MARTINSVILLE, VA. – William Byron has won two of the last three spring races at Martinsville Speedway. Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Larson accounted for the spring race victory in 2023, between Byron’s two triumphs.
Ryan Blaney has won the last two fall Playoff events at the 0.526-mile short track. Christopher Bell went to Victory Lane in the fall of 2022.
So, is there a difference between the two races? Is there a reason why Hendrick Motorsports seems so strong in the spring and less so in the fall?
“Yeah, I think typically there’s been a new tire going into the fall, so I don’t feel like we’ve had a repeat tire here at Martinsville in the Next Gen era (since 2022),” Byron said. “That’s really allowed us to hone in on our setup. So, yeah, that’s been, I feel like, part of the equation.
“And then, honestly, just the speed equation. I feel like we’ve been a step off in the fall. It seems like in the spring, everyone’s fairly even in the top five. The Gibbs cars can be pretty strong, and Penske is kind of not as strong in the spring, it seems like. And then they obviously get a lot better in the fall.
“So I don’t know. Based on how things are going lately, I feel like Penske’s going to be really good this weekend, and it’ll probably be a battle between all the top organizations. No tire change, so I think you’ll probably see the normal players that you saw in the fall.”
There’s another difference between the races. In 2022, the spring event was shortened to 400 laps, and the fall race remained at 500 laps.
To Josh Berry of Wood Brothers Racing, that won’t make a difference.
“I don’t think it changes too much,” said Berry, who claimed the first of his five NASCAR Xfinity Series victories at the track. “Honestly, 400 or 500 laps is still a lot of laps here. Definitely, the fall race is a little bit more of a grind…
“But I think it’s a good balance, and I love running laps around this place, so however many they have, I’ll hope to be out there.”
Source: Reid Spencer | NASCAR Wire Service
