFn     Miles

                    224         4              26           69           4              107622  1378       20.2        17.8        56609.1

                    3              0              0              1              0              750         0              28.0        19.3        394.5

               46           2              14           24           3              10256    270         12.4        12.3        5394.6

273         6              40           94           7              118628  1648       20.2        16.5        62398.2