NASCAR WCUP: 'M&M's' Racing Team Martinsville Speedway Highlights
29 September 1999
Posted By Terry
Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel
The "M&M's" Racing Team captured the pole position last fall at
Martinsville Speedway with Ernie Irvan behind the wheel. The "M&M's"
Pontiac turned a lap of 20.229 seconds and speed of 93.600 mph. The
"M&M's" Racing Team went on to finish eighth in the event. Combined with
Nadeau's fourth-place qualifying effort in the spring of this year, the
"M&M's" Racing Team has a solid chance at a repeat pole-winning
performance.
The "M&M's" Racing Team matched their best qualifying effort of the season last weekend at Dover Downs International when driver Jerry Nadeau turned in the second-fastest qualifying speed, less than one-one thousandths of a second off the pole winning time. It was Nadeau's best start of the season.
Despite a crash in happy hour last weekend at Dover that forced the team into a backup car and the 43rd starting position, the "M&M's" Racing Team turned in a solid performance during the 400-lap event. The "M&M's" Pontiac, which was the team's backup car, picked up 27 positions during the event to finish 16th.
The "M&M's" Racing Team has qualified in the top 10 in three of its last five races, including second at Dover, third at Darlington and eighth at Bristol.
Regarding the new pit road configuration at Martinsville, crew chief Ryan Pemberton said, "The new configuration definitely took away the disadvantage of pitting on the backstretch, but it made for a very long pit road at such a short track. We pitted between turns one and two in the spring, but the stalls didn't seem any tighter than usual, nor did it affect our pit stops. Pit road has always been tight at Martinsville."
Jerry Nadeau's thoughts on racing at Martinsville Speedway...
"The are certain things you have to keep in mind when you are racing at Martinsville. One is taking care of your brakes and the other is being patient. This will be my fourth start at Martinsville, but I'm not too worried about the brake situation because I'm pretty good at taking care of them. My biggest challenge will be patience and taking care of my race car. You can't drive too hard or too aggressive at Martinsville because that's not how you get to victory lane.
"Pit road at Martinsville is a lot different than any other because it seems like you are on pit road forever. The pit stalls are very tight, especially in the turns where I pitted in the spring, so you have to be on your toes to watch out for everyone dodging in and out of their pit stalls."
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