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The NASCAR Cup Series drivers take on Martinsville Speedway for the first time in 2022 on Saturday, April 9 (7:30 p.m. ET, FS1). The initial odds are out, and they focus on the 2017 Cup Series champion, Martin Truex Jr.
According to BetMGM, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver holds the top spot with 5-1 odds to win at the Paperclip. He sits above Hendrick Motorsports driver Chase Elliott (7-1). JGR teammates Denny Hamlin — the winner of the Richmond race — and Kyle Busch sit in a tie with Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney with 8-1 odds to win.
Of the top five drivers, four have reached Victory Lane at Martinsville Speedway. Hamlin leads active drivers with five wins while Truex has three. Busch has two wins while Elliott has the one from 2020 that punched his ticket to the championship four. Blaney, for comparison, has 12 starts with five top-five finishes.
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If Truex wins at Martinsville Speedway, he will reach Victory Lane for the 32nd time in his career. This would put him in a tie with Hall of Famer Dale Jarrett for 27th on the all-time wins list, and move him one spot closer to both Fireball Roberts and Kurt Busch (33 wins).
Truex Can Continue His Winning Streak
GettyMartin Truex Jr. celebrates his third win at Martinsville Speedway.
While Hamlin has the most wins among active drivers, he hasn’t reached Victory Lane at the Virginia short track since the 2015 season. Truex, on the other hand, is on a winning streak lasting multiple seasons.
Truex won for the first time at Martinsville Speedway during the 2019 season. He captured the playoff race at the short track, along with the grandfather clock, and he secured his spot in the championship race at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Truex ultimately finished second in the standings behind Busch, who captured his second championship.
Months later, Truex won his second consecutive race at Martinsville Speedway. He punched his ticket to the playoffs by capturing the Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500 on June 10, 2020, and he added the second grandfather clock to his collection.
Martin Truex Jr. has won three of the last four Martinsville Cup races after formerly being 0-27 at the Paperclip.
The 2017 Cup Series champion extended his streak of consecutive seasons with a win at Martinsville in 2021. Hamlin led a race-high 276 laps, but Truex passed him on Lap 485 and held on for the final run to the checkered flag. He built up a lead of more than two seconds over Elliott and Hamlin and he won his third race at Martinsville after starting his career 0-27.
Kevin Harvick Holds Unique Bragging Rights at Martinsville
GettyKevin Harvick has several grandfather clocks in his collection.
The driver of the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford Mustang is fresh off his best finish of the 2022 season. He ended the race at Richmond second behind Hamlin and he secured his first top-five of the year. Now he will try to win his second Cup Series race at Martinsville after reaching Victory Lane for the first time in 2011.
Harvick enters the race weekend with unique bragging rights. He is the only Cup Series driver to capture grandfather clocks in all three national series. He took his own Truck Series team to Victory Lane in 2009 and 2010 before winning in a Richard Childress Racing entry in 2012.
Harvick added an Xfinity Series win at Martinsville Speedway during a truly dominant season in which he clinched his second championship with four races remaining on the schedule. He ran full-time during the 2006 season — with starts for both Richard Childress Racing and Kevin Harvick Incorporated — and won nine races (25.7% of his starts).
This championship season included his first Xfinity Series win at Martinsville on July 22. Harvick led 149 of the 250 laps and held off Clint Bowyer during the final run to the checkered flag to capture his first grandfather clock in the Xfinity Series.
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