Brad Keselowski’s victory in last April’s STP 500 at Martinsville Speedway was as clutch as they come – earning his first ever win at the challenging half-mile track and Ford’s first trophy there in a more than a decade (28 races).
A thrilling duel with Kyle Busch in the final 60 laps earned Keselowski his second win of the very early 2017 season – a trophy to pair with his Atlanta victory only four weeks earlier. This season, Keselowski and his Team Penske teammates Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney arrive at NASCAR’s historic venue primed to shift the 2018 season into full gear.
The Penske threesome – Logano, Keselsowski and Blaney – are ranked third, fourth, and fifth, respectively, in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series standings entering Sunday’s STP 500 (2 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) and possess both promising momentum and recent history on their side.
All three drivers drove their Ford Fusions to top-eight results last weekend at Auto Club Speedway. And the .526-mile Martinsville track is a place where this trio of drivers makes a good case for victory.
Logano, who boasts four top 10s and a pair of top-five finishes through the first five races of 2018, has won the pole position at Martinsville in four of the last six races. Keselowski, who has collected a pair of top fives and three top 10s this year, is the defending race winner. And Blaney, who has three top 10s and a top five to date this season, scored his best-ever finish (eighth) at the track in last race there in November. He has three top-five finishes in five NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races at Martinsville, too.
Logano is still looking for his first Monster Energy Series win at Martinsville, but certainly must feel it imminent considering his track record. Not only has he won the pole award four times, he has led laps in his last eight starts – four times he’s led 50 laps or more. He’s finished in the top 10 in five of the last eight races and was fourth in the spring race last year as his Penske teammate celebrated in Victory Lane.
Source: Holly Cain | NASCAR Wire Service
