Petty GMS Event Preview: Martinsville Speedway

Petty GMS at Martinsville Speedway

– Continuing the Legacy: While Petty GMS continues in its inaugural season, both the Petty and GMS organizations have a storied history at Martinsville Speedway.

NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty leads the NASCAR Cup Series in wins at the Virginia short track with a total of 15 wins (1960, 1962, 1963, 1967 sweep, 1968, 1969 sweep, 1970, 1971, 1972 sweep, 1973, 1975, 1979), marking the most any driver in the series has won at a single track.

Maury Gallagher’s GMS Racing has earned four NASCAR Camping World Truck Series checkered flags at the track affectionally known as “the paperclip” – two with Johnny Sauter (2016, 2018), one with Chase Elliott (2017), and one with Zane Smith (fall 2021).

– Tune In Alert: The green flag will wave for the Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 400 at Martinsville Speedway on Saturday, April 9 at 7:30 p.m. ET. FS1 will carry the live television broadcast, while the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90 will provide radio coverage of the 400-lap event.

Ty Dillon, No. 42 ChevyLiners.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

Dillon at Martinsville Speedway:

– Dillon has competed in eight NASCAR Cup Series events at Martinsville Speedway, finishing inside the top 22 positions in six of those starts. The North Carolina native has also participated in six NASCAR Xfinity Series races, earning two top-five results.

– Run with the Best: ChevyLiners.com will serve as primary partner on Dillon’s Chevrolet Camaro for Saturday night’s race at Martinsville, marking the third consecutive event that the grey and mustard colors of Chevrolet Accessories have adorned the No. 42 machine.

– About ChevyLiners.com: When it comes to floor protection for your Chevrolet, be sure to run with the best. For ultimate interior protection, Premium All-Weather Floor Liners by Chevrolet Accessories are the solution. Offering precision coverage around interior trim, driver pedals, seat tracks, and door sills, they’re constructed of quality materials that provide optimum carpet and interior trim protection, isolating debris and moisture while remaining removable for cleaning.

– From the Drivers Seat: What has your experience been with the Next Gen car so far? What are your thoughts on this new model?

“I love it. Anytime there is a massive change, it opens the door for massive opportunity. That is the way that I choose to look at it. I don’t like to get stuck on change and why it shouldn’t work, but why it is going to work. It has been a lot of fun to drive. There are a lot of nuance things that I still don’t know why it feels a certain way or why it does certain things, but that is something over time that we will learn and build a notebook on. Time is only going to tell when you’ve had so many years of experience in a certain style and build of a car. There are so many new components of the car and as a driver, you become more connected to the car with more laps that you have in it. I’m growing in it, we are all growing in it, and it’s only a matter of time before it feels second nature to drive it.”

Erik Jones, No. 43 FOCUSfactor Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

Jones at Martinsville Speedway:

– Jones has competed in 10 NASCAR Cup Series races at Martinsville Speedway, posting an eighth-place finish in the fall of 2021. The 25-year-old also has five starts in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, collecting two top-five and four top-10 finishes.

– Sharp Focus: FOCUSfactor will serve as primary partner on Jones’s Chevrolet Camaro for Saturday night’s race at Martinsville. As the anchor sponsor on the No. 43 machine, FOCUSfactor’s blue and green colors have been on display for every race so far this season.

– In the Booth: Jones will join Adam Alexander and Austin Dillon in the television booth for the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at the Virginia short track on Friday evening. Tune in to FS1 at 7:30 p.m. ET to hear Jones provide driver insights to the broadcast.

– About FOCUSfactor: FOCUSfactor is sold at America’s leading retailers such as Costco, Wal-Mart, Walgreens, CVS, The Vitamin Shoppe and Amazon.com. FOCUSfactor, America’s leading brain health supplement, is a nutritional supplement that includes a proprietary blend of brain supporting vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and other nutrients. In December 2012, the United States Patent and Trademark Office issued US Patent 8,329,227 covering FOCUSfactor’s proprietary formulation “for enhanced mental function”. The issuance of the patent marked one of the few times a patent has been issued for a nationally branded nutritional supplement. FOCUSfactor is clinically tested with results demonstrating improvements in focus, concentration and memory in healthy adults.

– From the Drivers Seat: How are you adapting to the Next Gen car? Does it fit your driving style?

“You are constantly learning. Every time you hit the racetrack, you are going through figuring out what this car likes from a driver standpoint – of what you can do as a driver to make it better, what you need to ask for to make it better. People are having to drive a tighter racecar at this point. No one is super comfortable with driving it free and figuring out what the limits are. But that is part of a new car and learning through it. Overall, I feel pretty comfortable with it. I do feel like it suits my driving style, especially on short tracks and so far, the mile and a half as well. I’ve been pretty happy with the race car and how it’s drove to this point.”