News

Track:  Martinsville Speedway    
Race:   Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 400
Date:   April 9, 2022
 

No. 2 Menards/Moen Ford Mustang – Austin Cindric
Start: 13th
Race Finish: 11th
Stage 1 Finish: 9th
Stage 2 Finish: 8th
Laps Led: 0
Point Standings: 14th (-87)

Race Rundown: Austin Cindric started 13th and finished 11th in Saturday's NASCAR Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway. The driver of the Menards/Moen Ford Mustang would run solidly inside the top-10 for much of the race, finishing stage one ninth and stage two eighth. The Rookie of the Year candidate was scored in the 11th position for NASCAR Overtime,  where he would remain at the conclusion of the race.    

Cindric's Thoughts: "Super solid race for our Menards/Moen Mustang. Guys had great pit stops all night long. We had really good speed. Felt like we were good on the short run.  We ran in the top-10 for most of the entire night.  Overall, it was a really representative effort for this group, plus or minus a few positions.  I'm proud to be able to do my part."
 

No. 12 Advance Auto Parts Ford Mustang – Ryan Blaney
Start: 12th
Race Finish: 4th
Stage 1 Finish: 7th
Stage 2 Finish: 4th
Laps Led: 5
Point Standings: 2nd (-3)

Race Rundown: Ryan Blaney started 12th and finished fourth in the No. 12 Advance Auto Parts Ford Mustang in Saturday night's 400-lap race at Martinsville Speedway. Blaney showed tremendous pace early in the race, particularly the midway point of a long-green flag run. The driver of the No. 12 Ford scored stage points in both the first and second stages with finishes of seventh and fourth respectively. Crew chief Jonathan Hassler made subtle adjustments to the Advance Auto Parts Mustang, keeping Blaney inside the top-five the majority of the second and third stage. Blaney would finish the event in the fourth position, notching his third top-five of the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season.

Blaney's Thoughts: "It was overall a decent night.  We had a pretty fast car, but never got out front and never got to where we could race for the lead.  You have to be a half-second faster than somebody to pass somebody.  You'd run someone down by four seconds and then get stuck behind them, so that was pretty disappointing.  Overall, it was a really good night.  I thought our car was fast, just never got the lead or even got a chance at the lead.  Overall, not a bad night."

 
No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford Mustang – Joey Logano
Start: 14th
Race Finish: 2nd
Stage 1 Finish: 8th
Stage 2 Finish: 3rd
Laps Led: 0
Point Standings:  4th (-27)
 
Race Rundown: Joey Logano started 14th and finished second in Saturday night's 400-lap event at Martinsville Speedway in the No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Mustang. Logano steadily moved forward from the drop of the green flag, reaching the eighth position before the conclusion of the first stage. In the second stage, Logano finished third with the Shell-Pennzoil team only making slight air pressure adjustments to the No. 22 Ford throughout the event. On a green-white-checkered restart, Logano made one final move to try and get to eventual race winner William Byron, but fell just short and brought the No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Mustang home in the runner-up position.

Logano's Thoughts: "I could have tried to hit him harder.  That might have been what I needed to do.  William did a good job of executing up front on the restart there.  I was able to get to him because he made a mistake off of four taking the white flag and I thought, ‘OK, this is my chance.'  My car didn't fire off real fast, but kind of gave me the opportunity to get to him.  I got to him and kind of rooted him up a little bit and then he came back down and just brake-checked me pretty good at the two-thirds as he should.  I'm not mad about that.  He should do that and that just killed my momentum off of two and gapped me by two car lengths almost into the final corner.  I was too far back to get to him at that point, so I just hate being that close.  It was a solid run for our car today.  Our Mustang was solid, especially on the long haul.  We just didn't fire off as fast as we needed to and it kind of came down to that at the end."