Chris Graythen / Getty Images for NASCAR file

Hendrick Motorsports teammates Jimmie Johnson, left, and Jeff Gordon are two of the top five contenders for a win in Sunday's Sprint Cup Series race at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway, writes Johnny Benson of NBCSports.com.

Keys to success at Martinsville
Martinsville Speedway is a short, tight track so driver patience will be a key factor in deciding which car gets to Victory Lane.

This is the smallest track on the Cup circuit, and it's probably as hard on equipment as any track run by NASCAR's top series, especially brakes and rearend gears. The brakes take an especially tough beating because of the short turns off the long straightaways, forcing constant accelerating and braking. Drivers will have to make concerted efforts to save on their brakes. Also engines go through a tremendous amount of RPM changes but the teams have done outstanding jobs on these engines so we have not seen as many problems as might be expected.

Pit road is so narrow we will almost certainly see some cars banging into each other when entering and exiting the pits. It's so tight on pit road there just isn't room for 43 cars to pit at the same time. Look for more pit issues this Sunday than in most if not all other Cup races and it will be extremely important for the top contenders in the Chase to stay clean getting on and off of pit road.

It's a driver's mentality to be aggressive coming off a pit stop to try and beat other cars back onto the track, but with the tight conditions at Martinsville being too aggressive out of the pits is simply courting disaster.

The bottom is the line to run since the outside groove went away after repairs were made to the track following the spring 2004 race.

Besides having equipment hold up, getting good luck, and running a smart and patient race are what's needed most to win at Martinsville.