What Happened?
RIDGEWAY, Va. – Kyle Larson overtook and outran Joey Logano in the closing laps of the NASCAR Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway on Sunday (April 16) to claim his second win of 2023. Martin Truex Jr, Denny Hamlin and Chase Briscoe followed to complete the top five finishers.
It was Hendrick Motorsports’ 28th Cup victory and Larson’s first at the Virginia short track.
But What Really Happened?
When Frontstretch reporters arrived at Richmond on Sunday morning, there was a line of cars we had to pass to reach the parking area entrance.
It was about the most passing that happened all day.
At the beginning of the year, NASCAR announced it would change the short track package on the Next Gen car in hopes of improving the racing product. Even after Phoenix Raceway and Richmond Raceway, there were those that had waited on this new package’s true test: Sunday’s 400-lap event at Martinsville.
Much like most of the field on Sunday, it did not pass.
Austin Dillon had made the most total green flag passes with 89 by the end of the race at Martinsville. Seems like a lot, right?
Except for when you realize that at the two-mile long Auto Club Speedway, one of the complete opposites of a short track, the pass leader, Tyler Reddick, had made 177 green flag overtakes. That’s just a bit more than Sunday’s conveyer belt.
When it was all said and done, many of the top finishers of the event were disappointed with how the cars had performed on the paperclip circuit. Leaders were able to pull away easily, passing cars was difficult, and most importantly, tire wear was nearly non-existent. It was at the point where having fresher tires proved almost no advantage over the rest of the field.
Just ask Larson. After all, he only took two tires on his last stop and outpaced the rest of the field on his route to a win. Or you can ask Todd Gilliland, who was running as high as second at one point after only taking two tires during a caution flag.
Don’t get it twisted, there were still some massive improvements on Sunday over last year’s spring edition of the Martinsville race, and we’ll get to that.
However, Sunday’s race proved there’s still work to be done for the short track package on the Next Gen, and whatever changes need to be made, they need to…
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