LEGACY MOTOR CLUB Race Preview: Martinsville Speedway II - Speedway Digest

Race Information

Round: NASCAR Cup Series Race No. 35 of 36 (Playoffs Round of 8)

Track Location: Martinsville Speedway – Ridgeway, Virginia

Race Name: Xfinity 500

Broadcast: Sunday, October 29th at 2:00 PM ET live on NBC (TV), MRN (Radio), and SiriusXM NASCAR Channel 90

Team Entrants:

No. 42 | Carson Hocevar & Luke Lambert – Sunseeker Resort Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
No. 43 | Erik Jones & Dave Elenz – Allegian t Allways Reawards Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

Carson Hocevar, No. 42 Sunseeker Resort Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

Martinsville Speedway Stats

-NCS: Carson Hocevar will make his first NASCAR Cup Series start this weekend at Martinsville.

–NCTS: Starts: 4; Best Start: 7th (2023); Best Finish: 12th (2021); Laps Led: 10

2023 NASCAR Cup Series Season Stats

-Starts: 7; Best Start: 16th (Bristol); Best Finish: 11th (Bristol); No. 42 Owners Points: 32nd

2023 NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Season Stats

-Starts: 22; Wins: 4 (Texas, Nashville, Richmond, Homestead-Miami); Best Start: 2nd (twice); Top-5s: 11; Top-10s: 13; Laps Led: 271; Current Points Position: Tied for 1st

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Returning for More: After briefly stepping aside to let John Hunter Nemechek pilot the No. 42 entry last weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Carson Hocevar returns to the seat for the final two races of the season at Martinsville Speedway on Oct. 29th and Phoenix Raceway on Nov. 5th. Hocevar has driven the Sunseeker Resort Chevrolet for LEGACY M.C. in six races this year, producing a best finish of 11th at Bristol Motor Speedway. He was signed to drive the No. 77 Camaro for Spire Motorsports full-time next year and is expected to compete for Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors.

Sights on a Championship: Hocevar is coming off of a huge win in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series and is now locked into the Championship 4. Seeking his first Truck Series championship, Hocevar has had a dream season up to this point. Capturing four victories at Texas Motor Speedway, Nashville Superspeedway, Richmond Raceway, on top of last weekend’s win at Homestead-Miami Speedway, he has the most wins of any competitor within the series. Joining him in the Championship 4 are the likes of GMS Racing’s Grant Enfinger, Corey Heim, and Ben Rhodes. The NCTS season finale will be hosted at Phoenix Raceway on Friday, November 3rd.

On The Air: On Thursday, Hocevar will co-host Sirius XM NASCAR Radio’s “On Track” show with Danielle Trotta and Larry McReynolds from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM Eastern Time. He will break down the weekend’s news and highlights from Homestead-Miami as well as preview the upcoming race at Martinsville. Hocevar has shown interest in adding a broadcasting role to his resumé, and has the desire to commentate races in other series next year.

Hot Diggity Dog: Hocevar will be serving up the famous Martinsville hot dogs at the “Hot Dog Stand” in the infield on Sunday morning as a fun piece of content to be documented by NASCAR Productions and shown on the big screens placed around the racetrack for the fans to enjoy.

Luke at Martinsville: Luke Lambert has made 20 NASCAR Cup Series start as a crew chief at Martinsville Speedway. Lambert’s best finish at ‘The Paperclip’ was a third-place result in the fall, 2014 race while working with Ryan Newman. His drivers have had six top-10 finishes in the Cup Series races, and have led for a total of seven laps. Lambert has also made two NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at Martinsville, posting a best result of fourth place in last year’s fall race. In April this year, the No. 42 team started 29th and finished in 30th place.

Carson Appearances: Fans attending the Martinsville race will have opportunities to meet LEGACY MOTOR CLUB’s driver of the No. 42 Chevrolet:

Merchandise Rig Autograph Session | Sunday, Oct. 29th: Carson will sign autographs at the LEGACY MOTOR CLUB merchandise trailer in the Martinsville Speedway Fan Zone from 11:00 AM to 11:30 AM on race day.
Team Chevy Stage Q&A Session | Sunday, Oct. 29th: Following his autograph session at the merchandise trailer, Hocevar will hold a Q&A session at the Team Chevy stage from 11:30 AM to 11:45 AM.

Breast Cancer Awareness:For the final race held in October, a team tradition that has taken place for many years will continue at Martinsville Speedway. Both LEGACY MOTOR CLUB™ cars will carry pink ribbons onboard to honor family members of the respective car’s crew members that have been affected by breast cancer.

Quoting Carson Hocevar: Martinsville hot dogs or shifting at short tracks, which are you more a fan of?

“I’m a fan of Martinsville hot dogs, but I probably need to be more of a fan of eating them post-race though. I ate some before the race when we had a rain delay last year. Ross (Chastain) and I didn’t think we were going to race so we started ‘pounding dogs’ and all of the sudden they told us we were going to go racing and we just looked at each other and said, ‘oh no’. I’m excited to get back there though, because it’s always been a fun racetrack with the trucks. I don’t know if I’m going to be a fan of shifting at short tracks; it just seems like there’s a bunch going on, but I’ve never done it before so I can’t say yes or no yet. Hopefully we can qualify up front for the race with our Sunseeker Resort Chevy, because that’s going to be the key for sure. It’ll be good to hop back in the No. 42 car to finish out the year with these last two races for LEGACY M.C.!”

Erik Jones, No. 43 Allegiant Allways Rewards Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

Martinsville Speedway Stats

NCS Starts: 13; Best start: 8^th (Fall 2017 & Fall 2019) Best finish: 8^th (Fall 2021); Top-10s: 1

NCTS Starts: 5; Best start: 4^th (Spring 2014 & Spring 2015) Best finish: 3^rd (Spring 2015); Top-5s: 2; Top-10s: 4; Laps led: 2

2023 NASCAR Cup Series Season Stats

Starts: 34; Best start: 8th (COTA); Best finish: 3rd (Kansas II); Top-5s: 1; Top-10s: 7; Laps led: 24; Points position: 27th

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Homestead in the Rearview: Erik Jones’s weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway proved to be a bit of a roller coaster as he qualified in 19th position for the 4Ever 400. The No. 43 team ran into early challenges to find a competitive balance, which led to Jones slipping as far back as 34^th in the field. However, after adjustments at the end of Stage 1, Jones steered the team back into contention, making his way just outside of the top-10. To start the final stage, Jones sat in the 20th position but made significant progress, ultimately finishing 14th for LEGACY MOTOR CLUB.

Best finish at the Paper Clip: Jones has just one top-10 finish to his name at Martinsville Speedway, which came in the 2021 fall race. Jones began that race in 28th position and steadily advanced through the field. He came close to being lapped at the end of Stage 1 but rebounded during the second stage, where he ran up to the 15th position. Jones staged an impressive comeback 30 laps from the finish, reentering the top-10 and putting the No. 43 car back into contention, bringing home an eighth-place finish.

Trucking along: Jones has five career starts in the NASCAR Truck Series at Martinsville Speedway where he has earned two top-five and four top-10 finishes. Despite his consistent performances, Jones has led just two laps at Martinsville, with both laps being led during the spring race of 2015. On average, Jones started from 10th position with an average finishing position of 8.8 at the track known for its intense racing and famous hot dogs.

Petty in Martinsville: Richard Petty has a commanding record at Martinsville Speedway, with a record-breaking 15 victories in 67 starts. The King’s success extends to 30 top-five and 37 top-10 finishes with 2,823 laps led, showcasing his dominance at the iconic short track. Additionally, Petty maintains an average finish of 11.2, as his father Lee Petty, holds the all-time highest average finish at Martinsville, with an average of 5.5, requiring a minimum of 10 races run.

Dave at Martinsville: Crew Chief Dave Elenz has built an impressive track record at Martinsville Speedway, being a pivotal part of two winning teams. First, as an engineer with Jimmie Johnson and Hendrick Motorsports, and again as a crew chief in the Xfinity Series during his time with JR Motorsports. In 2021, Elenz and his team began the race from the ninth position. Their performance was nothing short of dominant, as they led an impressive 153 laps, ultimately taking the checkered flag. This marked Elenz’s first career Xfinity Series victory at the track, and his second Martinsville grandfather clock.

Off-Track Efforts: Erik Jones will serve as the co-chair for the Melanoma Research Foundation Gala, an event taking place on October 26th in New York City. Representing the Erik Jones Foundation, he will actively contribute to raising awareness and funds for melanoma detection and research, a cause that holds a personal significance to him and his family. For more information on the Melanoma Research Foundation, click here.

Meet Erik: Young fans and families in Martinsville will have a special opportunity to sit with Erik Jones during a #READwithErik in the NASCAR Kids Zone on Sunday at 10:30 a.m. The first 50 fans in attendance will receive a copy of “Little Blue Truck’s Halloween” by Alice Schertle, giving kids the chance to follow along with Erik as he reads.

Quoting Erik Jones: “Martinsville is always a crazy race this time of year, with it being a cutoff for the playoff guys, and going into Phoenix, there is a lot of chaos that normally happens there. I feel like we have improved our short track package, in general, so going into Martinsville hopefully, we can get there and have a solid day.”

LMC PR