We had to wait an extra day for it, but we finally got our dirt race, and boy, was it something! Joey Logano, an unlikely winner, came away with the least amount of mud spending a lot of time out front. Nobody had him winning that race, and now we come to Martinsville; nothing this season has happened as expected, do we see another surprise and our 8th different winner tonight?
Here’s what to look for:
–Martin Truex Jr. was our winner here last Spring, and he did so after winning the previous Fall race. He wasn’t a short track guy until recently, but that has changed very much so. He is the favorite to win tonight, and someone to watch, for sure.
–Chase Elliott won the Fall race, a crucial victory which secured his entry to the Championship final at Phoenix. He’d go onto win that one, too. Of course, this is a very different season already, and while he hasn’t won yet, he’s been running in the Top 10 often. As the most recent winner here, he is someone that could very well repeat.
–Denny Hamlin has our best average finish here (9.9), and sports five Wins! Looking to keep the train moving, he’ll roll off from 2nd and should have a nice view all day.
-Maybe even more impressive, Brad Keselowski carries a 3.8 average finish over the last ten races with nine Top 10s! He’s got two victories in that span as well, no doubt angling for a 3rd tonight. Keselowski launches from 10th in his quest for yet another Top 10.
–Alex Bowman missed a pair of Top 5s by two cumulative positions in 2020, finishing 6th in each Martinsville race. He’s like “I can do better than that!” Alright, I don’t know if he said that, but I’m saying it. Bowman will be up on the wheel tonight, but he’s got some work to do rolling off 20th.
Lisa has been setting the kitchen on fire already, but we took a little break from that for our main meal this week:
After a day of waterfall hunting in Upstate NY, we stopped by Lures in Kendall by the edge of Lake Ontario to Relax and Unwind. Knowing that today was Martinsville, and Virginia is known for their blue crab (and peanuts, stay tuned!), I opted for the crab cakes…and was treated to the best crab cakes I’d ever eaten in a restaurant! Lisa made some last year that were pretty darn good, and way too good for how little they cost. In any event, great meal with some coconut shrimp (pictured), and a grilled chicken sandwich, clam chowder, and a grilled prime rib sandwich, too. And then…dessert!
Peanut Pie returns after an awesome 2020 appearance. Didn’t take long to whip this thing up, and we’re saving it for the race. Sounds like some weather is in the area, “but this track dries fast” we’re told. Hopefully we get the race in tonight, and similarly I hope we get to eat a ton of this pie, too. Nice job, Leese!
Coverage of the race starts on FS1 at 7:30pm, green flag scheduled for 8pm. Again, weather in the area so that start time may be in jeopardy.
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