NASCAR WCUP: Racing at Martinsville; Big Cars, Small Track
26 September 2000
Posted By Terry CallahanMotorsports Editor, The Auto Channel
"We drive some big, heavy cars for such a small track like Martinsville. But we always get real racy there and it is always a really good show. It's not one of my favorite races, however, in the spring we really did a great job there and led some laps. We've got a really good car for this race because we're taking the "M&M's" Pontiac we just finished 10th with at New Hampshire. I see us going back to Martinsville, qualifying better than 12th and leading some more laps." --Ken Schrader * The "M&M's" Pontiac that Ken Schrader will drive this weekend at Martinsville Speedway has accumulated quite a record so far in the 2000 season. This particular car has four previous starts including two each at Richmond and New Hampshire. Two weeks ago Schrader started ninth and finished 10th in the car, which also has a 12th-place finish and has qualified in the top 10 three times this season.
* Springtime in Martinsville was quite a pleasant time for the "M&M's" Racing Team in 2000. When the Winston Cup Series made their last appearance at the half-mile flat track, the "M&M's" Pontiac found itself leading the pack for 23 laps during the middle stages of the race. Schrader and the team were out of sync with the leaders on pit stops, which played into their favor when they took the lead on lap 302.
* The "M&M's" Racing Team has a strong record at the .5-mile oval in southern Virginia. The team's Martinsville highlight was winning the pole position in the fall of 1998 and qualifying seventh in the spring of 1999. The "M&M's" Team has made a total of seven starts at the track, collecting two top-10 finishes. Their strongest run to date was an eighth-place finish in 1998 after starting from the pole position.
Text provided by Laura Ehret
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