{"id":55378,"date":"2025-10-25T15:50:40","date_gmt":"2025-10-25T20:50:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/?p=55378"},"modified":"2025-10-25T20:47:34","modified_gmt":"2025-10-26T01:47:34","slug":"nascar-saturday-martinsville-notebook-7","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/2025\/10\/25\/nascar-saturday-martinsville-notebook-7\/","title":{"rendered":"NASCAR: Saturday Martinsville Notebook"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service<\/em><\/p>\n

Two Hendrick crew chiefs have vastly different perspectives at Martinsville<\/b><\/p>\n

MARTINSVILLE, Va.\u2014Cliff Daniels has multiple options. Alan Gustafson has one.<\/p>\n

The two Hendrick Motorsports crew chiefs come to Martinsville Speedway with significantly different points of view entering Sunday\u2019s Xfinity 500 (2 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).<\/p>\n

Daniels, who calls the shots from Kyle Larson\u2019s pit box, has the luxury of a 36-point margin above the current elimination line in the final race in the NASCAR Cup Series\u2019 Round of 8.<\/p>\n

Much of his focus will center on the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota of Christopher Bell, who enters the race in third place, 37 points above the cut line. If Larson can outscore Bell, he\u2019s likely to claim one of the two remaining spots in the Championship 4.<\/p>\n

Daniels believes both drivers will execute similar strategies, such as staying out for stage points while others in more desperate straits may short-pit to set up a potential race win.<\/p>\n

\u201cUltimately, I think there\u2019s a scenario where us and Bell would probably end up being very similar to each other, and what that would look like, unless there\u2019s a big disparity in our running positions,\u201d Daniels said on Saturday morning at Martinsville.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that will (be) almost dictated in the moment. If we\u2019re really close on track, we may end up matching each other. If we\u2019re not, then either of us could end up doing something different.\u201d<\/p>\n

The best case for Larson and Bell is for none of the four drivers below the elimination line\u2014William Byron, Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano or Chase Elliott\u2014to steal a berth in the title race by winning on Sunday.<\/p>\n

But that\u2019s not an assumption Daniels can afford to make.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve looked at it from a lot of different angles, and certainly our goal is to execute a good enough day that we can take care of our own circumstance without relying on whatever may happen with the others around us.<\/p>\n

\u201cCertainly, that\u2019s one of those scenarios we have to look at, that if a car below the cut line wins, have we done enough to get through? I think the way the race could play out could present a lot of different circumstances for that, and it\u2019s going to be our job to cover those and execute in the moment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Every decision Gustafson makes will be guided by one objective\u2014to win the race. His driver, Elliott, comes to Martinsville in eighth place, 62 points below the cut line. Elliott\u2019s only path to the Championship 4 goes through Victory Lane at the 0.526-mile short track.<\/p>\n

That circumstance isn\u2019t a new one for either Elliott or Gustafson. In 2020, Elliott won at Martinsville to qualify for the Championship 4 and went on to win the Cup title.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it helps a little bit,\u201d Gustafson said of the experience he and Elliott gained five years ago. \u201cI think it gives you confidence to know that you can accomplish that, right? I think any time that you do that\u2014whatever it is in your life\u2014you do something, and you\u2019re like, \u2018OK, this isn\u2019t impossible.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cPast that, I\u2019m not sure that\u2026 in racing years, it\u2019s been forever ago. You\u2019ve just got to make it happen again. Really, for me, it\u2019s more about how we\u2019re running currently and how we ran in the spring. I feel good about all those things and the preparation leading up to it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joey Logano says pressure reaches crescendo in Championship Week<\/b><\/p>\n

Having trouble with insomnia? Joey Logano suggests trying to fool yourself to sleep.<\/p>\n

The way Logano sees it, anyone who says the Championship 4 NASCAR Cup Series event is just another race is engaging in self-delusion.<\/p>\n

\u201cI said it last year, and I\u2019ll say it forever, if you say it\u2019s a normal week, it\u2019s just a way to help you sleep\u2014because you can\u2019t sleep,\u201d Logano asserted before Saturday\u2019s final Cup Series practice at Martinsville Speedway.<\/p>\n

Logano ought to know. He has three titles to his credit, earned in 2018, 2022 and 2024. In order to maintain his championship defense this year, however, the driver of the No. 22 Team Penske Ford believes he\u2019ll have to win Sunday\u2019s Xfinity 500, the race that will cut the Playoff field from eight drivers to the final four.<\/p>\n

Still, the win-or-bust scenario in the Round of 8 isn\u2019t as intense as the season finale with the Cup title on the line.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe pressure ratchets up every week,\u201d Logano said. \u201cIt affects you\u2014no doubt. I would assume it affects everyone. I don\u2019t see how it doesn\u2019t. If you care enough about it, you\u2019re going to be digging deep and trying to find that little bit more, and what\u2019s it going to take and all that.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe balance gets pretty off track in the Playoffs a lot of times. What\u2019s your main goal? In this time of year, it\u2019s all about winning championships. Your balance ticks a little more towards\u2026 you might have a little shorter fuse and all those type of things that happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

Harrison Burton joins Dean Thompson at Sam Hunt Racing<\/b><\/p>\n

As Sam Hunt Racing expands to two full-time cars, each with a full-time driver in 2026, Harrison Burton will join Dean Thompson on the organization\u2019s driver roster.<\/p>\n

Burton will drive the No. 24 Toyota in the newly entitled NASCAR O\u2019Reilly Auto Parts Series, with Thompson remaining in the No. 26 Toyota. Thompson has scored seven top-10 finishes this season, with a best of fifth at Charlotte in May.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like Dean has earned his seat at Sam Hunt Racing this year, and I wanted him back,\u201d said team owner Sam Hunt. \u201cHe\u2019s just done a great job, and there\u2019s a lot of pressure on Dean next year to continue that upward trajectory and continue to grow as a driver.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn the other hand, Harrison is something I\u2019m thrilled to announce. I\u2019ve known Harrison for years now at a bit of a distance, but I\u2019ve always admired how he treats people and how he acts along with how hard he works along with being a very accomplished race car driver.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me, this was just a very good human fit all the way around. These two guys I think a lot of and want to see succeed and make it to Sunday at some point. I just asked they buy in at the same level and be a part of this team\u2019s growth, and if they do, then we will have a chance to get both cars in the Playoffs.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the past two years, Burton has been in both the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series Playoffs. He won with Wood Brothers Racing at Daytona in 2024 to qualify for the Cup postseason. This year, he made the Playoffs on points with AM Racing and was eliminated in the Round of 12.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me, it\u2019s just an alignment of beliefs with Sam and their group and Dean,\u201d said Burton, who drove Toyotas earlier in his career for both Kyle Busch Motorsports in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series and Joe Gibbs Racing in the Xfinity Series.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat they believe in and how they race and the way they approach things, it\u2019s just a great fit. I couldn\u2019t be more excited to join this group for what feels like going back home with our friends with Toyota.\u201d<\/p>\n

Burton collected all four of his Xfinity wins with JGR in 2020.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service Two Hendrick crew chiefs have vastly different perspectives at Martinsville MARTINSVILLE, Va.\u2014Cliff Daniels has multiple options. Alan Gustafson has one. The two Hendrick Motorsports crew chiefs come to Martinsville Speedway with significantly different points of view entering Sunday\u2019s Xfinity 500 (2 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":676,"featured_media":50627,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[11],"tags":[407,16],"class_list":["post-55378","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nascar","tag-martinsville-speedway","tag-nascar"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/GettyImages-2207412155-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1707&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7hzTZ-epc","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55378","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/676"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55378"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55378\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":55387,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55378\/revisions\/55387"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50627"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55378"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55378"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55378"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}