#SrigleyStats Weekend Recap: Martinsville Speedway
Taking a look back at a close-quarters weekend from Martinsville for the NASCAR Cup, Xfinity, and Truck Series, as well as the Srigley Stats Spotlight Driver William Sawalich.
PHOTO CREDIT: Jonathan McCoy, TobyChristie.com
The NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series, and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series got to experience a close-quarters weekend in Martinsville, Virginia, returning to one of NASCAR’s original tracks, Martinsville Speedway.
Overall, the weekend was kind of soggy, with the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series racing on wet weather tires, and the weather being hit-or-miss for the entirety of the weekend at the half-mile paperclip.
Let’s take a look back at some of the #SrigleyStats from Martinsville, as well as a quick recap of each race’s finishing order, and the #SrigleyStats Spotlight Driver.
For those looking for the #SrigleyStats Sheet, don’t worry, that will be released to paid subscribers later this week! If you’re interested in gaining access to the #SrigleyStats Sheet, you can subscribe for $5/month or $50/year, down below:
NASCAR Cup Series - NOCO 400 at Martinsville - Top-10:
#5 Kyle Larson - Hendrick Motorsports
#22 Joey Logano - Team Penske
#19 Martin Truex, Jr. - Joe Gibbs Racing
#11 Denny Hamlin - Joe Gibbs Racing
#14 Chase Briscoe - Stewart-Haas Racing
#10 Aric Almirola - Stewart-Haas Racing
#12 Ryan Blaney - Team Penske
#47 Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. - JTG Daugherty Racing
#23 Bubba Wallace - 23XI Racing
#9 Chase Elliott - Hendrick Motorsports
NASCAR Xfinity Series - Call 811 Before You Dig 250 at Martinsville - Top-10:
#20 John Hunter Nemechek - Joe Gibbs Racing
#18 Sammy Smith - Joe Gibbs Racing
#00 Cole Custer - Stewart-Haas Racing
#8 Josh Berry - JR Motorsports
#9 Brandon Jones - JR Motorsports
#7 Justin Allgaier - JR Motorsports
#11 Daniel Hemric - Kaulig Racing
#16 Derek Kraus - Kaulig Racing
#25 Brett Moffitt - AM Racing
#16 Chandler Smith - Kaulig Racing
NASCAR Truck Series - Long John Silver’s 200 at Martinsville - Top-10:
#11 Corey Heim - TRICON Garage
#51 Kyle Busch - Kyle Busch Motorsports
#38 Zane Smith - Front Row Motorsports
#98 Ty Majeski - ThorSport Racing
#15 Tanner Gray - TRICON Garage
#99 Ben Rhodes - ThorSport Racing
#25 Matt DiBenedetto - Rackley WAR
#17 Taylor Gray - TRICON Garage
#1 William Sawalich - TRICON Garage
#4 Chase Purdy - Kyle Busch Motorsports
#SrigleyStats Spotlight Driver: William Sawalich
PHOTO CREDIT: Jonathan McCoy, TobyChristie.com
William Sawalich had a lot to handle in making his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series debut in Friday’s Long John Silver’s 200 at Martinsville Speedway, more than the 16-year-old driver has had to deal with in his entire career.
For starters, the Eden Prairie, Minnesota native had never made laps in a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series vehicle prior to Friday’s 15-minute practice session from the half-mile paperclip, and piling even more on top, the field was bound to be the toughest competition of his young career.
He managed fairly decently, posting the 10th-quickest lap overall in the practice session, but struggled in the single-car qualifying session that followed immediately after, qualifying 22nd for the event.
Believe it or not, that was the easiest part of the weekend for the Joe Gibbs Racing driver in the ARCA Menards Series East. When starting the race, Sawalich joined the remainder of the field by racing in damp conditions for the opening 30 laps of the event, something never before done in NASCAR’s top-three series on an oval.
He, along with the 35 other drivers in the field for the event, survived the wet weather tires with no incidents, a feat that nobody expected when the green flag dropped. Then, when the track got to be dry, and the “normal” racing resumed, Sawalich became one of the quickest drivers on the track.
The TRICON Garage driver, who will compete in several NASCAR Truck Series events driving the No. 1 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro, made his way into the top-10 for the majority of the event and was fighting for even more, when his entire race just about went up in smoke.
Instead, Sawalich managed to make one of the most incredible saves in recent memory, driving sideways from the entrance to turn one, all the way to the three-quarter mark of the second turn - and he didn’t even drop outside the top-10 doing so.
Having a three-year contract with Joe Gibbs Racing, which will eventually land him a seat in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, Sawalich is surely going to be one of the best up-and-coming drivers in NASCAR for quite a few years.
Stewart-Haas Racing has struggled throughout the majority of the NASCAR Cup Series season thus far, with only Kevin Harvick showing the strength we’re accustomed to for the four-car operation.
That’s why the speed this weekend at Martinsville was so surprising, with all four cars being contenders for a spot inside the top five throughout the entire weekend. Moreso, Ryan Preece, and Chase Briscoe each led 100+ laps in the event.
It’s the first time in Stewart-Haas Racing’s 1,728 NASCAR Cup Series starts that the organization has had two drivers lead triple-digit laps in an event.
Another statistical anomaly came from the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series event - you know, other than the wet weather tires - where every single truck that started the event, was running at the finish.
It’s only the second time in NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series history, lasting 673 races, that every single driver and team that started the event, was running at the finish.