Johnny Benson

Based on how well they run at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway, I'm going with either Tony Stewart or Jeff Gordon to win Sunday's Nextel Cup race at the smallest track on NASCAR's top circuit.

This will be the second of 16 races this season for NASCAR's Car of Tomorrow, which debuted last week at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway, and received some negative reviews like the one from race winner Kyle Busch.

The Hendrick Motorsports driver said that the COT handled miserably, was very tough to turn, and wasn't nearly as maneuverable as the Nextel Cup car it will eventually replace on a full-time basis.

Cup drivers and teams are hoping for a better racing experience with the COT this weekend.

Working in Stewart's and Gordon's favor
Stewart is the defending champion in this race, having dominated last year by leading 288 of the 500 laps, and winning by 1.083 seconds over Gordon.

The two-time Cup champion has finished no worse than fourth in his last three races at this half-mile oval. Last year he posted a fourth-place finish in October to go with his win in April.

In 2005 Stewart was extremely strong at Martinsville when in the two Cup races combined he led 530 of the 1,000 laps run. That gave him the best running position (3.784) of any Cup driver. But despite that dominance, he didn't get a win in either the spring or the fall.

With Stewart looking like he was on his way to a victory in the 2005 spring event, a broken right front wheel on lap 431 spoiled a terrific run. Stewart wound up 26th.

In the fall of 2005, Stewart grabbed the pole by setting a new track record -- 19.306 seconds at an average speed of 98.083 mph. It was Stewart's third career pole at Martinsville.

He led seven times for a race-high 283 laps, but finished second to Gordon, whose decision to attempt to hold track position was better than pitting for four fresh tires late in the race, and it paid off in a win.

At this paperclip-shaped track, Stewart has made 16 starts, resulting in two wins, three poles, six top-fives, and nine top-10s.

Gordon has an eye-popping Cup resume at Martinsville. Coming across the checkers first on Sunday would give him his fifth trip to Victory Lane in his last nine Cup races at this venue.

He has twice recorded a sweep at Martinsville, 2005 and 2003, when he won both events from the pole, leading 503 of 1,000 laps.

In his career, Gordon has six poles, 16 top-fives, and 22 top-10s to go along with his seven wins in 28 Martinsville starts.

At Martinsville he has an average start of 7.1, and an average finish of 7.5, and he has never posted a DNF (Did Not Finish). The Hendrick Motorsports racer is the winningest active driver at what is one very tough short track.

Gordon, who last week took over the points lead, feels Martinsville should be a little bit easier to adapt to with the COT than Bristol was because there won't be the loads, the banking, and the drop-off transitions there were at the Tennessee track.

Other drivers to watch
Jeff Burton and Kevin Harvick, two of the three Cup drivers at Richard Childress Racing, both run very well at Martinsville. And as shown by its resurgence last season, RCR is strongly headed in the right direction.

Burton's just three markers back of the points lead, and he's come home in the top 10 in nearly half of his Martinsville Cup starts. In 25 races at this venue, he has a win, nine top-fives, and 12 top-10s.

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The veteran placed second in last week's short-track battle at Bristol, so he's staying with the same COT chassis he used last Sunday. But unlike at Bristol where he had a dozen hours of testing in the COT, Burton will tackle Martinsville sans any COT testing at the Virginia half-mile layout.

Fifth in points, Harvick has crossed the checkers in the top 15 in his last three Martinsville Cup races, and he has four top-10s in 11 starts at this oval. He'll be in the same COT chassis he drove to a fourth-place finish last Sunday at Bristol.

Helping Harvick to the 2006 Busch Series championship was a win at Martinsville on July 22 of last year. He'll run in Saturday's Craftsman Truck Series race at the Virginia track, which should only help his chances at a win on Sunday.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. is still looking for his first Cup win at Martinsville, where he's made some strong bids at getting to Victory Lane. Junior has six top-five finishes in his last 10 starts at this short track.

He should make a serious run at a top-10 finish on Sunday, although he's not the threat to win that Stewart and Gordon are. The No. 8 Chevrolet of Dale Earnhardt Inc. is moving forward as it has had three consecutive solid races after finishes of 32nd and 40th in the first two Cup events this year.

In this event last year Junior impressively fought his way back from two separate crashes to take his battered car to a fourth-place finish. He will be looking to stay out of trouble and continue to work his way up in points after his tough start to the season.

Kyle Busch was really fast at Martinsville in his two races last year, finishing fifth in this event. He's off to a strong start this season with three top-10s in the first five races. Busch will race a COT chassis that was his backup car last Sunday at Bristol.

A Hendrick Motorsports teammate of both Jeff Gordon and Kyle Busch, Jimmie Johnson took the pole for this event last year, and led the race four times for 195 laps before placing third.

After vibration problems with his car dropped him to a 35th-place finish in his first ever Martinsville race, Johnson has not come home out of the top 10 in his next nine races at this oval.

In his 10 Martinsville starts, the defending Cup champion has two wins, a pole, six top-fives, and nine top-10s. His average finish at this track is 7.2, the best among active drivers.

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